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80s large black face digital tuner?

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decooney

Active Member
I thought someone here might know of such a tuner....

In the early 1980s I vaguely recall a rather large black (metal faced) digital tuner with a larger than normal digital display readout and roller dial, but don't remember the manufacturer. It might have been some kind of less popular brand or maybe even some kind of low volume tuner that was produced. I've searched a bunch of images on the internet and don't recognize it. Its fuzzy in my mind, but I do recall it was a fairly clean and simple looking unit, maybe even a little industrial looking. You could really see the large digital readout well, as I recall.

I saw this tuner only once at a dealer in the US West in California when I purchased my Sansui tuner and amplifier. At first I was thinking it was an SAE or Soundcraftsmen tuner, but I don't think that was it, possibly something else. Does this description happen to ring a bell with anyone here on the tuner forum? Ideas? Photos?
 
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SAE MK8... or 8000... maybe.. no time this morning to find a picture.. but do a search..
 
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Thanks, yeah, I went back through all the photos I could find, and the 8000 is the closest to what I remember. However, now after looking at the 8000 again in R-2-Rs photo, the tuner I saw (as I recall) was outward of two decimal points on increment scale. i.e. 105.10, and it had a full solid face plate, no rack mount slots. Maybe it was a dream.

...still on the hunt. :)
 
I'm sure there probably are a few others but the only other one that comes to mind, from your description, is a Heathkit tuner but I just can't seem to remember the model number. :scratch2:
 
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Maybe a Heathkit AJ-1600?:

IMG_2702.jpg


Regards,
Nick
 
Would be interested in hearing from anyone who has completely recapped and reworked the 8000 SAE or Mark VIII tuners. Also, I found a thread by a guy who replaced his LEDs and discovered there is a lead you can clip on the replacement units which allow for the displays to read in hundredths .00 decimal points, and perhaps this is what I saw in the past decade for some reason thinking it was that way back in the 80s; probably not.

I did find examples of Mark VIII units in Black with solid faceplates, no rack mount cutout notches. Perhaps what I saw back in the late 80s, was one of these units but they are not as common in black as in Silver, or at least not today in terms of photos posted on the internet. Still doing research on sound quality of the Mark VIII / 8000 tuners. I came across a guy who said he sold his 8000 tuner because it sounded very "dry" to him, since day 1. It would be good to hear from others who have compared their SAE 8000 units to others such as Sansu or McIntosh or Marantz tuners.
 
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Update; Found a post on a site where a guy indicated he felt his own SAE 8000 tuner really needed a number of updates internally, including re-capping, changing the ground from secondary to primary, and he rewired a number of the internal wiring connections to RCA plugs on the back for much improved sound. Perhaps this is partly why some have said they sound dry, or lifeless, while others have indicated this tuner can sound pretty good once it has been updated and reworked a bit.

- Anyone here ever do a full upgrade on your SAE 8000 / Mark VIII tuner? If so, what were the changes in sound quality once upgraded? Worth it, or not?
 
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The SAE 8000 is an exceptional FM Tuner but one must clearly undestand that statement is a matter of opinion. By the way, anyone happen to know where I can get replacement LED's for the SAE 8000 display or even the entire display board with LED's?
 
R-2-R,
got your message and looked back through a bunch of threads. There is a guy that was selling an aftermarket display but I cannot find the original post where he mentioned clipping a lead for the added digit on the display. It started on the DIY audio site and went back and forth between that thread and Audiokarma. Here is one link I found. Had no idea there were so many problems and discussions about the 8000 / MK VIII displays. Here is one:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=391288
 
Thanks for the reply decooney but in the past, I have since seen and read just about every thread here on AK concerning the SAE 8000 display. I already had read the link that you posted I was hoping that you had known or found some other site that I could have used.
I've got two SAE 8000's but one needs work on the display and I would like to have that corrected.
Again, thanks!


decooney said:
R-2-R,
got your message and looked back through a bunch of threads. There is a guy that was selling an aftermarket display but I cannot find the original post where he mentioned clipping a lead for the added digit on the display. It started on the DIY audio site and went back and forth between that thread and Audiokarma. Here is one link I found. Had no idea there were so many problems and discussions about the 8000 / MK VIII displays. Here is one:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=391288
Click to expand...
 
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R-2-R said:
Thanks for the reply decooney but in the past, I have since seen and read just about every thread here on AK concerning the SAE 8000 display. I already had read the link that you posted I was hoping that you had known or found some other site that I could have used.
I've got two SAE 8000's but one needs work on the display and I would like to have that corrected.
Again, thanks!
Click to expand...

The more helpful thread I was referring to was on the DIYAudio site, but I cannot relocate it. See if you can find it. If not, let me know and I'll look again when I can later this week, and during some night time FM listening! :music:
 
Is this the one/thread that you were referring too? (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/analogue-source/199361-sae-8000-tuner-schematics.html)

If so, I had already read that one as well, in the past. That LED replacement that, that individual, is referring to nolonger exist (or at least places that I have inquired about it, don't carry it? :scratch2: ).

Thanks for your help by the way, very much appreciated! :thmbsp:



decooney said:
The more helpful thread I was referring to was on the DIYAudio site, but I cannot relocate it. See if you can find it. If not, let me know and I'll look again when I can later this week, and during some night time FM listening! :music:
Click to expand...
 
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