Fisher 800c original tubes

[friedtwinkie]

Hey all- I’m new here. I got lucky and scored a fisher 800c at an estate sale last weekend. I’m thrilled. I just removed it from the wood cabinet and already have a couple of questions.
1) looks like it has all original tubes. If no issues with tubes should I look to replace anyways?
2) I’m guessing it hasn’t been serviced in a long, long time- if ever. Is this something a complete newbie can do, or should I seek a professional? It has a bit of distortion that pops up now and then whether it’s on FM or phono.
Thanks!

 

[dcgillespie]

Welcome to the AK Fisher Forum! Nice score on your 800C! To (start) answering your questions:

1. Not really -- unless you just want to hold on to the original Fisher tubes. If the output tubes are good, they are quite valuable......

2. That largely depends on your desire and motivation to learn and do the work. There are plenty of folks here who have done the work quite successfully, who started out with little to no knowledge at all as to how to even attempt the work, let alone do it. There are plenty of very knowledgeable folks who are very active on the forum, and have first hand knowledge of your receiver and the modifications that should be done to it. If you are interested at all in learning about your receiver, there's nothing like learning from doing -- and the satisfaction that you did it when it's operating properly after you're finished!

Good luck with your 800C! (I love mine......)

Dave

 

[thornev]

Fried... I was a newbie and I brought a 500-C to life and like Dave said, it's a great feeling of accomplishment to hear the glorious fruits of your work... with the help of the gurus here who go way beyond the call of duty to help others who are willing to put in the hours (and cost). If you are an audio buff like many of us, I'd recommend, if you have the time and some money (for tools and parts), that you go for it. Thorne

 

[larryderouin]

I have 2 800c's. Both have been subject to the Safety/reliability mods that were dreamed up here with Dave's help. I've had them both about 8 years now and both perform superbly, even tho I haven't gone so far as some of the guys, but they are absolutely reliable, even more so than some newer S.S. stuff I have.

The output tubes are WESTINGHOUSE. These are the NUMERO UNO tubes to have. The last tube on the right of the tube pic shows the EIA coding. 337 is Westinghouse's manufacturer code. 530 is a date code. 5 being the year (1965) and 30 being the week. It breaks down to the 1st or 2nd week of August 1965 for THAT Tube. I would presume that the rest are very close.

 

[AlTinkster92]

Welcome to AK! That 800C looks great and you've found the premier place for help in getting it running reliably. Get those tubes tested and treasure those rare tan based Westie OP tubes.

 

[hugo454]

Oh yeah, that is a keeper for sure

 

[Catmanboo]

The output tubes are the hardest-run tubes in the thing. Fisher designed their operating parameters at the near-maximum to coax a little more power out of them, at the expense of longevity. Bear in mind that 50 years ago, new ones were cheap & plentiful. That most assuredly ain't the case any more! There is beaucoup info in the forums on correcting this. Highly recommended in order to preserve your originals. As Dave says, theyre like gold! The rest of them can run reliably for years with no problems. Best to leave the originals in their original sockets if they all test good. Good luck with it, learn & enjoy!

 

[Fairlane]

You are in good hands with the experts on here. I was wet behind the ears when I started my 800C restoration. With their help and the great threads in the archive
it is now good to go for decades to come hopefully.

Took my time and planned it carefully doing it in stages. Do you have anytime behind a soldering iron?

Congrats and welcome too.

 

[Tim D]

Welcome to Audiokarma friedtwinkie!

You've got all the experts already responding, but I'd add that:

Be careful if you decide to do the work yourself. There are very high voltages in tube equipment that are very dangerous. Read up on high voltage safety with tube equipment if you are going to do the work yourself.

Also read up on threads here on restoring Fisher equipment. It will give you a sense for what might need to be done if the unit has not been recently updated.

Please do get those tubes tested in a tester that is reliable and trusted - just to make sure there is nothing seriously wrong with them such as gas leaks, shorts, etc. You've got a good chance on each tube that they are good. I've had great luck with vintage tubes that I've received in the past and haven't needed to discard any yet. (I did buy some units that came without tubes and that is another issue entirely.)

I don't know if others agree, but I personally wouldn't power it up if it hasn't been updated. Some parts fail due to age (even or especially if it has been sitting unused) and can take other costly parts with them such as tubes, transformers and more. There are procedures for updating and bringing it up on power for testing as it is updated - please read up.

Many here on AK started where you are with nothing (assuming) and learned along the way. Take stock of how ambitious you are and if you want to do it then it is all possible with the forum's help.

BTW, I'm not an expert, but I can share what I've learned from others such as all of the above comments. I'm still learning and gosh is it fun!

 

[bhamham]

That's a beautiful 800C, worthy of restoring and will bring many years of enjoyment!

 

[larryderouin]

Welcome to Audiokarma friedtwinkie!

You've got all the experts already responding, but I'd add that:

Be careful if you decide to do the work yourself. There are very high voltages in tube equipment that are very dangerous. Read up on high voltage safety with tube equipment if you are going to do the work yourself.

Also read up on threads here on restoring Fisher equipment. It will give you a sense for what might need to be done if the unit has not been recently updated.

Please do get those tubes tested in a tester that is reliable and trusted - just to make sure there is nothing seriously wrong with them such as gas leaks, shorts, etc. You've got a good chance on each tube that they are good. I've had great luck with vintage tubes that I've received in the past and haven't needed to discard any yet. (I did buy some units that came without tubes and that is another issue entirely.)

I don't know if others agree, but I personally wouldn't power it up if it hasn't been updated. Some parts fail due to age (even or especially if it has been sitting unused) and can take other costly parts with them such as tubes, transformers and more. There are procedures for updating and bringing it up on power for testing as it is updated - please read up.

Many here on AK started where you are with nothing (assuming) and learned along the way. Take stock of how ambitious you are and if you want to do it then it is all possible with the forum's help.

BTW, I'm not an expert, but I can share what I've learned from others such as all of the above comments. I'm still learning and gosh is it fun!

Plus he slept at a Holiday Inn Express last week. LOL!