A beasty Sharp GF9696 score. Let's restore it!

[Boomboxholic]

Hello guys. So, I scored a GF9696 that has seen better days. The cone of both speakers is in very bad shape and needs some serious reconditioning. The string on the tunning dial is also broken. It needs some body work and a few cosmetic parts are missing. Other possible problems aren't excluded. I haven't received the unit yet, but I need some preparation to make. Let's start with the speakers. They are 18CM drives, so, can anyone help me finding a replacement cone?

 

[hopey]

Did you find it mag fishing?

 

[Boomboxholic]

@hopey I don't get your question sir.

 

[Eddy]

I have seen them worse , enjoy restoring it .

 

[Boomboxholic]

Sure! I am super excited.

 

[Boomboxholic]

I mean it might look bad, but on the inside, it is not that bad. Waiting for it to arrive.

 

[Boomboxholic]

Okay I am back. I've received the unit. It is literally massive. I gave it some good cleaning out of the dust by literally rebuilding it up. I gotta admit, it literally drained all my power as it has way too many components to deal with. However it is now nearly dust free and good to work on. I've replaced the broken tuner's dial string with some new one. Known issues: The mono/stereo/stereo wide switch. If I set it to mono, I can hear both speakers playing well. Now on stereo or stereo wide I can only hear one of the tweeters on the right side playing and nothing else. Fun fact, that problem sometimes goes away on it's own, but then returns after a few minutes. I also had the slider potentiometers sprayed with Kontakt PR. They are extremely hard to move. The bass potentiometer seems to be non functional. Also another obvious issue is the actual speaker. They need some reconditioning. There are tons of work to do next. I'll start from restoring the cassette mechanism and then rebuilding the potentiometers next. *Excited* Any advice on the stereo mono switch is also welcome.

 

[caution]

The stereo mode switch may be filthy inside. They'll work for a while, but then back comes the degraded audio a bit later. Contact cleaner only temporarily solves this on really dirty switches - I've busted them open for a deep clean on many occasions and the audio comes back crystal clear.

 

[Boomboxholic]

@caution I've rebuilt the switches on a previous restoration, the GF9090. The switches on the GF9696 seems very identical. Good thing that I have a spare switch from the other restoration, so even if I mess this up, I'll have a replacement. About the basic switches in the main equaliser, they do work but they are extremely hard to push. What kind of lubrication to use on these?

 

[caution]

Just a small amount of DeoxIT that covers the contacts.
I like to use this stuff instead of the spray can as it's a lot less messy

 

[Boomboxholic]

This looks neat, but unfortunately won't ship at my place. Meanwhile I gave another cleanup on the stereo mono switch and now it finally works. Now once I touch the echo switch on the front of the unit, the left channel sounds distorted a lot. There's a lot of visible gunk inside that switch as well.

 

[Boomboxholic]

My main concern right now is to replace the damaged cone of the speakers. They are 18cm, assuming they are 8 Inch. I found this cone on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/195715534506
Any other paper cone suggestion is welcome.

 

[Boomboxholic]

I am back, I've serviced the tape mechanism. Cleaned it up and installed a belt. Replaced the pinch roller. Now I need a cylindrical sleeved idler for the capstan. I need a good quality one. I am just so mind blown to hear the cassette amplifier playing so nicely and clean. Here is a video of 2 second playback. Can't do it any longer cause it will chew the tape up.

 

[Boomboxholic]

Okay. Back with updates on this. I have the unit's capacitors replacement nearly done. I have fixed the cassette mechanism. Now the tape is playing smoothly and the fast forward/rewind operates with plenty of Torque. I have managed to source some replacement 8ohm speakers. Waiting for them to arrive. Meanwhile, does the GF9696 have an internal speed calibration potentiometer? I mean besides of the slider that exists in the front panel.

 

[Superduper]

My main concern right now is to replace the damaged cone of the speakers. They are 18cm, assuming they are 8 Inch. I found this cone on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/195715534506
Any other paper cone suggestion is welcome.

Those don't fit. You should look for 7" speaker size instead, although I thought I recall they were actually 6.5" but I could be wrong. Regardless, 8" is too big.

 

[Boomboxholic]

Those don't fit. You should look for 7" speaker size instead, although I thought I recall they were actually 6.5" but I could be wrong. Regardless, 8" is too big.

I'll be using these drives. They are 20cm (8"). However the chassis of GF9696 also supports 20cm drives, the screws does exists inside the cabinet. The original speaker size is 18cm (7.1 inch).

 

[Wes125]

here's mine what i bought from the recycling centre. paid 10 pound for it. only things needed doing was tape deck. adjust vu meter to level them up on play and respray the speaker covers..plus a good clean

 

[Boomboxholic]

here's mine what i bought from the recycling centre. paid 10 pound for it. only things needed doing was tape deck. adjust vu meter to level them up on play and respray the speaker covers..plus a good clean

Damn that looks beautiful. How do you adjust the vu meters? On my unit they need adjustment too.

 

[Boomboxholic]

Okay! I just finished replacing all of the Capacitors from the entire unit. Replaced the tape counter from the cassette mechanism as the stock one was making some weird clicking noises. Up next: Finding potentiometers for the equaliser and adding x2 new antennas (I already have the antennas, just haven't mounted these up yet). Also replacing the main speaker drives.

 

[dubout]

... Meanwhile, does the GF9696 have an internal speed calibration potentiometer? I mean besides of the slider that exists in the front panel.

I am curious if the capacitor replacement solves this problem for you. I have a GF9494 and the tape is running too slow. As the motor doesn't have a pontentiometer, I couldn't find a solution for my problem.