Wanted, AVA FM-5 Super Tuner or Super Tuner Two

avahifi · « **on:** 13 Jan 2009, 09:45 pm »

I am looking for a Dyna FM-5 tuner in excellent working order that has our AVA Super Tuner or Super Tuner Two board set installed.

I just figured out a very very nice upgrade to the audio circuits in these units and am looking for one for myself.

Call me if you want to part with one for instructions as to how to determine if the original Dyna front end box is still good and how to pack for shipping. 651-330-9871

Thanks,

Frank Van Alstine

Wayner · « **Reply #1 on:** 13 Jan 2009, 11:00 pm »

Frank

I have an FM-5 you can have, but I don't have any AVA boards on board. The tuner works very well.

Wayner

rlee8394 · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Jan 2009, 01:23 am »

Frank,

I have a Fet Three Plus Tuner S/N:100489B. It has a Transcendence PC-4A RF board and a Transcendence PC-5A IF/Audio board. Would this be a good candidate? I know about removing the flywheel prior to shipping.

Thanks,
Ron

avahifi · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Jan 2009, 12:46 pm »

Hi Ron,

Yes that tuner will work for me. How much do you want for it?

Call me please to go over the "front end" listening test requirement. 651-330-9871

Regards,

Frank

rlee8394 · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Jan 2009, 02:28 pm »

Frank,

I'll give you a call later today. I did check one of your past posts about tuning to inter-station white noise up around 108 MHz. All seemed fine. I could not detect any sputtering, just steady white noise. I don't know what I want for it, but I'm anxious to get new AVA equipment. I have a stock Hafler DH-330 tuner. Your upcoming line board seems interesting. If you can replace the output of the DH-330 with the new Insight line board in much the same matter that you did with the FT-920 tuner, maybe that would be an option. I have lots of options. We'll talk later today.

Ron

avahifi · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Jan 2009, 08:43 pm »

Hafler DH-330, my memory fades, is that the one with the big red LED display or the one with the smaller LCD display?

Frank

rlee8394 · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Jan 2009, 10:18 pm »

Frank,
It's the one with the big red LED display. Used a TI TL084CN quad op-amp for the audio output. Go here for a ton of Hafler manuals for download:

http://hafler.com/techsupport/index.asp?ID=3

rlee8394 · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Jan 2009, 05:24 pm »

Frank,
I sent you a PM with the UPS tracking #. You should see it sometime early nest week.
Ron

Tom Alverson · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Jan 2009, 12:07 am »

Quote from: rlee8394 on 14 Jan 2009, 10:18 pm

Frank,
It's the one with the big red LED display. Used a TI TL084CN quad op-amp for the audio output. Go here for a ton of Hafler manuals for download:

http://hafler.com/techsupport/index.asp?ID=3

Ron:

The TL084 is only used for the high blend circuit that blends to mono when the signal is weak. The audio output IC is a LM1458 one the stock units. I have the Fet-Valve version of this tuner and the LM1458 has been replaced by an external box with the FET-Valve circuitry in it.

Tom
p.s. how is the job search going?

rlee8394 · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Jan 2009, 02:37 am »

Tom,
I got out my manual and figured that out. As a matter of fact, I just finished unplugging that blend board, installed some decent jacks, and wired up the output. I did replace the LM1458 with a MC34082P device some time ago. I'm looking at possibly dropping in a AD828 op-amp in it's place for the time being. I went back and dug through my AB issues and found that in the Feb '86 issue, Frank did develop a Transcendence Tuner based on the DH-330. So I wrote him a nice long letter basically to see if retrofitting the upcoming Insight "all in one" board would be a viable upgrade to the DH-330. I see that Frank posted on the Apple Core board of AC that his Mac had just died, so I don't know if he read my letter yet.

