my new sony fh-7 mk3.

[bill]

no pictures yet guys,but i got a mint and i mean pretty much like brand new sony fh7 mk3 yesterday.
even the tape deck works and it sounds great.
i have to say this sony rivals the pc55 i once owned for sound quality. it sounds very wonderful. the three way apm speakers on the mk3 are very good.
it is not as loud as the fh215rs i have ,but the sound is balanced and pretty superb overall.
of course the rechargeable battery did not come with it.
the radio tuner is pretty decent however the design of it i do find a little bit frustrating. there is no memory for the stations you tune and you are limited to either fast slow up down buttons.
a good shortwave reciever.
it really is a cool looking boombox. the eq sections sliders have red leds on them and it is very classy.
the quality of it is superb. why no one ever used this fine little stereo is beyond me.
i will get some photos up soon.

 

[Fatdog]

Is it true that the FH-7 doesn't take batteries?

 

[bill]

Is it true that the FH-7 doesn't take batteries?

the fh7 does not take batteries in the same way most other boomboxes do.
the bottom componet of it is the powersupply.
these sold without it but you could buy the rechargeable power supply seperately. it basically is a battery inside a case the same dimensions as the mains powered power supply.
so while it is true this boombox did not take d cel batteries it had its own rechargeable battery pack that intergrated into the unit perfectly.

this is a very heavy boombox. it has to be over thirty pounds.
i am pretty certain the reason they went with the replaceable power supply is due to the fact it would have most likely been close to fifty pounds with conventional batteries in it.
i also think that this thing would have burned through ten d cels in only fifteen or so minutes.
the rechargeable power supplies come up on ebay every now and then.
i dont think i would bother getting one tho. any battery that old would most likely not work very well and rechargeable batttery tech back then wasnt too great.
i am going to get some pictures of it up soon.
it really is in outstanding shape.

 

[bill]

pictures.
so if you zoom in to the power supply bit at the bottom.
the battery for this looks exactly like that bit,but it is marked dc operation.

i havent cleaned this box at all. i think if you take a look at pictures you can see it really is in fantastic shape for a box from i believe 84 ish.

 

[Fatdog]

I don't recall Freddie ever mentioning a rechargeable battery. Dang. I wish I had scooped up the last one I saw on eBay now.

 

[bill]

I don't recall Freddie ever mentioning a rechargeable battery. Dang. I wish I had scooped up the last one I saw on eBay now.

oh yes it absolutely did come with that option.
the bottom bit power supply could be had in ac and in dc for taking the unit out and about.
as i say this unit is very heavy.
i thiink it is extremely good and well it just looks really nice as well.
the brushed aluminum trim and the unique speakers complemented by the cool eq leds really set this up as one of the nicest three piece boomboxes i think.

the bigger badder fh215r models i have are also very nice,but even with there ultra hi tech dispalys and remote controls and bigger output,they lack something this model has.
brute force can be nice no doubt,this model tho seems better made and the sound of it it really balanced.

the ac power supply is basically just a big transformer with rectifiers, i think tho that big transformer is part of the reason this box sounds so good.
so yes once again this unit absolutely did come with a dc powerpack. the whole unit comes apart into mini components like a pc 55.
the owner could use either ac or dc with it.
there is no way this unit could have run on d cels in my opinion the draw would have just sucked the life out of them in minutes.
its a very good sounding boombox and it can go quite loud. it is not bass shy either.

 

[Jovie]

It would be something if manufacturers would put the same custom rechargeable DC battery packs into today's shelf systems.With attached speakers and a handle,the big boomer would be alive and well today....if you can get past their styling

I hope to have something similar to your fh-7 someday.Though every bit a blaster (and of the first order) models like that have been totally overlooked,it seems,by many collectors.

 

[bill]

It would be something if manufacturers would put the same custom rechargeable DC battery packs into today's shelf systems.With attached speakers and a handle,the big boomer would be alive and well today....if you can get past their styling

I hope to have something similar to your fh-7 someday.Though every bit a blaster (and of the first order) models like that have been totally overlooked,it seems,by many collectors.

not by all collectors mind you.
not too long ago a mint fh215r brought close to five hundred bucks us.
its good these arent all snapped up yet. they are really very very very good sounding.
it and its siblings the bigger fh units i have really are great looking and sounding.
i would also argue its squared off design was several years ahead of its tiime.
many other makers took styling cues directly from these early fh series boomboxes.
the quality tho of this boombox is way different from any of the big digital amped jvcs out there today.
the wieght is so different on a old boombox with a big transformer.
this box really does sit in the same range as the pc550 .
i think the rechargeable dc power supply as cool as it was is one of the short comings of it tho.
as soon as anything has a proprietary battery is limits its appeal in someways particularly when you cannot get that battery pack any more.
i mean its easy enough to wire up in series some batteries and stuff it into a case but who really is going to do that when the battery pack dies.

