Time to pimp a Sharp GF-9494

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Zedman

Member (SA)
Hey Fellas, well I thought this one looked like it would be a good place to start so I bought myself a Sharp GF-9494.

I got it off Ebay and as I expected the description was entirely accurate- VU meters are non operational, one tweeter is gone and the right woofer distorts when the unit is cranked.

I was expecting to be an overhaul includig new speakers so really I can live with the problems and will most likely have new speakers and repairs done by the weekend.

The best part is that this unit will run audio through the ext mic input down to 12V without the audio horribly distorting. So this weekend- Easter, I can take this sucker out to the bush and run it off a solar power charged 12v batter!

Its my wifes birthday so Im madly downloading all her favourite tunes and gonna stick em on an ipod. Ive got a Bluetooth audio reciever on order which should show up in a couple of days so fingers crossed this ghetto blaster is really gonna help the party.

I gotta say, I picked this unit up and rushed to get home. Frantically I ripped off the cardboard box and bubble wrap and the first throught I had when I powered it up and play some music was OMG "Im In Love.......................With The Other Woman!" The retro blaster sound transported me staright to the 80's when I was a teenager and Ray Parker Junior was cranking out number one hits.

My teenage sons were like- "WTF you are so lame" when I showed them my pimpin old school Ghetto Blaster.

Now I know why you guys are into these machines- they are actually time machines which can transport you back to the 80's which is great if you are middle aged and balding like me.

Anyhow its time to get back to reality. I couldnt help but share.

Z

:thumbsup:
 

Northerner

Boomus Fidelis
Nice one Zedman! Fab box and you're right about it being a time machine :lol:

My teenage son thinks they're lame too but who cares :lol:

Congrats on an awesome purchase :thumbsup:
 

supertony

Member (SA)
Wicked! Looking forward to this thread developing as its a box I'm planning gettin my hands on as Northerner knows ha ha...can I ask how much it set you back as 9494's seem to be pretty expensive? Hope to see some pics and progress soon :) Regards

EDIT: Thanks for PM reply mate, good luck with this beauty!
 

Northerner

Boomus Fidelis
supertony said:
Wicked! Looking forward to this thread developing as its a box I'm planning gettin my hands on as Northerner knows ha ha...can I ask how much it set you back as 9494's seem to be pretty expensive?

:-D

BTW you can't really compare the price in one country with another as the market for them in each country is different...eg the prices in the USA are way higher than here in the UK due to the higher demand there...if you compared a deal here with one there then every one would be an absolute bargain :lol:

:morepics:
 

BoomboxLover48

Boomus Fidelis
Congrats! The llove for Sharp never ends. Hard to convince teenagers because they are used to high power digital sound systems and earphone stuff. We go back to the 80s and enjoy these gadgets with superb sound quality. They give the best time travel experience to treasured memories of the past. :yes: Bourbon or some nice whiskey also helps the unique time travel experience. :lol: :lol:
 

Hurb

Member (SA)
Great stuff! Own one myself and can't stop looking at it walking in and out of my "Boom Room"!!

Now let's see it!!
 

Zedman

Member (SA)
OK sorry Fellas- no pics yet but most likely I will get some done this weekend.

Progress so far after purchase-

Conducted fault diagnosis
1 Right woofer distorts at all volumes above minimal
2 Left tweeter inoperative
3 Missing VU/ Battery meter switch
4 Channel imbalance in radio reception when unit is in Stereo mode or Wide mode
5 Tape player inoperative
6 VU meters inoperative

Action taken to address above points

1& 2 Dissassembled chassis and inspected woofers which look OK and measure good impedance. Same for the tweeters.
Two new woofer replacements ordered. Woofer frames are 180mm across from very outer edges which makes them actually a bit of a strange size i.e. not an average 6.5'' driver but Sydney based parts supplier has an exact matched size woofer Peerless 30W for open/ sealed enclosure. Goes down to 45HZ, slightly higher inpedanece- originals were rated at 4ohms, replacements rated at 5.8ohms. Considering the crossover is a simple dirst order RC filter I think it wont be a problem and the expected improvement will be so big that a slight problem in crossover will probably not be noticable.
I found a good enough match for the tweeter which is actually appears to be full range driver with the bottom end rolled out by the crossover.
Parts from Wes-
Woofer 18SG08 * 2 @ $32.50 each
Tweeter HFS38-10-8 * 2 @ $8.90 each
Parts ordered and should arrive today

3 As yet unaddressed

4 Found a service manual with internet search. Tested unit and noticed that on headphones in mono mode both channels are same level and clear- rules out power amp fault. Further fault diagnosis to follow.

5 Im gonna remove the tape deck which will help lighten the total unit weight. If I wanted to also strip off the control circuitry then it may give slighlty better battery life but probably not enough of a gain to justify the work!

6 As yet unaddressed

OK so Im hoping the speakers will be waiting for me when I get home after work and I will fit them tomorrow.

I had purchased a cheap chineese Bluetooth audio reciever from ebay but when it turned up it sounded crap, dropperd out and had high noise. A replacement will most likely turn up next week so this weekend I will be rockin the party using a cable input. It looks like an input point will be easy to find at the DIN input.

Ive decided to also do some extra mods above the Bluetooth option- blue backlight LED's for VU meters, remove AVLS circuitry and replace with an LED scanner just like KITT the supercar!!!!!

So fellas I dont spose anyone has a VU switch key top they wanna swap for a mech and the AVLS PCB? :yes:

Z
 
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