This weeks nice finds

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

To save some leg work and Ebay auction frustration and shipping costs, I placed a free wanted ad in the local and came up with these heavy hitters:

Aiwa CA-80. $40 (local pick up). This 1984 unit was filthy and needed switch cleaner to restore the equalizer function and volume but all is well now. Tape deck plays ok but rwd doesn't work so a rebelt is due. The elderly previous owners bought it new and only listened to AM radio via AC power with the equaliser turned off! They tell me it was an indoor box only as it has never run on DC power! I can attest to this as the battery area is scratch free. With 15W + 15W output, this baby has fantastic sound quality. The tuner is nice and sensitive. The foam speaker covers were perished so I decided to remove them. Luckily the speakers behind had nice chrome speaker caps. IMHO it looks much better without the foam. Good build quality on this one. I put 9 very tired D cells in to check DC function. You wouldn't know their almost flat as they power this unit at high volume just fine unlike my other radios!

Hitachi TRK-9300. $15 (local pick up). This 1982 unit was also filthy and needed switch cleaner to all switches to restore function. It looks very similar in some ways to my older Hitachi 9140E with similar leds and detachable speaker arrangements. The deck has motor drive on this newer unit though which I like. You will notice the speakers are missing in the photo. Their out for refoaming. I'm dropping them down to a local speaker repairer today. A previous owner had cut the speaker cables The seller to me replaced them with incorrect connectors and for some reason, you have to wiggle the connections at the rear of the unit to get sound. I issue is not the connectors and is deeper inside the box I hooked up some spare speakers to test output and I can say after wiggling the connections, this unit has some grunt too!! Very well built box with very solid speaker boxes.

Have a great day,

James....

 

[Fatdog]

Want ads don't work for me. People in my area don't even know what a boombox is.

Nice scores, Jimmy. That Hitachi certainly looks "beefy".

 

[bklyn sound]

nice score

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

Want ads don't work for me. People in my area don't even know what a boombox is.

Nice scores, Jimmy. That Hitachi certainly looks "beefy".

I find the trick is not to use the words 'Boombox' or 'Ghettoblaster' in your description. I tend to just use more general wording such as: 'old 1970s-1980s portable radio tape player - 1 piece and 3 piece units OK'.

I actually have got to back to another guy who has a red Sansui CP-55W for sale. I will have to check out the specs on this one to see if I'm interested. I prefer the bigger 8-10 D cell units steering well clear of the later 'big' 6 cell units that tend to be gutless!

You can't tell from the photos but the AIWA is actually much bigger than the Hitachi!
James...

 

[stormsven]

Some really interesting catches. Lately im getting bored from the well known look of "grails" and was thinking how cool is to get really not common boomers. Both your catches fit in this category.

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

Some really interesting catches. Lately im getting bored from the well known look of "grails" and was thinking how cool is to get really not common boomers. Both your catches fit in this category.

Thanksstormsven, I agree. Whilst the grails are awesome units, a number end up being shelf queens due to their value & rarity. These later model plain jane 3 piecers are great for just taking down the park and blasting some tunes. I've just come back from the park again with the kids. The AIWA sounded real strong in an open air setting providing really clear highs and reasonable lows for some distance from the unit - not an easy feat in an otherwise noisy park full of kids! And it's still got almost dead D cells on board (I now can't afford new cells due to my recent purchases!)

With a $40 boomer, I can relax too not getting worried about the odd knock here and there - today the left speaker grill copped a full tilt hit by a soccer ball but luckily didn't even leave a mark!!

The AIWA sure is heavy though

Size comparison with a National RX-C45:

James....

 

[retrohead]

i just love the up hill led,s on the aiwa....and the speaker connectors on the hitachi sound like they may heave broken loose from the circuit boards inside-i dont think its a major job to re attach them,or simply they have excess dirt in the actual connectors and they need some cleaner in them-good luck with them both and i agree with fatdog-wanted ads never work for me-they dont know what a boombox/ghettoblaster/radio cassette recorder is

 

[kingrat2010]

aiwa draws 70watt thats serious

 

[stormsven]

Love the pattern of the leds too

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Want ads don't work for me. People in my area don't even know what a boombox is.

Nice scores, Jimmy. That Hitachi certainly looks "beefy".

I find the trick is not to use the words 'Boombox' or 'Ghettoblaster' in your description. I tend to just use more general wording such as: 'old 1970s-1980s portable radio tape player - 1 piece and 3 piece units OK'.

I actually have got to back to another guy who has a red Sansui CP-55W for sale. I will have to check out the specs on this one to see if I'm interested. I prefer the bigger 8-10 D cell units steering well clear of the later 'big' 6 cell units that tend to be gutless!

You can't tell from the photos but the AIWA is actually much bigger than the Hitachi!
James...

I have tried placing ad's in the local Craigslist and got no replies.

I think this is my next step

My wife thinks this....

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

i just love the up hill led,s on the aiwa....and the speaker connectors on the hitachi sound like they may heave broken loose from the circuit boards inside-i dont think its a major job to re attach them,or simply they have excess dirt in the actual connectors and they need some cleaner in them-good luck with them both and i agree with fatdog-wanted ads never work for me-they dont know what a boombox/ghettoblaster/radio cassette recorder is

Thanks for the advice - you were right!! One of the speaker connections at the circuit board had failed. Two were solid but the third one could be seen floating up and down within the circuit board when you wiggled it. There was much less solder at the joint than the other two. After a resolder, it's now perfectly operational!!