 

[floyd]

that kicks total a$$ bill ,what a spectacular box!

 

[bill]

thanks man. it is really nice. i was shocked to find it at value village for cheap. lately they have been pricing their stuff way to high up here and it has been thrashed.
this thing tho was cheap and cherry.

 

[monchito]

man i love the way those sony looks

 

[Master Z]

I can dig it.

 

[redbenjoe]

great score , bill -
its beautiful -

also --if you google up some gel-cell sites --
there is a good chance that you will find a re-chargeable battery --
close enough to the OEM rating and size.

 

[bill]

i dont think it would be much of a problem building a battery pack that was extremely close to the original.
i oould probably get it so it fix inside a six inch electronics box about the same diementions as the original. i might do that at some point i dont know i have so many things i gotta do. i still need to build a new battery for my ebike. the battery i built last year i used up by the end of the season.
this fh7 is in pretty much pefect unused shape. small paint mark on it really small. that will come off with some isopropyl on a qtip. its aluminum there so i am not worried about hurting the finish.
if you guys can get one of these for a decent price you really should get one. i mean they way it sounds is really really really good.
with no questions in my mind its every bit as cool as a pc55. still not a bass monster but for sure bassier than the pc55.

 

[Radio raheem]

Great score bill, im sure one of these would blow away a pc550 as the one i had was very bass shy, the 55 is a better sounding box though. Boxes like this are very underated, i had one of those big sonys you have but it had speaker rot but even with that the power of it oblitorated the m90. Anyway nice catch well done.

 

[Patron]

man Bill it looks great and i can only imagine the sound of it b/c i also have a FH-7
it has some issues but the cassette sounds amazing. so powerfull unreal.!!

ill get some pics later.

 

[bill]

it is a really tough pic between this box and a pc 55. the tape deck on the fh7 mk3 is really good.
there is more bass than the pc55 however there is a slightly nicer sound to the pc55s tuner section.
i also like the analog tuner on the pc55.
the fh7 mk3 i have is really in mind blowing shape.
its in as good shape as the two year old kaboom i havent used too much.
i dont know why i got this sony. i mean the guy before me plugged it in but he couldnt get the tape to work. hard to get the tape deck to play if it is not plugged into the back of the unit.
even funnier was when i got it the wife knew i had found a boombox as she could hear the ziggy marley tape that was in the deck blarrng across the other end of the store.
the sony fh series of boomboxes are extremely good . i think some may not like the styling of them however to me these were just as influential in styling as the m90 and m70 were.
i mean if you look at the square black compo boxes that came out after this sony its pretty obvious the impact these had on other makers.
theres also the flat speakers , with so many makers copying the look of these. usually a round speaker behind a peice of square foam.
the acoustic properties of these apm speakers its different from round speakers. the bass seems very hard hitting.
there is no loudness button on the fh7 mk3 i have,but this unit has a very good eq that can boost or attenuate frequencies quite well.
its a really well made boombox. really screams eighties to me in terms of the hitech looks and features for its day.

 

[Prime]

Actually, the optional battery section is the EBP-78 and it takes 12 D cells
that are inserted into a drawer that slides out in the back. During DC
operation the main amplifier is bypassed completely. A smaller power
amp located in the EPB-78 is used in lieu of the main amp.
The smaller amp puts out about 3-4 watts per channel.


Here is a picture of the EBP-78 on its side.

 

[bill]

Great score bill, im sure one of these would blow away a pc550 as the one i had was very bass shy, the 55 is a better sounding box though. Boxes like this are very underated, i had one of those big sonys you have but it had speaker rot but even with that the power of it oblitorated the m90. Anyway nice catch well done.

you know the big ones like these like the one i have two of really are loud.
loud enough that i would say it can compete with a home stereo with a decent set of book shelves.
the speakers are a lot easier to refoam than you might think theres info online on how to do it with plastic tubbing and chamois cloth. i dont see any signs of rot yet so thats a good thing.

 

[hemiguy2006]

Bill that is one sweet looking sony.
I got to check one out at this years meet.
Heavy sucker!!!
Congrats its a beauty