The new job is great!! I started on 8/4/08. I'm with Eagle Alliance as a Systems Engineer Leader. I'm in the Architecture and Infrastructure Group. I support the NSA GROUNDBREAKER Contract. It's a much better gig than what I had before, so everything worked out well. Go here for details on Eagle Alliance:

http://www.csc.com/eaglealliance

Thanks for asking,
Ron

Tom Alverson · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 12:00 am »

Great news on the job. That MC34082P sounds like a Motorola version of the TL082 which should be an upgrade from the LM1458 (a dual 741 like opamp if I recall). I would be carefull about putting any super high speed opamp in that location as the board layout (grounding, bypassing etc) might not be adequate. If you do try anything high speed, I would put a good scope on the output and look for high frequency oscillations.

I have the Fet-Valve DH-330 here and the LM1458 has been removed and wiring added to connect to an external Fet-Valve amplifier box. If Frank is looking for a DH-330 to fool with mine is certainly available.

Tom

rlee8394 · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 03:00 am »

Hopefully the upcoming Insight project board will fit in the same place as the current "blend" board. I'd also be interested in Frank's other optimizations of the RF/IF circuitry he performed when he did the Transcendence Tuner.
Ron

Dan Kolton · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 03:37 pm »

Got my FM5 back from Frank yesterday with the new audio output mods. OMG!!! This almost makes my Sony XDR-F1HD sound broken. Much cleaner high end with no edge, and far better imaging. It almost sounds like a CD if the broadcast is good.

Many thanks, Frank!!!

avahifi · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 03:40 pm »

I received the Dyna FM-5 with our series two board set installed. I have not had time to test it yet. This board set has a lot more possibilities for improvement than the one I just did and returned to Dan. It will be interesting to see what I can come up with here.

I have not had time to research the Hafler 330 again yet. I will let you know if I see anything useful and simple that can be done to our early rework of these units when I can.

Regards,

Frank Van Alstine

P.S. I just ordered one of the little Sony HD digital tuners just to play with it and a Crane analog antenna too for better reception with my old tuners.

turkey · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 08:15 pm »

Quote from: avahifi on 23 Jan 2009, 03:40 pm

P.S. I just ordered one of the little Sony HD digital tuners just to play with it and a Crane analog antenna too for better reception with my old tuners.

I like mine. It sounds better than any other tuner I've ever used. (I've never heard an AVA tuner though.)

In fact, I'm kind of curious as to what it would be like with AVA Insight output circuitry replacing the stock circuits.

It does a great job for me receiving a lot of stations cleanly that I could never listen to before. It also sounds good on the two local NPR stations and the local classical station, and that's probably the most important thing.

I am listening to a lot more FM radio these days than I have done in 10-15 years.

oneinthepipe · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 09:12 pm »

Does anyone know what the future holds for analog radio? I think that the UK is requiring stations to broadcast in digital by 2017. I would like to get a tuner, but I don't want to buy anything if there won't be any analog broadcasts in a few years. The tuners that I have been considering are already a couple of decades old, so I assume that they would still be working in another twenty years.

Wayner · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 09:24 pm »

If you can't get one of Franks modded FM-5's, I do recommend the Onkyo T-4555 tuner with HD. It is good for a stock machine. Perhaps I'll have Frank look at it and see if he can mod it. Lots of people like the Sony HD, too. The one complaint is that you can't defeat HD.

Wayner

turkey · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 09:58 pm »

Quote from: Wayner on 23 Jan 2009, 09:24 pm

Lots of people like the Sony HD, too. The one complaint is that you can't defeat HD.

Wayner

There are instructions around on how to correct that.

Tone Depth · « **Reply #18 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 11:02 pm »

Might also want to check out the Sangean HDT-1: http://www.monitoringtimes.com/mtfirstlook-Sangean_HDT-1.pdf

oneinthepipe · « **Reply #19 on:** 23 Jan 2009, 11:10 pm »

I would like an AVA tuner, which I think is highly unlikely, since they are so rare that Frank had to advertise for one. I was looking at Scott and Fisher tube tuners, which I read can be very good if properly serviced. However, will there be any analog FM in a few years?