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Success Stories If you have successfully repaired or restored a piece of equipment, why not write up what you did and post details here. Particularly if it was interesting, unusual or challenging. PLEASE DO NOT POST REQUESTS FOR HELP HERE! |
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4th Nov 2021, 9:35 pm | #1 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,834
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Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
To sit alongside my mainly high power, high end, 70s and 80s hifi receivers collection I acquired this Amstrad 5050 because I love its looks and I feel it creates a balance to my collection that is mainly Japanese and as I say, high end. I have other British receivers too FWIW.
Now, as we all know, Amstrad gets a bad name for pretty much everything apart from price. So, I switched it on and apart from a bit of switch cleaner here and there it worked perfectly! All bulbs working and 'perfect' sound. I mean, the construction is almost laughable in places with bits of cardboard glued in place to shield lamps, thin strips of folded steel screwed in place as mounting points for the chipboard cover, a mains transformer held in place with pop rivets the heads of which are barely wider than the trannie’s mounting holes, PCB components lying at all angles, a PCB like baked cardboard, wiring like a rat’s nest... pause for breath… but! as I say, it works and it worked first time. There’s not too many of my big bucks receivers that I can say that about! As can be seen from the photos, the faux wood plastic covering had shrunk and was literally falling off so I used a similarly shaded and figured roll of Fablon that'd I'd kept for decades just waiting for such a purpose, to replace it. It now looks like new and it works a treat on FM, MW and LW. So, not a long and interesting restoration story to tell I’m afraid, but more of a surprise given Amstrad's reputation. In fact, I bought two sets from the same person and the second one also works straight off. I’ll be offering that for sale in due course.
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4th Nov 2021, 9:40 pm | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,834
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Photos of the 're-veneered' set.
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A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever.. |
4th Nov 2021, 9:41 pm | #3 |
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fife, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 22,902
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
What a marketing slogan:
Amstrad - not as bad as you expected! Actually it's quite reasonable for a cheapie. They weren't ripping anybody off and those with a limited budget could get on with enjoying the music. THere was worse electronics perpetrated inside radiogram cabinets by lots of household names - some once great names but they did have queen anne legs. David
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4th Nov 2021, 9:52 pm | #4 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,834
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Quote:
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A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever.. |
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5th Nov 2021, 6:11 am | #5 |
Nonode
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gloucester, Glos. UK.
Posts: 2,150
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Nice to see an Amstrad unit being restored or loved.
I have an Amstrad 8000 amplifier which was Lord Sugars first home built product which i found at a carboot years back that works just fine (as much as it can) . Always had a soft spot for his products and as David says they were quite reasonable for the money.
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Oh I've had that for years dear!! |
5th Nov 2021, 8:22 am | #6 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,834
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Quote:
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A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever.. |
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5th Nov 2021, 12:02 pm | #7 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,970
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
That 5050 isn't bad at all and was one of the better Amstrad audio products. It was well reviewed and sold in large numbers. Lots of students had them balanced on top of study bedroom wardrobes when I was at university in the 70s.
I seem to remember they had a pretty fearsome switchon thump. |
5th Nov 2021, 12:06 pm | #8 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,834
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Quote:
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A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever.. |
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5th Nov 2021, 4:25 pm | #9 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Southwold, Suffolk, UK.
Posts: 8,338
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
FABLONOUS!
Leave it as is and enjoy. it's when the PCBs start to crack you'll start tutting......
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Edward. |
5th Nov 2021, 7:41 pm | #10 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK.
Posts: 3,675
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Quote:
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5th Nov 2021, 8:00 pm | #11 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,970
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
AMS never really understood the hifi market, but the 5050 is arguably the nearest he came to getting it right. Lots of corners were cut, but in the right places - 'value engineering' as it should be done. They gave genuine low end hifi performance at music centre prices, and didn't look embarrassing when your friends came round.
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5th Nov 2021, 8:01 pm | #12 |
Hexode
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Luton, Bedfordshire, UK.
Posts: 457
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
I really like the look of it….very 70’s Goodmans styling. Great job on the restoration. My recollection of Amstrad “hifi” as a teen in the very early 80’s was those silver all in one units gracing Dixon’s stores that were designed to look like separates in a cabinet with a smoked glass door but were Just a big plastic box with a chip board back.
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5th Nov 2021, 8:18 pm | #13 | |
Nonode
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Gloucester, Glos. UK.
Posts: 2,150
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Quote:
When i worked for Rumbelows back in the 70s/80s his products dominated our shelves and to be fair , made me a lot of commission selling them!
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Oh I've had that for years dear!! |
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5th Nov 2021, 8:29 pm | #14 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,834
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
For those interested, the 5050 is on page 7 of this issue of the Amstrad Times. The 'paper' is quite an interesting read actually with some anecdotal stuff about Alan.
https://www.amshold.com/social_media...trad_Times.pdf
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A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever.. |
6th Nov 2021, 3:14 am | #15 |
Heptode
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 862
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Earlier Amstrad stuff was ok, just that, ok. I had an IC8000 amp when I was about 13 and it was tolerable. And it had a magnetic phono input which the Linear 505 which preceded it sadly lacked so it was a step up, all things being relative I suppose...
Regards, Paul
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6th Nov 2021, 9:05 am | #16 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,834
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Quote:
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A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever.. |
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6th Nov 2021, 4:18 pm | #17 |
Heptode
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 862
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
It was a Linear brand amp, it had a ceramic phono input but no magnetic option. It was a dinky little thing I paid a fiver for. 5 watts peak per channel. Not hi-fi by any means but slightly better than what preceded it.
Regards, Paul
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...No, it's not supposed to pick up the World Service, it's not a radio! |
6th Nov 2021, 4:23 pm | #18 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,834
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Re: Amstrad 5050 hifi receiver 'restoration'
Gotcha thanks. I was/am aware of Linear and I think I owned one a few years ago. Many musicians with not much money to spare often used Linear amps.
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A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever.. |