Of all the stuff I have, I don't have any tube audio equipment. I have wanted a Fisher 500C for a long time. I can not afford and do not want to pay the "street" price for one of these. I have been entertaining the thought of taking the chance of getting a "stripped" chassis. If it is good shape then I can buy parts later. Recently there was a 500c with not tubes that sold for short money. I did not bid on it. I know that it is a gamble with untested vintage equipment, but from my experiences I always get something that is worth the money.
SO! My question again, is, how much would you pay for this?
http://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyE ... 2034.l3383
I thru in a bid of $100 just to get in there.

Well, you can start by downloading a manual. Price the missing tubes at your favorite tube emporium, and price replacements for all the electrolytic caps, plus a low voltage bridge rectifier, plus replacements of your favorite color for all the paper capacitors. There is a good chance that you will need nothing more, but we are talking chance here - that set is a half century old. It depends on how much you are comfortable spending for a pig in a poke.

--Chuck

If anyone "strips" a Fisher 500 it would probably be for the iron. Looks like there are plenty out there. Just saw a "buy it now " supposed to be excellent condition for $850, and several others in various states and conditions which will go for $200-$500. A complete new set of tubes could run you up to $300 for the very best. Unless recently and completely restored, you will spend quite a bit of time and perhaps another $50-100 or more for refurbishing parts depending on how you do it. Then there will almost certainly need an alignment which is tricky on this set. In my estimation this is an intermediate to expert level project.

Don't know which one you were looking at. It's a swell set when brought up to speed. There are many many sets in daily use and plenty of expertise on these forums.

I'm sure others will opine.

Please provide a link to the unit you are considering. Your link above takes me to my "my ebay".

Dave

Here it is, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fisher-500C-Rec ... 4d02913f5c
I know these can get pricey in the repair/restore department. If I can find a good chassis, I can spend on it at my leisure.

I guess your hope is that the transformers are all good. I can't tell you how much to pay but it seems like it's all there and the cabinet looks good. The gold knob brights are available on-line.

Dave

Well its up to $172 now so I'm not going to pursue it any further. I really want a Drake R4A or R4B to match up with my Viking Ranger. I'd probably get more use out of it. Also I need to square away my antenna and if I can't fix it properly, spend the money on a new vertical.

Do you want the Tuner part? You have to look at what reproduction OPT & PS trans. would cost. You could probably actually get better OPT's (Peerless & Chicago clones etc.) from some of the builders. Anyway on Ebay that will probably go for too much! I think Fishers are risky for OPT's failures due to design reading AK (Audiokarma) anyway. Maybe diy an amp using some of the nice Dynaco PCB boards out there if you don't want to build P2P.

Randy

You might want to look at the Fisher 400 as well. A bit simpler than the 500C but more plentiful. Some say it's better sounding than the 500C.

Wouldn't that depend on how much money you spent for the triple-halo, double-throw-down super-gettered orange plate tubes?

Had to..

Only if it's rewired with 100.0000% teflon coated 99.9999999999% oxygen free copper.....

I think I should start marketing 110% oxygen-free copper cabling. I'd just use old telephone wire. But, I'd hype it up really well.
Tag line: "It's so starved for oxygen that the outer layer tarnishes on its way to your home!"

OK, I just hijacked a perfectly good thread.
My "bad."

Well, another vintage audio thread going down the toilet...

How about I try something completely different and actually try to help out morseguy?

Buying incomplete and/or non-working 500-C's for restoration can be, obviously, a bit of a gamble. You're dealing with the major question of whether or not the iron is good, plus the cost of replacing missing tubes, plus the cost of the usual restoration work.

The link you provided was actually a pretty good deal if you wanted a case, because that case is worth $150, so the 500-C sold for $150.

The major problem with that one was the blowing fuse, so you're gambling on whether or not it's a bad power transformer or something else that's going to be cheaper. A used PT, if that's the problem, will run at least $50-60. Generally speaking, buying a unit without tubes is not going to be cost-effective unless you've got most of the ones you need in your stash at home. If you buy four new output tubes, plus new 12AX7's, depending on if you buy NOS or new manufacture, you'll end up paying as much for the 500-C as you would for a fully working one. If not more.

Fully working but otherwise average 500-C's start around $350-400. I've seen stunning examples go for over $1,000 more than once.

I'll echo the recommendation to also consider a 400. They were a lower cost version of the 500-C released near the end of the Fisher tube line, and since they have a slightly simpler circuit with fewer components in the signal path, some folks think they sound a bit better. The 400 has 7868's instead of 7591's, but they're essentially the same tube in a different envelope. And, brand new 7868's are available for much less than the cost of an NOS set.

Fully working 400's start at around $300, and up from there.

Well first let me answer rmyauck first. I want it for just as it is, not to part it out. As Clay says this thread is going funny.

I have alittle bit of everything in my "toy" collection. Solid State and Hollow State. Audio, Ham, Shortwave, Antique Consumer, Portable, and Test Equipment.

The only thing I don't have is any tube audio equipment. I am not pursuing a piece thinking it is going to "sound" better than something modern. I just want a piece for my collection. I like the nostalgic aspect of it. That's why I figure it would be easier to start with a tube receiver than anything seperate.
Funny thing is you could pick this stuff for next nothing in the 80's.

What about some of the tube Pioneer and Knight receivers? They seem more reasonable price compared to the big names from that period.

Just being philosophical: if the tubes have been ripped out and sold on ebay, is the hulk still "tube audio equipment" , or is it just common trash ?

--Chuck

Nope, it's common trash.

Just like a clean SX-115 without tubes is a piece of common trash.

I'm kind of partial to Fishers myself. I like the looks. I have a monophonic FM-40 with a lovely glass dial. There is a turquoise swallow depicted in mid-flight. It is a good receiver too. It was cheap because it's mono and older than the popular ones. Mono sounds fine when I'm up and moving about the house. You might consider an older unit. I definitely would not recommend a basket case.

I bought this Lafayette (made by Kenwood) LR-800 receiver on ebay a few years ago for $25.00 + shipping. After recap and replacing a few tubes, it sounds great. Keep your eyes pealed for some of the lesser-known brands and you may be as delighted as I was.



Dave

If it were me $100.00 would be the highest I'd pay IF it meets these conditions: all controls are good, all knobs present, all transformers good and any other hard to find parts present and in good condition.

Morseguy- if your goal is to have a nice tube receiver, I might suggest also broadening your focus to include some of the Fisher competitors from that period including the HH Scott 399 and 340 as well as the Sherwood 8000 etc. In rehabbed state these all sell for about the same $$$ as a Fisher but you might find a good deal locally on something like this too.

I own both a Fisher 400 and a Scott 340A and use them daily. They are both superb units from the best of the tube era.