Hi there!  I've been wandering around this forum on an almost daily basis for the last few months but have neglected to properly introduce myself or post my (not particularly impressive) collection so apologies!  I say 'not that impressive' but I love 'em!  

Before I say anything else I just want to say what a fantastic forum this is (love the other one too!)...the members know so much and are really helpful and friendly...I wouldn't have had a clue what boxes were any good or how to fix them without the expertise on these forums, so thanks! I also like the fact that there's a hardcore of members who obviously know each other pretty well too and aren't averse to taking the piss out of each other...some of the conversations crack me up!

So, my name is Simon and I'm in the North of the UK, I've only been collecting a few months, and I'm gonna post my collection in the order I got them. 

Like many here I was a teenager in the 80's and I've always been into my music and love my gadgets so on a whim I searched on eBay for the old ghetto blaster I had back in the day.  I was dead chuffed to find the exact model, a Sharp GF4646, though not so chuffed once I got it as, although it was cosmetically good and all working, it was no where near as good as my dim and distant, nostalgia affected memory had suggested!...it explains why I moved onto Technics separates as soon as I got any money!

It might all have stopped there had my lovely wife not found an Hitachi 3D in a charity shop, in really good nick, all working, boxed, with packaging and manual for the princely sum of £8...I think it'd been boxed up and stored in a loft for a long time as it wasn't even dirty.  I love this 3D as its got no curves, the handles on either end are cool, and the bass speaker in the middle doesn't half bounce when its playing!

So my 16 year old son thought the 3D was great and wanted to blag it to play his dubstep and house crap on so instead I bought him his own, which again was no wear and tear and all working, but as it was slightly less 80's (bit of a curve on it) I was happy for him to do what he likes with it!

Next was a proper Sharp and my first biggie!  A Sharp GF525 which I love...shoulda seen the smile on my face when I opened the packaging on this one!...it was like 'wo, this is more like it!!!'.  Its massive, weighs a ton and is nice and loud.  Everything worked bar the usual capstan issue on the tape decks which I just fixed a week ago so now its working perfectyl.  Got it from the original owner and paid a very reasonable £16 for this beauty!  So this one is to blame for my Sharp GF obsession.

One of my work colleagues heard about my new obsession and for nowt gave me this Pye, though I've also seen it as a Philips and a Magnavox.  Its all working and in good nick, it even has the spatial thing going on, its a bit lightweight but looks cool.

I then bought a couple of minis to see if they were my thing...they're not.  A Sharp QT250 which is a good sounding box for its size but pretty common and a nice red Pye doubler...think I'll move these on at some point if anyone wants them.  In fact I’ve got another 2 QT250’s, one which I’ve used for parts and another still with its sticker on the front.

Next was my absolute favourite box.  Got this Sharp GF9191 from eBay but as it turned out it was from a forum member (the clue was that it was fantastically well packed!).  It needed new aerials, a clean, and I've just rebelted it and had a go at the capstan rubber and its now working perfectly.  I love this box, it sits in pride of place in the kitchen (well away from anything wet or messy!) and gets used every day....just gotta love those beautiful chrome rims!

Continuing my GF obsession I got my GF9090.  This was cheap from an eBay seller who clears untested electricals and when I got it it looked like it'd been buried in a swamp.  Many hours of scrubbing, and repainting the speakers, and its looking much better. All sounds good and I fixed the tape deck this weekend...did the gooey capstan but found it was still chewing.  Finally worked out that the pinch roller was to blame and managed to replace that....so another one all working!

Then I bought this Hitachi TRK8020 that when I got it didn't work at all, just got a strange popping noise from the speakers.  A fair amount of contact cleaner and some new belts and it all works perfectly...so I was pretty chuffed with myself that day!  Its not a big box but it has a real heavy quality feel to it, it even has track searching on it.

Another eBay clearance seller and I got this Hitachi TRK8190 for a bargain sum on a BIN as soon as it came up.  When I opened the packaging alarm bells started ringing as bits of rusty metal kept falling out. When I opened the battery compartment there was loads of corrosion....still attached to the disintegrating batteries!!!!!!  The muppet paid to ship a couple of pounds of toxic metal.  I messaged the seller to say that most untested sellers I'd used at least point out obvious faults and you don't need to test it to see its full of crap!!  They offered to give a full refund and collect it at their expense or give me two thirds of the price back and I keep it...so I kept it.  Sounds great but I've not got the tape deck working yet, there was surprisingly little corrosion in the box itself so it wasn't a bad deal all in all.

Loved the look of this Sony CFM31L mono now rebelted and all working...can't work out how to turn it the right way up, it was ok when before i uploaded it!

I'd seen the next model a few times on the forum and members had said they were under-rated so could be bought cheaply but sound great.  I initially didn't really like the look (its those waffle grills!) but it really started to grow on me.  So I got myself a JVC RC656 and absolutely love the sound on mine, its not the loudest or gives massive bass, but it has a really nice tone to it.  Didn't even need much of a clean and tape deck worked perfectly without any work (made a nice change!). Got it cheap too but did feel a bit guilty when I found afterwards that I'd outbid another forum member by 15p...oops.

