Fisher 202 Futura - Any good?
- Thread starter jabbo5150
- Start date
jabbo5150
Active Member
Ended up buying it today. Still had the original instruction manual. Needs a cleaning though. I know deoxit for the inside right? I have never used it, but I see there is a FAQ here about it.
What about the outside? What is safe to use there?
Also, what kind of speakers are safe to drive with this thing?
What about the outside? What is safe to use there?
Also, what kind of speakers are safe to drive with this thing?
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jabbo5150
Active Member
Good to know. I have some homework for tonight!
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
I have to say it's pretty-clear that there is no clear conscensus on the solid-state Fisher gear. I've heard some say all ss Fisher gear is crap, and I've heard some say that some is good, but to stick to the early units (like the 400t and 500t), and then I've read posts from several people saying that the mid '70's "Studio Standard" units are as good-sounding and well-built as the other well-known gear from Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, etc. Very-hard to get a clear understanding without just buying one myself.
I love the look of the late '60's Fishers with the tuner display that looks like the speedometer from a late '60's Impala. Little things like that totally-remind me of when I was a kid the way certain music does. Probably why I'm so-drawn to gear from the early '70's (I was born in '70, so this is the first stereo gear I heard).
Someone posted in that AK thread that the 122 and 222, made in 1975, were the only 2-channel receivers Fisher produced that year, and yet they had NINE quadrophonic units. I imagine this rather-bold marketing stategy was the final nail in the coffin for the Fisher name (If I recall, quadrophonic-stereo didn't rock the mainstream the way they had hoped). I owned a pair of Fisher speakers from around '79 (or '80 at the latest) and I liked the way they sounded, but it was clearly-low-end stuff (I was 9 years-old, so I would have settled for anything). Small, barely-floorstanders. Probably $80 for the pair.
I love the look of the late '60's Fishers with the tuner display that looks like the speedometer from a late '60's Impala. Little things like that totally-remind me of when I was a kid the way certain music does. Probably why I'm so-drawn to gear from the early '70's (I was born in '70, so this is the first stereo gear I heard).
Someone posted in that AK thread that the 122 and 222, made in 1975, were the only 2-channel receivers Fisher produced that year, and yet they had NINE quadrophonic units. I imagine this rather-bold marketing stategy was the final nail in the coffin for the Fisher name (If I recall, quadrophonic-stereo didn't rock the mainstream the way they had hoped). I owned a pair of Fisher speakers from around '79 (or '80 at the latest) and I liked the way they sounded, but it was clearly-low-end stuff (I was 9 years-old, so I would have settled for anything). Small, barely-floorstanders. Probably $80 for the pair.
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jabbo5150
Active Member
I tested it out and the right channel doesn't seem to be working. If I turn the balance all the way to the right, I still hear it out of the left. Could be it needs a cleaning and could be the right output fuse is bad too. Otherwise, for not having an FM antenna to hook up (The one on my technics system is just a loop antenna, this seems to want one with a L/R/ connector) the stations came in pretty well. Everything lights up that is supposed to.
Any idea where I might get fuses for this?
Any idea where I might get fuses for this?
Gang-Twanger
Resident Wharfedaliophool
Yes, I would start off by cleaning all the knobs and switches repeatedly, and hopefully this will get the right channel working. It sounds like this is the problem. Try that and then go from there.
As far as fuses, did you say you have a user's manual? I would think it should say what type of fuse to use for each. If you don't have a manual, then someone here should be able to help you out in some way (Once you know the fuse-type/value, it should be easy to get what you need, I would think). I doubt that the fuses are the cause of the missing right channel because you mentioned hearing SOMETHING out of the right side when you messed with the balance knob, but if it's not a dirty balance knob, then you'll want to check the right-channel speaker fuse and make sure it's not blown (but I would think you'd get no sound at all if one of the skr fuses was bad).
jabbo5150
Active Member
I do have the user's manual. I didn't read it thoroughly. Just enough to know how to operate it as I just wanted to plug it in to see if it worked. It definitely needs a cleaning. Turning any knob results in crackly sound. My guess is this was someone's parent's radio and maybe they passed away and to the thrift store it went.
Actually, the only sound I seemed to be getting was from the left side, even if I turned the balance to the right.
jabbo5150
Active Member
Turns out it is the fuses. After cleaning, it sounded better and the knobs worked better, but that channel still wasn't working. I switched the speaker fuses and low and behold, the other side stopped working.
It says it needs a 2-amp slow blow fuse for the power and 2.5-amp for the speakers.Didn't say slow blow for those. I know Radio Shack sells the 2.5 amp, but they are slow blow. is that OK to use here?
jabbo5150
Active Member
The fuses worked in fixing the channel problem.
It had a 2-amp 125 volt slow blow for the power which I replaced with a 2-amp 250-volt slow blow and 2.5-amp 125-volt fast blows that I replaced with 2.5-amp 250 volts for the speakers
The only issue I am having now is sometimes when listening in FM mode, I will lose the signal for a few seconds. It always comes back. My AM signal is fine and my aux jacks both work fine.
Could this be because it is A) in the basement half disassembled and B) it doesn't have an FM antenna yet? I would imagine the antenna should fix this, right?
It had a 2-amp 125 volt slow blow for the power which I replaced with a 2-amp 250-volt slow blow and 2.5-amp 125-volt fast blows that I replaced with 2.5-amp 250 volts for the speakers
The only issue I am having now is sometimes when listening in FM mode, I will lose the signal for a few seconds. It always comes back. My AM signal is fine and my aux jacks both work fine.
Could this be because it is A) in the basement half disassembled and B) it doesn't have an FM antenna yet? I would imagine the antenna should fix this, right?
AM and FM Reception is quite different. FM is what they call "LINE OF SIGHT" or slightly over the horizon. That requires an antenna (a 6ft piece of wire strung out will work for testing). AM will go a lot further and doesn't usually require an external antenna except for DX'ing(distance listening ie: if you are in FLA and want to listen to out of state stuff) at night. Even with the internal antenna for AM you can get a lot of stations out of state at night on AM. The radio waves bounce off the atmosphere. FM WILL NOT DO THIS, and that's there is no internal FM antenna.
Go down to Ratshack and get a 6ft dipole antenna (flat "T" shape). About $5. your FM should improve greatly. Until you do, there may be a FM MUTE or Stereo/Mono switch. Flipping this to off or Mono will improve your reception as the signal now isn't going through the multiplexer. A very weak FM signal will sound like HASH with the multiplexer inline. It should clear up when taken out of circuit.
Larry
Go down to Ratshack and get a 6ft dipole antenna (flat "T" shape). About $5. your FM should improve greatly. Until you do, there may be a FM MUTE or Stereo/Mono switch. Flipping this to off or Mono will improve your reception as the signal now isn't going through the multiplexer. A very weak FM signal will sound like HASH with the multiplexer inline. It should clear up when taken out of circuit.
Larry
jabbo5150
Active Member
brought the radio upstairs and tried it with the dipole antenna. Signal was strong when it came in, but would cut in and out for no reason. It was suggested the FM muting might be kicking in. This happened whether I had that engaged or not and it also happened whether I had it in mono or stereo mode or not. I want to get this working. I don't have a service manual. I sprayed the FM muting switch with deoxit last night, hoping that would help. AM works fine as do all the jacks. The FM receiver sounds really good on this radio when it is working. Any suggestions?
