technics sa-80
- Thread starter fryr
- Start date
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
There is no FM antenna built in to the SA-80, So the literal answer to your question is "no".
Are there adjustments to improve the FM reception of the tuner section? Yes, but it is a task that requires fairly sophisticated (and accurately calibrated) equipment and considerable skill.
Finally, don't forget that the SA-80 was the absolute bottom of the line; it's not bad, but it's not in any sense up to the design nor performance standards of better Technics receivers, not to mention of their competitor brands. Indeed, at the entry level, IMO the SA-80 was the bottom of the crop of all of the major Japanese massmarket brands.
Now, if you're asking about the built-in ferrite rod AM antenna -- the best thing to do is to add an external long wire antenna (and a good ground) or a good inductively (or direct) coupled, tuneable AM loop antenna. This WILL help. The vintage Select-A-Tenna is very good but no longer made (i.e., may be hard to find). There is a current production Terk AM loop that gets good press.
http://www.radiointel.com/review-2loop.htm
Here's a Select-A-Tenna in action, receiving WBZ-AM (Boston) -- a 50 kW AM station broadcasting at 1030 kHz -- at a distance of about 120 miles (in the daytime) -- no mean feat.
Onkyo T-4055 AM-FM stereo tuner receiving WBZ-AM (Boston) on a spring afternoon from about 120 miles away (& thanks to an inductively-coupled Select-A-Tenna!). by mhardy6647, on Flickr
EDIT: Here are the innards of an SA-80:
SA-80guts by mhardy6647, on Flickr
Compare it to the innards of its entry level contemporary the Pioneer SX-450 (15 wpc):
SX-450guts by mhardy6647, on Flickr
Four entry-level receivers (from a couple of different model year "cycles", admittedly):
fourentrylevelers by mhardy6647, on Flickr
Are there adjustments to improve the FM reception of the tuner section? Yes, but it is a task that requires fairly sophisticated (and accurately calibrated) equipment and considerable skill.
Finally, don't forget that the SA-80 was the absolute bottom of the line; it's not bad, but it's not in any sense up to the design nor performance standards of better Technics receivers, not to mention of their competitor brands. Indeed, at the entry level, IMO the SA-80 was the bottom of the crop of all of the major Japanese massmarket brands.
Now, if you're asking about the built-in ferrite rod AM antenna -- the best thing to do is to add an external long wire antenna (and a good ground) or a good inductively (or direct) coupled, tuneable AM loop antenna. This WILL help. The vintage Select-A-Tenna is very good but no longer made (i.e., may be hard to find). There is a current production Terk AM loop that gets good press.
http://www.radiointel.com/review-2loop.htm
Here's a Select-A-Tenna in action, receiving WBZ-AM (Boston) -- a 50 kW AM station broadcasting at 1030 kHz -- at a distance of about 120 miles (in the daytime) -- no mean feat.
Onkyo T-4055 AM-FM stereo tuner receiving WBZ-AM (Boston) on a spring afternoon from about 120 miles away (& thanks to an inductively-coupled Select-A-Tenna!). by mhardy6647, on FlickrEDIT: Here are the innards of an SA-80:
SA-80guts by mhardy6647, on FlickrCompare it to the innards of its entry level contemporary the Pioneer SX-450 (15 wpc):
SX-450guts by mhardy6647, on FlickrFour entry-level receivers (from a couple of different model year "cycles", admittedly):
fourentrylevelers by mhardy6647, on Flickr
Last edited:
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
It's a "This End Up" style coffee table, and it is built entirely out of two-by-fours 
(my late father built it for my wife and me many, many years ago; our daughter and her husband have it now... I think)
(my late father built it for my wife and me many, many years ago; our daughter and her husband have it now... I think)
Gotta bring back this thread for a coupla questions. Re the SA-80, are there dail lights other than over the radio pointer and the s/s meter?...light appears to follow the pointer so I am guessing not? Secondly, is the a "real" flywheel tuner such that you can spin the knob and it rolls across the dail or is it more a "friction tuner" for lack of a better term?...it moves along fine without binding but don't know how it is supposed to be.
Nice little receiver that my brother bought new in late 70's, but being bottom of the range, I am not sure just how refined some of the features were...
Nice little receiver that my brother bought new in late 70's, but being bottom of the range, I am not sure just how refined some of the features were...
