This trade was in my favor (Fisher 400)

RS Steve

RS Steve

Tube Junkie
Subscriber
I've had a pair of Infinity bookshelf speakers laying around for a couple years, pretty decent sounding once I refoamed the woofers. I got a call from someone wanting speakers the other day, decided to offer up the Infinities to the guy since I no longer use them. That's when he asked if I would do a trade for his dad's old Fisher stereo, hmmm, what model I asked. He told me it was a 400, and that all it does is produce a god awful hum with no music. So I told him to bring it and that I was interested, to make a long story short, I jumped all over it once I saw the condition. This receiver has all original tubes, never messed with underneath, and carries the famous 65 watts sticker on the dial.

So I started this morning on a total restoration under chassis, and just finished 6-1/2 hours later. New cans, all other normal cap replacements done, sampling resistors, screen stability resistors, and new diodes. Fired it up slowly on the variac and dbt, she plays wonderful sound now, no issues what so ever except one pair of tubes are showing pretty weak at .17V and .19V. The other pair are .36V and .31V.

The FM works super good, dial is dead on and tuning tube bars operate very well. I will have to add the resister to limit the dancing bars, but this receiver is ready for a second life after possibly a couple tubes getting replaced. So this is yet another feather under my hat, super pleased with this one. :king:


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Dang, Steve; you are a gear magnet! I always wondered about those labels I see on shots of Fisher equipment from time to time. Where did they come from and what do they mean? IHF or RMS power?

Also, can you tell me more or point to a thread on the "resistor to limit the dancing bar"?

Nice work, as always, Steve. I have a Scott LK-72 on the way to add to the queue. Finishing up the SCA-35 and have a Sherwood S8000 IV next in line.

Dave
 
monkboughtlunch said:
Looks great. Did you put a CL-80 thermistor in to extend power switch life?

How do you like the Hayseed cans?
Click to expand...
The one thing I normally do is connect a jumper from the power switch terminals at the rear where one goes to the auxiliary outlets, and the other to the transformer lead. But this unit has a power switch with only two lugs instead of three. So there is only one contact in the switch powering both leads, the jumper would normally give the unit double the contacts, leading to longer switch life, but not an option on this one. I normally install the CL-80, just out of them at the moment, have some on order though. The HH can caps are wonderful, I have gotten pretty good at doing the cans now. I used to try and desolder the ground tabs that are soldered to the chassis with wick, but now I just twist off what I can with pliers until it breaks off, then while pulling on the can hit the soldered area with my big soldering gun until the area melts. Then it pulls loose with not much effort, after sliding in the new can, there is generally enough solder still in the area of the tabs to reheat and get a good connection. It has sped up my restorations a great bit, the cans were always a dread before, now only the one with all the resistors soldered to it gives me challenge.
 
Dave451 said:
Dang, Steve; you are a gear magnet! I always wondered about those labels I see on shots of Fisher equipment from time to time. Where did they come from and what do they mean? IHF or RMS power?

Also, can you tell me more or point to a thread on the "resistor to limit the dancing bar"?

Nice work, as always, Steve. I have a Scott LK-72 on the way to add to the queue. Finishing up the SCA-35 and have a Sherwood S8000 IV next in line.

Dave
Click to expand...
I believe the wattage labels were just to help push sales, usually overstated too. The label was for both channels combined I believe.

I will dig for the thread where Dave states how to fix the dancing bar, it might pop up if you use the search box though.

My SCA-35 is a huge disappointment so far, I have it completed, but it doesn't have much output at all, less than it had with the old boards actually. So I most likely have something wrong, I just got a matched quad for it to test it again with new tubes,
 
Dave -- I published my modification to limit the dancing eye tube issue late in this thread I did some time ago. Look at post #73.

Dave
 
Nice 400 Steve! So, how many does this make? No -- don't tell me.......

On your SCA-35, remember to not confuse gain with power. They're two different things. The high level inputs on the SCA-35 requires 1.0 volt to produce full power output with the volume control up full. This is about 3 to 4 times less sensitive than the Fisher gear you're used to, so it does require notably more input on the high level inputs. However, with enough signal, the sucker will kick.......
 
dcgillespie said:
Nice 400 Steve! So, how many does this make? No -- don't tell me.......

On your SCA-35, remember to not confuse gain with power. They're two different things. The high level inputs on the SCA-35 requires 1.0 volt to produce full power output with the volume control up full. This is about 3 to 4 times less sensitive than the Fisher gear you're used to, so it does require notably more input on the high level inputs. However, with enough signal, the sucker will kick.......
Click to expand...

This might be #4 on the 400 model, pretty sad when you lose count huh?

I usually test my amps with my I-pod hooked up through the ear piece jack with an adapter to dual RCA jacks. The SCA-35 is sounding very thin, and I have to turn it to 3/4 volume to get even close to a listening level. I am going to try the new tubes and double check things again when I can.
 
Dave G, did you mean to post a link in the above for the "dancing bar" fix? Thanks!
Dave
 
Yeah, the combination of a low output I-pod and the relatively low sensitivity of the SCA would in fact have you turning up the volume control considerably. Try a CD player......

Also -- MAKE SURE you have the tone control knobs installed correctly! They are NOT installed by simply centering the knob's marker in the center of the control's rotation. Doing so will result in thin sound for sure!

Dave
 
dcgillespie said:
Yeah, the combination of a low output I-pod and the relatively low sensitivity of the SCA would in fact have you turning up the volume control considerably. Try a CD player......

Also -- MAKE SURE you have the tone control knobs installed correctly! They are NOT installed by simply centering the knob's marker in the center of the control's rotation. Doing so will result in thin sound for sure!

Dave
Click to expand...
Mine has new knobs installed, what's the correct way to install them? :idea: :dunno:
 
That High School Re-Union must have really got you to thinking:idea: just how:eek: "OLD":confused: you really are, DAVE! :D:D Do they still have a 3-holer out back:yikes:??? I've got #45 coming up next year, but they tore down mine and built a 3 story office bldg they call a high school. It looks like something out of silicon Valley.....YUCK!!!
 
The reunion wasn't for me, but for my better half -- but it gets worse. We went last night only to find that the reunion wasn't last night but actually tonight, which we just got back from. But she's the one that marked the calendar wrong........... I figure I can milk this one through most of the summer..........:)

Dave
 
dcgillespie said:
The reunion wasn't for me, but for my better half -- but it gets worse. We went last night only to find that the reunion wasn't last night but actually tonight, which we just got back from. But she's the one that marked the calendar wrong........... I figure I can milk this one through most of the summer..........:)

Dave
Click to expand...
I hope the solder fumes aren't getting to her Dave. :rflmao: ;)
 
I felt this ole girl needed a better parting shot, but now it has me wanting to put new gaskets around the dial and install the LED's. Even though it all seems to be intact, after the outcome of the 500-B I did, it's hard to not want the same results.

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You nabbed a 4-IF version of the 400 model - very desirable. Cosmetically it is in great shape - a real winner.
Have fun!

Joe
 
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