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Advise needed on property powering up a Fisher 500c has has sat for years.

BrandonAudio said:
.... I just noticed one on the FM section says “ the Fisher” but the tubes says Made in the Great Britain” so is the tiny tube 6ha5 also says made in the Great Britain while all the others smaller one says Made in West Germany.
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"Made in Great Britain" means they were manufactured by Mullard, more then likely in their Blackburn plant.

Mr Boochie said:
..... Look for the Philips/Valvo/Mullard etched codes at the bottom of the tubes.

https://www.audiotubes.com/mullcode.htm
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They'll look like this on one of the ECC83/12AX7's

Screen Shot 2021-11-03 at 8.01.41 AM.png


"Made in West Germany" means they were manufactured by Telefunken
 
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Those are Blackburn made Mullard ECC83/12AX7 = I61 (first iteration). 1960 or 70. May (E) and June (F).
 
Late to the party unfortunately! But as others have said, what a fine example of that receiver.

Good on 'ya. Please return with updates.
 
zackthedog said:
Just curious--could you post some pics of the console itself? Barzilays command pretty steep prices. You could gut it and use it as furniture, I suppose, but those are pretty valuable as consoles. If you do part it out, the receiver and speakers would be desirable for collectors.
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here is the console, I like it because the door slides and wrap around the back when open up all the way and completely closed in the front.
 

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@BrandonAudio

If it were me I would definitely take up @trainbuftony offer, for yourself if you plan to keep it or for a Fisher collector who will be more inclined to purchase with an overall assessment from a knowledgeable tube head
 
I suggest you have this unit checked out and return it to service. You will not find a nicer way to deliver music in your home. Your children should grow up with receiver and you and your wife should grow old with it. Should you part with it, you will regret it.

Now tell me about the records that are in that handsome Barzilay cabinet.
 
pete1729 said:
I suggest you have this unit checked out and return it to service. You will not find a nicer way to deliver music in your home. Your children should grow up with receiver and you and your wife should grow old with it. Should you part with it, you will regret it.

Now tell me about the records that are in that handsome Barzilay cabinet.
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Hello Pete! Thank you the suggestions. The cabinet does look like it’s made for the Fisher and everything that came with it, I guess I could just leave everything the way it is and that will be the family piece for a long time, I’m sure my little one will end up selling it when they grow up if passed on. But my dad did the same, left me with many old stereos that looks like they just came out of the box. The records was a variety of jazz, classic rock, Disney kids, 50,60,70 and 80s. About 100 total. A few I pulled out. One member from Chino did mention I reach out to help inspect this unit properly which like most members said, it’s worth getting restored. Thank you and have a great weekend!
 

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Output tube (4 big 'uns in back) show heavy use/abuse/run time or overheating, especially the one closest to outside of chassis. Sure bet there are things amiss in the bias circuitry. Slow power-up is MANDATORY , expect problems, like the end one red-plating at full line voltage. Refer to fisher forum stickies to see what you could be up against. May be best to move it on as-is to someone familiar with these things, they're much in demand dead or alive, should you not elect to sink some $$$into it, which it likely will require to return to service.. Very nice piece, cabinet as well as contents!
 
BrandonAudio said:
....The cabinet does look like it’s made for the Fisher and everything that came with it, I guess I could just leave everything the way it is and that will be the family piece for a long time.... [M]y dad did the same, left me with many old stereos that looks like they just came out of the box. ..... One member from Chino did mention I reach out to help inspect this unit properly which like most members said, it’s worth getting restored. Thank you and have a great weekend!
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If you want to verify whether this is a Fisher console cabinet, run over to fisherconsoles.com. You'll have the full run of the factory made consoles and their contents. That said, just a quick peek at the listing suggests that your cabinet is a custom made console, hardly a weird thing since there were many offerings made by aftermarketers as well as custom shops to house electronics from Fisher, et.al. Either way, that is a beautiful piece of furniture worthy of a fine refinish itself!

As far as the 500c is concerned, I'd take a drive up to Chico and take train up on his offer. That receiver, AS IS, is worth about a grand: pristine condition, all original knobs with brights, Fisher tubes, etc. Point is, you don't see many receivers in that condition; and getting it checked out for operability, with up to snuff restoration, will get you decades of high quality audio, if only as an investment piece for the little one.
 
Catmanboo said:
Output tube (4 big 'uns in back) show heavy use/abuse/run time or overheating, especially the one closest to outside of chassis. Sure bet there are things amiss in the bias circuitry. Slow power-up is MANDATORY , expect problems, like the end one red-plating at full line voltage. Refer to fisher forum stickies to see what you could be up against. May be best to move it on as-is to someone familiar with these things, they're much in demand dead or alive, should you not elect to sink some $$$into it, which it likely will require to return to service.. Very nice piece, cabinet as well as contents!
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Do you think a selenium rectifier in the bias supply? Might be a good idea to just replace that unit if so.

As for tubes going bad... they don't, when they're sitting around. I sourced two sets of "RCA Cunningham Radiotrons", made for a short time when my 1934 RCA console was made. These tubes probably sat around for decades, and they measure and function very well.
 
If its output is out-of-spec, time to replace with a silicon bridge rectifier. Also, the 2-section 1000uF can cap connected to it may be suspect, among a couple other things. I have 2 of these things, one got a new rectifier due to low output, the other is still in-spec, so it stays for the time being. And yes, tubes in long-term storage don't "spoil", they're vacuum-packed! Should be good forever if properly handled & stored.
 
Fisher NEVER made a console using the 500c. The styling on the cabinet along with the way the door's open/slide off to the side/close are indicative of early/mid 60's design cues. Barzilay was one of if not the largest of the companies making custom console cabinets during this time.
 
Agree whoelheartedly on rehabbing the 500c and keeping the console intact as is. TrainbuffTony know's his sh** when it comes to tube stuff. As for rehabbing the 500c, it's pretty much identical to the 800c (but without the AM band, so a little more space underneath). Fisher forum has all the 800c/500c/400 threads you need to get it up and running better than it did in 64-67. You got questions, ASK. No dumb questions, but you might get some smart ass answers, so put on your thick skin. (Just kidding!). Lots of help there, and you'll definately learn a good bit, or even more than you wanted or needed to know about your 500c. As for DSwankey.......Yer just Jealous....:p:p LOL!
 
if I found a Fisher receiver that looked like that inside a cabinet, I'd probably pass out!

beautiful unit and SO worthy of getting it working again I can't even type enough words. does the output tube in the corner look funny on top?

be sure to reach out to trainbuftony and take him up on his offer. lastly, avoid the temptation of just plugging it in :)
 
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