relaximus
Consoles 'Я' Us
The 12" woofers in the early Dahlquist DQ-10's were sourced from CTS and utilized foam surrounds. There were, no doubt, others as well.
Dave
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Ambassador Rescued From Impending Doom!
- Thread starter DonQuixote99
- Start date
Dave
relaximus
Consoles 'Я' Us
They may, in fact, be Fisher woofers. CTS drivers were utilized by many manufacturers in the 70's. Fisher, Scott and even Klipsch. Whether they match the specs of the original woofers is a bit doubtful. Do they serve as adequate replacements? Only listening can tell you that. My guess would be that the suspension is likely geared more towards an acoustic-suspension enclosure rather than the pseudo infinite-baffle employed by most consoles. For lower to moderate listening levels, I would think they may be fine. For the 20 bucks or so to invest in new surrounds, it's worth giving them a try.
Dave
Tuner/Pre Tube Layout
V1 6gk5 FM RF
V2 6AQ8 FM OSC. Mixer
V3 6BA6 1st IF
V4, V5, V6 6AU6 2nd IF, 1st Limiter, 2nd Limiter
V7 6BA6 AM RF AMP
V8 6BE6 AM OSC/MIXER
V9, V10 12AX7 L&R Phono Preamp
V11, 12 12AX7 L&R Voltage and Tone Control Amps
V13 EM84 Stereo Beacon
MPX 125
V101 12AT7
V102 12AX7
AMP
V201 12AX7 Voltage Amp
V202, 203 ELL80/6HU8 L&R Drivers
Transistor Finals.
Larry
AMP
V1 6gk5 FM RF
V2 6AQ8 FM OSC. Mixer
V3 6BA6 1st IF
V4, V5, V6 6AU6 2nd IF, 1st Limiter, 2nd Limiter
V7 6BA6 AM RF AMP
V8 6BE6 AM OSC/MIXER
V9, V10 12AX7 L&R Phono Preamp
V11, 12 12AX7 L&R Voltage and Tone Control Amps
V13 EM84 Stereo Beacon
MPX 125
V101 12AT7
V102 12AX7
AMP
V201 12AX7 Voltage Amp
V202, 203 ELL80/6HU8 L&R Drivers
Transistor Finals.
Larry
AMP
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
Hmmm. See this pic. The speaker box at the end of the console sort of seems to amount to an acoustic suspension. Has a layer of fiberglass in back. No port. What it does have, oddly, is two small square holes leading into the storage space in the center compartment. When I first saw the top one my impulse was to plug it up, but the they have to have been part of the design. If a defect, it's too glaring to have passed inspection.
So I guess 'toward acoustic suspension' may be a real good description....
Attachments
The square cut holes thru the storage space is normal. It's for the leads to be passed thru. My Futura and my Electra's all have them. The Wire leads are supposed to be run thru the holes on both sides to hide the wires going to the speakers.
It looks like FISHER used a basic cabinet base bottom, and internals. The Front, sides and top were "custom" made to each specific design, and installed. Some had one top lid in the center and others had 2 side or 1 side lids. But the basic cabinet were all similar in the low / middle of the line units that were all the same basic length.
Larry
It looks like FISHER used a basic cabinet base bottom, and internals. The Front, sides and top were "custom" made to each specific design, and installed. Some had one top lid in the center and others had 2 side or 1 side lids. But the basic cabinet were all similar in the low / middle of the line units that were all the same basic length.
Larry
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
The lead actually runs through a just-big-enough hole in a piece of masonite right next to the square hole, that comes close to closing it up....
It gets curiouser and curiouser.....They run the wires thru the square holes thru the storage space on my FUTURA and ELECTRA(both 65's.).
You shouldn't need to pull the amp off to get the LEFT spkr cover off. Something like 6 screws, unplug the spkr from the amp, and lift out the panel.
Anyway. My laptop's power supply died y'day. Just realized the only place i have digital copies of S.M.'s are on the laptop. If you want a copy of the 59A/59T S.M. it might be a couple weeks.
