FISHER Futura VI followed me home, MA!

larryderouin

I'm VERTICAL and Breathing...most of the time.
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Saw this in the baltimore CL. Guy didn't know how much it was worth, and wanted to trade Ham equipment for it. I offered my old Hallicrafters S-85 Receiver (tube AM and SW..1955-59 vintage). Deal was struck.

Top Laquer is flaky, cabinet in great shape otherwise. It was in his basement and he's fire it up once a month or so for the last 15 years. His WAF was :thumbsdn::thumbsdn:.

Two of the knob caps were missing. Turns out that consoles save them in the damnedest places. Clenaed the cabinet with a weak solution of Simple green and a greenie. Then Orange oil. 3 coats later it's not soaking it up in 5 minutes on the top. The rest of the cabinet got 2 coats.

Electronically it has the 59T Tube Tuner / pre amp and the 59A Hybrid amp. The BIAS Pots are missing and a marking on one of the Filter caps "MOD" indicates that the fixed bias mod was done. Gotta check on that for the diode FISHER used for my 49A. One RCA tube and the rest original FISHERS or ITT for the 6HU8's. All tested high side of good even the12ax7's.

Dirty pics 1st.
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Ever seen a WHITE MIRACORD 10F?
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Dirty Panel with all knob covers just glued.
(Add pic here)

All Doors closed. All the doors slide open and closed.
Add pic here)

Larry
 
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Larry, I was wondering if you were going to end up with that one. Did you get an owner's manual with it? If not, I have one that came with a lot of Fisher catalogs I got off eBay a few years ago. It's yours if you want it.
 
Control panel is 1/4" thick billet aluminum!! Gold tone is NOT nicotine now!
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This is AFTER 1 coat of Feed and Wax on the front & sides, and 3coats on the top. The first two coats were soaked up and dry in 5 minutes and 8 minutes. The third coat took almost twenty minutes to soak dry. Haven't buffed it yet. I'll put another coat on it in the morning and let it sit for an hour. Then it comes apart for DE-OXIT and Cap list.


It's running right now. The sound is still tubey, but not as much as a full tube set. Compared to the 49A it has more lower punch, and the highs slap ya upside the head if you don't watch it. Mids are full and lush. And this is on AM! Haven't run it thru the other modes yet. But if this is an indicator, this amp/tuner gets :thmbsp: :D:D:D :thmbsp: One more thing...the :music:jack is great. It pushes my PRO-4A's(yeah 1 A) damned close to what only my SX-1010 does Quality wise. The sound is balanced without any one level(Bass,mid,highs) pushing out and dominating.

I like the contempory look better than French PROV. (About the only thing the French did good was Bridgitte Bardoe!)...Yeah I'm showing my age. SO WHAT! I still got the hots for Sophia Loren too! Classy Lady.

Larry
 
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Wow, she really cleaned up nicely. I was about to hit the sack when I saw your response to the gentleman in NJ with the 64 Philharmonic he's trying to find a good home for. Is that one going to be headed for Glen Burnie, too? What phono cartridge did you find on that Elac? The manuals says that's supposed to be a Fisher 10F turntable with a Pickering V-15F/AT. It does say The Fisher on the tone arm, though. I'm confused but that may be because I'm up past my bedtime.
 
Red; I think 3 FISHERS and 5 Magnavox's are the Limit. The Wife gave me the old "Eyeball over the glasses" look when I dragged it in the house.

Owners Manuals will be greatly appreciated. Gotta get a S.M. from Rick Stout.

I still have to re-finish the top. Steel wool and Howards restore a finish, and maybe just a SATIN clear. This doesn't have the Clear shiny veneer that the Electra has. They veneered pressboard, stained, and cleared it in Satin. Nice too. The Electra is actually Plywood. No pressboard at all in it. But this Futura is Pressboard. Weird.



It came with a Miracord 10F with the Pickering V15F/AT. If I didn't know better I'd swear it was outta my '65 Electra. Funny that FISHER changed over to the Miracord on the Futura in '65. Maybe they got a good deal on them.

I'll pm ya with info for the manual. Thank you muchly.

