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BANME.sh posted:Extremely crusty Kenwood KR-2400 (only 16 wpc) which I am going to restore for the father of an old friend. I finally got this receiver back to operating condition. Turns out the power supply diodes and output transistors were indeed the culprit. But this thing was also plagued with several poor solder joints and/or oxidized pin connectors that caused all kinds of strange issues. I spent probably 6-8 hours total tracing signals all around the drat thing. I ended up reflowing most of every board and cleaned just about everything inside. After figuring all of that out, I recapped the amp and power supply boards. All of the bulbs were burned out too, so those got replaced. I probably spent more time+money on this thing than it's worth, but whatever. 
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Apr 17, 2014 22:36
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Nothing wrong with giving a nice piece of equipment some love. Just sold a KR-4600, it was a nice looking and sounding receiver. I need to find a nice kenwood amp, I really liked the sound of the KA-3500 I sold a while ago. Also got my Sansui G-7500 up on Ebay if any of you guys want a crack at it. If this sort of post is frowned upon just tell me. http://www.ebay.com/itm/321378739034 TooLShack fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Apr 18, 2014 |
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Apr 17, 2014 23:21
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TooLShack posted:Nothing wrong with giving a nice piece of equipment some love. Just sold a KR-4600, it was a nice looking and sounding receiver. I need to find a nice kenwood amp, I really liked the sound of the KA-3500 I sold a while ago. My KA 501 is a pretty slick unit. I like it.
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Apr 18, 2014 00:58
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I got a Fisher Studio Standard CA-26 Integrated Stereo Amplifier for free. It's a small black box straight from the 80s or 90s. I can't find anything other than people selling it for $20 online. Anyway I'm using it with my computer to drive some bookshelf speakers and it sounds great. The balance and EQ sliders crackle a bit but the volume knob works great and the unit feels really solid. I can only turn it about half way up before the speakers are overpowered. It has a phono inputs and also a matching tuner. Anyway, now I'm looking for some better speakers for close range listening. I have a desk that is 8' wide and the speakers are at the corners. I will probably keep my eye out for a record player this summer too. My kids are pretty good about leaving my computer desk alone.
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Apr 19, 2014 15:06
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The crackling can be solved with a bit of deoxit or similar contact cleaner. A quick spritz and a bit of massage, and they'll probably be like new.
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Apr 19, 2014 15:35
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As Ice cube would say, today was a good day.
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Apr 20, 2014 05:03
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I'm pretty sure I scored at the goodwill yesterday. Got a Pioneer sx-650 for $35, the only thing wrong with it is the balance knob is a little scratchy. Sounds incredible hooked up to my JBL D38 speakers. *sorry about the dark picture* Veeb0rg fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Apr 20, 2014 |
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Apr 20, 2014 05:22
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Awesome man, good to see more people saving these things from the dump. Now go get a can of deoxit and clean it up, find a good turntable and go play some records.
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Apr 20, 2014 05:26
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TooLShack posted:Awesome man, good to see more people saving these things from the dump. Now go get a can of deoxit and clean it up, find a good turntable and go play some records. I have a Kenwood turntable, but its a more modern one, it does the job but I'm always on the look out for a nice vintage one.
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Apr 20, 2014 05:27
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TooLShack posted:As Ice cube would say, today was a good day. Got dang. What models are the top two?
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Apr 22, 2014 00:08
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From top to bottom: Sansui AU-555 Sansui 5000 Sansui G-901DB The 901 was found by a friend actually and I was trying to see if I can get it to work. But after pulling all the fuses and checking them it went from one channel dead to going into protection. So gonna hand it over to the local repair tech and see what he can figure out. It's pretty and worth dumping some money into to get it working. TooLShack fucked around with this message at 01:50 on Apr 22, 2014 |
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Apr 22, 2014 01:35
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Veeb0rg posted:I'm pretty sure I scored at the goodwill yesterday. Got a Pioneer sx-650 for $35, the only thing wrong with it is the balance knob is a little scratchy. Sounds incredible hooked up to my JBL D38 speakers. My parents have this in their living room, I want to steal it from them because it sounds amazing. Good find!
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Apr 22, 2014 17:20
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I just lucked into a very expensive record - I mean VERY expensive, like over $1000 - but I'm not sure how to proceed. I'd like to rip it before I sell it, and I have a reasonably high quality stereo setup (Pro-Ject Debut III w/Ortofon OM10 -> Harman/Kardon 3490 -> Edirol UA-5) but the record is fairly dirty and I'm really nervous about cleaning it. I've cleaned a ton of records before, and with good success, but using tap water and dish soap just seems too daunting in this case. Similarly risky things like the wood glue technique are right out. Should I start hunting for someone with a VPI machine or are there better high-quality methods? Obviously I don't mind spending a few dollars on this, but I'm not going to buy a record cleaning machine just for one LP.
