Fisher 202
The Fisher 202 shows up in period sources as two different products: a tuner from the early 1960s and a receiver from about a decade later. The documentation for both is thin. This is what the contemporary magazines actually recorded.
An early version, the Fisher 202-R, was described in High Fidelity (May 1961, p.48) as a self-powered unit with separate FM and AM tuning sections and an output for feeding multiplex signals to an adapter. The reviewer called it “premium quality” with “performance of the highest order on both FM and AM,” and noted “noteworthy circuit developments.” That brief notice gave no chassis dimensions or price. It is unclear how long the tuner stayed in production.
By mid-1970, the nameplate had moved to a quite different product: the Fisher 202 stereo FM/AM receiver. High Fidelity (April 1971, p.41) examined it as a “high performance at low cost” model priced at $249.95. The front panel measures 15¾ by 4¾ inches, and the depth is 14 inches (including the AM antenna extended). HiFI-Stereo (August 1970, p.2) noted that the receiver used Baxandall bass and treble controls, “a much better way of boosting or cutting back bass and treble” than the simple attenuators common on low-priced receivers. It also reported unusually strong AM specifications for the era: 10 microvolt sensitivity, 44 dB selectivity, and 40 dB image rejection. The same publication’s July 1970 issue (p.91) carried a Fisher advertisement that opened with the line “$249.95 buys more than ever before in the history of high fidelity” and pushed the 202 as the company’s lowest-priced AM/FM receiver.
Beyond these magazine references, almost nothing is preserved about either version of the 202. No service manuals, schematic sets, or production-run figures have surfaced in the usual archives. The receiver appears to have been a straightforward, value-oriented entry in Fisher’s early-1970s line. It was built to a price, but it had real engineering touches (Baxandall tone control, purposeful AM design) that set it apart from the cheapest competitors. The earlier 202-R tuner is even more obscure. Only the single 1961 notice confirms it existed.
- c. 1961: Fisher 202-R — FM/AM tuner, self-powered, multiplex output. Premium-quality build. No published price or dimensions found.
- c. 1970–1971: Fisher 202 — Stereo FM/AM receiver. Price $249.95. Panel 15¾ × 4¾ in., depth 14 in. Baxandall tone controls. AM: 10 µV sensitivity, 44 dB selectivity, 40 dB image rejection.
If you own a 202, either version, and can confirm details, the Archive would welcome the correction or addition.
eBay Listings
As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our independent vintage technology research.