Larry
 
It developed an intermittent in AM. Sounded like RICE KRISPIES after I switched to AM and wouldn't get a station. Whack it upside the top and it would settle down. So i took the tuner out, disconnected the 4 gang function switch, tore it down and cleaned everything INSIDE with Q-tips and De-Oxit. Put if back together, the non a whim......Spent two hours re-soldering EVERY JOINT under the Hood. Switches, pots, junctions, tube sockets, EVERYTHING!!! Replaced the tuner and IT WORKS. However I can only get two stations in STEREO. A Mexican Station about 4 miles from the house, and what I call the "MUZAK" station WLIF. This is with a Dipole, a modified quad (home made) or a set of Rabbit ears(best reception). Guess I'm gonna have to put the 150 mile VHF/100 mile FM Channel master back up on the roof. Gonna test all the tubes on a HICKOK 6000 this weekend. Maybe the 6gk5 has something to do with it. It's reading right @ 59 on the EICO 625. Not real happy with the EICO, but it does give me a basic go-nogo that I can use to weed out what I'm gonna test on the HICKOK.
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I pulled my component stack down in the Living Room and replaced it with the Futura. Added a PIONEER CT-F4242 Cassette, A Pioneer Dv-440 DVD/CD Player, Pioneer SR-202W Reverb Unit, and the AKAI GX-370. All hooked up, no problems. Wish I had a R2R that would fit inside, but the cassette and Cd Player are in there.
I might take the printer off the table to the left of the console and put the GX-370 there. It's about 4" wider than the side unless I turn it 80* or more.

EDIT 09-19-2017: The Miracord 50 is an addition AFTER Restoration. Since this post's original date, the console has been moved to the dining room with the EXECUTIVE taking it's place in the Living room. The GX-370 is now in the spare bedroom as the EXECUTIVE has an AMPEX 1250 built in now.

Larry
 
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is that a 12 quart all-clad pot with the dirty wash water in it ?? if so i bet she was giving you the eye... :D
i know not my business, nice looking console anyhow
 
is that a 12 quart all-clad pot with the dirty wash water in it ?? if so i bet she was giving you the eye... :D
i know not my business, nice looking console anyhow

Not Clad. Cheap Chinese Stainless. That "WAS" my soup making pot. She uses it on the Wood stove to humidify the house. Goes from full to empty in about 18 hours. Cuts WAY DOWN on the STATIC when going for ANY knob on the receiver. Besides it was HER IDEA!! It's been like that for about 6 years now.

Thanks for all the kudos on the console. Definately needs an alignment. Put the 100 Mile Channel Master on the roof today. No Change on the meter or multiplex circuit. If I hold the relay closed, it really garbles the sound. So i'll live with FM in MONO for now. The two stations on AM I listen to play 50's rock and roll/soul and some 60's blues/soul/rock and roll. (one on the eastern shore across the bay and gets about 1/2 on the tuning eye bar....Which is better than ANY of the FM stations.)so I'm happy. I had to move the AKAI to the small table on the left as I kept having to move it everytime I wanted to pull the console out to check a connection or change a tube.

Red: Service Manual for this thing is rarer than hens teeth. Rick Stout didn't have it. No Sams that I can find. Almost no info at all on the 59A/59T. But I did find a link for the F590 that may turn up a SM. I sent the guy an email. If it comes up, I think we should make a database of SM's for TUBE Fisher, like the PIONEER section has. And add the Owners manuals, brochures. I've a couple '68/69 console, R-494, and XP-60 brochures/owners manuals.

Larry
 
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I'll buy that for a dollar....

If it comes up, I think we should make a database of SM's for TUBE Fisher, like the PIONEER section has. And add the Owners manuals, brochures. I've a couple '68/69 console, R-494, and XP-60 brochures/owners manuals.

Larry

I'd pony up what I have. (which prolly ain't much...:D)
 
i thought the handles were a little thick... that would be the stuff you see in cartoons, but hey its a fisher... :D
 
That's seriously classy looking (though not as classy as Sophia Loren, and I say that as a relative youngster compared to her). Oddly enough, my favorite part is the white Elac/Miracord. I gave my dad a 50H for Christmas last year...I guess it's a true gift when you really really want to keep it for yourself, right? It ran like a watch. Looked very similar to the 10H.
 
That's a great preamp, just make sure to keep the push button switch contacts clean. De-oxit works well for that.
 
When I opened them up the buttons on the plastic push button was ok, it was the slides inside the bakelite covers that were dirty. I de-oxited when I first got it, (spray and push like hell multiple times), then two days later the intermittent. Taking them apart and going after them manually worked. Was a PITA to take the switches apart and getting the mback together so they work, but worth it.

