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Just bought my first tube amp...

J

JDG

Member
Yesterday, I bought my first tube amp: a Fisher 800B. It had been placed in a custom-made cabinet years ago by the previous owner, so I don't have the cabinet (and there, apparently, may never have been one). It appears that in 50+ years, it has never been cleaned. Before I get in there with my can of air, vacuum cleaner, and Deoxit, what do I need to know?
 
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It will likely need to be re-capped. Has it been powered up recently? Even if it has, don't do it again.

Never operate it without a load connected to the speaker terminals.

If you're not comfortable with restoring old electronics, find an expert. This is an excellent unit capable of great performance, and when operating properly will sound very good. It deserves top-notch attention.
 
Up until the estate sale, I'm under the impression that the unit was in regular use. I tested at the sale, as I'm sure dozens of other shoppers did as well. It powers up just fine and everything works. AM and FM and phono worked perfectly, as far as I can tell.
 
Congrats. That's a great find. I'd recommend re-posting in the Fisher forum, got some extremely knowledgeable and helpful Fisher addicts there that will most definitely be of more assistance than I. Pics would be nice too! Good luck.
 
All here will be happy to know that I dropped off the Fisher at the shop today to get it recapped, new rectifiers, etc. It's in good (experienced) hands now!
 
Very good! I don't know if a place like that exists where I am, good luck! Can't wait to see it!
 
Here are some pics of the Fisher and extra tubes sold with it but go with another unit:
 

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More tubes:
 

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And pics of the Empire 208 that came with the Fisher:
 

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While i'm not a console aficionado. That's just beautiful!
As far as that antenna bracket being broken, I kind of remembering someone here making one on a 3D printer. You might want to look into that at some point.
 
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Congrats on a great piece of Fisher history, this needs to be moved to the Fisher Forum as there are Fisher experts and lots of help there!
 
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