I received the A77 the other day, at first glance the front panel was essentially brand new, the wood cabinet had a few small spots where the veneer had lifted.
I took the cabinet off for repairing and couldn't believe my eyes, this thing was essentially as new, even smelled new!
Over the past day I've gone over every part with bright light and magnifying glass, looking for burnt resistors and any other signs of damage. There is absolutely nothing that doesn't look as new! I have noted the problematic capacitors and have replacements which I will install later.
The deck didn't come with a power cord, and I found there was no main fuse. I replaced the 2 prong IEC receptacle with a 3 pronger so I can have my choice of power cords, and installed a 1 amp fuse.
Today I fired up the old deck and every function works perfectly, absolutely amazing! This deck is a time capsule, basically as new condition and everything works, it even has the original tags still attached to the handle (serial nos. matching)! Not a scratch on the front panels or knobs! All the tape heads look new as well, no wear marks at all, the guide pins and rollers look as new, just the slightest bit of oxide. With the bit of work I'm doing on the casework this thing will be almost mint, I would say a 9 out of 10.
Now, this is only my initial analysis, I could have problems down the road, with something this old one has to be cautious. Still, I would have to say this was one lucky buy for me, I will just enjoy for now, more mods may come later.
By the way, Mepearson, this is the 1/4 track, 3 3/4-7 1/2ips version. It is a Mk. IV., serial number G199624. I actually wish it were the two track version so I could do "The Tape Project" mods, I don't think you can do them with the 4 track machines.