I've delivered the speakers to the repairer for refoaming - can't wait to reinstall them!!

James....

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

** Speakers are back and they're fantastic!! **

I always wanted to keep this radio original so replacing the drivers was never an option. A local speaker repair specialist did the refoam job for - $22.50 each speaker. For that sort of money, I personally wouldn't consider doing it myself from a kit. I have just reinstalled them and they sound awesome!! It's been frustrating to have had the radio for a week and until now not been able to hear it with original Hitachi speakers.

It had a problem with the Line In - you got nothing but a humming noise when you selected Line In. If you connected a program source, you got nothing but a horrible screeching noise. I noticed if you wiggled the switch it came good. It turns out the Line In/Phono selector switch just need a clean.

Before:

After:

James....

 

[Gluecifer]

Magical!!
POWERFUL looking Hitachi right there, Jiimmy!



Rock On.

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

Magical!!
POWERFUL looking Hitachi right there, Jiimmy!



Rock On.

Thanks Glue,

I've got a feeling it's going to chew through 10 D cells pretty quick!!

I've got a Hitachi TRK-8080 on its' way from member Bill (US) - that will make 3 Hitachis in my growing collection. Some say they are underrated but they are quality units - not a lot of bling but if you take a look inside, they are beautifully over built .

James....

 

[Scotty_M]

Nice work Jimmy...is that Hitachi from Inala?
I've got a Hitachi 3D80 on it's way to me...my first Hitachi. I'm keen to check it out.

Scotty

 

[bklyn sound]

wow great work on the refoam job...how does that little monster sound??

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

Nice work Jimmy...is that Hitachi from Inala?
I've got a Hitachi 3D80 on it's way to me...my first Hitachi. I'm keen to check it out.

Scotty

Wow, the 3D80 is beautiful looking unit - big bass too - congrats!

Regarding the Hitachi TRK-9300W, yep, Inala seller. He was asking $15. But after discovering the undisclosed faults, I couldn't bring myself to haggle - Anyway, I wanted a challenge!! The good news is the deck has near new looking belts.

I normally spend 3 times that on shipping alone with Ebay.

Over the phone he said it was 'perfectly operational!! When I got there he changed his description slightly by saying 'it should work but he hadn't tried it in ages'!

The bad speaker connector required re soldering the connector to the board, the speakers needed refoaming, all switches needed cleaning etc but apart from that , it just needed a bath. It's not mint with a scratches etc here and there but it's complete so I'm happy. I'm waiting for some 90 degree angle RCA connectors to arrive to replace the dodgy speaker wire & connectors he fitted.

It's heavy though: 10.70 kg without batteries!!

James...

Stats:
Cassette section:

Wow & flutter : 0.08% (WRMS)
Frequency response: metal: 40 -16.000Hz
chrome: 40 -14.500Hz
normal: 40 -12.500Hz
S/N ratio w/o NR: 50 dB

- Cue / Review Search
- Rewind Auto Play
- Soft Touch Buttons

Radio section:
Frequency Range: SW, MW, LW, FM
- AFC
---
Detachable 2 Way Speaker system Air Suspension type:
Woofers Ñ… 2 - 12 cm paper cone
Tweeters Ñ… 2 - 1.5 cm polymer dome

Music power output: 15W + 15W

5 band graphic equaliser

Dimensions (W x H x D): 559 x 233 x 227 mm
Weight: 10.7 kg (Without batteries)

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

wow great work on the refoam job...how does that little monster sound??

Much better!! Due to the smallish 4 inch drivers, it's no bass monster but you can still hear/feel the big ol' 15W + 15W amp doing its' thing!

I don't think this thing has been powered up in many years - with use, the switches, etc are improving - just a few niggles here and there.

The Line In/Phono switch seems to be the most stubborn - when you switch modes, it works first time 80% of the time now from around 20% a couple of hours ago.

James...

 

[retrohead]

glad to hear the speaker connection problem is sorted plus the refoam looks great and shes up and running-so its a result-one of the nicer hitachis ever made is that one

 

[jimmyjimmy19702010]

glad to hear the speaker connection problem is sorted plus the refoam looks great and shes up and running-so its a result-one of the nicer hitachis ever made is that one

Thanks retrohead,

I've just come back from the park with the kids with the Hitachi. This thing really screams out in the open - you can hear it nice and clear from the other side of the park! The old donor batteries are getting low so I didn't turn it up over 1/3rd to conserve power. The 9300W is actually a surprisingly compact unit for a 10 cell (15v) box. Probably around 12.50kg fully loaded.

It's funny how some boxes you fall for from the get-go. My Aiwa is a great unit and performs well but the little Hitachi still stole the show dispite rotted speakers and circuit board faults?!

Now their both operating perfectly, the Hitachi is the one I grab most of the time. It's just such an honest little beast!! I love it!!

James....

P.S. I just hooked it up to 240v AC and shock horror, turned it up to 5/10 - this thing has some serious horsepower!! It was driving those little heavy duty 4 inch drivers real hard with no distortion and they were loving it and so was I!!