SHARP's start into the 90ies

End of the 70ies and during the 80ies Sharp was known for their big and powerful ghettoblasters. I remember a lot of different types in the “GF” series, for example the huge GF-777.

But then in the 90ies they more or less disappeared from this market.

At least in Japan Sharp tried to start into the beginning “Bubble Boombox” era. End of 1990 they introduced two devices, that probably should compete with Panasonic’s RX-DT7/-DT9 or AIWA’s CSD-SR7/SR8 – the Sharp QT-88CD and the smaller, less featured QT-77CD.




The bigger QT-88CD never was offered outside of Japan. Only the smaller QT-77CD came into the western world – as CD-S77.


Recently I could catch a QT-88CD for very low price directly from Japan.

It arrived as usual – quite dirty and with a rotten battery compartment. Only radio was working, no CD and no tape deck.


After a deep cleaning I started the failure root causes investigation. Fortunately, as often for such old defective devices, it were almost only mechanical issues.


On the right tape deck the left reel did not turn. I found, that the retaining ring on the reel wheel got lost. So the reel slid forward and lost connection to the gear.
On CD player the CD was not spinning. The reason was, that the rubber ring on the spindle motor, that lifts the CD a little bit and gives grip, had disappeared.
Furthermore, a lot of the micro switches did not work anymore.

The retaining rings and the micro switches I ordered online and for the rubber ring I took a sealing ring for water pipes, that had the right diameter. I just had to grind it down to a lower height.



Of course also both tape deck belts had to be replaced.
At his occasion I added LED lights int o the tape decks and the CD player.





After all was repaired, I put it together and gave it some polish.
Now everything works again. With the “Active Servo Technology”, that actually was invented by Yamaha, it gives a powerful sound. Interesting thing is, that the big display with its spectrum analyzer is illuminated even when the device is operated with batteries.






Here it is to see and listen in action:


Later I also ordered the according remote control. The volume knob is motor driven. After the long time not in use it needs a drop of oil, as it make some noise.

Even in battery operation with the remote the Sharp can be set into standby and awoken again.

 

Great photos of a good restoration done! I love the sharp's clear and bright display.

 

Yes, Its is quite big and heavy. It is around 67cm long and 23cm deep.

 

That is a handsome looking unit. Like Mystic Traveller I have been admiring the display. I wonder if it is an electroluminescent backlight which were popular back then but which have a limited life when used before fading away.

It is interesting that you say Sharp "more or less disappeared from this market". Looking at the few catalogues I have from that era I agree. I suspect that they were investing all their money in LCD production, which back then they ruled. Sometime in the 1990s I went to a home AV show and Sharp were showing off a 20" LCD with a good picture, years before anything like that came on the market. It was such a breakthough it was exhibited in a similar manner to the DeVere diamonds.

The next breakthrough I saw was a Sharp laptop (probably a 486) with a very clear TFT display back when most laptop screens had a shadows going off the icons, a washed out look, and a response time of about 200ms (which is why windows had mouse trails - otherwise the cursor would disappear when you moved it).

TFT displays commanded a huge premium. Doing a bit of Googling I found https://i.imgur.com/WM35Gcx.jpg
The laptop with the TFT display, most likely made by Sharp, commanded a $700 premium over the rubbish Dual Scan Display one.

When it came to TV displays Sharp got it right, predicting LCD was the future and setting up the worlds largest LCD factory

https://www.pcworld.com/article/183422/Inside_the_Worlds_Most_Advanced_LCD_Factory.html

Pioneer and Panasonic thought it was Plasma
Sony thought it was FED

What none of them predicted was the massive drop in prices. At the start of the 21st century Flat Panel TVs commanded a large premium over CRT ones.

This was a catalogue entry in 2007

 

You are right, Sharp later was known for their LCD TV's.

Regarding the backlight I have no idea which technology it is. But the important thing is, that it works also in battery mode. I made a comparison with my Sony ZS-66. The Sony display is much brighter. But backlight works only when connected to the mains.

 

Man, that QT-88CD is just loaded with features... and you added another!
I've seen dual-deck 'boxes w/CD-players, but not one's that had dual auto-reverse w/Dolby NR, or Auxiliary Inputs AND a digital output... and this has them all!

 

all those features with all honours, but sorry gentlemen, this is such an ugly box

i got in touch with Sharp first time with a school-pocket calculator...

 

I actually love the look of it! Its got that nice late 80s look to it. Yeah, it's not silver and shiny, but hey, I love it!

