Fisher repair in NYC?

Yeah, that sounds frustrating. Sorry that happened to you Keith.

I'm in learning mode, so if there were any especially good videos (or video makers) you'd recommend, I'd love to watch some.

- Jonathan
 
Guys, I just want to say be careful bringing stuff to Pete in Boonton. He charged me $750 to "Restore" a pair of 6l6 amps. The restoration consisted of putting used binding posts, having bottoms made and replacing a few resistors. He actually told me he didn't want to change out the old caps for fear of ruining the sound.When I told him I paid him to replace the out of spec 60 year old caps he said he would, at an additional cost, but by then I just wanted my stuff back. I also had him work on a JBL Solid state amp. $250 later it was still not functioning correctly and his soldering skills are piss poor. He was real buddy buddy when I first brought him stuff and oh it'll be ready in 2-3 weeks, 3-4 months later after yelling and insisting I got my stuff back. He also claims he doesn't need schematics, meanwhile one of the excuses he gave me for the delay was that the circuit was so "strange" he had to bring a buddy in to figure it out.The guys got problems and I wouldn't trust him. I have heard from several others who've had similar problems. That said, I wish there was someone I could trust with a Scott 299D In NY NJ or PA
 
costanza-answering-machine.gif
 
I've had some recent NYC experience with my 500c.

First, I would NOT recommend taking anything to a place called SG Custom Sound in Queens. Without getting into details, that dude doesn't seem to know anything about working on Fishers- he screwed up my power supply when he replaced a bunch of caps to fix a little hum that had developed. He also incorrectly biased the NOS Sylvanias I had him install.
I've used Blackie for my guitar amps for years and he's great... but I've never taken him any hifi equipment.
I can vouch for "captailfantastic" in Brooklyn. He's the guy I originally bought my 500c from. He's pricey, but he knows his stuff. I took my 500c to him after the other guy screwed it up. He offers a "full restoration service" on eBay for $500, but I think that's kind of overkill. He "upgraded" some coupling caps for me, but I found that I preferred the sound of the original ones (especially in the phono section), so I put them back in. He got my Fisher working great again. Put in adjustable bias too. And fast turnaround. I should have taken it back to him in the first place. PM me if you want his number.

-Keith

Just a short note about SG Custom Sound in Queens.

I live about 20 minutes from his facility and have had 3 items repaired by them. The owners name is Scott.

Even though I usually repair my own equipment, the items I brought to them had intermittent problems that I couldn't figure out by myself. They found the problem(s) and completed the repair. One of the 3 items was a Fisher and the other 2 were different brands.
 
Have seen Captainwhats his name all over the auction site, way overpriced IMHO. Also swears his original Fisher jewels are original......which they arent.
 
Status Update On The Fisher KX100

Back to the Fisher...

One thing I realized was when I hooked up the Fisher to make the other video I had it going into 4 ohm speakers with the taps correctly matched to the right impedance. I tested it again on another set of speakers, 8 ohms this time and the noise returned. I am not sure if the impedance has anything to do with it, but here you can see a bit of flickering and hear the corresponding noise. Again, I am slowly turning up the volume and then down in the video.


Going on George's recommendations I cleaned all of the tube sockets and I opened up the panel underneath. I could not see anything amiss underneath and as you can see from the video the noise was still present after the cleaning of the sockets. Although I did notice what looks like some scorching on the resistor in the last photo. But this is not near the V10 at all.

Let me know if anything pops up for people while looking at the V10 underside. And yes, V10 is the right channel.

Thanks!

-Patrick


IMG_1618.JPG IMG_1619.JPG IMG_1615.jpg
 
About those techs...

It does seem that for every positive story I hear about a tech I hear a negative one.

I don't know about all the others but I can talk about Pete in Boonton NJ. He fixed a McIntosh 1700 receiver for me which was giving strange noises. One of the reasons I took it out to him was at that time I was done with Analogique and wanted to find someone new. When I talked to him he told me that he had been trained in the 70s as a McIntosh tech in Binghamton and worked for the company early in his career, obviously making me think he was good for the job. He was friendly and he did assure me he could fix it. He quoted me a price of $300-$350 for a recap and he said he could turn it around in about 2 weeks. In the end it was close to 4 weeks and he did come back with a $325 final bill, gave me a detailed receipt of what he replaced and the bag of caps that he had removed. That could be all for show, but what I did like is that he cleaned up the unit. It had been sitting for a while since it was not working well and had dust all over it. He made the chassis shine, the graphics were not harmed and even the glass no longer looked aged. He also printed out a manual for me. I thought that was a nice touch. When I picked it up and was discussing the other units he worked on he did tell me he also really liked Fishers. So, it seemed to me McIntosh and Fisher were his in his wheelhouse. That is why I would consider going back to him.

