Another roadside Wild Find!

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jimmyjimmy19702010

Member (SA)
Hi Guys,

Well as some of you may know, I do a lot of driving in my job and lately, I've been pretty lucky finding lots of great speakers for my DIY projects. It really keeps the cost levels low and the fun levels high!

Well just 10 minutes ago, I was driving down a quiet suburban street in Jindalee, Brisbane and I spot another set of speakers except this time, they're inside a plastic box............

As I drove past, I realised I wasn't just looking at some low rent, low model box, no this was a genuine roadside Sharp GF-9696 40W freebie!!! :-)

View attachment 18559View attachment 18560View attachment 18561View attachment 18562

Now she is rough and is missing the cassette door trim, a speaker grill and a few switch tips but it's otherwise complete!

To say I'm stoked is an understatement. Here is a box I could never afford to buy on my limited budget!!

She'll get the full treatment and after a clean up, fingers crossed I'll have a great user box.

Now she may just end up as a parts box but hopefully she still has some life in her and will actually fire up. :-)

So there you have it, wild finds do exist in areas outside Canada!
 
blu_fuz

blu_fuz

Well-Known Member
Staff member
This is the reason we all still dig in the trash!!


Great save! I hope you can get it going again.
 
S

Scotty_M

Member (SA)
What are the odds? You're really seeing nothing but 9696's of late...and just when you said you've worked on your last one!!

Scotty
 
alfie

alfie

Member (SA)
Outstanding find James, the missing parts will be findable at some point I'm sure.....
 
J

jimmyjimmy19702010

Member (SA)
Thanks for the comments guys. :-)

I just went back to the house and the elderly couple were home. I asked if they had the 2nd speaker grill but after a 10 min search, it couldn't be found. I asked about the history of the box and this is what the couple said:

"We bought it new and chose that model because it was solid and heavy and sounded really powerful in the showroom! We used it for parties and to play music outside. We mainly played tapes with that one." Then the old lady said "Young people in the 70s and 80s used to carry radios around on their shoulders while singing to the music. They didn't carry this particular model on their shoulders though as they were too heavy!" :-)

"The couples' kids back in the day used to call it 'THE BEAST'." Her daughter walked up as she said '"Yep, I remember 'THE BEAST'. Then the old lady said "We only stopped using it a while back because the tape deck stopped playing tapes."

The old fella promises me it's fully working apart from the deck so fingers crossed.

It's great discoverying the genuine history of these boxes. It's also cool to be only the 2nd owner from new.

James.... :-)
 
MrMcBlaster

MrMcBlaster

Member (SA)
Great score James!!! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy..... after fixing so many boomboxes for us local members I'm stoked you got this gem mate! I have no doubt you'll get her fully functioning......even that pointless deck....you know me and my theory on decks ;-)
 
J

jimmyjimmy19702010

Member (SA)
Well I'm finally home from work - I put a little fader lube on the volume, bass and treble sliders and ran some power through her for the first time in many years and, well......................

IT ROCKS!!! :-) FM stereo, AM, SW1, SW2 all working fine. This thing sounds very strong with big bass and clear highs with a balanced output. It will obviously need a big clean up and service and the band selector switches need some contact cleaner but it's a good one!

Nice crack in the tuner window on the left side but as you can see, the LEDs work! The highs are super crisp on this one. One of the best sounding Sharp boxes I've heard actually.

This will be a very strong user box once I get her fully sorted.
View attachment 18573
 
Terry

Terry

Member (SA)
Good stuff James!

Hmmm Jindalee eh, I might have to do a leaflet drop on that side of town.

Edit: I've always thought they look better without the grills.
 
Ken

Ken

Member (SA)
Congratulations, James! I'm sure you can set a DIY project aside for a few days? I've always wondered what these sound like. From your description, they must be a worthy addition to any collection.
Great score! Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!
 
E

eli

Member (SA)
What an outstanding rescue!!
Congrats on the find, and it was cool to hear the history of this box!
 
Lasonic TRC-920

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
Fantastic back story! I would LOVE to know where my radio's have come from and the interesting lives they have lived. How sweet is that. :thumbsup:

So, here is a radio, that has had an incredibly long, loved life. Shared by a family and well used. Then after many decades of play and enjoyment, it is finally, reluctantly retired to the curb, NOT for the trashman to pick up, but a true enthusiast who is going to do a full on ground up restoration on it and then it goes into a Boombox museum to live out the next 25 years :w00t:

What are the farking chances????

Terry said:
Good stuff James!

Hmmm Jindalee eh, I might have to do a leaflet drop on that side of town.

Edit: I've always thought they look better without the grills.
Click to expand...
100% spot on, one of the best looking radio's WITHOUT the grills :clap:

Congrats bro....Nice Score indeed!

:ymca:
 
J

jimmyjimmy19702010

Member (SA)
Lasonic TRC-920 said:
Fantastic back story! I would LOVE to know where my radio's have come from and the interesting lives they have lived. How sweet is that. :thumbsup:

So, here is a radio, that has had an incredibly long, loved life. Shared by a family and well used. Then after many decades of play and enjoyment, it is finally, reluctantly retired to the curb, NOT for the trashman to pick up, but a true enthusiast who is going to do a full on ground up restoration on it and then it goes into a Boombox museum to live out the next 25 years :w00t:

What are the farking chances????



100% spot on, one of the best looking radio's WITHOUT the grills :clap:

Congrats bro....Nice Score indeed!

:ymca:
Click to expand...
I know what you're saying Chris! I still can't believe I found a kerbside vintage one piece box, let alone a GF-9696!

The old Sharp was only 24 hours from going into the crusher. Imagine how many vintage, working boxes with only minor and fixable faults have been destroyed!

I think the elderly couple were pretty happy the GF will live on! :-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom