Need Help with My Fisher 610 Stereophonic Console

Sung

New Member
I just made my first move into vintage audio when I purchased a Fisher Stereophonic 610 console yesterday. It includes a Garrard RC 121 turntable and an am/fm tuner. It's got a few problems and would love some advice on how to proceed. But first I'll give a little history on the console

I purchased it yesterday at a moving sale. The owner didn't know much about it or the history, he bought it at an estate sale a few years back. When I came through the door, it was playing music through the fm tuner and sounded ok. He said the turntable was working earlier but when he switched it to phono, there was very little sound unless he turned the volume way up. And when we tried adjusting the volume, there was a lot of static. After we agreed on a price ($70), I waited a bit for the tubes to cool down before I moved it into the car.

And so now it sits in my living room. I haven't turned it on because I read on some other post that there are some things to do before I turn it back on. And so now, the questions start:

1. What are the first things that need to be done before plugging it back in? I would love to be able to at least listen to the radio?

2. What are the first things to check on the record player? Or is it a problem with the volume knob?

3. What books do you recommend for a newbie like me? I'm specifically looking for something that will get me trying (pretty much the operative word) to figure this out. I found a few books on amazon, I was hoping some of you can comment on these books:
A. How to Repair Old Time Radios by Clayton Hallmark
B. Antique Radio Restoration Guide by David Johnson
C. Valve Radio and Audio Repair Handbook by Chas Miller
D. Electronic Classics: Collecting, Restoring and Repair by Andrew Emmerson
D. Beginner's Guide to Reading Schematics by Robert Traister

Btw, I don't have any particular electronics training. I remember bits and pieces of Ohm's law and such from high school physics.

I know that's a lot. Thank you so much for reading this post and any comments are much appreciated. Hopefully I'll be able to chime in and help somebody else in the future. Thanks.
 

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If it's been in use recently you might be okay using it for a short while but it will need some tlc soon- sooner the better really. First you should be cautious and do some research- enough to know that there are high voltages inside tube amps- 300 volts would not be unusual- nor would 450 volts. If you are going to use it at all I would not leave it unattended or out of sight/ hearing range for more than a couple of minutes before restoration. Too many variables...
At a minimum I would expect to replace the electrolytic capacitors and selenium rectifier (if present). The electrolytic caps look like cans (and are often called that in passing). These store voltage even when the device they're used in is not turned on and/or has been unplugged. If you can't resist poking around in there use 1 hand only (keep the other hand behind your back) so you don't send voltage from one hand to the other hand through your body stopping your heart. This site is full of information- I would start by looking at other posts here and begin learning how to identify parts- what they're called and their function in circuits. Welcome and good luck!
 
Service and Operating manuals for the 610 are on the FISHERCONSOLE site. NOTE: You will need the Serial # of the chassis to determine if its' a '59 or '60 for the correct Service manual.

Unless you have the companion "560" cabinet, you are running a MONOPHONIC unit. The 560 has a separate amplifier and speaker for the 2nd channel to make stereo.

As you said it was running when you got it, there isn't really anything special you need to do immediately. Basically cleaning of the controls, and dusting everything off. BUT!!! The Electrolytic and paper caps are 50+ years old and DO REQUIRE replacement. You can check the can caps for excessive heat when running. If they are hot, and it's not from radiant heat from the tubes, shut it down. As Ths364 noted there are voltages inside that approach 450Volts. Not someplace for indiscriminate poking around. The books you mentioned are a good start. Look over on the Tube or DIY Forum in the STICKY threads for one like "everything you need to know about......." it should have links to NEETS course, other manuals, tool lists, etc. Also look for "The Idiots guide to De-Oxit---Revisited"; you;ll need this for cleaning the controls. That accounts for the static onthe volume control.

There are threads in the FISHER and Tube Forum (most have been moved from the tube forum tho) on the 510/610 and 560. Also the `1960 Custom Electra is basically a 610 and 560 in one cabinet. (Same guts). Any of the threads concerning these units would apply to yours.

Add your location by changing your profile. You never know, there might be a knowledgeable FISHER owner nearby who would be able to give you soe pointers/help.

Welcome to the Club!

Larry
 
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Congratulations on you new find.

Here are the links on the Fisher web site for the model 610 consolette:

http://fisherconsoles.com/consolette series 610.html

http://fisherconsoles.com/consolette series 610 1960.html

One link is for the 1959 and the other is for the 1960 model. There are service manuals and owner manuals listed for free download based on which model you have.

As far as books to recommend I am biased.

For learning about theory, the number 1 selling book at Antique Radio Classified magazine is Practical Radio Repair vol. 1 by Ray Bintliff. Old Time Radios: Restoration & Repair by Joseph Carr is also a good book. The Beginners Guide to Reading Schematics by Traister is also a good seller but gives you more information on schematics then you will need in a lifetime.

The other books you saw on Amazon I don't think are presently being sold by either Antique Electronic Supply or Antique Radio Classified.

As suggested by the other posts, the first thing you really need to to do is to replace the electrolytic capacitors as well as cleaning the controls and tube sockets. Other capacitors will need to be replaced.

The turntable problem could be something simple such as a new stylus.

Just don't use it to much until you do the necessary work.

One last thing - be careful in cleaning the dial glass. You will wash off all the numbers and letters if you clean the wrong side of the dial glass!

Best of luck!
 
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Thank you all for the helpful comments. I'm a newbie to all this. I just bought a solder kit and practice board from Radio Shack and I've downloaded the schematics for my console. I'm hoping to get started on this after Xmas. Happy holidays!
 
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure that you drain the power supply capacitor (multi section can cap) to ground through a 300kohm / 2W resistor (clip one end to ground and use a probe clipped to the other end to touch each solder lug on the can cap). Use a multimeter to check the voltage difference between each lug afterwards (set it for VDC) and make sure it measures < 1 volt before you start putting your hands in there. That's too nice of a console to miss out on listening to because you're deat.

There are some good videos on how to solder online. There is one that was done by NASA that is really excellent. Good luck and be safe!

-D
 
Do you have any recommendations on where to buy capacitors? I've found a bunch of different online places. I would love to just purchase a kit of some sort. Thanks.
 
Mouser, or Digikey are probably the most popular. There are NO kits for the 510/610 units. You have to do it the old fashioned way. open it/them up and visually verify each cap for value and voltage. DO NOT depend on the manual to be correct 100%. It's a guide and FISHER made running changes to circuitry AFTER the manuals were produced. Once you've verified each part, check it against the manual and make appropriate changes in your manual.


Nichicon UPW or UKL series are good sub's for the lytics onboard right now.
 
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