Larry
You shouldn't need to pull the amp off to get the LEFT spkr cover off. Something like 6 screws, unplug the spkr from the amp, and lift out the panel.
Anyway. My laptop's power supply died y'day. Just realized the only place i have digital copies of S.M.'s are on the laptop. If you want a copy of the 59A/59T S.M. it might be a couple weeks.
Larry
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DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
I'm sure I do indeed want those manuals, Larry, thank you very much. In two weeks will be great if they don't surface somewhere else in the meantime.
Good to know about going in over the amp. It's coming off anyway, though.
Might as well lay out The Plan, as it has evolved...
1. The unit is NOT going to the shed. I've noticed that, fully assembled, this thing has a lot of inertia. Tends to stay where it is. Thus it's still in my carport, but this fine weather won't last forever. If I did wrestle it into the shed, it would likely stay in that non-climate-controlled space all winter. Not good for it. And it's a very pretty cabinet.... So, it goes into the living room, and a 32" HD CRT TV will go on top of it.
2. Rain predicted Sunday. The sooner out of the carport, the better.
3. Once it's in the living room with a 150 lb TV on it, it's not very easy to work on it.
4. The amp and tuner need to be tested, and at the very least, thoroughly cleaned-up. Maybe I'll recap those units. The woofers absolutely need new foam, and the crossovers could use new caps. There's no way on earth all this can be accomplished in the next couple of days.
5. So, the first thing that happens is everything comes out of it. Speakers, electronics, turntable. Gets carefully boxed up and will be worked on in the coming weeks/months. When all is ready, and when ~in the future~ the CRT is replaced by a hang-on-the-wall flatscreen, the stuff goes back into the console. One advantage of this plan is that the cabinet becomes much easier to move into the living room with all that weight taken out.
6. The tuner and amp, when operational, can be set-up as stand-alone units in the basement listening area while we're waiting for that flat-screen TV.
7. When the cabinet gets to the living room, I'll try putting a pair of Boston Acoustics A-60s in it. There's room. They are currently hanging on the wall, but that hasn't been totally satisfactory....
Good to know about going in over the amp. It's coming off anyway, though.
Might as well lay out The Plan, as it has evolved...
1. The unit is NOT going to the shed. I've noticed that, fully assembled, this thing has a lot of inertia. Tends to stay where it is. Thus it's still in my carport, but this fine weather won't last forever. If I did wrestle it into the shed, it would likely stay in that non-climate-controlled space all winter. Not good for it. And it's a very pretty cabinet.... So, it goes into the living room, and a 32" HD CRT TV will go on top of it.
2. Rain predicted Sunday. The sooner out of the carport, the better.
3. Once it's in the living room with a 150 lb TV on it, it's not very easy to work on it.
4. The amp and tuner need to be tested, and at the very least, thoroughly cleaned-up. Maybe I'll recap those units. The woofers absolutely need new foam, and the crossovers could use new caps. There's no way on earth all this can be accomplished in the next couple of days.
5. So, the first thing that happens is everything comes out of it. Speakers, electronics, turntable. Gets carefully boxed up and will be worked on in the coming weeks/months. When all is ready, and when ~in the future~ the CRT is replaced by a hang-on-the-wall flatscreen, the stuff goes back into the console. One advantage of this plan is that the cabinet becomes much easier to move into the living room with all that weight taken out.
6. The tuner and amp, when operational, can be set-up as stand-alone units in the basement listening area while we're waiting for that flat-screen TV.
7. When the cabinet gets to the living room, I'll try putting a pair of Boston Acoustics A-60s in it. There's room. They are currently hanging on the wall, but that hasn't been totally satisfactory....
When I recapped my amps, I used terminal strips and separate caps. The 2-3000uf caps went on one strip bolted and soldered to the side panel, and 2 of the 4 in the quad cap got attached to the otherat the resistors next in line in the schematic(they were on the back panel. The 60 and 40uf forthe quad got soldered right at the original cap. The pics are on my laptop. I'll try and get a pic of the Futura amp this week and circle the BIAS MODS that FISHER had done. If the pots are still there DON'T MESS with them as the procedure says you have to adjust 2 at a time. The mod is a varistor which bypasses the pot, and a change in resistor. The varistor is NLA. The procedure is in the manual, but the mod isn't. I'll include the mod part from the 49A(which is basically identical except for 2 transistors and associated resistors/caps.) manual.
