Fisher console

w4rtc

New Member
Hi all
I have a fisher console, the model number on the cabinet back is P-410-M the chassis number is R-30S. It has a 15" speaker in bottom of cabinet facing down and a 8" mid range and a 4" high range facing front . I have replaced all of the caps and some resisters, it sounds very good. :music: The record changer is a RC-121 MK2 I put a new idler in it and it works fine. The cabinet looks like a 1958 provence. I am going to clean the cabinet and see if it needs refinishing, I am going to try to keep the orignal finish. Does anyone know if I can get any info on this chassis I connot find any history that this unit every existed :sigh: if anyone does, where can I find it :worried:. Any help will be great.

Joe
 
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Well it has a stereo preamp for the PHONO and AUX but it is mono FM and AM It is to be used with the R30 (I think) for stereo. I will try to get some pictures on here as soon as I can. Yes it has 2 6BQ5 tubes P-P.
Joe
 
What is it with all the REALLY obscure Fisher consoles turning up this week? (See also Scstocks' 1961 Executive V in the Fisher Consoles 1959-1965 sticky above.) Yours is yet another whose existence is only proven by the examples that keep turning up. It's a 1959 Provence II which was probably also known - confusingly - as a Medalist II. They way Fishers were sold in the 50s was first by "Series" (in your case, Medalist II) which denoted the level of equipment - chassis, changer, speakers, etc. - and secondarily by which cabinet it came in (in your case, the Provence). The "M" at the end of your model number indicates the wood/finish of the cabinet (in your case Mahogany - my personal favorite).

Perhaps the Provence II was a special model offered through one of Fisher's higher volume dealers like Liberty Music in New York. Or possibly it was a very short production run that didn't make it into any of the three known versions of the '59 catalog or even into the one known price list from early that model year (dated Oct. 1958). I only know its model name from the chassis database compiled by the Fisher Professor. I'll have to ask him if he has any more information on your model the next time I talk to him.

A few years ago there was what I believe to have been a Provence II listed on Craigslist just down the road from me in Fredericksburg, Va. They had the chassis listed erroneously as an R-305 and were asking, I thought, quite a high price. Foolishly, I didn't even contact them to see if the price was negotiable. I think the R-30S is one of Fisher's more interesting chassis from the early stereo period. I prefer its horizontal dial layout over the similar 610-ST. Plus it has the tuning eye and proper 8 and 16 ohm speaker taps. I also like the way the ferrite rod AM antenna is mounted high above the RF shield so that it can be rotated. It reminds me of a radar antenna on a Cold War era destroyer.

I recently acquired an R-30S myself in my "dream console", a '59 Contemporary II. There was another Provence II that surfaced here at AK about a year ago but I don't think there were any pictures to prove that it really existed. I'm looking forward to seeing some of yours - the Fisher console equivalent of Bigfoot. In addition to our consoles, Fisher also used the R-30S in the '59 Normandy II console (Custom Electra II Series) for which there is at least catalog proof of its existence. Then there is the most obscure Fisher chassis of all (from the early stereo period): the R-31S, used only in the 1960 Ambassador III as far as I know. I believe the only difference between the R-30S and R-31S is that the latter has jacks for adding a multiplex decoder, a feature conspicuously absent on the R-30S.

Where and how did you acquire yours? Do you know anything about its ownership history? I presume you don't have any documentation since that probably would have given you the model name. I wonder if there's any chance yours originally came from either Fredericksburg, Va. or Lancaster County, Pa. (where the previous AK Provence II owner identified himself as being located).
 
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Well it has a stereo preamp for the PHONO and AUX but it is mono FM and AM It is to be used with the R30 (I think) for stereo.
I think it's the 30-A you're thinking of. That was the stand-alone power amp Fisher used in their model 560 'Stereo Companion' which they advertised as: "...all you need to complete your stereophonic installation." Which, of course, YOU WILL need to do.
 
Well it has a stereo preamp for the PHONO and AUX but it is mono FM and AM It is to be used with the R30 (I think) for stereo. I will try to get some pictures on here as soon as I can. Yes it has 2 6BQ5 tubes P-P.
Joe

It could also be connected to the mono version of that console with the R-20 chassis for stereo operation. Late R-20 auxiliary inputs are actually marked "stereo" for just that reason. Doing so would have given the well-heeled Fisher enthusiast FM-AM simulcast stereo capabilities, along with dedicated mono and stereo turntables.

