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Pilot stories

OK here's mine: in 1974 I knew a guy who was working at a recording studio, and they were upgrading some gear, so he gave me the old stuff: A Pilot SA260, SP216a, SP210, 680 tuner (NOT fa680, just 680, was TOTL in 1960) and a multiplexer. The amp I used for a while, and stupidly modified it, lost the cage and now it needs a refurb. I need to do some research to see who would be best to do that.

The SP216a I just got working last year (!), and it is a fantastic sounding unit, competitive with my Audible Illusions is most ways.

The SP-210 needs a power supply to run (it can use the PS from the SA260). One of these days I should either get a PS built or sell it.
 
Pilot 110 Integrated here - pulled from a console. Gone over by a local tech and caps replaced. I still have to build a cabinet for it but it's my primary music system now driving a new pair of Boston VR3's. Sounds amazing.

Leads me to two questions - how does this unit stack up to other Pilot gear? And - what is the 'center speaker' connection all about? What is actually getting sent there?
 
Some gear have a life of their own

I see a pilot tube console in my future, also a Maggie. a Moto, another fisher, probably more German stuff, etc, etc...
 
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Redboy said:
(and you all thought Jack was the Pilot guy around here... :smoke:)
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hey, thru my hands passed 3 different SP-210's, 1 SP-216, 2 or 3 240 Integrated, 2 245 Integrateds, twice the same pair of 768 ??Integrated and whatever tuner was with it, 2X Every gold faced receiver Pilot ever made, also, 3 SA-232, 2 SA-260, 1 super rare SA-264, 2 pairs of Pilot AA-904's, a solo unit and thats all I remember...:-)
 
Sandy G said:
I have a little "Different" Pilot, a TV-37 3" TV from 1947-48...They were the FIRST TV under $100-$99.95 in '48, & were marketed to college students, & as a "2nd" TV in a day when most people were still trying to get their 1st set. One reason they were so cheap was that they used an oscilloscope CRT, & the "Cabinet" was actually a heavy cardboard on a wooden plate. Nevertheless, a lot were sold, & quite a few have survived, they are popular w/us old TV guys. You see them reasonably often on That Auction Place. They ARE kinda "Cute", have a very definite "Antique" look about them, & are always conversation starters. Mine has a "Green" phosphor replacement CRT, the original "blue" phosphor ones are long since gone. Be warned, however, if you decide to get one-1940s TVs are INSIDIOUS creatures..You get one, it gets lonely, so you hafta get another one...Then you'll see ANOTHER Forties set that wants to come home w/you, first thing you know, you'll have TVs sittin' EVERYWHERE...Mbwahahahaha...
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If that unit is working, can you post a picture???:yes:
 
Nate,

I got a Pilot SA-232 amp from Rex Everything too. Did this amp ever pass through your hands? Am just curious if it is the 2nd SA-232 mentioned in your original post?

Scott
 
BmWr75 said:
Nate,

I got a Pilot SA-232 amp from Rex Everything too. Did this amp ever pass through your hands? Am just curious if it is the 2nd SA-232 mentioned in your original post?

Scott
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I can answer this, to the best of my knowledge this one was not with Nate. This came from member Sheltie Dave. I'm not sure where he got it.
 
Here is the story of my $200,000 pilot 402.
About 15 years ago my company changed hands and I decided to venture out on my own. In a moment of total stupidity I bought a restaurant/bar/banquet facility.
Long story short, after 3 years of 18 hour days and no money, I figured it was time to go back to engineering.
I left the restaurant about 200k poorer, but still have the pilot 402 that was on a shelf when I bought the place.
 
BmWr75 said:
Nate,

I got a Pilot SA-232 amp from Rex Everything too. Did this amp ever pass through your hands? Am just curious if it is the 2nd SA-232 mentioned in your original post?

