Again.. Heathkit AR-1500A VS 1500, identity for schematics..

[SylvainQc]

Hi folks,
I'm not really familiar with audio forums, so, pardon my mistakes please. I was seeing that AR-1500A accumulating dust, in a thrift shop near by, year after year.. and finally, this weekend, I just could not resist.. ;-)
Of course, I'm looking for schematics, but I just wonder if the schematics for the "1500" No "A" would do the same, as I could get it for almost half cost as the 1500A schematics.
Of course, it was an "as is" and I got a good price because it was "untested".. so, I plugged it and nothin..
No blown fuse. Good sign.
To make a long story short: it works, if you press the push buttons deeep and strong.. Contacts are dirty dirty.
But it works. All dial lamps are burnt too.
I opened it (see pic) Gee.. this thing is built like a tank, and it's really neatly done, all plug in boards etc. I'm impressed. I'm not familiar with transistors (those new technologies.. you never know if it has a future..;-) but it's
so well built that I intend it to go through it and recap it, and put it back to specs.
Have some of you compared it to equivalent gear of that era? Pioneer, Sansui, Marantz? Each brand has its sound. In the days I was selling audio (late 70's early 80's) I had a crush for some Sansui gear (Au-7700 etc) and not at all for some other (Technics)

 

[hspivak]

Hi folks,
I'm not really familiar with audio forums, so, pardon my mistakes please. I was seeing that AR-1500A accumulating dust, in a thrift shop near by, year after year.. and finally, this weekend, I just could not resist.. ;-)
Of course, I'm looking for schematics, but I just wonder if the schematics for the "1500" No "A" would do the same, as I could get it for almost half cost as the 1500A schematics.
Of course, it was an "as is" and I got a good price because it was "untested".. so, I plugged it and nothin..
No blown fuse. Good sign.
To make a long story short: it works, if you press the push buttons deeep and strong.. Contacts are dirty dirty.
But it works. All dial lamps are burnt too.
I opened it (see pic) Gee.. this thing is built like a tank, and it's really neatly done, all plug in boards etc. I'm impressed. I'm not familiar with transistors (those new technologies.. you never know if it has a future..;-) but it's
so well built that I intend it to go through it and recap it, and put it back to specs.
Have some of you compared it to equivalent gear of that era? Pioneer, Sansui, Marantz? Each brand has its sound. In the days I was selling audio (late 70's early 80's) I had a crush for some Sansui gear (Au-7700 etc) and not at all for some other (Technics)

Hi, just saw your post of almost one year ago. Hopefully, by now you have found all of the information that you need. In any case, I have built or rebuilt quite a few of these units, both AR-1500 and AR-1500A's. They are essentially the same, with slight differences in the multiplex and output stages. The information contained in the AR-1500A manual is somewhat better than that contained in the AR-1500 manual, in that resistance measurements are included. But, there are still many similarities. Kits are available on line for recapping these. Also, switches for the speakers or power are available from Amazon or ebay, they are E-42153, and are inexpensive. I may be able to help you with other things, as well. Let me know.