Quite frankly, the stereo companion speakers weren't that much smaller than the Contemporary or Medalist cabinets, anyway.

My "ultimate" Fisher console setup (outside of one of the high-end cabinets featuring the 400-CX2 preamp) would be a pair of C800 Contemporary cabinets - one with the R-20 and one modified with the R-31S (or an R-30S upgraded with MPX in/out capability).

The stock speaker system used in the Contemporary and Medalist cabinets sounds quite good, though IMHO a Foster horn (easily found in Zenith Allegro speakers) makes a very nice replacement for the cone tweeter.
 
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Hi all
here is photo's of my fisher as you can see it is a P410-m and the first photo shows the date built?. The cabinet is a little rough but don't think I will do anything it it except clean it some more maybe a little wax. I would like to find some info on this altho it works very good the 15 inch speaker was missing I have two Magnavox 15inch 8 ohm speakers I am going to try. They are good quality. You were correct Red it was 30-A that was used with (I am guessing since I can find no info). Another thing I have the door handles in the cleaning process. The speaker in the photo's is the magnavox speaker I am planning on using. I guess I have bored you guys enough so take a look and if anyone has any info on these I would appreciate it.


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I hope these photo's turn out o k as it is the first time to post pictures.

Joe
 
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O K Red I knew I would forget something this unit came from Atlanta GA. My Son lives in Atlanta and we were down visiting, I went to a "junk store" and found this, I passed it up at first when I got back home I called my Son and had him to go and pick it up (he even paid for it and would not let me pay back) so that is the history as I know it, there are some knobs with the brass insert missing guess I will have to look out for one. Is there a "buy-sell" part of this board??
Joe
 
Become a subscriber, search in Barter Town and you'll find the correct Jensen P15Q woofer for sale.
 
Am I missing something? I subscribed to barter town, I cannot find anything about radios, speakers or anything electronic. All I see is games and something about Winhammer 40k. Am I at the wrong place? Joe
 
Am I missing something? I subscribed to barter town, I cannot find anything about radios, speakers or anything electronic. All I see is games and something about Winhammer 40k. Am I at the wrong place? Joe


I'm afraid so.

If you subscribed, you would have an "AK Subscriber" icon next to your name like I do, so I'm not sure where you went. You don't subscribe to Barter Town, you become an AK Subscriber, and then you have access to Barter Town here at AK. You apparently went to some other web site by mistake. Ain't no games here.:no:

You need to go to the AK Home Page and click on "Subscribe", which will take you here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/payments.php

Click on "Cost" and pick what you want. You can do one year only, one year repeating, or multiple years. It's $25/yr. A great value for what you get!
 
Hi all
I found a complete set of "original" speakers so I did not have to use the magnavox speakers. The unit sounds great. The changer has some rumble in it don't know why. I put a new idler in it. I have a fisher chassis only (a chassis number 61b) cannot find what model it would have been. Push pull 6BQ5 tubes. Thanks for the comments
Joe
 
Joe:

I had this whole long post almost all made up and went and looked at the pictures again and realized the thread is 2 years old except forthe last post. D'OH!!! Anyway.

Sounds like the motor mounts are shot. Put it on a lift, and break out the air ratchets...:scratch2::smoke:..Uh Wrong Forum! Motor mounts is right, lift and air ratchets aren't.

Take out the changer, and clean all the old hardened grease out of the mechanism. As you clean the grease off add a light skim layer of White Lithium Grease to all the sliding joints, etc.(not a lot, think Brylcreem...a little dab'll do ya). The spindle bearing (which the platter sits on) will come out once the cam gear is pulled back or removed. Clean it thoroughly, and pack the bearing race with a mix of 3 parts lithium grease to 1 part Sewing machine oil. It'll be thick enough to stay on but thin enough to let the platter spin nicely. Clean and oil the spindle shaft, and the center hole on the platter. The rumble is caused by hardened motor mounts. The motor hangs off them and they isolate the rumble from the chassis. Over the years they compress and get hard, When they get hard they transmit the rumble. You can get new ones from Gary at www.thevoiceofmusic.com . Put it back together and start having some fun!

Larry
 
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I have *almost* the exact same unit (mine has an R20, not an R30-S). Fix it up, hook up an iPod or CD player to the TV input and enjoy. I've also replaced the stock turntable with a Technics SL10 (a definite improvement) and use it a lot.

-D
 
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