AAAaaarrrggghhh - The Humiliation!!!!!
- Thread starter skibjr
- Start date
One power cord soldered in, a half-pint of lacquer thinner, some naptha, oleic acid, soap, water, some cleaning/brushing/blowing, a dim bulb, check of the offset, and some test speakers later, she's operational. There's a pretty high noise floor in the phono section, so those pesky 725s and 1344s might need to go away before long. Stock is on hand.
The only "ugly" part left is the pressed wood case. All the metal is ether original aluminum or black enamel once again. It needs a few indicators and all the dial lamps, and I'm deciding if it should get a true hardwood case. I haven't run the planer for a couple years, and this may be the perfect excuse to give it some exercise. I have a chunk of quartersawn white oak just sitting around, and it's tempting. Considering what the poor old girl has been subjected to, I think she'd look good sporting a new outfit. A classic oiled black walnut might also just about make up for her suffering the yellow tunic thrown on her.
More later.
The only "ugly" part left is the pressed wood case. All the metal is ether original aluminum or black enamel once again. It needs a few indicators and all the dial lamps, and I'm deciding if it should get a true hardwood case. I haven't run the planer for a couple years, and this may be the perfect excuse to give it some exercise. I have a chunk of quartersawn white oak just sitting around, and it's tempting. Considering what the poor old girl has been subjected to, I think she'd look good sporting a new outfit. A classic oiled black walnut might also just about make up for her suffering the yellow tunic thrown on her.
More later.
Yeah, that signal REALLY carries, doesn't it? No wonder it seems like the alignment went so well... 
That station is 25 miles away, the receiver is in my Nefarious Lair (a.k.a., basement) and I'm using an alligator clip test lead clamped to the UNBAL FM antenna input.
896
That station is 25 miles away, the receiver is in my Nefarious Lair (a.k.a., basement) and I'm using an alligator clip test lead clamped to the UNBAL FM antenna input.
896
Last edited:
rlovison
Well-Known Member
NEMOaudio
Super Member
and look now he has a loudspeaker to match. No more headphones.
Would go nicely with these:
Wow, nice save - you did a beautiful job! I've been wanting to try out that PE vinyl but I wasn't sure how it looked on a finished project until now. Looks terrific, way better than the original stuff Pioneer used on that series.
AJ - The PE vinyl is decent looking, and has grain texture embossed in it like the original. In that regard, it's a lot better than plain contact paper. However, the factory vinyl in good condition probably looks as good or better than the PE replacement. Of course, it's STILL vinyl decal, and the wood veneer on 850s and higher is the way to go.
Now to find a good pair of those mauve 2-ways on pipe stands...
Now to find a good pair of those mauve 2-ways on pipe stands...
In case any of you are longing for the yellow, this is as close as it gets:
Incidentally, the power supply also needed a bit of attention, as the 37V regulator had unsoldered itself. I'm sure you've all seen that dozens of times, and I fixed that when I added a heat sink to it, as well as touching up some other suspect joints:
Incidentally, the power supply also needed a bit of attention, as the 37V regulator had unsoldered itself. I'm sure you've all seen that dozens of times, and I fixed that when I added a heat sink to it, as well as touching up some other suspect joints:
I agree with that statement regarding the vinyl used on the earlier SX-x2x and x3x series, but IMO from the SX-x5x series on the vinyl they used was much cheaper and fake looking than the thicker nicely grained stuff they used earlier.
There are so many SX-650s and 750s with the super thin vinyl peeling off and that brownish colored backing showing through as opposed to the older models like the SX-636, 737, 838 etc. which have the much thicker grained vinyl covering that is usually in good condition. The PE stuff you applied looks like the older stuff Pioneer used before they switched to the thin peeling crap used on the SX-650, 750 and newer models.
Again, very nice save on both the cabinet and the voltage regulator!:thmbsp:
Welp, she survived the humiliation, but the heat was just one thing too many. She'd been playing along just fine until we started getting these 95/95 days (temperature/humidity). Apparently, the higher ambients and poor cooling once again got to the power supply/regulators. One of the e-caps decided to disconnect itself at the package instead of the board. Fortunately, I had a selection of Nichicons for replacements. The 330µF/50V caps must have been warm, given that the lead disconnected and plastic wrap was pulled off the end.
I was a little shocked to see a 50V cap in a circuit running at 48VDC. The replacements are 470µF/100V and fit perfectly except that I had to enlarge the holes a step with a micro drill. The extra voltage and capacitance of the 105°C caps may help. The rest were close enough to the original values to be of no consequence. There's not much left now but the outputs, and they consistently test O.K. and are again putting out current.
I suspect some of the rest of us northern hemisphere residents might be experiencing heat related issues as well. This is one result:
I was a little shocked to see a 50V cap in a circuit running at 48VDC. The replacements are 470µF/100V and fit perfectly except that I had to enlarge the holes a step with a micro drill. The extra voltage and capacitance of the 105°C caps may help. The rest were close enough to the original values to be of no consequence. There's not much left now but the outputs, and they consistently test O.K. and are again putting out current.
I suspect some of the rest of us northern hemisphere residents might be experiencing heat related issues as well. This is one result:
Last edited:
Tim64
Super Member
i tried the black anodising and it went a bit bad ..
I like it in a Timothy Leary kind of way, it looks like controls are moving around and not really solid but more fluid and if I don't stop staring....Blargh!!!
I like the thread. Its fun watching the transformation. It’s like a makeover show.
I live in Las Vegas and my garage is the everything room, well almost everything. Anyway, when the temps get over 100 degrees F the sets start acting a little squirrely. I found, at 118 degrees the sets won’t work for long.
I have some walnut corner blocks if you want’em.
I live in Las Vegas and my garage is the everything room, well almost everything. Anyway, when the temps get over 100 degrees F the sets start acting a little squirrely. I found, at 118 degrees the sets won’t work for long.
I have some walnut corner blocks if you want’em.
'Nuther good save! :thmbsp:
The original cap voltage rating is awfully close to the real working voltage of the circuit, they should've upped it a notch or two IMO. Sounds like a good reason to re-cap the power supply board at least if nothing else in these nice old units.
