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Finally, an Eico HF-81

specialidiot

specialidiot

Break Glass, Smoke Lucky
I finally grabbed one of these cuties... well except this one isn't quite so cute. I really didn't want to pay the nearly $500 that the good ones are fetching, so I settled for this cosmetically challenged fella. I ran it up on my variac this afternoon, and it came up fine. All of the tubes except for two of the 6BQ5's are original Mullards, the other two are GE branded, and look just like the other two. I'll put it on the shelf for now, as I have a couple of projects I need to finish up.

Yeah, it's a bit on the grungy side, the previous owner smashed the face plate and fashioned a piece of plywood.

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Looks like it should clean up OK

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It's obviously a kit build, but the work doesn't look too bad. The sockets are in good shape, and caps should be easy to replace.

eico08.jpg


Not too sure about this fuse holder though!

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aaaaaand, I'll have to do something about this. It actually doesn't look all that bad from the front. :)

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The ugly ones will love you better when you clean'em up anyhow. Nice lookin iron on that one.:yes:
 
I've seen worse, if the iron is good you've got a nice amp.
Grease up your elbow, fire up your iron and google the livin' daylights.
There's probably more written about this amp than any other tubeliscious concoction on the planet.
My suggestion> replace bad components, listen, consider mods, listen again, reconsider mods.
Join the Yahoo Eico group. Search before you ask often answered questions.
Post lots of pictures here. If your significant other likes to do babe shots holding the gear, make sure you focus on the gear.
Renew your membership.
Send me a bottle of the good stuff ofr this sage advice.
That's all I can think of!
 
I was at a ham guys house today. Basement full of gear. Shelves of transformers, amps, and at least 2 of those Eicos. I will be seeing about one of those!
John
 
Thanks all, yep Frank the iron is good, but no way is my wife posing for you freaks. Maybe the neighbor lady......

I'm thinking of a full strip here, as the grunge is insidious. It seems that the HF-81 is worthy of such an effort, and since there aren't any rivets to drill out it should be fairly straight forward.

I signed on to the Eico group the other day - I'm hoping to find a BOM for it!
 
sloober said:
I was at a ham guys house today. Basement full of gear. Shelves of transformers, amps, and at least 2 of those Eicos. I will be seeing about one of those!
John
Click to expand...

These are goofy rigs, the on/off is part of the treble control, balance is called "focus"..... Which to me is part of the attraction.

Cool though, I love how they look light, but actually weigh about the same as a concrete block!
 
specialidiot said:
These are goofy rigs, the on/off is part of the treble control, balance is called "focus"..... Which to me is part of the attraction.

Cool though, I love how they look light, but actually weigh about the same as a concrete block!
Click to expand...

I have an HK pre that has a treble/power switch like that. Seems weird to me to.
 
jaymanaa said:
I have an HK pre that has a treble/power switch like that. Seems weird to me to.
Click to expand...

I've seen that on Magnavox consoles, too. I really don't have a clue why it was done. A volume pot makes sense - but a tone control makes none.
 
Hello!

Nice score! I know I need to get a life when I come home from work, pour a beer, throw a frozen pizza in the oven and drool over a rusty old Eico tube amp. Keep us posted on the progress of the project. Peace. Robert
 
roberts67 said:
Nice score! I know I need to get a life when I come home from work, pour a beer, throw a frozen pizza in the oven and drool over a rusty old Eico tube amp.
Click to expand...

i guess i need a life also as i do the same thing:D

congrats on the eico specialidiot :thmbsp: i think itll clean up well also.that is also one amp i regret selling:sigh:
 
Jeff, careful with the ON/OFF switch on that thing - that's a weak point in the design, and once they fail you'll be hard-pressed to find a replacement.

When I had mine, I plugged it into a power strip and used the switch on the strip to power it on and off. Saved wear and tear on the amp switch, and I didn't have to monkey with the treble control every time.

I'd like to hear that amp sometime, just for old times sake! :thmbsp:
 
Good advice Nate. I was probably going to put it on the shelf until I can do a full strip and rebuild, but maybe I should just replace the power supply and coupling caps and have a go at it.
 
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