Hi All,
I was once the proud owner of a new Hitachi TRK-8130E throughout the 1980's but seemed to have lost it somewhere, I was travelling around quite a bit in those days so it could have ended up almost I'd been to although I think it's still (or was) in the UK.
Anyway.......getting quite nostalgic in my old age I bought two replacements via eBay "for parts not working" but they are both mainly OK, each with just a few problems. Total cost including postage was £48,89 for both and about £5.00 for a hard copy Service Manual (all different sellers) so not too bad a price. No real battle scars to talk of although showing slight signs of wear with a light scrape or two here and there. There's a few bad things on one which are good on the other and vice-versa but mostly they're OK.
The two worst aspects are:
TRK-8130 #1
This has someone's postcode etched right through the surface paint into the plastic casing into the top, tuning wheel side with the full address etched on the base - and we're not talking discrete characters either, it was meant to be seen - this is what I call sacrilege!
TRK-8130 #2
The sound coming through the speakers is VERY 'growly' or 'coarse' so I'll be looking into this, they may be past redemption but I'm no expert.
TRK-8130 #1 & #2
Belts need replacing ( see my post here asking how to effectively remove old belt 'Liquorice' goo).
Both need a deep clean inside and out, there's enough fluff in them to make a critters' nest!
Both quartz clock do not appear to work although one has a partial LED display and the battery contacts on the other have green corrosion on them which may be the cause of the failure..
I've made a start by opening one of themup and this'll be a careful approach, photos a every stage, connectors marked before unplugging etc..
I think my biggest disappointment was to find the speaker 'grills' appear to be moulded/formed as part of the case so may not be detachable but I'll know more as I get a little deeper. I never realised this 'back in the day'!
Anyway, here's a few photos to make the post prettier:
Hitachi TRK-8130
In comparison to my Sharp GF-9000 the TRK-8130 looks so...........80's grey!
These three just because I had to!
Critter Central
Work begins on the first one
I know I'll get at least one good BB out of these two but a working-ish 2nd BB will be a bonus.
I was once the proud owner of a new Hitachi TRK-8130E throughout the 1980's but seemed to have lost it somewhere, I was travelling around quite a bit in those days so it could have ended up almost I'd been to although I think it's still (or was) in the UK.
Anyway.......getting quite nostalgic in my old age I bought two replacements via eBay "for parts not working" but they are both mainly OK, each with just a few problems. Total cost including postage was £48,89 for both and about £5.00 for a hard copy Service Manual (all different sellers) so not too bad a price. No real battle scars to talk of although showing slight signs of wear with a light scrape or two here and there. There's a few bad things on one which are good on the other and vice-versa but mostly they're OK.
The two worst aspects are:
TRK-8130 #1
This has someone's postcode etched right through the surface paint into the plastic casing into the top, tuning wheel side with the full address etched on the base - and we're not talking discrete characters either, it was meant to be seen - this is what I call sacrilege!
TRK-8130 #2
The sound coming through the speakers is VERY 'growly' or 'coarse' so I'll be looking into this, they may be past redemption but I'm no expert.
TRK-8130 #1 & #2
Belts need replacing ( see my post here asking how to effectively remove old belt 'Liquorice' goo).
Both need a deep clean inside and out, there's enough fluff in them to make a critters' nest!
Both quartz clock do not appear to work although one has a partial LED display and the battery contacts on the other have green corrosion on them which may be the cause of the failure..
I've made a start by opening one of themup and this'll be a careful approach, photos a every stage, connectors marked before unplugging etc..
I think my biggest disappointment was to find the speaker 'grills' appear to be moulded/formed as part of the case so may not be detachable but I'll know more as I get a little deeper. I never realised this 'back in the day'!
Anyway, here's a few photos to make the post prettier:
Hitachi TRK-8130
In comparison to my Sharp GF-9000 the TRK-8130 looks so...........80's grey!
These three just because I had to!
Critter Central
Work begins on the first one
I know I'll get at least one good BB out of these two but a working-ish 2nd BB will be a bonus.
Oh and yes get some shelves up, you'll be needing them sooner than you might think 
The collection adds up oh so quickly!
"