Larry
Larry
D'OH!!!! I FORGOT (advancing dementia) that I uploaded the F590 (59T/59A) Service Manual to the AKDATABASE a few months ago.
http://www.akdatabase.org/AKview/displayimage.php?album=17&pos=19
I'll get the 49A/49T S.M. in there soon.
Larry
http://www.akdatabase.org/AKview/displayimage.php?album=17&pos=19
I'll get the 49A/49T S.M. in there soon.
Larry
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
Got it. Thanks!
Removals proceed. Got amp off, and removed turntable. Solved Chinese puzzle with back pieces and got left speaker bay open. Woofer same as on right. Gotta knock off now, will finish pulls and bring in inside tomorrow probably.
Removals proceed. Got amp off, and removed turntable. Solved Chinese puzzle with back pieces and got left speaker bay open. Woofer same as on right. Gotta knock off now, will finish pulls and bring in inside tomorrow probably.
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
Pull process finished. Tuner came out easier than I figured.
I've done an inventory of the tubes. Lots but not all original.
Unit Ref#, Type, Brand, Origin
Tuner T-59
V1, 6GK5, Sylvania, USA
V2, 6AQ8, Standard Tuner, GB
V3, 6BA6, Fisher, GB
V4, 6AU6A, General Electric, USA
V5, 6AU6, Fisher, GB
V6, 6AU6, Fisher, GB
V7, 6BA6, General Electric
V8, 6BE6, Fisher, GB
V9, 12AX7, Fisher, GB
V10, 12AX7, Fisher, GB
V11, 12AX7, Fisher, W. Germany
V12, 12AX7, Fisher, W. Germany
V13, EM84A, Fisher, Austria
V100, 12AX7, Fisher, W.Germany
V101, 12AT7, Fisher, W. Germany
Amplifier A-59
V201, 12AX7, Fisher, GB
V202, 6HU8/ELL80, ITT, Germany
V203, ELL80, Fisher, W. Germany
I've done an inventory of the tubes. Lots but not all original.
Unit Ref#, Type, Brand, Origin
Tuner T-59
V1, 6GK5, Sylvania, USA
V2, 6AQ8, Standard Tuner, GB
V3, 6BA6, Fisher, GB
V4, 6AU6A, General Electric, USA
V5, 6AU6, Fisher, GB
V6, 6AU6, Fisher, GB
V7, 6BA6, General Electric
V8, 6BE6, Fisher, GB
V9, 12AX7, Fisher, GB
V10, 12AX7, Fisher, GB
V11, 12AX7, Fisher, W. Germany
V12, 12AX7, Fisher, W. Germany
V13, EM84A, Fisher, Austria
V100, 12AX7, Fisher, W.Germany
V101, 12AT7, Fisher, W. Germany
Amplifier A-59
V201, 12AX7, Fisher, GB
V202, 6HU8/ELL80, ITT, Germany
V203, ELL80, Fisher, W. Germany
The FISHER ELL80/6Hu8 was either made by ITT or Tele. Look for a diamond or square (depending on how you look at it) in the center of the bottom.
The 6AQ8 in V2 can be substituted by a 6DT8. It will cost 1/6th of what a 6AQ8 will. And it works just as well. All the 6 series are fine. I prefer GE's for 6AU6, 6BA6,6BE6 but that's me.
The EM84 is either a Valvo or a Phillips.
With the 2nd woofer being identical they are probably the originals. The Ambassador used 2 mids to the Futura 1 mid. Could have also used a different Woofer also.
Larry
The 6AQ8 in V2 can be substituted by a 6DT8. It will cost 1/6th of what a 6AQ8 will. And it works just as well. All the 6 series are fine. I prefer GE's for 6AU6, 6BA6,6BE6 but that's me.
