Hey all,

I am new to the boombox fraternity. I am going to start to purchase and collect they remind me of years gone buy and i can fully appreciate there beauty. I have recently purchased a HITACHI TRK-7910E as my first box for £22. how ever it is not working so i will begin the process for reviving it once I have it in my possession, this to me is all part of the charm of bringing and old mistreated box back to life and its former glory. I do have a wish list of boxes that I would like in the future, but until I fully understand them I feel I shall just wait to purchase them.

As a newbie I will have to call on the experience of the more advanced members of the site for help and advice. 

firstly i have to questions are parts readily available for my current box (hope it was a good buy as a starter box and i have not over paid for it).

and secondly I have been offered a harvey box and a roberts box are these good boxes as I have not heard of the manufactures before (like I said im a newbie) 

many thanks and kind regards for your time and effort in reading this

I don't know about the other but here's a roberts....

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/ROBERT-...z/dMwAAMXQHU1Ro5xw/$(KGrHqJ,!qQFG(HjmMsgBRo5)wEfrg~~60_35.JPG 

Hey Horsty, welcome to party.

That Hitachi looks like a nice little box to get you started, I dont think parts are really availible anymore but you could probably pick up another whole box cheapish to use for parts and spares.

I bet you have more boxes soon

Welcome Horsty.

You have picked a great site mate, soooooooo much knolage on here so when you get restoring the Hitachi someone will know something that you need to know.

Whats on the wish list pal ?

Hello, and welcome aboard Horsty!

Bitten by the bug of boomboxes? Welcome to the ant hill Horsty

Welcome! Get some switch cleaner before you tear into that box. A lot of problems can be solved by cleaning the switches and pots.

had a 7910,got it for 3 quid from a car boot,good news is they are easy to work on,the belts are simple to change(when you get it id be delighted to offer re belt advice),and there are loads of guys on here who will be delighted to help you fix the hitachi,myself included

roberts are a fantastic make,synonymous with transistor radios,they sound superb and are built really well.they didnt do much venturing into the boombox worl but when they did most of them were based on middle to top spec other companies models,ie there is a roberts copy of the hitachi 8020,in chocolate brown-had that too and its strong and sturdy so watch out for itharvey also copied other companies stuff but alas these were more cheap end models so best to avoid if you can help it....oh and welcome.dont let the bug bite you too much lol,try and keep your head and dont go for every box you see or you will be over runtry and be selective-look for boxes with meters on,bass and treble controls and heavier weight-these are all clues to better quality

good luck buddy,

hi horsty & welcome on board of this truly vintage boat of madness 

welcome to the forum horsty,plenty of grails on your wishlist,the 8614 is a good beginner box you should have no problem picking one up cheap off the bay

Welcome back Horsty !

Truely there is no late start on this hobby !

Check old posts and stuff

and you ll be surprised on waht you ll see !

hey guys,

thank you for you advice and welcomes, and i will definitely be calling on some of you expertise im my forth coming quest of fixing boxes.

Firstly welcome aboard horsty 

now for some sound advice from myself, as mentioned somewhere above the Philips d8614 can be picked up pretty cheap on the bay but it's far from a beginner box lol.

It's one of if not the best sounding midsize box out there and id'e even put it up against some of the so called grails my advice is grab one and you'll be blown away, it's a great looking box and has all the whistles and bells, not to mention it retailed for more than the jvc m70 when new back in 82, and deservedly so imho best of luck in your quest mate

I agree with that.  The D8614 is a great sounding and looking box! Only be aware that the cassette deck has some weak points and most of them won't work any more.

where are the best places to look for boxes to purchase ebay just seems to be super expensive ad majority have already been restored

welcome horsty,

hitachi is a good brand.  

I have taken my hitachi apart and think i have found the route of the problem it appears to be the circuit board with the transformer, power input and on/off switch on it. where batteries have leaked in the past, i dont supose anyone has one that works lying around in there shed???

any help in fixing this issue would be greatly recieved.