u/OZFox42

I've had the black GF-A3Z since February 2022 and it still works today. All it needed when I first got it was for the cassette door to be refitted (someone else had removed it and lost the spring but I found an exact replacement and the door was not damaged) and obviously some minor service to the tape deck (new belts but no goo to clean up). Has a level meter which works with the volume control, graphic equalizer and 4-band tuner. No power or audio faults with this one, FM stations come in loud and clear, tape speed is correct with very minimal W&F, and I like the soft eject.

The white GF-A1A I purchased mid-September of this year. When I got it, I discovered it had a couple of issues including a faulty power supply which caused the cassette mechanism to be at mains potential (instead of isolated), posing a shock hazard. Thanks to a junked GF-A1 with a working transformer of the same type and rating, this was an easy repair and the boombox is now safe to use with 240V AC. New belts and it's good to go. FM stereo works perfectly.

The blue GF-A1A is the most recent acquisition, and when I got it last week it had a whole bunch of issues. It worked with batteries but not AC (the cause was an open transformer). I replaced both speakers as the left was damaged (possibly by water at some point) and the right had rips/holes in the cone. Repairing the cassette mechanism was a real challenge as several parts were broken, but I eventually ended up rebuilding it using parts from yet another junked A1 as well as replacing the transformer and re-soldering bad joints on the power board.

Sadly, as is common with boomboxes of this vintage, FM does not work in the tuner (no stations, just static). I know the likely cause, but being a budget model it's not really worth fixing that fault plus I have many others with working FM. 👍

None of these 3 boomboxes have battery corrosion. 😄

I believe this model series was not only available in black, but also came in red, pink, white, blue, and dark grey.

• Image 1: Sharp GF-A3Z (BK)
• Image 2: Sharp GF-A1A (W)
• Image 3: Sharp GF-A1A (BL)

Simulrock was an Australian music video television program produced in Adelaide, South Australia.

It first aired in 1985 and ended in 1988, shortly after the switch between SAS-10 and ADS-7.

Broadcast by SAS-10 in partnership with SA-FM, the show was famous for utilizing an early form of multimedia broadcasting: simulcasting.

Simulrock was a late-night program which screened every Friday, and the original Easybeats version of "Friday On My Mind" was likely used as the opening theme between 1985 and 1986, eventually being replaced with Gary Moore's cover in 1987.

Because consumer TV's at the time were mostly non-stereo, Simulrock showed the music video imagery on the screen while simultaneously transmitting the stereo audio track over FM radio. Viewers were instructed to turn down their television volumes and turn up their home stereo systems to watch the latest Top 40 tracks and alternative video clips in full, crisp, clean, stereo sound.

Radio DJ Andrew Peters hosted the program for much of its short-term run.

The commercial magazine-style program featured standard Top 40 hits, but also provided a platform for local and alternative talent, famously broadcasting early video clips from Adelaide's independent pub rock and post-punk music scene, interviews with bands, artists and tour dates.

Although it's long gone, Simulrock remains a distinct pop-culture memory for many South Aussies who grew up during the '80s music and media boom. I watched this after Music Express ended on Channel 7 and I'm pretty sure a few people "taped it" as well, for the music. 😂

The Australian version of Wheel of Fortune aired on the Seven Network from 1981 to 2006, and on the Nine Network as Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune in 2008.

It was originally taped in South Australia at the ADS-7 studios in North Adelaide, before swapping with SAS-10 in December of 1987 and moving to Gilberton.

I mentioned in a comment that I did attend a couple of tapings in 1985 and sat in the audience. I vaguely recall the studio was rather hot with all the lighting and camera equipment, but I kept fairly quiet the whole time I was there. Seeing a live taping was way better than watching it on TV and it gave me something to brag to friends about afterwards. 😆

It remained an Adelaide-produced game show for a few more years before relocating to Sydney in 1996.

Adriana Xenides is perhaps best known for being the longest-serving game show hostess on Australian TV. Sadly, she passed away in June 2010, aged 54. R.I.P. She brought sunshine to our lounge rooms and many viewers adored her.

