Does anyone repair....


My significant other has a vintage Fisher 4404 Custom Electra IV (Model E44) that we loved to listen to old vinyl on. Classic sound through those original speakers, etc.

Anyway, it has reached the point where the hiss and buzz is way louder than the music. I suspect it needs some new tubes and/or other electronic repairs. I live in New Orleans. The closest (and truthfully only) place I found that might fix it is in another state aver 600 mi away. Shipping would seem to me to be expensive (that I am not worried about) but I fear for the ability to ship without damaging the console. Is there any suggestions or anyone closer to me who might be able to repair this?

Thanks for any help

 

dseltz

I don't know of a repair shop closer to you.  But you don't have to send the whole console.  You will have to disassembled it.  Looking at the Owner's Manual, it pictures the Power Amplifier unit as separate from the radio/control unit.  Look at the backside. Some units, you could see right into it.  Some had a cover.  The power amplifier is in there.  Remove and send that part.   The hiss and buzz could be coming from the top radio control unit.  That unit takes a bit more to do to remove.

Consoles like yours is how I made my first stereo system.

http://www.fisherconsoles.com/owners%20manuals/custom%20electra%20iv%20e44%20om.pdf

Ps.  I once wanted to make those again.  With modern day equipment,  And I have a friend in Colorado that might give your repair a go.

waytoomuchstuff

upgrading the guts to modern equip sounds good, never thought about that. Gotta really love the thingy to go that far.

 

Hi @dseltz 

Good question, because I can imagine you would like to preserve and enjoy this Fisher audio piece.

About the buzz, this is completely normal for equipment this age. There's a lot of old type capacitors (like 'tar' based) that simply have lost their normal performance. The good news is that replacing them will normally solve your buzz issue. And sometimes, replacing the tubes is not necessary.

Concerning a local party that could help you, I have no suggestions as I am located in the Netherlands. But maybe a suggestion to try it a different way.
In The Netherlands we have several communities that focus on keeping tube-based audio equipment alive. And their members have a lot of technical expertise. Here, they organize repair days two times a year. People can just walk in and the equipment is repaired on the spot and they charge only for replaced parts.

Maybe this is an approach for you, to check if there are communities like this in your area. Hope it helps.