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Hi,
I just recently purchased a Sherwood S-3000 tuner and according to the seller it has a hum. The tuner in question is in beautiful physical condition. I would like to send this tuner to someone that has previous experience with Sherwood tuners for a complete check up and possible parts upgrade. Anyone here knows a good, experienced Sherwood technician? Also, should I seek an internal or external MPX stereo decoder adapter for this unit? I'm open to recommendations. Thank you for your time.
Follow Ups:
This is my second update. I received the MPX card from Bob and now the tuner is on its way to Lloyd of AEA audio for cleaning,adjustments and modification. As soon as I receive the tuner back i'll post my impressions.
This is an update to my initial post. I went ahead and ordered the MPX card from Bob. As soon as I get it installed in my Sherwood tuner I will post the results. Thanks to everyone that replied to my post.
someday, need to get around to building it.
Good luck with yours; let us know how it turns out!
all the best,
mrh
It depends,
i) do you have good FM stations nearby
ii) will you need a good antenna?
iii) a good antenna for a valve FM tuner of this type means a directional boom-type with gain
if yes to all three even an MPX unit is worth it.
IME valve fm tuners are relevant today's high RF everywhere world.
as my earlier posts covered.
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
1) The S-3000 is a wonderful tuner
2) The mono, vacuum-tube Sherwoods are the best sounding inexpensive tuners that I know of, full stop.
3) I can enthusiastically second the previous recommendation of "Radio X"; Mike knows his stuff.
...but...
The cost of having a pro "top and tail" an S-3000 may well (far) exceed its value.
Now, mind you, I am not saying "don't do it", but I AM saying that the end result will almost certainly NOT be cost-effective, from a strictly objective perspective.
If you love (for lack of a better word!) this particular tuner and really, really want to render it a "forever" piece for your collection, then do it.
Otherwise, perhaps keep looking for another one in better working order (my track record with Sherwood tube tuners working well "as found" is extremely good, FWIW) -- if you find a good working/bad looking one, you can "hybridize" if you like (since you say this one is excellent cosmetically). You can also always "flip" the one you have now (with or without the above-mentioned "hybridization") to help recoup some expense.
I really couldn't ever recommend investing more than $100 (all-in) for an S-3000 (again, FWIW). NOT because the S-3000 isn't a wonderful monophonic FM tuner (and there is NOTHING wrong with great-quality mono FM; it beats mediocre sounding stereo FM all to heck, IMO), but because there are just too many of them around, too cheap (at least in New England -- and probably elsewhere, too, since they were made in Chicago).
Sorry for the run-on post; I am probably a little hypercaffeinated this morning! :-)
In the interest of full and complete disclosure, as I type this I am owner of:
S-3000
S-2000 (AM-FM mono)
S-3000III (as yet untested)
S-3000V (MPX stereo)
The most expensive of the four was the S-2000, an eBAY purchase ($50).
all the best,
mrh
I'd offer a comment on mono and/or the importance (or not) of an MPX unit: I tend to listen to radio while I'm doing something else, and often not in the same room as the system in which the tuner resides, so having a mono tuner is not an issue - more important to be able to get and hold a station and sound good.
My question is about the size of these tuners. I have a Sherwood receiver that is nice and compact, and I'm attracted to the S-3000 because it appears compact, not to mention having a nice style, imho. Would one of you proud owners be so kind as to provide rough dimensions of the S-3000 (and similar) series?
tia,
David
14 x 10.5 x 4 in., 16 lb.
I've been MEANING to get upstairs with a tape measure... ;-)
all the best,
mrh
Nt.
Meat; It's the right thing to do. Romans 14:2
He did a great job on mine a few years ago. Just wish i got some decent fm stations in my area
Happy to advise. My main tuna is an old rebuilt valve simulcast stereo rcvr with an SS MPX kit inside from the UK, and the power amps off.
Bear in mind that valve tuners are generally less sensitive and less discriminating between close frequencies. So they tend to need an antenna that can help with that. They do resist RFI and EMI rather better though.
Driving valve tuners real hard is a good thing to do.
There's a US web site called FM Fool which will tell you
i) where your desired stations are and you can then plot their bearings from your place on a map.
ii) how strong their transmitters are.
Warmest
Tim Bailey
Skeptical Measurer & Audio Scrounger
You may want to look at the MPX board supplied by Bob Fitzgerald. It is designed around the LM4500 MPX IC and works well with an S3000. Performs better than a tube based MPX, quieter, better separation and small enough to fit on the S3000 chassis.
Here's the link: http://www.fmmpx.com/
HA
HA,
That is awesome info. I was thinking about the best performance since my system is already all tube. I'm definitely going to try it. Thank you.
See if you can get on the work queue of either Mike Samra or Don Sachs (dls123). Both of those "inmates" do fine work.
The MPX adapter is a fairly easy DIY project. DIYer extraordinaire S. Bench has provided the "blueprint".
Eli D.
Ely,For what it's worth, the LM1800 is what I refer to as a "first generation" multiplex decoder IC. There was a second generation that had better all-around specs - like lower THD and higher separation. I believe the Sanyo LA3361 was one but there were a few others - Hitachi and Rohm come to mind as manufacturers. I also remember that some were "pin for pin" compatible with the 1800. Have no idea what few if any of them may be found found today.
Circuitry was very simple compared to the discreet units and as your diagram shows - only one "simple" adjustment ("free running" 19Khz oscillator) is necessary - as the note indicates.
Charles
Edits: 09/24/15 09/24/15 09/24/15 09/24/15 09/24/15
Eli,
Thanks for the info. I will contact these gentlemen to get their opinions. About the DIY MPX poject, well even though i'm a little handy, I rather have someone with some prior experience work on my electronics. I do not want to ruin it or the rest of my system.
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