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Apr 25, 2014 04:17
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Don't bother sharing what the record is, or anything!
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Apr 25, 2014 04:25
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BANME.sh posted:Don't bother sharing what the record is, or anything! I would but given that I'm going to sell it I'd really rather not tie it to my identity here. Let's just say that it was a '70s free jazz private press, and the record and packaging were so innocuous that the shop had no idea what they had.
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Apr 25, 2014 04:43
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Ask your local record stores if they have cleaning machines. One of the ones near me does it (for $15 a disc though  )
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Apr 25, 2014 06:42
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strtj posted:I just lucked into a very expensive record - I mean VERY expensive, like over $1000 - but I'm not sure how to proceed. I'd like to rip it before I sell it, and I have a reasonably high quality stereo setup (Pro-Ject Debut III w/Ortofon OM10 -> Harman/Kardon 3490 -> Edirol UA-5) but the record is fairly dirty and I'm really nervous about cleaning it. I've cleaned a ton of records before, and with good success, but using tap water and dish soap just seems too daunting in this case. Similarly risky things like the wood glue technique are right out. Should I start hunting for someone with a VPI machine or are there better high-quality methods? Obviously I don't mind spending a few dollars on this, but I'm not going to buy a record cleaning machine just for one LP.  If it really is so loving dirty then tap water and dish soap are the best things to happen to it in a long time.
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Apr 25, 2014 09:43
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I just scored a £300 record for £40 and I thought that was a good deal, wow. $1000? Never even seen a record worth that much. (The Fragile by NIN 3xLP, NM/VG+)
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Apr 25, 2014 15:59
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The most genuinely valuable old record I own I got for free. It's gone as high as $300 and as low as $30 but I think it got re released on CD or something which kind of killed the demand. It was an Australian blues band from the 70s called Band of Light. It's pretty good stuff. I guess my aunt had good taste.
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Apr 25, 2014 16:33
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strap on revenge posted:Ask your local record stores if they have cleaning machines. One of the ones near me does it (for $15 a disc though Thanks, this was a good suggestion. The record store I talked to doesn't have a cleaning machine but they were able to put me in touch with someone who does.
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Apr 26, 2014 18:25
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Alright I ditched my Lepai amp for a Pioneer SX-727 today and I'm in love. The tuner works great, my record player sounds fantastic, and my phone hooked up to the AUX port (using RCA to AUX cable) works well. The issue I'm having is with the HDTV plugged into the AUX port. I get a buzzing sound with a constant barrage of tck-tck-tck and no audio from the TV. I know it's not the AUX port because it works fine with my phone. The wiring I have from HDTV to receiver is: Coax audio cable from back of TV to > Coax-to-Analog adapter to > RCA stereo cable to > the receiver's AUX ports. This wiring setup worked fine on my Lepai amp so I'm hesitant to call it quits. Any ideas?
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Apr 28, 2014 00:56
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I heard the worst thing on the weekend. My uncle had a great old setup from the 70s that started giving him trouble, so he gives it to my cousin to have a look at. This guy is an electrician. He blows the fuse a couple times so he shorts it. The amp starts smoking so he throws it out. Tells my uncle it was a 30 year old POS anyway so he should just buy a new one. My Dad was telling me this story so I don't have the details. I feel like I should call my uncle and ask him what else he has so I can try and save it from the dump.
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Apr 28, 2014 15:57
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dalaamprince posted:Alright I ditched my Lepai amp for a Pioneer SX-727 today and I'm in love. The tuner works great, my record player sounds fantastic, and my phone hooked up to the AUX port (using RCA to AUX cable) works well. Find a setting in your TV's menu to output PCM sound instead of Dolby Digital/Bitstream from the digital output.