I am looking to be persuaded otherwise, but it seems like it is all subjective.
 
Patrick; The Scorched "resistor" that I see in the last pic is CP4 below C10. CP4 is a PEC (Packaged Electronic Component) that contains a few resistors and capacitors to make the "HIGH FILTER" circuit or a RIAA (equalization) circuit for the Left side. The corresponding RIGHT SIDE PEC is isolated on a 7 terminal strip next to the front of the unit. These are un available, BUT! The schematic will show them in a dotted line box as CP3 and CP4. These can be built on a small perf board and soldered right to the terminals. Get the assembly manual and these are found in Stage 21 and Stage 22. The drawing of the PEC is from the X-101-B manual. All of the FISHER Integrateds in the X100/X101 series used this PEC (PC50187-2) so I copied it from the X-101-B manual.


Side corresponding to the last pic above. Note C-10 above CP-4. Lift C-10 away from CP 4 about 1/2". Or DeSolder C-10, and mount it on the other side of the terminal strip. The PEC is probably Ok tho.
KX-100 PEC -caps.jpg

The same area on the other Channel.
ScreenHunter_174 Jan. 05 03.43.jpg
The PEC in the schematic. Values are: Caps-- 220pf (1), 100pf(2), Resistors 100K 1/4W (2).
ScreenHunter_173 Jan. 05 03.29.jpg

Larry
 
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Larry,

Thanks for the reply. Thanks to your detailed descriptions I could identify both of those PEC's on my unit.

You say that it is probably OK. So I am assuming the scorch marks do not mean anything. Also would possible failure of these cause the noise, static, cycling thwack noises I have heard?

I also think replacing these would be above my abilities seeing as I would have to build a custom board. Hmmmm.....
 
IT's a possibility that overheating will degrade the parts internally. I've seen them worse than that but work fine. When you switch the High Filter in and out do the highs mute slightly, and back again? If so they are most likely ok. Does the KX-100 have a phase switch near the back? My X-101-B was doing the same thing. I tracked it down to the phase switch. Connected the one speaker direct to the speaker terminals(8ohm and com) vs. the left side connections and the noise died. Replaced the switch with a new one. Problem solved. If it doesn't have a phase switch, look at the speaker switch. Give it a shot of DeOxit, and cycle it 30-40 times briskly. As the speaker switch seldom gets moved, it will tend to build up crud, which can cause the problem you have. Clean it and then lube with DeOxit Faderlube or CRC 626 Electronics Lubricant (Home Depot in Electrical Dept.). While you are in there doing the spkr switch, go ahead and do all the switches and pots.
 
Patrick; The Scorched "resistor" that I see in the last pic is CP4 below C10. CP4 is a PEC (Packaged Electronic Component) that contains a few resistors and capacitors to make the "HIGH FILTER" circuit or a RIAA (equalization) circuit for the Left side. The corresponding RIGHT SIDE PEC is isolated on a 7 terminal strip next to the front of the unit. These are un available, BUT! The schematic will show them in a dotted line box as CP3 and CP4. These can be built on a small perf board and soldered right to the terminals. Get the assembly manual and these are found in Stage 21 and Stage 22. The drawing of the PEC is from the X-101-B manual. All of the FISHER Integrateds in the X100/X101 series used this PEC (PC50187-2) so I copied it from the X-101-B manual.


