Digging into the D8443

[MesaAZGuy]

So I just got this radio over the weekend. It came with a broken cassette door. Upon powering it up, the controls were very scratchy and the FM stereo LED would only flicker at best but not really come on at all.

I took it apart today and noticed someone else had been in there by the lack of one or two screws over the tape deck PC board. The typical issue with the plastic gear was the demise of this radio and I am sure it sat in some retirement community closet never to be touched again. The bottom row of screw mounts were all broken off. I glued them with LocTite crazy glue. I hope it holds. The side of the case had a sliver of plastic sheared off from improper reinstallation of the back cover. I used a heat gun to soften the thin plastic edging and realigned it to the case with some glue. I don't know why the FM stereo doesn't indicate stereo or why the spatial control does nothing. PC board contacts and caps look fine on a visual check.
The shame of it all, is the actual case is in really clean scratch free condition. With a bath, it will pass as new.



IMG_0226 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/153164955@N06/, on Flickr




IMG_0225 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/153164955@N06/, on Flickr



IMG_0227 by /url], on Flickr




This selector switch would occasionally cause the radio volume to fluctuate before I de-oxed it. Not sure if this would cause the FM stereo indicator not to work. I haven't tested it yet since the thing is all apart.




[url=https://flic.kr/p/2eQrvhy]IMG_0228 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/153164955@N06/, on Flickr

 

[Fatdog]

Not sure if this is actually a Tech Talk post. It might be moved at some point.

But... there's the infamous gear that breaks in these models. I think there was a member some years ago who made new gears. Maybe try a search for such a thing.

Best of luck bringing back to 100%!

 

[MesaAZGuy]

Thanks! I like the new Avatar. I do have a new gear coming, speakers, BT module, and some other stuff. I was disappointed by the quality of the plastics used in the build. First time I seen a whole row of mounting posts broken off a chassis. It doesn't appear the unit was dropped as there is no visual damage to the case unless it hit carpeting.

Feel free to move this if need be. I do write threads that are borderline confusing as where to put them. I'm good at that

 

[Reli]

The stereo light can be adjusted by the pot on the tuner board that says 19KHZ or VR1.

 

[MesaAZGuy]

Thanks Reli, I did figure it out. It not only lights up, the radio is better tuned and so much louder. The pots are now at about 90% in terms of cleaning with De-oxit. The componentry isn't the best stuff, but then again, for a radio thats about 35 years old, they designed these to be in the landfill after 15 years. This one is a survivor. The cabinet is stripped and washed. I wouldn't mind adding a LED VU meter, but theres just no easy place to put it.

 

[Reli]

This guy added two LED meters along the bottom edge:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Ghettoblaster-MP3-player-installation/

And this guy added some disco lights at the bottom of this page:

https://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php/topic/13696-magnavox-d8443-disco-led-custom/

 

[MesaAZGuy]

Reli, I haven't got to this point yet, but do you know which color wires provide power to the radio PC board? I want to intercept that for the BT when I get to it. Better yet, Do you have a source for the wiring diagram? Regarding the LED VU meter, I did think of putting them on the bottom of the speakers. Thats probably one of the better locations aside from where the slot is for the tweeter.
Thank you!

 

[Northerner]

Here’s what I did to mine

https://youtu.be/8aNOc2V0IBI

 

[Reli]

THere's a couple sites with the manual (Philips D8444) but I've never bothered

 

[goodman]

It's so bad, that philips use this cheap plastic for cassette decks.
I have 2 boombox with the same plastic decks. I'm lucky, that my decks work perfect.
If you want to repair you must find similar gear from another mechanism.

 

[MesaAZGuy]

It's so bad, that philips use this cheap plastic for cassette decks.
I have 2 boombox with the same plastic decks. I'm lucky, that my decks work perfect.
If you want to repair you must find similar gear from another mechanism.

I've got a gear coming from the Czech Republic. I think the seller is SiliconeMind. To be honest, the new replacement gear will be of a better material. If the rest of the deck looks as good as it does, this thing will most likely outlast me! I fixed the tape door with the liquid Loctite crazy glue gel. It is holding very well despite my multiple attempts to open and close it. Time will tell. Over all, I like the style of this radio and the sound is really quite good. It may even sound better once I get the silver coned speakers in. They just shipped out of NY. I hope to get this radio done in time for the Venice Beach meet so my wife has a radio to play with

Here’s what I did to mine

https://youtu.be/8aNOc2V0IBI

What did you use to time the LED's? I may just do a static LED display with an on/off switch to save time. I do love it. Excellent work! Funny I watched the entire video and got upset when you turned it off! LOL. I was getting hypnotized by it!

 

[Northerner]

It is quite mesmerising lol. It’s a simple circuit board but there are two of them. One of them has the timing tweaked ever so slightly so the red and the blue gradually go out of sink so as to change the effect. Did this years ago. Still have it tho

 

[goodman]

Look this topic, there is my theory/idea about add BT module:

https://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php/topic/25677-12v-bluetooth-to-d8443/

 

[baddboybill]

Only down fall to some of the new gears made is that they are a hair bit smaller causing slight grinding issues while in play mode. They can be heard mostly when volume is low. But the biggest negative is the auto stop don’t work because of this. Good luck with restoration!!!

Also your stereo issue most likely caused by the stereo 19k pot. It needs readjustment. It is vr3208. Here it is on schematic
How I adjust it is to find a strong station with in the band Then turn the pot clockwise to the end and slowly turn counterclockwise until LED lights up and stop mark the location then do the opposite turning it all the way counter clockwise to the end and then back clockwise slowly till the LED lights up and stop and mark location. Then between the two points that you marked lineup the pot in between the two marks and test for FM stereo along the band you may have to move it one way or another between marks to get strongest stereo for led to light up. Good luck!!!