Cagney & Lacey - restoration of a couple of 400s
- Thread starter bhamham
- Start date
bhamham
Super Member
All busted.
bhamham
Super Member
Yepper, wiggled V2 and got radio - big relief
Still ain't right, weak sound and signal strength tube not working. I'll dig into it when I get Lacey to a listening stage.
Put some DeOxit on the tube pins, then insert in socket. Cycle in and out enough for the tube to enjoy it.
Tighten up the sockets.
Tighten up the sockets.
bhamham
Super Member
Well, moving along... got Cagney fully working now. The radio section was a bit of a fiddle - could only get a very weak signal - but with the help of the guys here was able to find a cold solder joint. Fixed that, and did the FM de-emphasis for Europe per this discussion:
http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/vintage/messages/4/46315.html
Now FM sounds really nice. Although, the tuning eye will fully close on a station but it sounds crummy. Like the 's' in voices are distorted. BUT, you move the dial just a bit to where the tuning eye has a gap but the narrowest gap and it sounds great. Any ideas?
There was a buzzing noise in the power transformer. At first, just thought I'd leave it as you could only hear it when very near. But then, you start to hear it all the time - know what I mean - it was starting to drive me nuts like hearing it in your sleep. So, I tightened all the bolts to the lams and the mounting bolts and that seems to have licked it - here's hoping.
Meanwhile, the earlier model - Lacey - is pretty close to done, too. Here's a topside view:
Shots underneath. Went with Soviet K40Y-9 couplers. I like the Orange Drops in the other but just thought to do these for a change. Everything else is pretty much the same.
Thought I'd try mult-turn trimmers for the adjustable bias (IBAM). Glad I did. This is by far the best way to go and really allows to dial them in.
http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/vintage/messages/4/46315.html
Now FM sounds really nice. Although, the tuning eye will fully close on a station but it sounds crummy. Like the 's' in voices are distorted. BUT, you move the dial just a bit to where the tuning eye has a gap but the narrowest gap and it sounds great. Any ideas?
There was a buzzing noise in the power transformer. At first, just thought I'd leave it as you could only hear it when very near. But then, you start to hear it all the time - know what I mean - it was starting to drive me nuts like hearing it in your sleep. So, I tightened all the bolts to the lams and the mounting bolts and that seems to have licked it - here's hoping.
Meanwhile, the earlier model - Lacey - is pretty close to done, too. Here's a topside view:
Shots underneath. Went with Soviet K40Y-9 couplers. I like the Orange Drops in the other but just thought to do these for a change. Everything else is pretty much the same.
Thought I'd try mult-turn trimmers for the adjustable bias (IBAM). Glad I did. This is by far the best way to go and really allows to dial them in.
Attachments
Really nice, neat work Bruce, congrats!
bhamham
Super Member
C63
There was a question regarding the use of a safety 'Y' line-to-ground cap for C63. This is why I use one there... if a regular cap fails it would short and might take out the secondary winding in the power transformer, whereas if a 'Y' cap fails it won't short but opens most likely protecting the PT.
There was a question regarding the use of a safety 'Y' line-to-ground cap for C63. This is why I use one there... if a regular cap fails it would short and might take out the secondary winding in the power transformer, whereas if a 'Y' cap fails it won't short but opens most likely protecting the PT.
Attachments
Not to hijack this thread but: I've been pretty quiet about it since I didn't want to clog the forum up with another 800c rebuild. However, I'm having a problem with the right channel so you'll see something from me soon.
Yup....cheap insurance against ending up with a rock......
or with a very bad headache:
http://www.justradios.com/safetytips.html
bhamham
Super Member
Look forward to your upgrade when you get a 400 - shouldn't be too hard to find.
bhamham
Super Member
Many thanks! All the best with your restoration. It was just a few years ago I was doing the same thing - reading everything I could on the 400. There's been some big improvements since those days and it just keeps getting better. Guys like you will probably kick it up another notch - a very cool thing to see over the years :thmbsp:
Don't encourage him, Bruce.:yippy: :thmbsp: I'm having a hard enough time keeping my head above water now
bhamham
Super Member
Don't encourage him, Bruce.:yippy: :thmbsp: I'm having a hard enough time keeping my head above water now
Larry, I hear you... I'll never keep up but trying to learn something new everyday :thmbsp:
bhamham
Super Member
adios Cagney
Thought I'd post the concluding episode of Cagney & Lacey. Cagney the newer 400 version with the extra IF section ended up with a cold solder joint on the supply to the MPX section. Thanks to the help of guys here on another thread got that sorted and she sounded like a million bucks. Cagney now resides in Sweden to a new happy 400 fan.
