Fisher 202 Futura Series receiver

Tube Radio

Tube Radio

Super Member
I just won a Fisher 202 Futura Series receiver on that auction site for $41.00 not including shipping. According to the discription there is hum in one channel. Unfortunately it don't have the wood case, although I think it was optional.

I had one a few years back that had blown the output transistors and drivers. I replaced them and it didn't work so since I didn't really need it I didn't try fixing it and wound up using it for a couple field coil speakers. What I did for mine was to install a couple green LEDs in place of the meter bulbs which made the meter light up green. I will do the same to this one. Thankfully I still have everything to the other receiver except the driver boards so I got spare parts if needed.

With this receiver I may start by replacing the electrolytic caps and upgrading the main filter cap to a larger value as that will help keep the voltage more stable. I am thinking of replacing the electrolytic caps in the audio signal path with audio grade electrolytic caps.

The hum in one channel could be something as simple as one of the adjustments being off on one of the driver boards.
 
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I got the receiver today. Upon powerup there is a hum in one channel, but it plays decent. I swapped driver boards and the problem moved to the other channel. I checked a few resistors and some were out of tolerance so I will replace all resistors on the driver boards and see what I get. The voltages between both driver boards and the output transistor pairs didn't differ much so the problem cannot be too serious. I have yet to decide if I want to do a wholesale electrolytic cap replacement.The electrolytic caps on the boards are Nippon Chemicon. Thankfully I still have the other receiver as I had to replace three indicator bulbs in this one.

Except for a couple barely noticeable nicks and dust on the boards that are under the top vent the receiver looks excellent.

I will look in my box of Radio Shack 1/4W carbon film resistors and see if I have what I need. The only thing bout changing the electrolytic caps in the audio signal path is it will most likely change how the receiver sounds. Given my experience with the other 202 I had and ran for a few years as is if the caps on the driver boards check ok I will leave the caps alone. Everything else seems to work properly except I do believe the dial pointer is off a bit for the FM. I will try and pick up an AM station and see if it is off by the same amount. If not I will have to realign the FM circuitry. Not too hard to do. What I like about this receiver is its ability to drive headphones with the speakers on or with the speakers off. Given the amp is capacitively coupled to the speakers I am thinking about inserting a time delay relay with two resistors so that the caps will charge through the resistors and not the speakers especially since I will most likely be using the receiver with the small Automatic Radio speakers I have. I had installed a 4 ohm resistor internally in series with the speaker positive terminal since I used them once at work on a receiver that could not handle a 4 ohm load. That will help the speakers handle the amp better. What I should do is install a couple 8 ohm L-pads on the speakers as they will allow me to adjust the max level to the speakers and also keep the speakers safer from the initial charge up of the caps.
 
I found that the transistors between both driver boards read differently on the diode test of my DMM so I am gonna replace all the transistors on the driver boards.

I will not use NTE cause their parts is what fried the 202 receiver I had.

I need subs for these transistors

2SC708A
2SA537A
2SA565

Did I mention that the receiver is nearly in pristine condition :D

Since I'm replacing the resistors and transistors on the driver boards I may as well replace the capacitors too.
 
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I decided to go ahead and replace all electrolytic caps. I used Nichicon audio grade electrolytic caps wherever possible. Only cost me $19.70 not including shipping.
 
The receiver is fully restored except for a few caps I forgot to order. I am running my Pioneer PL-530 turntable through the Fisher's phono input then from the record out jacks into my main stereo. I an mot exactly sure, but I think the phono pre is lacking in the bass somewhat or maybe I am just used to how the phono pre sounds in my Scott LK-72 since it has tubes and the Fisher is solid state. I do notice that the upper treble is just ok through the Fisher's phono pre. Nothing like a vacuum tube phono pre.
 
201.......202........Pretty Close....

Howdy, Tube Radio......I just found this thread....I posted about my Fisher 201 Futura Series....on 12-29-10....

My post is in the Fisher forum....take a look....I think that the 201 and 202 are pretty close....mine seems like a very solid unit....It's not in my main rig, so it doesn't get full time use..................willhowl:tresbon:

P.S. I wish I had your Tech skills.........I'm an infant...........W

P.P.S. I DO know that TOOBS make a BIG Difference......
 
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A late update. The receiver is working good and I use it at work daily with a pair of DIY speakers and a powered sub. The receiver itself sounds most excellent for a solid state receiver.

I had to make an output for the powered sub though which was done by using two 1K resistors connected to the wiring going to the remote speaker terminals which was disconnected so that I could insert a couple capacitors there to form a high pass filter since I am using a powered sub. I then removed the ground wire from one of the negative speaker terminals so that I would have a place to attach the other ends of the two resistors. That way I will have a mono output for the subwoofer without drilling any holes in the receiver and can be removed easily if needed to put the receiver back as it originally was. I did add an external resistor between the subwoofer output and ground though to drop the level to what the subwoofer amp could reasonably handle.

This brings to mind the fact that it is best not to judge a vintage solid state amp/receiver/preamp ETC... until all the electrolytic caps have been replaceed along with all ceramic caps that are in the audio signal chain as just replacing the electrolytic caps in this receiver really woke it up far as the audio quality is concerned. Went from sounding dull & lifeless to being one of the best solid state amps I have ever heard.
 
Just picked one up last week - what a beauty!

I just bought a Fisher Futura series model 202 receiver last week from a local craigslist ad for 25 clams. It's in beautiful "like new" condition and the seller was the original owner who bought it new in 1971. I replaced the "Stereo Beam" indicator bulbs as well as the tuning meter and pointer dial bulbs, cleaned the pots ( although they really didn't need it) and put 'er in service as the shop stereo here at work. I bought it to replace my old Phillips receiver which gave up a few weeks ago.