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Apr 28, 2014 22:58
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BattleHork posted:Find a setting in your TV's menu to output PCM sound instead of Dolby Digital/Bitstream from the digital output. Hmm no luck finding any setting like that. The Audio Settings are pretty limited and I just messed with disabling/enabling all of them. Thanks for the suggestion though.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:38
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A little over a year ago I got a great deal on a Marantz 2226B that I found at a thrift store. The thing occasionally sounded great but was constantly having the left channel drop out randomly because of a gummed up tape one monitor switch and equally hosed input selector pot. Since that time I've probably taken the thing apart fifteen times and tried my best to get Deoxit into the pots and switches to varying degrees of success only to have it go back to where it was a week later. For whatever reason tonight I decided to change the feet out to some feet that I have on an old broken Pioneer receiver (the Marantz was missing two feet anyhow), and when I flipped it over I noticed that the thing has a whole bottom plate secured by many screws that I'd somehow glossed over all of this time, so I took it off and saw that all of the pots and switches that I couldn't get to easily before were now very accessible. I used the very last of the Deoxit can on everything and now it sounds like brand new. I mean it sounded good before, but this is a whole new level of amazing. I guess it's a good thing I never decided to recap it myself, because if something this simple could elude me for so long then I'm pretty sure I would have started the thing on fire had I done anything more complicated. I feel quite stupid over it all.
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Apr 30, 2014 04:14
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Yet more stereo stuff, posted on eBay; includes some bitchin' 80s rackmount poo poo and a useless box that eliminates jitter from your digital audio, which I am sure someone will think they appreciate.    
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May 3, 2014 06:41
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I got a radio. 2014-57 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr  2014-58 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr It says it's a universal radio product made in Canada for the T. Eaton Co. Model No 1T85-E. I don't know anything about it. All the tubes are still in it and it doesn't have anything missing other than the one knob. The guy I got it from says it turns on and lights up but it's very quiet. I'd like to restore it. Anyone have any pointers?
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May 3, 2014 15:12
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TomR posted:I got a radio. Very cool! Anything that old is definitely going to need replacement capacitors. Check out http://antiqueradio.org/recap.htm
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May 3, 2014 16:28
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Thanks for the link. I'm almost afraid to start taking it apart. I think this thing is only worth maybe $100, but I don't want to ruin it. I found the schematics for the radio so I hope I can find all of the parts to replace. I turned it on and 4 of the tubes started to glow and it made a hum from the speaker. It got pretty loud. The face doesn't light up. The Radio:  2014-60 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr The face light, I'm not sure what this part is. Does anyone know how it works?  2014-62 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr I also took some pictures of the labels.  2014-59 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr  2014-63 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr Edit: After I let it warm up a bit the face started to glow a faint green. I turned all the knobs and dials and almost tuned in someone talking. There was still a ton of static and an over powering hum. TomR fucked around with this message at 17:31 on May 3, 2014 |
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May 3, 2014 16:55
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TomR posted:Thanks for the link. I'm almost afraid to start taking it apart. I think this thing is only worth maybe $100, but I don't want to ruin it. Not at all a surprise about the hum, either your detector tubes or your preamp section aren't getting the correct voltage because your capacitors are shot, and the amplifier section is amplifying hum instead of amplifying signal. I would only be worried about resale value if I was trying to flip this. If you get it working, the personal satisfaction value is going to be very high. Even if you don't decide to restore the electronics, if you can find a replacement knob and clean up the exterior, radios that size make wonderful decorative pieces. Can you pull the "face light" out of the holder? It should just twist out, and part numbers will be very helpful for figuring out what a replacement might be. With that many wires running to it, it might actually be a tuning/reception indicator, something like a 6E5 or 6AF6 tube. But honestly, that would be the last part I would worry about restoring if you want to have this radio be functional.
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May 3, 2014 19:32
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I'm not flipping it. I don't even know how I would sell it. Who wants an AM radio? I'm fixing it because I like the way it looks. 2014-65 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr I put new light bulbs in.  2014-68 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr  2014-64 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr The tube leading to the face reads 6G5 and has 5 wires going to it. One of them is heavier than the others. I'm going to take the bottom off of the radio and have a look inside, as soon as I figure out how to hold it upside down without bending the front panel. Can I take the tubes out and wipe them off without hurting them? Edit: Looking good.  2014-70 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr TomR fucked around with this message at 20:02 on May 3, 2014 |
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May 3, 2014 19:41
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TomR posted:I'm not flipping it. I don't even know how I would sell it. Who wants an AM radio? I'm fixing it because I like the way it looks. You don't just have an AM radio, you have a shortwave radio! It looks like you've got coverage on some bands that are still used. The top one especially, ~6MHz, will probably pick up quite a few stations at night. Usually the best way to work on the electronics is just to rotate it 90 degrees - lay it down on either the left or the right side, whichever seems more appropriate, and you'll probably then have easy access to the underside. The 6G5 points to this being a little bit later radio, but that's definitely a tuning indicator. The face will be brighter or darker according to whether or not the radio believes that you have tuned a valid signal. Is it in a socket? Most of them were, but I suppose it's also possible that they were directly wired. Be careful wiping down the tubes. The dust and dirt on them doesn't impact their performance at all (unless it's really bad, and it doesn't look like that's the case here), and unless they were run for a very long time they're probably still OK. Most tubes had white printing on them, and the fact that it was on glass makes the printing very easy to accidentally wipe off if you press too hard. Use a soft touch.