Great work on the restoration!

 

OK, maybe it is not everybody's taste. But it is also more or less the end of an era for Sharp.
And look, what Aiwa did at the same time. Which one is more ugly?


If you remember Sharp only for pocket calculators, you should have a look to their great history in ghettoblasters / boomboxes.

http://translate.google.com/transla...ion.php?SECTION_ID=3423&SORT=NAME&SHOWALL_2=1

 

I'm actually loving the look of that Aiwa!

Good job on the restoration, even these boxes deserve love! Everything has its place in society.....

 

Yesterday again received a parcel from “The Land of the Rising Sun”. As usual with a boombox that in the past was never allowed to leave the country.
Although all lettering is in English.

It is a Sharp “Segno” FX-1000, the more expensive brother of FX-9000. In 1992 the MSRP was 66,000 Yen, at this time around 800 Deutsche Mark. I guess outside of Japan these devices are completely unknown.



The highlight of this boombox is of course the big touch display, beside the “Active Servo Technology” from Yamaha for bass improvement. The touch display shows, depending on operation mode (CD, Tape, Tuner AUX), the relevant functions. Except sound and volume all functions are controlled with the touch display. With remote control also volume can be controlled (motorized potentiometer).
There are 2-way bass reflex speakers built in, 10cm low-midrange speakers (10Watt each) and 4cm tweeters. They deliver a very nice sound with good noticeable bass. For sound adjustment it has only one slider for bass and one for treble, no equalizer and no DSP modes. But in my opinion this is absolutely enough.
The power consumption is 38Watt at 100Vac. It can be powered also with 10 D-cells.









The optical status for this more then 28 years old boombox is very good. A first test showed, that the tuner receives very good. Fortunately it covers the full frequency range from 76…108MHz; so no additional FM converter is needed.
CD’s at first were not recognized (“No Disc”). After some trials CD started to run. Maybe the laser was a little bit “tired” and needed some movements back and forward. The CD drawer is sticking a little bit when moving inside. I already have seen this issue on a Japanese webpage and it is an easy fix.
The tape decks were a little bit “rusted”; made some noise in the beginning and delivered a damped sound. After cleaning of tapeheads, capstan wheels, pinch rollers and cassettes running for some time the noise disappeared and the sound was clear.
If I find some time, I will of course open the box and have a look inside. But it guess, there is not much to do. Will later also upload a video to YT.

It seems Sharp finished the “Big Boombox Era” with quite reliable devices in high quality. Also the above described QT-88CD is running well.

Here is a Japanese webpage, that also gives some pictures to the inwards. With Google translation the most is understandable:
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http://7113.fc2web.com/fx-1000.html

 

I checked Wikipedia, and found out that the FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76 to 95 MHz, while Europe and Africa have 87.5 to 108 MHz and the U.S. is very similar 88 to 108 MHz, but I think the spacing is different.

OIRT countries used 65.8 to 74.0 MHz for FM transmissions until late 1980s, then Russia allowed usage of "Western" band 88 to 108 MHz, and many new music stations appeared almost overnight, catering to younger listeners. So, most imported radios that were not specifically modified for Russian frequencies had 88-108 band and could tune to these new stereo FM stations, while older people continued using their old 65.8-74 receivers, listening to the old-fashioned programs in mono.

This brought a sort of a divide between listeners: young, hip and well-off on the one hand, and older and poorer Soviet citizens on the other hand. Different frequency ranges, different stations, different information.

 

Meanwhile I opened the FX-1000 to make some maintenance. Cleaned and lubed it.
The huge display is illuminated just by 4 small incandescent bulbs, that are working only when connected to the mains. Furthermore such bulbs are getting hot and have only a limited life time. So, I decided to change them to LED. To make it more flexible, I built in RGB LEDs, that can be controlled with a smartphone via Bluetooth. And they work now, when running on batteries.
As usual I added also some (yellow) LEDs to the tape decks.
Below some pictures and a video

Original bulbs


RGB Controller




Ready



Video:

 

I recall when people used to jokingly refer to Japan as "The Land of the Rising Yen". In the mid 1980s it seemed that all the electronics I was buying or wanted to buy was from Japan. Then I started the 1990s with a Japanese made Nissan car.

I missed this post back in January. A nice job on the lighting.
Where are you finding these ? Buyee ? How much is postage.

 

I use ZenMarket. They have a low service fee of only 300 Yen per item. Postage to Germany was 8500 Yen.