For some reason I never took pics of the amp/tuner. Batteries for camera charging right now. Gimme a few hours to get pics of the amp and tuner.
 
Nudies;

TUNER 59-t

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The FRONT PIC is of a parts unit '65 Ambassador . The only diff btwn the AMB & the FUT is the name on the Front panel.

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AMP 59-A
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The top pic is mine, but the underside pics are from another AK'er who diagrammed out the caps and resistors. Did a nice job too.
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Note that the P1,P2,P3,P4 pots have been removed. And "MOD" written on Power Cap. This is part of the Fixed BIAS Factory Mod. This may use the same parts as the 49-a amp modification. When I get the S.M. I'll compare the S.M.'s. The 49-a in my Electra VIII does NOT have this mod (yet....maybe). If parts available, yes. If NLA, No.

I looked @ the 49-a and 59-a and the only difference I could see was the addition of 4 transistors and their associated caps and resistors. Other than that they are essentially identical.


Larry
 
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Found a ELAC MIRACORD 50H in black with a Shure M55E (Bad Stylus) on it with a wood base for $5 last week. Brought it home, cleaned and lubed it, basically gave it the once over then put a V15F on it.

Dropped in where the 10F was with a minor bit of wood removal. It doesn't show when the 10F is in there. With the speed indication on a wheel under the right side control panel and connected to the speed lever via a rod, the front needed a dip cut out. After that it was plug and play. It looks at home in there too. Everything else fits, Long,short, and 45 spindles. So it's good to go.

I just got done giving the 10F the once over. It's ready for a plastic bag and storage as a spare. Need to re-veneer the base from the 50H and it's done.

I went thru the tubes again and the 6gk5 was arcing when 1st started up. Changed out and started getting all FM stations in stereo. It definately needs an alignment. But it pulls them in pretty good. Not as well as I'd like but pretty good. The the 6BE6 AM tube cracked and lost vacuum and i lost AM. Spare 6BE6 (my last one) and AM again. Gonna have to go to the TV Shop Saturday for a tube run.

Larry
 
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Some Pics not on the Photoscrewed site. I'll have to check my other desktop in the shed. Might be a week or so. My 85 year old Dad fell off the front steps at home landed on his face and broke his #2 Cervical vertebra.(In other words he broke his neck!)Sunday evening. NO Loss of conciousness and NO neurologic-deficit. Scheduled for surgery sometime tomorrow. I have to drive to Seaford Del, to pick up Mom, then drive all the way back to Annapolis to the Hospital there. 170 miles round trip then make the trip again afterward. I've been to Seaford 4 times since Monday morning at 0200 when she called to get me to take her to hospital in Annapolis. No Sleep Sunday/Monday night and 3 hours last night. Might get 3-4 hours tonight depending on when surgery is scheduled for.

Larry
 
Some Pics not on the Photoscrewed site. I'll have to check my other desktop in the shed. Might be a week or so. My 85 year old Dad fell off the front steps at home landed on his face and broke his #2 Cervical vertebra.(In other words he broke his neck!)Sunday evening. NO Loss of conciousness and NO neurologic-deficit. Scheduled for surgery sometime tomorrow. I have to drive to Seaford Del, to pick up Mom, then drive all the way back to Annapolis to the Hospital there. 170 miles round trip then make the trip again afterward. I've been to Seaford 4 times since Monday morning at 0200 when she called to get me to take her to hospital in Annapolis. No Sleep Sunday/Monday night and 3 hours last night. Might get 3-4 hours tonight depending on when surgery is scheduled for.

Larry

Dang Larry... I'm sorry.




In our other conversations, you have inspired me to put all the other projects on hold and dive into the '63 Futura F-58...
First I doused the Fisher in a combination of Scotch-brite and Howards and Watco. I removed both pulls ( didn't like the wood screw from back method of attachment) and threaded the 1/2" wood of the cabinet with a 1/4-20 tap and did the same to the pull about 1/4" deep. I then glued in some short quarter-twenty rod pieces and used a little glue to thread them into the cabinet. They aren't pulling out again. Then I pulled her guts out. Then...I spent about 2 hours dragging the Philco out of the house and the Fisher in. I did it by myself, 2 inches at a time.
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In the foreground is the 680a amp and the preamp-tuner with faceplate and schematics. In the background is all the other projects that were put on hold because of you ;) Thanks.
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