petehall347
the brandy coffee man
yes too late for me right now .plus suffering a heatwave here .
Fisher RS-881A Amp Repair Fail? Has its days come to an end?
- Thread starter Bassblaster
- Start date
Bassblaster
Super Member
Well, i guess its there for anyone else who is having problems with there RS-611, 881, 881R and 881A
Bassblaster
Super Member
Ok i think i got this. i poked pin 17 and 18 on IC303 with no buzz from left. if i hook my speaker to the right output i get buzz when i touch those pins. i it seems as there is a break in between R701 and IC303 output.
EDIT: Adding on, i touched pin 21 and 22 on IC303 and i had buzzing on right, swapped speaker to left and touched pin 1 and 2. i had buzzing on 2 but 1 was dead.
EDIT: Adding on, i touched pin 21 and 22 on IC303 and i had buzzing on right, swapped speaker to left and touched pin 1 and 2. i had buzzing on 2 but 1 was dead.
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Bassblaster
Super Member
ARE YOU SHITTING ME! PETE IM GOING TO COME OVER TO THE UK SO YOU CAN SLAP ME! MY PROBLEM WAS MY FADER WAS ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT!
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EWKJFBJSADFGIUOWETRUW34IOEYHG437hrefbsdfuigikusdgfkjlsdgfkjsadgfkjsdalflg8062347890
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Bassblaster
Super Member
So after some more testing, i tried putting my tablet into the phono input and to no surprise it works...but i noticed something...Does phono have a build in EQ? i had the EQ all flat and even at a low volume the bass was really pounding! i put my tablet into the AUX input and with the 63Hz slider maxed it didn't match the bass phono had when EQ was flat.
2nd thing i noticed, when running on phono the treble is so DULL! i dont think its supposed to be that way
2nd thing i noticed, when running on phono the treble is so DULL! i dont think its supposed to be that way
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petehall347
the brandy coffee man
phono is for phono only ..very low level signal from a record deck .
it has an eq to make the records sounds sound right .
it has an eq to make the records sounds sound right .
Bassblaster
Super Member
Yes i'm aware, i had my tablet's volume on 2 because of that
Yes, right channel is still off but with all the testing and replacing parts ive done the problem has to be the STK chip. which i dont feel like buying a new one just yet.
How exactly does the STK chip muffle sound instead of completely dying? you would think if a transistor, cap or whatever else is inside those things was bad it would not work at all on that channel.
Going off from the electrical bits, ive been doing some detailing work on this like sanding the LEDs on the front and i re painted the cover. it was all scratched up. it looks like it did when it was new!
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Bassblaster
Super Member
Looks good for now.
Bassblaster
Super Member
Welp looks like i got another problem. when on FM i cant get the stereo light to come on. i have a radio station about 2 miles from me and even that i cant get stereo. i only get it on 1 channel but the light flashes. its not solid. its like a perfect timer, is on for 1 second then off for 1 second perfect everytime. and i can hear the sound change when it goes on and off. Would the antenna cause that? of is something out of alignment?
i tried to record it so yall can see and maybe hear but my cam doesnt want to turn on.
EDIT: i was able to use my phone but the damn thing recorded vertical. oh well nothing new.
i tried to record it so yall can see and maybe hear but my cam doesnt want to turn on.
EDIT: i was able to use my phone but the damn thing recorded vertical. oh well nothing new.
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Bassblaster
Super Member
So no idea why the stereo light flashes and i cant get stereo on my local stations? possible its because of my antenna which may or may not be a single wire going into my ceiling.
Bassblaster
Super Member
Uhh buddy i only get a handful of stations where i live and ive tried them all. 92.1 96.7 97.7 and 104.9. i only listen to 92 and 96. 93.5 in the video is not a local station. for another attena, i dont have a proper antenna, but i have been thinking about getting one of those big 50 mile ones that you put on your roof. If it was simply bad signal why would the stereo light be flashing? should it be off like my local stations are?
EDIT: so about 92.1. if i tune to 92.2 i get stereo. same with 96.7. if i go to 96.8 i get stereo
EDIT2: Yup. and it really stereo too as i can hear the sound change
EDIT3: im confused. if i got from 92.2 back to 92.1 i get stereo. but if i go from 92.0 to 92.1 i dont. OK
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Bassblaster
Super Member
The fruits of my labor, a friend of mine came over and he was stunned on how good this Fisher unit looks. i didn't post it alot but i cleaned it in and out. along with detailing work. i re painted the cover, cleaned all the grum off the board. cleaned all the buttons and sliders, sanded the LEDs for better coverage. he was just stunned. i was playing a tape and it actually took him a bit to realize it was on a tape because it sounded so clear on my Realistic deck. im not to worried about the FM being off, it adds character to the unit lol
i want to call this project done, but it still needs a new STK chip
i want to call this project done, but it still needs a new STK chip
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elnaldo
Lunatic Member
Perhaps the tunerr is a bit off, try thsi same at both ends of the dial scale, tuning stations around 90MHz and 106MHz. Perhaps we can deduce the problem...Uhh buddy i only get a handful of stations where i live and ive tried them all. 92.1 96.7 97.7 and 104.9. i only listen to 92 and 96. 93.5 in the video is not a local station. for another attena, i dont have a proper antenna, but i have been thinking about getting one of those big 50 mile ones that you put on your roof. If it was simply bad signal why would the stereo light be flashing? should it be off like my local stations are?
EDIT: so about 92.1. if i tune to 92.2 i get stereo. same with 96.7. if i go to 96.8 i get stereo
EDIT2: Yup. and it really stereo too as i can hear the sound change
EDIT3: im confused. if i got from 92.2 back to 92.1 i get stereo. but if i go from 92.0 to 92.1 i dont. OK
Glad it's working and sounding fine
Lesterbest
Super Member
By now the OP know why Fisher never successfully made a viable transition from tube to SS.
Bassblaster
Super Member
Nah, i think fisher made some really good gear. sure there was your share of junk. but let me name just a few i think stand out. CA-800/880 CA-87x CA-276 the early CA-2xx amps were total BPC like the 271 and 273. and i'm just in the 80's integrated amps. i haven't went into receivers, tape decks, EQ's and so on.
i like my Fisher gear and i'm going to continue to acquire, restore and use my Fisher gear.
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Bassblaster
Super Member
Ok ill do that right now, remember like the volume the tuner is digital.Perhaps the tunerr is a bit off, try thsi same at both ends of the dial scale, tuning stations around 90MHz and 106MHz. Perhaps we can deduce the problem...
Glad it's working and sounding fine
it seems as the whole scale is .1 off. at 92.1 i need 92.2 to get stereo light. and at 104.9 i need 105.0 to get stereo light. i cant go lower or higher because i dont have many stations where i live.
ggregg
Super Member
As has been recorded here many times, most believe that the last US made Fisher SS gear was quite good for the times. My avitar is the signal strength/Autoscan meter of a TX500, which is an awesome receiver for 1970. When Avery sold out to Emerson and production moved overseas, the build quality didn't drop off too much initally. The early Japanese Fishers and Studio Standard models were pretty comparable to most of the competition.
It was when Sanyo bought them out in 1975 that everything changed. I sold Fisher in the late seventies, early eighties, and it was our entry level stuff. Build quality varied from atrocious to iffy and it wasn't even in the same ballpark as Fisher gear a decade earlier. Even the powerful CA-800 was brittle compared to gear a little more expensive. But they were powerful and cheap, so they sold. Their smaller amps and receivers had switchgear that felt like it was lifted out of a Yugo. It was cheap, and you got what you paid for.
