I recently acquired a 1st generation BWR from a
goodwill for $8. It would only output a buzzing noise but everything
else worked.
I did my research and found out the following in regards to the first 3 versions of this radio:
They are ALWAYS on. The on off button is just a mute button.
The capacitors in them are mostly low quality.
IF you get an early BWR and it works you WILL be recapping it soon.
I would recap it now as the TDA7374 can be blown out when the caps go bad.
There are more than 40 ecaps in them.
The board in my model (version 2) is prone to solder pads breaking and coming off.
look for a film on the board around the capacitors if it is there clean the board.
Replace ALL small capacitor in the unit, even on the display. You can usually skip the 10000uf main filter cap.
If your tda7374 is bad it can be replace with a tda7375. Ebay has them for $6 to $12
My impression of the sound from this radio, since I had never heard one before.
It is very good. I would compare it to a ported 2 way bookshelf speaker with a 5 or 6 inch woofer and a 2 inch tweeter.
Contrary to what I have been reading it is stereo. Confirmed with some songs with discrete channels.
The left speaker is the mid range "woofer" (and left channel) with low frequency sound channeled through a port by the right speaker. The right speaker is mid to high range as well as right channel.
A big part of the sound is the built in equalizer, I would liken its output to the "loudness" button on an older stereo or the old smiley face on a graphic equalizer.
The TDA7374 is interesting, it is a Dual Bridge audio amplifier for car radios.
My radio has an external AM antenna which has relatively good sensitivity. Newer versions have a loopstick.
I will be keeping this one as I made several mistakes working on it that I corrected but would not in good conscience sell to someone else. I will keep an eye out for them as they sell for $125+ on ebay.
Some schematics are available here.
I have read on several forums that you can also call Bose and they will send you the schematics for your radio.
They are ALWAYS on. The on off button is just a mute button.
The capacitors in them are mostly low quality.
IF you get an early BWR and it works you WILL be recapping it soon.
I would recap it now as the TDA7374 can be blown out when the caps go bad.
There are more than 40 ecaps in them.
The board in my model (version 2) is prone to solder pads breaking and coming off.
look for a film on the board around the capacitors if it is there clean the board.
Replace ALL small capacitor in the unit, even on the display. You can usually skip the 10000uf main filter cap.
If your tda7374 is bad it can be replace with a tda7375. Ebay has them for $6 to $12
My impression of the sound from this radio, since I had never heard one before.
It is very good. I would compare it to a ported 2 way bookshelf speaker with a 5 or 6 inch woofer and a 2 inch tweeter.
Contrary to what I have been reading it is stereo. Confirmed with some songs with discrete channels.
The left speaker is the mid range "woofer" (and left channel) with low frequency sound channeled through a port by the right speaker. The right speaker is mid to high range as well as right channel.
A big part of the sound is the built in equalizer, I would liken its output to the "loudness" button on an older stereo or the old smiley face on a graphic equalizer.
The TDA7374 is interesting, it is a Dual Bridge audio amplifier for car radios.
My radio has an external AM antenna which has relatively good sensitivity. Newer versions have a loopstick.
I will be keeping this one as I made several mistakes working on it that I corrected but would not in good conscience sell to someone else. I will keep an eye out for them as they sell for $125+ on ebay.
Some schematics are available here.
I have read on several forums that you can also call Bose and they will send you the schematics for your radio.
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