Image 1: Adriana with Tony Barber (in front of the puzzle board)
Image 2: Adriana with John "Burgo" Burgess (in front of the wheel)
Image 3: Adriana as we would like to remember her

Wheel of Fortune timeline

Wikipedia article

Just picked this up today. A nice change from the light grey/silver GF-700s I normally acquire.

First image: the actual unit in my possession (I did a quick test with 10 D-cell Energizer batteries and tuned it to a local FM station.).

Second image: the original eBay listing picture featuring the instruction booklets which I received with it (the display sash on the left speaker is now with those). The seller I bought the boombox from had refurbished it, so it arrived fully working and no repairs are needed. Both tape decks work and even the soft eject on the cassette doors is still good (usually they fly open rapidly when eject is pressed). 👍

I believe I paid just over $1,000 AUD + shipping and import charges.

I didn't think I'd make it. 😰 🎉

65th achievement for me now. 👍

Cake Day 🍰

I consider this a personal achievement.

I first joined Reddit in July 2016, and I didn't think I'd last this long.

Here's to many more years! 😂

From 1986, with full logic, auto reverse double cassette, 4-band tuner, 5-band graphic equalizer.

The neat thing about these is TAPE 2 can record in the reverse direction as well as forward. Both models support Type II and Type IV tape recording/playback.

I believe I paid ~AU $750 (QT-95E) and ~AU $550 (QT-94Z) + shipping. They were surprisingly clean and in excellent cosmetic/working condition when I got them and no chipped plastic.

** No repairs necessary. ** 👌

Each tape deck has 2 motors + a solenoid. The mechanism is mostly geared, and only uses one drive belt. High speed dubbing is redundant by today's standards and music quality suffers in that mode. Dolby NR is a luxury feature on the QT-95E.

I AM NOT PLANNING TO RESELL. They will be added to my growing collection. 😂 👍

I recently acquired this little red Sharp boombox from eBay. I paid over AU $475 with free postage/shipping included. I bought it for the double auto reverse tape decks and, because it has a nice red front panel and black casing.

When I first got it, the cassette doors would not open, even when the eject lever was pressed (eject is built into the doors on this model). I wasn't willing to force them open. Turned out the door release sliders (located inside the front panel) for both decks were broken. I replaced these with identical undamaged parts from a black QT-94Z I have which has several electronic faults and isn't worth repairing.

This solved the eject problem. Next step was to re-line the speaker grilles as the original foam was long gone (someone must have removed it when it perished). I fitted brand new transparent 3mm (thickness) acoustic grille foam (ideal for boombox speakers) which improved the appearance.

Radio tunes all FM stations in stereo nicely. Line in seems to work. Tape 1 fast forwards, rewinds and plays fine in both directions. The only issue is with Tape 2; most times it won't play in the forward direction but reverse works OK. Rewind and fast forward work in that deck too.

The final step at this stage was to clean the 4 push switches on the front, as the TAPE/RADIO was flaky and causing the left channel to drop out.

All in all, for its age, it's not a bad little boombox and makes a nice addition to my ever-growing collection.

UPDATE: After some quick online research (without opening the unit up again), I discovered this double cassette model features full auto-reverse; both decks require a specific main flat drive belt and a secondary smaller mode/cam belt to facilitate the forward/reverse switching mechanism. This may explain the play direction issue with Tape 2. I have since ordered the correct belt kit which is specific to this particular model only and once it arrives, I will arrange a workshop to fit the new belts at cost (as I am not comfortable replacing them myself).

Cop Shop was a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes.

While many Crawford Productions police dramas combined videotaped interiors with location footage shot on 16mm film, Cop Shop was shot entirely on video, including external scenes.

After a run of 6 years, the show completed taping its last episode on 22 December 1983 and the final episodes were screened in the first half of 1984.

Several of them went on to other series; e.g. Neighbours, Sons & Daughters, Home & Away, All Saints, Blue Heelers, Prisoner, etc.

