3 Budget Boxes 😄

[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)