Fisher FM-M500

[mockingbird]

I picked this up recently. It's a vintage early 80s AM/FM radio with digital control. I really like the feel of old electronics like this. Very solidly built:


Can someone here tell me what would entail getting this thing to work? I don't even know if it powers on because it has a European plug and I can't find my converter (Thing is 110v/220v - just need to convert it to US style plug). I'm not even sure if I want to turn it on with what's in it right now.

It's got that old Rubycon capacitor smell. I know that these caps have been known to work even after 30 years, but I'd still like to replace them. Is there anything else I should look for? Are those chips inside all custom or do they still make them? I se some Hitachi chips and some other common ICs, but those Toshiba chips are the ones I'm interested in. Should I add sockets?

The only thing I could find on Youtube was a repair of a Fisher amp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jov0sioiTiU

I assume their products weren't so common.

Also, if you look at the attachments, there's this weird thing coming out the back... On the top of it, there's a lug that you can screw and unscrew. What is it? You can see the wires coming from it that attach to something inside the box.

There's also two screw terminals one says AM, one says Ground. I found them with one of those television adapter things you screw into the antenna holes. Is this proper? The port farthest to the left says "FM (75 Ohms)". Anything special supposed to go there?

[budm]

Re: Fisher FM-M500

The black bar is the AM antenna rod, you swing it out and you can move it a little bit for best reception, the slot for the screw driver inside that big black plastic rod is too move the ferrite core when they setup the AM tuner, no need to touch that.
If the buit-in rod antenna does not pick up the signal well, they give you the terminals for attaching long antenna wire for the AM.

Then there is the BALUN for converting coax 75 Ohms to 300 Ohms FM antenna that I can see in the picture which is not for that AM antenna terminal, you suppose to the PAL FM terminal on the left, you can get the adapter PAL to F connector from RADIO SHACK.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...LAID=107597300

I used to work for FISHER/PIONEER/SANSUI/PHILIPS/AKAI/TEAC/SANYO/HITACHI/SCOTT warranty repair shop in the 70's, let me see if I have the service manual for it.
90% of all my stereo gears are from the 70, they are still running great, I also collect those gears myself, they built like a tank.
There may be a voltage selector swith inside for selecting 120/230V inside.

[mockingbird]

Re: Fisher FM-M500

Wow, thanks so much!!! Yea, there's a 110/220 switch on the back. It's already set for 110, the plug just happens to be the European style plug and I need to buy a converter or find the one I have lying around here somewhere.

Oops, I already played with the ferrite core...

Ok, so that balun is not supposed to be there... Yea, didn't think so...