Scott
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Scott, that second SA-232 is still here, and I'm not letting it go anytime soon. :)

Saratoga48 said:
Here is the story of my $200,000 pilot 402.
About 15 years ago my company changed hands and I decided to venture out on my own. In a moment of total stupidity I bought a restaurant/bar/banquet facility.
Long story short, after 3 years of 18 hour days and no money, I figured it was time to go back to engineering.
I left the restaurant about 200k poorer, but still have the pilot 402 that was on a shelf when I bought the place.
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Best Pilot story yet! :thmbsp:
 
Saratoga48 said:
Here is the story of my $200,000 pilot 402.
About 15 years ago my company changed hands and I decided to venture out on my own. In a moment of total stupidity I bought a restaurant/bar/banquet facility.
Long story short, after 3 years of 18 hour days and no money, I figured it was time to go back to engineering.
I left the restaurant about 200k poorer, but still have the pilot 402 that was on a shelf when I bought the place.
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:D

My first home theater cost $137,000. $4000 for the equipment, $133,000 for the divorce it caused......seriously.
 
My Pilot 245A introduced me to hifi, and introduced me to tinkering/building. Bought non-working on craigslist out of a garage in Long Island, rebuilt with the help of people on this here forum...lighting that thing up once it was finally working was like a revelation. Suddenly the records I had been collecting for so many years had so much more to tell me...
 
specialidiot said:
whoa... something I rebuilt 2.5 years ago is still running?

REALLY???
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Yes, it still works .... thanks for doing a great job on the rebuild !
The 602 took a back seat for a few months to my recently rebuilt
Scott 222B but I have moved it back to the front now.
 
Pilot SA 260

About 2 months ago I went into my local used vinyl store and the owner remembered I had some tube gear. He took me to the back room of his store and low and behold there was a SA-260 power amp and Fisher 400C pre amp. After some haggling I traded him a turntable and $300. After a rebuild by Don Sachs and all parts from Jim McShane, it sounds fantastic. Attached are a few pics of the rebuilt unit. There's a little more to the story before it found its way to Don Sachs, I'll tell more later. :thmbsp:
 

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Here's my Pilot story, I bought a Pilot SP-215 about 17 yrs. ago for $20 from a young customer who had robbed the tubes for his guitar amp. He thought I might want it due to the fact that I always had an Eico HF-81 playin' tunes at the shop. I didn't have any preconception of its' capabilities. I looked it up in Kittelsons Hi-Fi spotters guide and lo and behold, seemed to be first year stereo and totl for Pilot. Took her home and plugged it up to my Mac 240 and went WOW. She hasn't left the house yet. I've babied her a little bit at a time as needed. I don't think she's a party girl, like some of the Pilot's you guys have passed around. My lil Pilot, I think I'll keep her. And love her and squeeze her and call her George! lol
 
Redboy said:
Local good guy and AK member goat67 did a little Pony Express work for a deal that ekmanning5 and I worked out, when I traded my fully refurbed Pilot SM245A to Ed for the SP210 and SA232. We were both happy until we realized the SA232 was toast. Thread here. :sigh:
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This is not the end of the story of this particular Pilot 232 chassis.

After stripping down the burned amp, Nate decided to get rid of the charred chassis- I wound up with it. I stripped and polished it, and built THIS onto that chassis:

attachment.php


Finished build write-up:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=211763

Thread about construction (a.k.a. "10 lbs of ____ in a 5 pound bag" :D ):
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=209894

I just had that amp back in my hands, recently, after about 4 years of faithful service driving Cornwalls in my friend's system. We finally got around to putting a much-improved volume pot (Alps Blue Velvet) in there. It's hard to believe that the thing could sound much better, but it did. It images like a mofo now. Better definition, due primarily to better tracking of channel volume levels with each other. My friend is even happier with it now, than before! :banana:

BTW: That same friend (who is a master wood restorer) is now helping me build a wooden enclosure for my own Pilot SM245A integrated amp, that I've been restoring for a while. That's fitting, I think. :thmbsp:

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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tpageal said:
About 2 months ago I went into my local used vinyl store and the owner remembered I had some tube gear. He took me to the back room of his store and low and behold there was a SA-260 power amp and Fisher 400C pre amp. After some haggling I traded him a turntable and $300. After a rebuild by Don Sachs and all parts from Jim McShane, it sounds fantastic. Attached are a few pics of the rebuilt unit.

attachment.php
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Man, Pilot really did have a penchant for packing a lot of stuff onto a small piece of real estate, didn't they? That's about the level of occupation that my 10-5 amp wound up with...

Must have been some pretty good engineers there at Pilot, to make that crowded of an arrangement work as cleanly and well as it did...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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