Another Sony mono.  A CF470L that needed rebelting and the tuner string re-doing...what a bitch that was!  All good now and weighs a ton for a mono, not really sure why I got it though.

Lastly my beautiful Philips D8444...only got the picture I took in the car when I went to pick it up as strictly speaking its my birthday present so the wife has confiscated it until next month!  Bought from the original owner who bought it in the early 80's for his wife who ran a once a week class in a dance studio.  When she stopped it went in the loft and had been there ever since.  So it'd had a cassette in it once a week for a little while and then nothing for 20+ years so its in really good condition and everything works perfectly, no dents, no scratches, just a little bit of paint loss to the grill that'll soon be remedied once I get my hands on it!  The forum came in handy with this one too as several people had said the sound wasn't as good as you'd expect, so I was expecting rubbish sound.  So it was a nice surprise when I was allowed to plug it in for 5 minutes and found mine sounds bloody good, not as bassy as you'd hope but good nonetheless.

So thats my collection as it stands, nothing outstanding but then I've spent very little money!...I love them all, especially my GF525, the GF9191 and the D8444 and I'm gradually getting more 80's tapes to play on them (gotta do it properly!).  I love cleaning them and am gradually getting braver about the fixes I attempt, but most of all I love how they look and how they sound!  

nice collection simon some crackers in there enjoy them ,    oh and welcome to the madness

Seconded! Looks like some nice boxes there Simon, good effort

that ' little' hitachi 3D is a real sweet sounding surprise -

and nice collection

great write up and great pics SI, love the 9191 and d8444, we have spoke before but a big welcome from me

...& here speaks a man with wisdom  

Excellent stuff. 

This is what this hobby is all about; picking up sick boomers in need of attention for peanuts & bringing them back to life. 

Welcome to the insanity!

I Love the 9191.....serious street cred!

Now then Arron, glad you like the pics and if the D8444 ever becomes available I'll let you know!

I agree with the wisdom bit!  the 3D's aren't to everyone's taste (I've picked up from your avatar and previous posts that you're a fan!!) but this one is an awesome looking box IMO...and I agree with what you say about bringing boomers back to life, I can't justify spending big bucks for a big minty grail and I kinda think its more fun getting the bargains and resurrecting them!!

nice collection simon.....we all have to start somewhere.....youll be buying the big hitters soon.................and then youll be skint like me....haha

Thanks everyone for the positive comments!  I normally only get them from my son's friends (all about 16) who think they're really cool, everyone else thinks I've gone mental...so cheers guys!!

nice one dave, you should like the 9191 since you sold it me!  ...as I said above it is my favourite box so thanks for the deal! If I buy any big hitters I'll be skint and divorced! ...she's taken it in good humour so far but I don't want to push my luck!

he he no probs mate cheers and i missed the 8190 you got there, looks minty love it

Simon...do what i did step by step

1-convert your loft

2-put a large lock on the door

3-Only take deliveries when she`s not at home

4-any new ones you buy and she notices, say you swapped it for free

Hope this helps LOL

well I might be tempted on a deal with the 8190 but thats probably just because its offending me due to its refusal to play tapes...I'd have to get the tape deck working first as everything else is peachy on it but then it'll probably stop offending me and I'll want to keep it!

Good advice mate! She does want the loft doing but you can bet it won't be for me!...I do have a big lock on my shed and anything off eBay gets delivered to the office so I have been known to sneak them into the shed and then into the house at a later date...then I just tell her its been there for ages, and as she can't tell one box from another she can't argue!  I just need to keep the total numbers relatively static and I'm laughing!!

haha dave you do crack me up!

me and you both live buy those 4 step by step rules

simon good to have a good new member like yourself....nice collection pal

This is an excellent UK collection.  All the usual suspects are here, ebay UK favourites TRK 8190 & 8120 plus the 9090 & 9191.  Despite their numbers these are excellent boxes, the 8190 & 9191 being direct competitors and some of the prettiest boxes around, just look at those top panels.  I have the CF470L too, not a box to be underestimated, just look at that build quality, can you think of another mono with twin meters?  Love the 525, the Volvo of boomboxes.

Keep up the good work and I suspect despite the title, you're secretly very proud of this stash, you should be.

great collection si-ive had a few of those myself,so treasure them matey-and a warm welcome

Ha ha the volvo of boomboxes, like it, sums it up nicely, plus it explains why this old man of 43 thinks its fab!...I don't really understand the general lack of love for the 525 as its such a quality box and mine sounds great.

I agree the CF470L is really well put together, has a really weighty quality feel and sounds surprisingly good...got twin meters but one of mine doesn't work  though I haven't given up on getting that last bit going!

...and yes I am proud of my collection!...its just that when you see so many posts about people getting multiple G777's or M70's and I've never even seen one you think people won't be impressed with my lower league collection.  I'd love a grail or two but only if I can get one cheap and fix it up as actually I reckon bringing them back to life is the best bit!

thanks andy!

Great collection going so far! I particularly like the Hitachi TRK-8190 and Sharp GF-9191.

Such a nice collection Northener!!

Great finds and great stories on how did you get your hands on them.

Can't agry more about what this hobby is all about.

Keep on Collecting!