What a sensitive tuner these little Fishers have! That was my main reason for choosing this particular receiver, because I remember them having very good FM sections for a smaller receiver. It's connected to a rooftop antenna with 75 ohm cable and it grabs everything that's out there on FM. It also sounds terrific and has no problem driving the 8 ohm shop speakers all day long.

AM doesn't work at all (picks up one side of police radio conversation!) but I never listen to AM so I don't care. I did change out the transistors and a few of the caps on the AM tuner board just to see if I could get it to work but nothing changed and I don't care about it enough to bother with it.


It's a great little receiver and a welcome addition to the shop :music:
 
I do recommend replacing all the rest of the electrolytic capacitors because they are old and could go bad at any moment and also new electrolytics will make the receiver sound like it should. I had a hum in mine on one channel which was solved by replacing some electrolytic caps.

Once you replace the electrolytics you should do an FM alignment following the steps EXACTLY as written in the service info. For the FM stereo adjustment if you do not have an fm steteo generator just feed a 19 KHz audio signal to the external modulation input on a regular RF generator that covers the FM band and you can then adjust the 19 and 38 KHz transformers properly.

When I did the FM alignment FM reception improved over the already excellent reception it had.

The AM problem could just be an alignment issue.

If you need the service info I have it and can send it to you VIA email.

Also can you post a picture of the receiver in FM mode as I think my dial lamps might be a bit dim, but am not sure.
 
It probably is a good idea to replace the caps but I'm going to leave it for now. Usually when I get an older piece of equipment like this in I change any electrolytics that are near heat sources or in critical areas such as power supply regulation, but in this case I'm going to let it go for the time being.

The bulbs in all of the pre-Sanyo era solid state Fisher equipment that I've come across have been very dim, you almost can't tell if they are on with the room lights on. The 202 is no exception to that trend, the dial lights are indeed very dim. It uses 6 volt bulbs (commonly available at Radio Shack) and the RS bulbs match the original in brightness and size (had one that was still good). With the exception of the Stereo Beam indicator all of the bulbs are run directly from a tap on the transformer. Stereo Beam bulbs are wired in series across a resistor and I assume they are switched on by a Q on the FM multiplexer circuit. Can't snap a photo 'cause I don't have a camera here at work, but all of the dial lights are very dim just as you described, so I don't think you have a problem there.

Thanks for the kind offer on the SM - I may take you up on it when I go through and re-cap everything. For now it's doing great, though. I would have been a very happy kid if I had one of these as my very first stereo back in '71. Lots of quality in a small package :thmbsp:
 
Does Radio Shack have the fuse style bulbs the 202 requires?

Also what is a good replacement for the bulbs that light up the indicators for the input that is selected? Mine are all good, but I will eventually have to replace them. What bulb will work for the stereo indicator? I don't mind the red LEDs, but if I can get the correct bulbs I would rather to that route.
 
Tube Radio said:
Does Radio Shack have the fuse style bulbs the 202 requires?

Also what is a good replacement for the bulbs that light up the indicators for the input that is selected? Mine are all good, but I will eventually have to replace them. What bulb will work for the stereo indicator? I don't mind the red LEDs, but if I can get the correct bulbs I would rather to that route.
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RS doesn't carry the 6 volt fuse bulbs but Parts Express does (they have the 6 volt pigtail bulbs for the indicators too). If you buy through Amazon you can save on shipping since they will send them via USPS.

The bulbs I used for the Stereo Beam indicator, tuning pointer and tuning meter are these standard 6 volt bulbs with pigtail leads (except the lead wires are blue and white, not red and white). They are in the parts drawer at your local ratshack (if they bother to stock the parts drawer anymore). Package says it's a 6 volt 25ma bulb (part #272-1140), and it might be just a tiny bit smaller than the original bulb but it works perfectly otherwise. Parts Express sells them too, and they have the larger size so that might be another way to go. I gave the RS bulbs one or two wraps of tape and they fit snugly in the Stereo Beam lamp holder.

Mine doesn't have input selector indicator lights - at least I don't think it does unless they don't work and I didn't notice it. I had the whole thing apart so I think I would have noticed them, but I could've missed that. I know mine's an early model and I have seen others that look a little different, so maybe they added that feature later?
 
If you look inside your 202 next to the meter there should be a white rubber piece that has six bulbs in it. It could be that the bulbs do not work as a couple were burned out in mine.
 
OOPS! It's a 201 not a 202

Tube Radio said:
If you look inside your 202 next to the meter there should be a white rubber piece that has six bulbs in it. It could be that the bulbs do not work as a couple were burned out in mine.
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Jeesh, I feel like an idiot! :o I just looked this morning and found that I have a Fisher Futura 201, not a 202!

Sorry for the mixup, didn't realize there were two models so close together. Well, at least I know one of the differences between the 201 and 202...function indicator lights! :yes:
 
Tube Radio said:
I found that the transistors between both driver boards read differently on the diode test of my DMM so I am gonna replace all the transistors on the driver boards.

I will not use NTE cause their parts is what fried the 202 receiver I had.

I need subs for these transistors

2SC708A
2SA537A
2SA565

Did I mention that the receiver is nearly in pristine condition :D

Since I'm replacing the resistors and transistors on the driver boards I may as well replace the capacitors too.
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Hi
What did you use to replace those transistors?

Thanks
 
I am not sure I ever replaced those as I show mo record in this post of me commenting about finishing that and comparing the sound.
 
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