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Fisher Receiver?

cruisaire

cruisaire

PGA and Rainwater!
Mounted in a console. Says "diplomat" D-38, 290-T. MPX board is present, all "made in West Germany" amd "made in Holland" tubes are intact, and outputs I see ( and assume) make it a stereo receiver. Anyone have any info on it (yes I searched "our" archives with no success). Looks like Don C may have passed on one before. Speakers are labelled "Fisher Speakers". :scratch2:
 
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When Fisher sold consoles with the electronics already installed they almost never used the same model names & numbers as on units sold individually. Units like yours are not uncommon. Since they aren't "standard" Fisher models, and they don't have a cabinet, they don't fetch much when selling. If it worked and had knobs, perhaps $100 or so. Finding schematics may be a little difficult unless you can figure out which of the Fisher receivers of the era are the same, electrically, as your Diplomat D-38, and find a Sams for it.

Having said that, if yours works you're going to be very pleased with the sound. The tuner section is excellent, and that is definitely an add-on multiplex board in your second photo. So, if it's working also, you will have stereo. This appears to have 7189/6BQ5 outputs, so it's probably in the 12 w/ch range, more than enough with decent speakers. If the speakers in the console are good, you'll have a great intro to "vintage" sound. If you hook it up to a modern pair of quality speakers, you'll be very surprised at how good it will sound.

I'm hitting the road on a trip and won't have access to the internet for a few days, but I'll check in later and see how it's going.

Good luck!
Clay
 
Thanks Clay! I have all the knobs and faceplate from the console as well as the Garrard AT6 TT. Recapping and cleaning it up is in order (as well as building a cabinet). Running it up on the variac now and WOW what a sound! Dare I say it....I'm not sure I can.....here goes.....it might be even better than a McIntosh. :sigh: I'm gonna dub it the "poor man's 500". :yes:
 
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I can't make out what the output tubes are but it looks like the tubes just in front of the OPTs are 12AX7s, so it looks like it is a SE. I can see the multiplexer so the FM is stereo. I looked in the Sam's catalog and the numbers and name are not listed. The knobs are not the same as early Fishers.

Does it say made in US on it? Could have been made in Europe (like West Germany) under liscense to sell in PXs and BXs. Just a WAG there.
 
can you get a detail shot of the printing under 'The Fisher' in the middle of the chassis? Might help to track this one down.
 
If you are not into building cabinets, Merrylander has recently built cabinets for a couple of Fisher 400 receivers he restored. Pic's are posted somewhere on AK, if you do a search. Am sure he will build one for you or share his thoughts if you are doing yourself.
 
Chassis Number 290 T, doesn't say "made in" anywhere on it but does say Fisher Radio Corporation, New York in several places. Console model is D-38. Tubes out back show on the tube layout as ELL80/6HU8 push pull power out, left and right with ECC83/12AX7s opposite as voltage amp amd phase inv, left and right. I'll take more pics after soccer practice.
 
About 8-10W per channel. Sams index doesn't list D-38 or 290T - any other numbers? Look for EIA codes on filter can and tubes, transformer. Might help narrow it down.
 
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6HU8 is not in the GE book or my small RCA book leading me to believe more that it is European. My substitution book lists it though in Euro to US.
 
All I can find on the 6HU8 is 'European Radio Tube', the heater voltage is 6.3 volts, and it's a dual pentode that can do 6w per side.
 
Oops, looks like the party might be over. Left channel is pumping out the volume. Right channel barely reaches conversation level. Cleaned MPX tube pins (carefully noting and replacing them exactly from where they came) and others. Checked the speakers, deoxit the balance pot. What next? AN inherent problem with Fisher or is it time to start pulling caps? :worried:
 
Can't say I know much about those power tubes, but it is a pretty small envelope for a dual pentode.

Because of age, yea I would recommend changing out the coupling and filter caps. First you need to find out if all your tubes are working.
 
Yep, that's what I was afraid of. While on the variac last night, the previously strong channel went down to a low hum. Stopped the juice immediately and unplugged the ol' girl. Did I go too far? Did I likely damage it badly? Is this the point of no return that countless other newbies are warned to avoid? One of the ELL80 tubes was quite warm/hot (even after waiting several minutes I was barely able to hold it comfortably when removed). Sounds like local tube testing is next. Without a schematic and voltage values, I'd just be guessing at values with the DMM.
 
bet the coupling caps to the outputs are leaky.
i remember a set like yours that came in like that.
would play nice a few minutes and distort then fade away.
iirc there is a selenium rectifier that needs to go too.
those outputs are used in several german radios.
working on an emud that uses a pair of them.
 
Those caps are soon to be replaced with orange drops, but I can't see a selenium rectifier (at least like those I've seen before) anywhere under there. I'm accustomed to seeing the "square sandwich" variety. The tubes have now all been labelled and will get tested tomorrow by someone with a better tester than I have. I don't think the tubes or transformers took a bad hit (might have without the variac). I just don't need to push my luck anymore.

When I said the underneath had plenty of room, I was full of crap. It's gonna be a tight squeeze to get all these unsoldered and the replacements will have to be covered with "spaghetti" and mounted above the resistors. I'm having a tough time seeing values on many of the caps, but can just barely make out the values if I use a flashlight and gently bend the caps slightly. A bunch of these caps are labelled "W. Germany" so I guess it was over there at some point in time. Looks like Buzzy Bee has the brass caps for the knobs so that should help out as well.

EIther nobody gets rid of these units or nobody collects them, ain't nothing on the web about this model of "The Fisher Anniversary Series" consoles.
 
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