Craptastic Phillips AH 980

[Mattwizz3]

I was given a Phillips AH 980 from a friends dad yesterday, its an All in one unit with record, tuner/receiver and cassette. I only glanced at it then accepted. Once it was at home I found that it wasn't as good as it (at first) appeared. The knobs are all plastic as well as the entire casing, with only a tiny bit of metal stuck on the front. The build quality seems pretty poor. The turntable has no rubber mat, just a hard plastic top. And despite it claiming to be a receiver there are no inputs except two microphone inputs on the front.

I fired it up anyway and all the knobs were extremely scratchy, upon opening it to clean the pots, I noticed that all the PCB's and components were fairly modern looking (compaired to my Rambler and Pioneer). I could only see one small IC though. The speaker outputs are RCA, so I could only test it through my Pioneer because I dont have any RCA speakers. I gave a listen to one of my LP's and it sounded surprisingly good. The amp is probably 5~8 watt because at the back it says it has 40W power consumption, when my Pioneer that is 15~20 watt has 154W power consumption.

Would you guys have any idea around what age this thing would be? My mates dad said his dad bought it in the 70's, but I think he must have got mixed up because it certainly isn't 70's quality or components despite its 70's styling. I estimated that its probably from the mid 80's at best. Does anyone know of this model? I thought Phillips was a good brand, but this seems a bit bodgy to me.

A Pic of the front:
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/mattwizz3/PhillipsAH980.jpg
Its not so impressive guts:
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/mattwizz3/AH980sguts.jpg

Either way, this thing is 100 times better than the readers digest turntable that my parents have, when its going its about as level as a boat in a storm. So it will probably replace that. From one extremely poor quality unit to a poor quality unit!

EDIT:
I've put it back together and am listening to a record right now through my Pioneer, sounds pretty good actually. But then again, I have almost no knowledge about Turntables or Vynil.

[Mattwizz3]

OK, I went to the OP shop today and found something fairly nice. Found a Kriesler all in one, tape, record, tuner and receiver. Got it for $10(Aus).

There are a couple of problems, first is that the turntable needs a new belt (Easy done) and second - The left channel is much quieter than the right.. This can be overcome with the balance control. Could this be a bad capacitor or damaged resistor? I might recap it if you think this old thing is worth it. The only model number on the whole thing I could find was on a circuit diagram inside. It said Kriesler model 11-301.

Front:
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/mattwizz3/Kriesler.jpg
Inside:
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r223/mattwizz3/Krieslerguts.jpg

[vinyldavid]

I wouldn't touch those with a 10 foot pole......but that's just me.

[ZebraBlvd]

Are all sources (tape, AM/FM,TT) low in volume on the same channel? Have you had a chance to go in and do a real good cleaning on all the switches & pots? I know I have spent many hours on cleaning new (old) purchases and a lot of problems just vanished.

[Arkay]

Ditto on the suggestion to clean the control pots first.

There were a slew of these all-in-one units made during the late 70s (starting with "casseivers") and well through the 80s (when most units looked like yours). They vary in quality, but none of them I've seen (and it numbers in the dozens) have been what I'd call good. They were sort of like "non-transportable boomboxes' in their quality, and sometimes even cheaper. Best used for decoration and just for "retro fun", rather than as stereo systems, IMO. Do your parents a favor and get them a decent TT and receiver, instead. They are your parents; they deserve something decent. Something like a lower/mid-sized Sansui or Pioneer receiver with a lower-end Technics TT wouldn't cost much, and would run circles around that all-in-one sonically. Just a suggestion.

[Mattwizz3]

I cleaned the control pots with WD-40 and its still quieter on the left channel in FM mono & Stereo, AUX and Phono. So you guys think that the Kriesler is no good quality wise? The build quality seems good (Real metal and wood) and the components look pretty good inside. I know that the phillips is not any good but I thought that this Kriesler might be OK. If it isnt any good in your opinion this actually may be a good unit for me to practice repairs on. I'm handy with a soldering iron and know the basics, but wouldent want to go inside my Pioneer or Rambler and start messing around. Maby this Kriesler is a good opportunity to practice? Thanks for your opinions! More welcome!

[stuwee]

I wouldn't touch those with a 10 foot pole......but that's just me.

At least the second one feels the same way about you David with that way cool cassette funtion guard(push down not in!):D. Good to practice on:thmbsp: Ask for help on where to do that first. Fire Bad:thumbsdn: Maybe someone could suggest a safe place in there to practice soldering? Get your folks something nicer:yes:
There is an easy-to-use cool factor they might like though!

Craig

[Mattwizz3]

Yeah, I know how to go about soldering safely. I got a good working area under the house, its sort of like a basement it has lots of benches and shelfs and plenty of power points. I think the previous owner who lived here must have used it as a working area, It's well lit and even has a sink and taps.

I have a multimeter that should do fine for testing stuff, but I'm not sure if it can test caps.

So do I start by looking for dry solder joins and leaking caps first? Any good steps to follow when repairing old equipment?

[garagmahal]

Steer away from WD-40, it just makes a mess, doesn't really clean anything, and never really dries either. Get on fleabay and get some Caig De-oxit, the stuff is miraculous, takes care of a lot of problems with just a quick spray, use sparingly though as it too can make a mess, but at least it dries.

[Mattwizz3]

Unfortunately I cant get my hands on De-oxit even on e-bay, probably because you cant post pressurised cans. Is there an Australian here who can recommend something better than WD-40 that I could get my hands on? I was reading another thread here and someone recommended to re-solder all the connections where the wire is wrapped around a pin. I might try that one too!

[caddisgeek]

Hey matt, you can get a generic contact cleaner from leading edge electronics (maybe dick smith also) seems pretty good. I've never used de-oxit so I cant compare

[dr.ido]

I use CRC "Switch Cleaner Lubricant" (Code 2001, blue and white can). If you are looking for it make sure you get the exact one as CRC also has a contact cleaner without lubricant in a simliar looking can (CO contact cleaner). When I tried the CO cleaner it reacted with the existing lubricant in the pots causing them to sieze.

I used to get it at a Jaycar, but they don't appear to stock it anymore. They know have something under their own brand, but I haven't tried it yet. The last time I bought it from Dick Smith. It is listed on their site (at $19 a can), but smaller stores (those that used to be a Tandy store) probably won't have stock.

As other's have said don't use WD-40.

Personally I can't stand those all-in-one units, but some are built better than others (as you have seen). I've even seen Pioneer and Onkyo all-in-ones before, but I didn't bother picking them up.

That said we all need to start somewhere and it's much better to make mistakes on something that is cheap and disposable than a decent piece of gear. I damaged some otherwise nice gear when I was starting out when I thought I knew more than I actually did.

I'm trying to clean out my shed at the moment and have some gear you can have for free (tuners/receivers/amps, maybe some speakers) if you can pick it up from Dandenong. Nothing special or high end, but certainly better than those all-in-ones. PM me if you are interested.

[Mattwizz3]

Hey dr.ido, thanks for the info on the CRC Switch Cleaner Lubricant. And I'm definitely interested in the stuff you want to get rid of! I'll pm you.