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May 3, 2014 20:03
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Well, I FINALLY picked up a receiver capable of playing my Garrard DD75 turntable. A Technics SA-160 for $8 at a garage sale. I hate the early 90s black form factor, but it works just fine and sounds great so I'm not complaining. The setup is such a mishmash now. 70s woodgrain turntable on top of an 80s brushed metal FM receiver, on top of that Technics. So now it's on to fixing my turntable. So far I've replaced the needle and created a counterweight with some nuts and duct tape. All that's left is to get it running at a consistent speed. 33rpm is almost right if I turn the pitch all the way up, but it can't get anywhere close to 45rpm. I assume I need to lube up something in there. Is there any good tutorials for direct drive turntables like this? edit: I went and bought some contact cleaner and adjusted the internal pots, and that fixed the speed. Now the only thing to fix is the auto-shutoff switch. It it too tough to trigger so it just skips backward at that point. And for 45s it shuts off too early. wa27 fucked around with this message at 23:01 on May 3, 2014 |
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May 3, 2014 20:59
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 2014-71 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr I guess they hadn't invented the PCB yet. I'm going to do my best to identify all the capacitors and order replacements.
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May 3, 2014 21:03
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wa27 posted:Well, I FINALLY picked up a receiver capable of playing my Garrard DD75 turntable. A Technics SA-160 for $8 at a garage sale. That's a decent starter receiver and you absolutely can't complain about the price. I am kind of bummed that I missed out on a TOTL 80s Technics receiver this weekend. A 120 watt/channel SU-V10X for only $30.  As for your TT, get some contact cleaner and spray the hell out of the speed control pots, as well as any other switches or buttons. TomR posted:
Yeah I love looking at pics of old tube amps that were made pre-PCBs.  
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May 3, 2014 23:03
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Ha ha, yeah. At least this isn't too big. Here is what I'm attempting right now: One of the vacuum tubes has a cap on it that goes to ground with nothing else in the way and I can't find it on the schematic.
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May 3, 2014 23:10
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Here's a point to point TV I'm trying to bring back to life.  You really dodged a couple of bullets with that radio, firstly when you turn them on after years of doing nothing the dry and dead caps can blow other more expensive components like power transformers. The second was cleaning the tuner dial which are so, so very easy to completely erase with a cloth. It's going to be great when it's going again but for the love of god do not keep plugging it in.
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May 4, 2014 01:27
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Good point. I was very careful to not remove the paint from the glass. I could see it was already flaking before I started. I have the parts list and schematic for the radio and I'm trying to match up the drawing to what is actually in the radio. I've got about 75% of it but somethings have the wrong value or don't make sense. There are a couple places in the radio with cut wires so I'm guessing maybe someone changed something, or maybe they didn't follow the drawing 100% when the radio was made. Is it a bad idea to order the parts from the list and swap them out one at a time until everything inside has been changed? Some of the capacitors inside the radio are soldered in such a way that I can't read them.
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May 4, 2014 01:53
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Just disposed of some more disposable income... I really am working hard to become the crazy Hi-Fi lady. Bought a lovely little 4W per channel single-ended class A tube amp (uses a pair of FU32 tetrodes and a 6N2 dual triode) from a Chinese seller on eBay:  A pair of new old stock 1963 date coded RCA 832As to replace the crummy Chinese FU32s:  And a beautiful 1960 date coded Wurlitzer branded RCA 12AX7 dual triode (will replace the Chinese 6N2 with a minor heater wiring change), which would have originally been fitted to a jukebox or organ amplifier on the Wurlitzer production line, and should look lovely in between those fat 832As:  Also got some vintage bakelite covered brass anode clips for the tops of the 832As - Should add to the vintage look. The best thing? Wife Approval Factor is utterly irrelevant when you *are* the wife. If this sounds good with headphones (which it apparently should after the tube upgrade), then I'll probably buy a set of the Fostex P1000E cabinets and FF105WK 4" full-range drivers from Madisound. I've already got a small sub to use with them, and they're basically designed from the outset to work with very low power amplifiers:  Even with binding posts to replace the springclips, and a set of spikes so I can have them levelled or angled, they're only about $200 a pair. Oh, and I also had a t-shirt made... 
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May 4, 2014 05:28
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 that's very cool and here I am trying to ditch my vintage gear
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May 4, 2014 09:32
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