First Blaster!!! YAY!!!

[Cpl-Chronic]

First Holy Grail - The mighty SHARP GF-777Z. I took the quick & expensive route & snagged 1 from a china seller on eBay for 625-US, shipped & insured to my door. I msg'd the seller before he shipped it & let him know I'm a member of this forum & my plans to mention my purchase if it turns out OK. Anyway, here's a quick & dirty pic to show the overall general condition:

More to follow shortly....

 

[Maze83]

great stuff yeah I've been lookin there as well, what else do you have??

peace Maze83

 

[tschott93]

I just got my 1st "Holy Grail" (My Conion) and the GF-777 is the next on my list. Looks like you got a nice one! Question.... Why are these 777's in China in this great condition? It's like their is a time capsul that they opend and these where inside.

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

A couple of teasers while I get the album set up:

Will post more soon...

 

[Reli]

I just got my 1st "Holy Grail" (My Conion) and the GF-777 is the next on my list. Looks like you got a nice one! Question.... Why are these 777's in China in this great condition? It's like their is a time capsul that they opend and these where inside.

They are from a warranty return center
If they didn't want to bother fixing it, they would just hold onto it while Sharp sent the customer a brand new one

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

The first 8 pics that follow show that the overall condition is excellent! no major scrathes, no dents, gouges or cracks whatsover. Cosmetically, it's an easy 9/10 with all ines clean & straight. The mounting posts are perfect with all screws present & holding strong. No creaks or rattles at all. No patches or body work. It looks like original paint too,

Good shape but not NEW looking which would be a dead giveaway. All tape functions are working althoug RR/FF is weak & the APLS senses but doesn't engage. The tuner has issues, I live near Detroit & even the strongest transmitters on the dial won't come in clear at all & stereo is only a dream yet to come true. Line-In is non-existent but maybe a 'detox' spa might help free up the swithces & crackly pots(volume/balance). I have to turn the unit up to 10 to get a low signal from line in but Phono is a strong clean signal. Good sign, hopefully.

1-FRONT

Direct Link: http://i47.tinypic.com/27wv9v.jpg

2-LEFT-FRONT

Direct Link: http://i50.tinypic.com/2ij33s.jpg

3-RIGHT-FRONT

Direct Link: http://i45.tinypic.com/so7psz.jpg

4-TOP-VIEW

Direct Link: http://i47.tinypic.com/25r2k42.jpg

5-Back-Left-TOP

Direct Link: http://i47.tinypic.com/97o3er.jpg

6-Back-Right-BOTTOM

Direct Link: http://i50.tinypic.com/35aj9eg.jpg

7-Left-SIDE

Direct Link: http://i48.tinypic.com/2akeao4.jpg


8-RIGHT-SIDE

Direct Link: http://i49.tinypic.com/bfga6a.jpg


NEXT POST: Interior & speakers

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

This next series of photos shows the condition insiide the box. As you can see, no abuse is evident & all areas look OK but the last photo shows the tuenr stage & if you look closely 2 burnt spots are present on the circuit board & that area of the traces are discoulored. I think I'm gonna need a new tuner board & I'm not looking forward to threading the strings back on the new unit as I have no experience.

9-Full-View-OF-guts

Direct Link: http://i50.tinypic.com/314f39u.jpg


10-INTERIOR VIEW OF LEFT SIDE WITH SPEAKERS

Direct Link: http://i48.tinypic.com/avls10.jpg


11-INTERIOR VIEW OF RIGHT SIDE WITH SPEAKERS

Direct Link: http://i45.tinypic.com/11w7skg.jpg


12-Outer-WOOFER-MIDBASS-4W-4-OHM

Direct Link: http://i50.tinypic.com/rawww8.jpg


13-Super-WOOFER-4W-4OHM

Direct Link: http://i46.tinypic.com/kugdv.jpg


14-5cm-Tweeters

Direct Link: http://i50.tinypic.com/apjvqx.jpg


15-ECHO-Spring

Direct Link: http://i48.tinypic.com/mr7ekw.jpg

16-Damaged Tuner STAGE

Direct Link: http://i48.tinypic.com/fasshc.jpg

Well, what do you guys think? IS this a decent score?