Side corresponding to the last pic above. Note C-10 above CP-4. Lift C-10 away from CP 4 about 1/2". Or DeSolder C-10, and mount it on the other side of the terminal strip. The PEC is probably Ok tho.
View attachment 1081653

The same area on the other Channel.
View attachment 1081657
The PEC in the schematic. Values are: Caps-- 220pf (1), 100pf(2), Resistors 100K 1/4W (2).
View attachment 1081652

Larry

Larry, do you have pics like these (top two) for the 500c? VERY easy to read and understand!
thanks,
Keith
 
If it doesn't have a phase switch, look at the speaker switch. Give it a shot of DeOxit, and cycle it 30-40 times briskly. As the speaker switch seldom gets moved, it will tend to build up crud, which can cause the problem you have. Clean it and then lube with DeOxit Faderlube or CRC 626 Electronics Lubricant (Home Depot in Electrical Dept.). While you are in there doing the spkr switch, go ahead and do all the switches and pots.

Hi Larry,

My KX100 does not have a phase switch, so I hit all the switches with DeOxit and CRC and the problem persists. The flickering of the V10 tube is very consistent. As soon as the volume is turned to 5 and past, the flickering starts. The sounds coming out of the speakers is less of a cycling noise again but it still has the persistent crackling. I also tried cleaning all the tube sockets like George selected.

I am back to thinking I need to take it to be repaired by someone who has more extensive equipment to test this.

-Patrick
 
From what you describe the problem is just with V10 and just that channel. I'll assume you've swapped the tube in V10 with the tube in the adjacent socket and flickering stays with the tube in the V10 position? If so, with the set on and playing, put your fingertip on V-10 and push it around in the socket to see if that affects the flickering/distortion. If not then I would suspect that there is a ground fault or a component failure with something connected to V10. With the unit playing, CAREFULLY trace back from V10 and with a non-conductive tool (I use a thin dowel) and carefully examine and tap every device and solder joint along the way. Also, check the intergrity of the transformer connections to the offending tube. See if that reveals anything. If not, post the voltages of V9 and V10 and post them, (clip NEG to chassis, positive probe to socket pin.)

With the problem related to V10 only, I can't see how it cannot be related to a connection/component involving that socket only. If you have a schematic, post a clipping of the V9/V10 tubes and related connections so we can see how V-10 is connected.
 
George. IIRC the KX-100 is the kit version of the X-100-B. But let me double check. I'll be back.
 
From what you describe the problem is just with V10 and just that channel. I'll assume you've swapped the tube in V10 with the tube in the adjacent socket and flickering stays with the tube in the V10 position? If so, with the set on and playing, put your fingertip on V-10 and push it around in the socket to see if that affects the flickering/distortion. If not then I would suspect that there is a ground fault or a component failure with something connected to V10. With the unit playing, CAREFULLY trace back from V10 and with a non-conductive tool (I use a thin dowel) and carefully examine and tap every device and solder joint along the way. Also, check the intergrity of the transformer connections to the offending tube. See if that reveals anything. If not, post the voltages of V9 and V10 and post them, (clip NEG to chassis, positive probe to socket pin.)

With the problem related to V10 only, I can't see how it cannot be related to a connection/component involving that socket only. If you have a schematic, post a clipping of the V9/V10 tubes and related connections so we can see how V-10 is connected.


Getting back to this now...

I can say I am still flummoxed. I am not a tech. I can solder, but barely. I have a multimeter but it is not a great one and I have to read the instructions twice to measure things.

That said, I have noticed when warming up the unit, both V9 and V10 flicker. After it is warm, just V10 flickers. That tells me something in the right channel is off. What? I have no idea.

Secondly the tapping did not reveal anything.

And lastly, I stopped at posting voltages of V9 and V10. Why? I could not be certain I could measure it right. I am smart enough to know I have no business undertaking tasks when I am not confident of what I should do, especially with electricity.

I can report I have swapped all the tubes around. I even swapped out the V9 and V10 tubes with two new EH tubes that I bought. Nothing changes the static and tube flickering.

I am back to looking for a tech. So if anyone has an idea of someone who won't charge me $300 to fix this I would love to know. Otherwise I am going to take my chances with one of the ones mentioned previously in this thread that seems to be like the rest of us on this planet, completely fallible.

Thanks to the good people of this site for chiming in.
 
Pat:

My bench fee is a 6 pack. Assuming you're willing to hike it to the Bronx I'll take a looksee. I'm gonna be home the 1st 2 weeks in February. If you can work out a day other than the weekend to stop by I'll be happy to check it out for you. Figure on more beer and sushi as your final cost if it leaves my place fixed.

Geo
 
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