Well... I think mine is not the oldest (serial begins 22xxxx can't read the rest, print has faded, probably from the heat of the power amp). Anyway, Would be good to see who has the oldest or best on here. Again, that wouldn't be mine either as although it's in almost mint condition externally, I've never had it serviced, so now it's a bit like an old pet cat, doesn't always want to be stroked and likes an easy life :-) I'm posting this because with winter coming, my BM8000 has begun it's annual (doesn't want to work in the cold) routine. Curious to know if anyone else has any old stuff that is a bit seasonal!!! Yes I have central heating but unlike in the Summer where the temp changes are not so dramatic, in winter the constant heating up and cooling of the house makes things react, capacitors mainly.
So my 8000 works 100%, when it actually comes on, I'm guessing some sort of 'clocking' problem usually. Sometimes starts up with everything flashing / ticking. Once you spin the dials or press a few buttons then seems to reset all the variious registers and the thing stablises, as it warms. Odd thing is, every time it does this, radio preset P2 seems to be lost, reverts to 87.5 (bottom of the FM band). All the other presets seem to come back as before. Question: does anyone know if there is some sort of bios type battery in the 8000 that maintains memory values when the power is disconnected from the mains? Or are the P registers ROM based (non volitile) have I got that the right way round?
Just fancied a quick ramble, if anyone wants to join in... or add a story about their 30ish year old 8000 (good or bad). Actually, probably 29 years, I miss counted but now I've done the post, just submitting it anyway. Is it worth paying to have it serviced. I'm about 10 mins from the UK service centre in Gloucester but not asked them yet.