 

[KingExcel]

Excellent score indeed,
Any box arriving from the other side of the planet with no damage especially on one of these babies is incredible to say the least, great score.

next

 

[check tha bass]

It looks like you got a very nice example of a 777,to me condition is everything,and if i recieved a 777 in that condition i would be exremely happy,the rew/ff is an easy fix,2 dirty little tyres inside the decks,the tuner can also be fixed,probebly worn or dirty pots on the tuner board,actually that tuner board looks filthy,wonder if you could give the pots a blast with switch cleaner,maybe that would cure it ? and the line in being quiet,thats a dirty/worn selector switch on the back that you switch between line in and phono,all these are common on these boxes,to sum it up,i'de rather have a clean box with faults than a rough fully working one..i think you got a really good deal

By the way,does that sign on the wall light up ? looks cool..

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

Thanx for the encouragement. To answer a question: Yes, the sign is neon white behind a plastic signage. It's a limited circulation bar-sign the Labatt Reps gave to bars for moving product. I believe the 1 in the photo came from a strip bar.

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

@ MasterBlaster: The seller packed it with lots of stryofoam & then wrapped the styro in flat rigd pressboard panels to protect the foam from punctures. On top of that, he used a double-wall heavy duty coardboard box & taped it up like a :superduper: bastard. I'm pretty sure it was smart of me to mention I'm on this forum all the time & will tell people about him if I'm happy with my purchase. *wink* It's pretty safe to say, he lived up to the challenge.

 

[docs]

Nice grab well done.

I don't think those black marks on the tuner board are anything to worry about.
Try get yourself a can of air to blast across that board to give it a bit of a clean and ofcourse switch clean all the pots and switches.
Failing that, the FM easily gets out of alignment but a quick turn of a screw can bring the reception back satisfactorily.
I would certainly do these and if these don't work, look at fixing the issue before even considering replacing the board

Good luck !!!

 

[stormsven]

Congrats. Great catch

 

[shaggybus]

good find,
im a bit dubious about buying from china because they do copy stuff to a poor standard

 

[bklyn sound]

congrats on you beautiful 777...the tuner just needs an adjustment and that should fix it.....a good cleaning on the idler tires should fix your rewind fast foward issue ...fatdog made a post about changing the belts on a 777...great pdf ..ti will show you how to disasseble the radio

 

[check tha bass]

im a bit dubious about buying from china because they do copy stuff to a poor standard

Shaggybus,dont listen to those rumours man, the 777 was ever copied,some 777's were marked "made in japan" and some were marked "made in china" the chinese ones were not copies or poorer quality,all it was that they probebly moved assembly from japan to china,but the 777 were never copied..thats just a silly rumour that someone started and it seemed to have stuck for some reason..

No company could copy a 777 and sell it and make money,the meterials would cost a fortune and they would have to sell many thousands to actually make a profit..
There is alot more things that can be copied in china that is easier to make and sell,like expensive fashion clothes and expensive watches ect..

 

[goodman]

Congrats!!! Boombox is in good condition!!!

 

[ViennaSound]

Great start for collecting! :super:

 

[Cpl-Chronic]

Well, on closer inspection I did find 1 crack along the side of the rear cover but it's not bad & seems to be glued already. I used contact cleaner to spray down the switches & tuner board, etc. but the tuner is still out of whack. I need to know which pot to adjust to bring it back to life. It appears to be working OK as I do get some stations in but not clear at all. The Line-In switch & balance came back to life, the volume isn't as scratchy & now I'm playing some beat-box classics through my CD palyer & it sounds good overall. The left outer woofer is crackly & the tweeter on the left doesn't work at all yet. It may be the crossover cap affecting both as the drivers are wired in paralell. The super woofers are in perfect shape & acually sound pretty good. I will post more details as I work on it.

 

[THAFUZZ]

Congratulations! You were very fortunate that it arrived safe and sound. It's so risky shipping from anywhere around the world.