Fisher TFM-1000 FM Stereo Tuner

jonboy55

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I just picked up a Fisher TFM-1000 FM Stereo Tuner.

Haven't had a chance to power it up or cleaned it yet.

Came with original operating instructions, service manual, and original receipt dated 1969.

Purchased from the estate of the original owner.

Normally I don't buy solid state units but the price was right.

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Ya know you're looking at another era when you see transistors in chassis-mounted sockets:) Nice score!
 
Yes it has the "Super Synchrode" using silicon field effect transistors in it's front end. When gone through and aligned this is an exceptional tuner. Has the look of the late tube Fisher's, which is really nice if you want to use it with a tube amplifier. It has a built in headphone power amp with volume control and balanced 600 ohm outputs as well.
 
That's their totl solidstate tuner.

You have Fairchild equipment so you don't need to upgrade :p Some of the best stereo items I've listened to but scarce and $$$. You just don't see Fairchild gear for sale in Southern California.
 
I just uploaded a pdf of the TFM-1000 tuner Operating Manual to the AK manual database email address.
 
I just uploaded a pdf of the TFM-1000 tuner Operating Manual to the AK manual database email address.

Very nice. You are lucky as it's not easy to find original documents on this model.

What was the original selling price in 1969? I know the TFM1000 came out a couple years before that.
 
The original receipt dated 3/25/1969 was for $345.00 plus $13.80 tax for a total of $358.80. It also came with The Fisher 1968 Handbook with a September 1, 1968 components price list. The list price was $429.95. He received a discount of approximately 20%. The list price of the FMR-2 which was the rack mounted version was $449.95. He purchased it from Harvey Radio which was a well known New York/Long Island distributor at the time. The receipt said he paid by check. :)
 
The original receipt dated 3/25/1969 was for $345.00 plus $13.80 tax for a total of $358.80. It also came with The Fisher 1968 Handbook with a September 1, 1968 components price list. The list price was $429.95. He received a discount of approximately 20%. The list price of the FMR-2 which was the rack mounted version was $449.95. He purchased it from Harvey Radio which was a well known New York/Long Island distributor at the time. The receipt said he paid by check. :)

The top Fisher tuners would set you back some serious cash. You could almost buy a complete decent system for what that tuner cost!
It is amazing that the original receipt stays with something for almost 50 years. What a nice find :)
 
While I am happy to have the TFM-1000 tuner it is a nightmare to work on.

It has many problems and the service manual doesn't contain a parts list. For example, if you want to replace a capacitor the schematic will only give you the capacitance but not the voltage. Hopefully a capacitor isn't burnt otherwise you won't know what the value is. Also, I mostly work on tube equipment and really don't work on solid state equipment often. I'm not a transistor guy and the tuner has distortion problems, one channel is very low in volume, it works in mono mode and not stereo mode, etc.

I don't want to just recap the entire thing. It has 3 electrolytic capacitor cans and approximately 25 regular electrolytic capacitors. And there are the transistors to deal with. Hopefully my B & K Transistor Tester works. I can't remember the last time I used it.

This is not a simple spray the controls and switches issue.

But as crazy as it sounds, I do like the challenge.
 
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