Here's a few parting shots...
Thought I'd post the concluding episode of Cagney & Lacey. Cagney the newer 400 version with the extra IF section ended up with a cold solder joint on the supply to the MPX section. Thanks to the help of guys here on another thread got that sorted and she sounded like a million bucks. Cagney now resides in Sweden to a new happy 400 fan.
Here's a few parting shots...
Attachments
bhamham
Super Member
adios Lacey
Lacey ended up being a real bear... oddly, both of these guys had MPX issues. It's really hard to work on the MPX section while it's in the chasis - at least for my big hands. So, I ended up pulling it. There's about 1/2 dozen leads to undo and 3 screws. Once I had it out I had the bright idea to test the one from my parts unit. It worked great so ended up swaping it.
Had a beater cabinet from the parts unit but it cleaned up pretty nice with Howard's restore-a-finish. It had to happen... upon cleaning the dial glass the lettering started moving. I've done quite a few Fisher dial glasses and this was my first. Read where someone thought it was nicotine that loosens the paint - could very well be. Anyway, the new owner didn't seem to mind and she went back to the New World of Canada and ending her days playing beautiful music.
Lacey ended up being a real bear... oddly, both of these guys had MPX issues. It's really hard to work on the MPX section while it's in the chasis - at least for my big hands. So, I ended up pulling it. There's about 1/2 dozen leads to undo and 3 screws. Once I had it out I had the bright idea to test the one from my parts unit. It worked great so ended up swaping it.
Had a beater cabinet from the parts unit but it cleaned up pretty nice with Howard's restore-a-finish. It had to happen... upon cleaning the dial glass the lettering started moving. I've done quite a few Fisher dial glasses and this was my first. Read where someone thought it was nicotine that loosens the paint - could very well be. Anyway, the new owner didn't seem to mind and she went back to the New World of Canada and ending her days playing beautiful music.
Attachments
bhamham
Super Member
A few parting shot notes...
I had a chance to compare the two. Not exactly a one-to-one comparison as the newer version had Sprague orange drop couplers and the other, K40Ys. The K40Ys were just a bit better for me... seemed to offer a more enhanced sound nicer sounding french horns and vocals where the orange drops were a bit bass heavy. Describing sound is really not my thing and TBH they both sounded super. On the next Fisher, I'll try the original W Germany caps as I have a small hill of them now and they seem to be the current flavor.
There's been a lot of talk of the IBAM lately and just to add my opinion - I'll definitely be using multi-turn trimmers from now on. So much easier to dial-in. Since, I pull out the A/C outlets... on the next one I plan to cut-out the metal divider and mount the board with caps & resistors. Far too much fiddling with point-to-point.
Ain't got no more 400s :cry: We're leaving the UK so trying to lighten the load, but when we settle in hope to pick up where I left off.
I had a chance to compare the two. Not exactly a one-to-one comparison as the newer version had Sprague orange drop couplers and the other, K40Ys. The K40Ys were just a bit better for me... seemed to offer a more enhanced sound nicer sounding french horns and vocals where the orange drops were a bit bass heavy. Describing sound is really not my thing and TBH they both sounded super. On the next Fisher, I'll try the original W Germany caps as I have a small hill of them now and they seem to be the current flavor.
There's been a lot of talk of the IBAM lately and just to add my opinion - I'll definitely be using multi-turn trimmers from now on. So much easier to dial-in. Since, I pull out the A/C outlets... on the next one I plan to cut-out the metal divider and mount the board with caps & resistors. Far too much fiddling with point-to-point.
Ain't got no more 400s :cry: We're leaving the UK so trying to lighten the load, but when we settle in hope to pick up where I left off.
I noticed that in your pic. Your new trimmer able to lock on the setting? I find the driftyness of the single turn pots mildly annoying especially after a couple of scotches :yes: Not a deal breaker but I'm curious if the multi's bring a bit more precision when making adjustments.
:thmbsp:
