Getting the Most Out of My Fisher 800B

+1 on the Russian PIO's!!

Read up as much as you can on all the 800b rebuilds. There are a lot of common denominators across all the Fisher receivers; by reading the 500c's, the 800c's as well as the 400's, you'll get a very good idea of what the baseline changes should be. Those coupling caps is but one change.

As has already been mentioned, there is that rectifier to contend with, a thermistor, "fusistors," to name just a few. Then there are the "one step beyond" mods like the IBAM, screen stabilization, etc. All these things will pop up in your reading. Make note and begin compiling a laundry list of things to be done. In the end the unit, your safety, and your music will be better off in so many ways.

jgannon said:

@notdigital and @Winters - I DO know that the selenium rectifier was replaced with a silicone one.

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Oh good!!

@jgannon,
You have a VERY CLEAN looking 800B! Nice! I wish you the best with your rebuild/upgrade. The other rebuild threads here will be very helpful. I have a 500C that's in need of some upgrading as well, and I'll be referring to the threads that you mentioned. The members here are very helpful.

Nice pics! Most new members give us pictures shot from approximately 30' away, but yours are nice and close!

Oh, and small points department, it's "silicon", not "silicone".

And you're correct, your tech really did quite a bit of work, so that's a very good thing. Now you get to "fine tune" it. :yes:

Yeah, I'm definitely gonna be doing that, looking for the common denominators as you say. What would I do, let's say to get these Russian coupling capacitors. Can I order them somewhere and then ask the tech to install them (with the other things that I come up with)?

And I will get that picture up that you asked for. Again, I do know that he replaced the rectifier. Are there different grades of rectifiers?

And may I ask you briefly what those one step beyond mods are that you are talking about? Would they change the sonic signature in any way?

notdigital said:

+1 on the Russian PIO's!!

Read up as much as you can on all the 800b rebuilds. There are a lot of common denominators across all the Fisher receivers; by reading the 500c's, the 800c's as well as the 400's, you'll get a very good idea of what the baseline changes should be. Those coupling caps is but one change.

As has already been mentioned, there is that rectifier to contend with, a thermistor, "fusistors," to name just a few. Then there are the "one step beyond" mods like the IBAM, screen stabilization, etc. All these things will pop up in your reading. Make note and begin compiling a laundry list of things to be done. In the end the unit, your safety, and your music will be better off in so many ways.

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Thanks, and good luck with your 500C. Stay close! Maybe you can post a thread on what you're doing.

IMTubeHead said:

@jgannon,
You have a VERY CLEAN looking 800B! Nice! I wish you the best with your rebuild/upgrade. The other rebuild threads here will be very helpful. I have a 500C that's in need of some upgrading as well, and I'll be referring to the threads that you mentioned. The members here are very helpful.

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Thanks. I had to take some of the shots a couple of times in that they initially came out a little blurry. But they came out ok the second time.

And yes...silicon...silicon. LOL! Unless Fisher made a Super 8 receiver at some point!

I also feel badly about not initially describing accurately the work that was done on the 800B. I do remember my tech saying he had replaced some of the capacitors, but I guess I was focusing on his saying that he didn't do a complete restoration. I have a tendency to not want to open these receivers up, not having too much experience with electronics. But every time I do, I'm glad I did. And if I had done that before I posted this thread, I wouldn't have given everyone the wrong impression, and would have highlighted all the great work that my tech did do. So again, my apologies on that.

That being said, there also might be specific caps and resistors etc. from people's experience with these great amps and receivers that might work more to maximum effect, which will hopefully bring out my Fisher even more. So, I'll continue to research, but if anyone has any specific comments based on the photos, please feel free to comment or make any recommendations. If more pics are needed, please let me know.

Thanks.

Gannon

Fisherdude said:

Nice pics! Most new members give us pictures shot from approximately 30' away, but yours are nice and close!

Oh, and small points department, it's "silicon", not "silicone".

And you're correct, your tech really did quite a bit of work, so that's a very good thing. Now you get to "fine tune" it. :yes:

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The Russian PIO's are readily available from a variety of sources. I've had very good experience with a guy who sells at auction out of California ("The Art Of Tone" off the top of my head---no affiliation--- Around $15 for a quad. An excellent bang for the buck!!!!) And yes, give em to the tech and say you want these in. Kinda like that commercial where the couple plops down a faucet and says, "Build the house around this!" It really shouldn't be a problem since the restoration parts throughout are cheap and you're really paying for his time, equipment and expertise. In other words, I don't think he'll be making his money selling you parts.