Cop Shop won many awards, including Logie Awards for most popular series and most popular actors, with Peter Adams and Paula Duncan winning multiple times. The show also won a number of other industry awards.

During its long run, many of Australia's new and established actors appeared in the series.

• Peter Adams as Det Jeffrey 'JJ' Johnson
• Tony Bonner as Det Snr Const Don McKenna
• Liz Burch as Liz Cameron
• Andrew Clarke as Max Saunders / Mervyn Young
• Terence Donovan as Det Sgt Vic Cameron
• Paula Duncan as Det Const Danni Francis
• Nicholas Eadie as Const Sam Phillips
• Alan Fletcher as Const Frank Rossi
• Billie Hammerberg as Insp Joyce Stratton
• Alwyn Kurts as Sgt Reg Wallis
• John Lee as Insp Ian Timms
• Joanna Lockwood as Valerie Johnson
• John McTernan as Sgt Tom Shannon
• George Mallaby as Det Snr Sgt Glen Taylor
• Terry Norris as Sgt Eric O'Reilly
• John Orcsik as Det Mike Georgiou
• Louise Philip as Claire O'Reilly
• Gregory Ross as Const Tony Benjamin
• Bill Stalker as Det Sgt Peter Fanelli (previously appeared as Fanelli in Skyways)
• Lynda Stoner as Const Amanda King
• Olga Tamara as Det Const Julie Mitchell
• Gil Tucker as Const Roy Baker
• Rowena Wallace as Pamela Taylor
• John Walton as Terry Linford Jones / Tom McNamara
• Patrick Ward as Const Peter Fleming
• Diane Craig as Alison Finlay / Eve Kadar (29 episodes)
• Lisa Armytage as Jennifer Grant (12 episodes)
• Anne Haddy as Louise Francis (8 episodes)
• Scott McGregor as Constable Stephen Waters (7 episodes)
• Peter Sumner as Detective Tom Foster (7 episodes)

The First Episode (1977)

Source

A few of the original cast have since either retired or passed away. An earlier "cop series" of the 70s was Matlock Police (1971-1976) which starred Michael Pate, Vic Gordon, and Paul Cronin (Cronin later appeared alongside Lorraine Bayly in The Sullivans (1976-1983) as Dave Sullivan, husband of Grace) which was set mainly during the second world war.

Division 4 (1969-1975) was also produced by Crawford as a police drama series.

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch a few episodes of Cop Shop, The Sullivans, and repeats of Matlock Police toward the end of the 1970s even though at the time, I was only 9 or 10 years old. I like old cop shows.

The images in this post are screen captures of the opening titles of the first episode of Cop Shop and a YouTube link to the video of it has been included.

Here you go. Meow.

A nice feeling. :)

This is not a recent pickup or score, but while spring-cleaning over Mother's Day weekend, I came across a large box marked "X Files" so being curious, I took a look inside.

• First image: side cover view of four tapes (out of a total of approximately 100).
• Second image: two X-Rated tapes. I obscured the front cover image of the one on the left as it contains graphic nudity. They are nice blue cassettes with white "Axis" spines.
• Third image: two R-Rated tapes. Both of these have "Walt Disney Home Video" printed on their shells (I showed them before).

Surprisingly all VHS tapes are clean and rewound. I must have obtained most of these via private mail order at some point a few years ago since X-Rated videos cannot be purchased publicly where I live.

I won't show the other 95+ tapes in the box as they are just the usual 18+ content (nothing illegal or special); however, several of them have hard core images on their covers, which in my opinion are not appropriate for this sub. You get the idea.

** These are the only four movies I noticed with "unique" cassettes. If I find any more like them I will mention it in the comments.

If my memory serves me correctly, I believe I've had these films for close to 25 years. The last time I watched any of them was back in 2001.

I didn't realize I'd unlocked this achievement recently. Now I have it 6x.

(light-hearted/amusing image)

People are bound to disagree with this; citing the slower the driver, the more chance of accidents and/or road rage happening.