The EM84 is either a Valvo or a Phillips.
With the 2nd woofer being identical they are probably the originals. The Ambassador used 2 mids to the Futura 1 mid. Could have also used a different Woofer also.
Larry
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
The Ambassador is in the House
Where it adds tons of class--see first pic below, the 'before' picture of the living room setup. (I know, I know, but it was supposed to be temporary.... )
Most of the electronics visible in the first picture are still there. Only things we've lost are the Onkyo tape deck, and the subwoofer. I don't expect to miss the subwoofer. Thump actually doesn't do a lot for me.
The doors open version shows where the Boston Acoustic A-60's, the VCR, and a Hitachi TRQ-242 cassette deck have been situated. The last is a bonus that came with the Ambassador. Haven't tried it out yet, and don't have great expectations. But it's small enough to fit in the center bay there, which is not true of 17" wide units.
BTW, nothing is hooked up yet except the TV and the Blue Ray. The latter, seen on top left of Ambassador in photo, has since moved into the stack rack.
The living room stereo basically serves me for ambiance playing, and A/V audio. Since the ambiance goes on a lot, I suspect the speaker doors are coming off. Have a problem in that the right one invades the path to the kitchen when open.
The future plan is that the TV is replaced by a flat screen on wall, at least some of the restored Fisher components go back into it, and the stack to the left disappears. This may involve surgery to the Fisher. I'd like to fit more source components into it, and a center speaker (3-channel, at least, is essential for modern video). But this is all in the future and really TBD. The Hitachi may point to a useful tactic: compact components.
For now, the last pic shows the current location of all the Fisher parts--in boxes in the basement. Haven't even had time to find good places for the boxes yet. Restoration will happen, but there's other projects to get back to first, now that the console is out of the carport. The Smaller Advents in the foreground, for example, are half-refoamed at this moment....
Where it adds tons of class--see first pic below, the 'before' picture of the living room setup. (I know, I know, but it was supposed to be temporary.... )
Most of the electronics visible in the first picture are still there. Only things we've lost are the Onkyo tape deck, and the subwoofer. I don't expect to miss the subwoofer. Thump actually doesn't do a lot for me.
The doors open version shows where the Boston Acoustic A-60's, the VCR, and a Hitachi TRQ-242 cassette deck have been situated. The last is a bonus that came with the Ambassador. Haven't tried it out yet, and don't have great expectations. But it's small enough to fit in the center bay there, which is not true of 17" wide units.
BTW, nothing is hooked up yet except the TV and the Blue Ray. The latter, seen on top left of Ambassador in photo, has since moved into the stack rack.
The living room stereo basically serves me for ambiance playing, and A/V audio. Since the ambiance goes on a lot, I suspect the speaker doors are coming off. Have a problem in that the right one invades the path to the kitchen when open.
The future plan is that the TV is replaced by a flat screen on wall, at least some of the restored Fisher components go back into it, and the stack to the left disappears. This may involve surgery to the Fisher. I'd like to fit more source components into it, and a center speaker (3-channel, at least, is essential for modern video). But this is all in the future and really TBD. The Hitachi may point to a useful tactic: compact components.
For now, the last pic shows the current location of all the Fisher parts--in boxes in the basement. Haven't even had time to find good places for the boxes yet. Restoration will happen, but there's other projects to get back to first, now that the console is out of the carport. The Smaller Advents in the foreground, for example, are half-refoamed at this moment....
Attachments
relaximus
Consoles 'Я' Us
Hmm, would it be possible to (temporarily) swap the doors and hinges (left for right, etc.) to allow them to open inwardly? Just a thought.
Dave
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
Hmmm. Good thought. Might work. I'll look into it.
DonQuixote99
just give me some truth
Ix-nay on reversing the door. Too may cats here. Sometimes they run and bump into things. If one bumps into the reversed door, they'll slam the handle into the middle of the next door. That might leave a mark.
So far hanging open in the stock way isn't proving so big an issue....