Need a good tech to fix my Ferguson 3T18 boombox (UK)

[Ferguson3T18]

Hi, My Ferguson 3T18 boombox suddenly stopped working, my partner who was listening to it a the time said there was a very loud buzz that made her jump then no sound. The boombox does power up, lights work, tape goes round Rw ff etc.. Speakers make the normal hum and move when switched on and off. This is basically as it was when I bought it on EBay a few years ago. It was professionally repaired back then but the guy who fixed it unfortunately does not do repairs anymore. I guess there must be some weakness in the circuit for this to happen again. So is there anyone capable of fixing this at a sensible price here in the UK that might be willing to take this on?
The boombox I believe is a variant of this http://www.wikiboombox.com/GE%203-5286A
Cheers.

 

[Ferguson3T18]

Hi, My Ferguson 3T18 boombox suddenly stopped working, my partner who was listening to it a the time said there was a very loud buzz that made her jump then no sound. The boombox does power up, lights work, tape goes round Rw ff etc.. Speakers make the normal hum and move when switched on and off. This is basically as it was when I bought it on EBay a few years ago. It was professionally repaired back then but the guy who fixed it unfortunately does not do repairs anymore. I guess there must be some weakness in the circuit for this to happen again. So is there anyone capable of fixing this at a sensible price here in the UK that might be willing to take this on?
The boombox I believe is a variant of this http://www.wikiboombox.com/GE 3-5286A
Cheers.

I can probably assume by the thunderous silence to my thread only matched by my broken boombox that good electronics techs in the UK are very few and far between these days?

 

[T-STER]

Your right, techs in the UK are rare, a lot of us learn to do our own repairs. There may be one place to try let me look

http://www.galaxyrepairsandspares.com

Give these guys a call.

 

[Northerner]

Yup as Tre says they're pretty much non-existent. That's why most of us learn the basics ourselves. Whereabouts are you in the uk?

 

[Ferguson3T18]

Yup as Tre says they're pretty much non-existent. That's why most of us learn the basics ourselves. Whereabouts are you in the uk?

I live in Mid Wales, I may try Galaxy spares and repairs as suggested above if they will let me post my boombox to them, has anybody here used Galaxy repairs? I don't think I can fix it myself, there's a lot of components in the 3T18 and it's not a simple problem like a dodgy switch.

 

[Dbzerk]

If you have the time and patience, you could try to find a service manual online and diagnose / trace the problem?

 

[Ferguson3T18]

If you have the time and patience, you could try to find a service manual online and diagnose / trace the problem?

Apart from a cheap multimeter and soldering iron I don't have the proper equipment or knowledge to diagnose the problem. I struggled with the Boomboxery registration question so diagnosing electronic circuits would be way out of my league : (

 

[Dbzerk]

If you have the time and patience, you could try to find a service manual online and diagnose / trace the problem?

Apart from a cheap multimeter and soldering iron I don't have the proper equipment or knowledge to diagnose the problem. I struggled with the Boomboxery registration question so diagnosing electronic circuits would be way out of my league : (

Fair enough. Hope you find some help. Even on Australia it's hard to find decent techs now, especially in this day of age where we throw out and replace the broken

 

[Nickeccles]

Hi!

Contact me, I am good at these - they can be very problematic both mechanical & electrical wise!!

Mine took me months to get up to full working order!! I love this model it's hard to find a good one now..........

Send me a Pm buddy

Nick


Before Restoration






& Now........

 

[Ferguson3T18]

Update, I managed to find someone to fix the Fergi. Apparently it was a blown resistor that had become open on the main amplifier board. The guy who fixed said the resistor that was open was the wrong value and wattage (luckily he was able to track down a service manual / circuit diagram for the 3T18). Now this boombox not only works but it actually sounds better than ever! I,m not sure how the wrong resistor got there, a manufacturing fault? Unlikely. Perhaps a previous repair job, more likely. Anyway it's great to have it back and working again, I certainly would not have thought a resistor would have been responsible for the original fault.

 

[Northerner]

Congrats on the fix

 

[Hisrudeness]

Update, I managed to find someone to fix the Fergi. Apparently it was a blown resistor that had become open on the main amplifier board. The guy who fixed said the resistor that was open was the wrong value and wattage (luckily he was able to track down a service manual / circuit diagram for the 3T18). Now this boombox not only works but it actually sounds better than ever! I,m not sure how the wrong resistor got there, a manufacturing fault? Unlikely. Perhaps a previous repair job, more likely. Anyway it's great to have it back and working again, I certainly would not have thought a resistor would have been responsible for the original fault.

Good that you got it fixed and nice that member Nic Eccles offered to help.