I'm not aware of any of the modifications advocated in this forum changing the "Fisher sound." Most are equipment protection modifications like the thermistor helping to keep that precious on/off switch alive. Others, like installing an x1y2 cap, are to make sure you and your loved ones don't end up un-alive. As you read and review threads you'll begin to see mandatory and optional changes you can make, all of which add to you and your equipment's safety. I and others could compile a laundry list of things to do but, IMHO, you'll be far better of reading the wealth of info here and developing your own reservoir of knowledge from which you can draw. It'll put you in a better position to discuss what you want with the tech of your choosing.

Just to follow up: I don't mean to imply that you should "learn yourself, kid." It's just that once you've done a sufficient amount of reading, you'll have a good baseline to understand what everyone here will certainly recommend. And believe me, the recommendations will come, fast and furious! It'll help the conversation significantly both in speed and quality which is always helpful, now and in the future, when the next guy comes along. :yes:

One more thing: Don't feel bad re not elaborating on what your tech already did. Pics are probably the most revealing tools in this place. Guys here can spot a wire out of place and those that you've posted are plenty. Perhaps later someone will ask for a more detailed pic of a certain section but for now, its more than enuf.

Thanks for all your input. Good to know about the Russian PIOS, and that what we're talking about here won't alter the sonic signature of the Fisher.

And I totally dig what you are saying about researching this! I'll check out more threads and report back.

notdigital said:

Just to follow up: I don't mean to imply that you should "learn yourself, kid." It's just that once you've done a sufficient amount of reading, you'll have a good baseline to understand what everyone here will certainly recommend. And believe me, the recommendations will come, fast and furious! It'll help the conversation significantly both in speed and quality which is always helpful, now and in the future, when the next guy comes along. :yes:

One more thing: Don't feel bad re not elaborating on what your tech already did. Pics are probably the most revealing tools in this place. Guys here can spot a wire out of place and those that you've posted are plenty. Perhaps later someone will ask for a more detailed pic of a certain section but for now, its more than enuf.

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jgannon said:

Thanks for all your input. Good to know about the Russian PIOS, and that what we're talking about here won't alter the sonic signature of the Fisher.

And I totally dig what you are saying about researching this! I'll check out more threads and report back.

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Jgannon - the Russian PIO's sound great in my 800B - I've got well over 200 hours on them since my rebuild. I have since used them in a recent Magnavox 196 SET rebuild and they sound terrific in there as well. Highly recommended, especially for the cost vs performance ratio.

Hi gguillot - Thanks for corroborating that! I'm still in the middle of reading your thread. I'm not sure what make my coupling capacitors are. Sony6060 suggested they might be Mallory M150s. The printing on them says 0022K 400 PEA, 400v CMC. I don't know if that would make them Mallorys or something else. I'm going to get back to your thread shortly. May I ask you, was there anything that you felt was particularly key, as far as components used, in your rebuild? And thanks for weighing in!

gguillot said:

Jgannon - the Russian PIO's sound great in my 800B - I've got well over 200 hours on them since my rebuild. I have since used them in a recent Magnavox 196 SET rebuild and they sound terrific in there as well. Highly recommended, especially for the cost vs performance ratio.

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jgannon said:

Thanks, and good luck with your 500C. Stay close! Maybe you can post a thread on what you're doing.

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Sorry I'm so late with the reply on this, Mr. Gannon .. I haven't learned yet to subscribe to each thread that I post in or else I'll forget where I put my posts..Der Der Duh...
Yes, I'll keep close as you said when I start my rebuild...I have A LOT of homework and planning to do before I start. Looking up the plethora of restore/rebuild/upgrade threads is just one of the things I need to do. I'm currently restoring my first Fisher...a FM-100-C tuner which sounds awesome for a little guy. I'm about 1/2 way through it and have a thread on it with pics. Hope yours goes very smoothly. Take it nice and slow is the best advice I feel qualified to give, since I'm a rookie to FM receivers and tuners. I'm a tube amp guy, and I like the DIY stuff especially...

IMTubeHead said:

Sorry I'm so late with the reply on this, Mr. Gannon .. I haven't learned yet to subscribe to each thread that I post in or else I'll forget where I put my posts..Der Der Duh...
Yes, I'll keep close as you said when I start my rebuild...I have A LOT of homework and planning to do before I start. Looking up the plethora of restore/rebuild/upgrade threads is just one of the things I need to do. I'm currently restoring my first Fisher...a FM-100-C tuner which sounds awesome for a little guy. I'm about 1/2 way through it and have a thread on it with pics. Hope yours goes very smoothly. Take it nice and slow is the best advice I feel qualified to give, since I'm a rookie to FM receivers and tuners. I'm a tube amp guy, and I like the DIY stuff especially...

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Thanks for your reply IMTubeHead. But I didn't mean to give the impression that I myself would attempt the rebuild! I admire you guys who can do this kind of thing yourselves. I am going to see if I can bring it someone who can work on it and bring it to its optimum level. Good luck with your rebuilds and definitely keep us all informed on your progress.