Yamaha CR 420 : amateur cleaning, fix

joshvito · Jan 2, 2015

I recently acquired a Yamaha CR 420 of the old CL. Guy said he was original owner and bought the receiver in the 80s. I'm a bit skeptical though.

I figured I'd post some photos as I take this thing apart, as it will help me remember how to put it back together again. I'm pretty new to cleaning up these old units, but I love the look.

My plans are to give it a god cleaning and replace the bulbs. I'd like to give it Yamaha green LEDs, but not sure what\where to get the replacement s. I have a replacement knob coming from eBay Germany.

joshvito · Jan 2, 2015

The knobs cleaned up real nice with dish soap and water and a little scrubbing w a toothbrush. The faceplate is pretty grimey, looks like dirty nicotine fingers. Any suggestions on how to clean and polish it closer to new? I can't tell if its brushed aluminum or stainless steel...

Still look I ng for a bulb source too. I sent another member a msg per some other posts I've seen on the forum.

beanoil · Jan 2, 2015

Youll be able to get a bulb kit from AK member djwojo. Simple Green for the faceplate should work fine. Good luck, the Yammies have a nice sound.

avionic · Jan 3, 2015

I can't tell if its brushed aluminum or stainless steel...

If it was stainless It would weight around 10 pounds. It is aluminum.Magic eraser , hot water and dish soap works for me.

avionic · Jan 3, 2015

Does it work OK ?

joshvito · Jan 3, 2015

Sounds good. The phono and aux test ok. There is a lot of static on the pots.

I msg'd djwojo about the bulbs.

Here is a picture of the grime.

Sounds like I'll be going out for some cleaning supplies this weekend. Deoxit simple green and magic eraser. Thanks.

Is there a way to find date of build?

joshvito · Jan 3, 2015

Magic eraser really works great

I used deoxit red on all the connections, following the deoxit guide from this forum. Just waiting on bulbs and probably some deoxit gold.

Roboturner91 · Jan 4, 2015

I have one. I like it a lot. The cool thing about these is they generate practically no heat, so you won't have any of those issues where heat breaks down solder joints and so on over time. Brilliant tuner and phono stage. In some ways I feel like it's better constructed than even my CA-810.

I put regular old incandescent bulbs in mine. There are blue plastic filters to make that greenish glow - two in the meter, one in the dial pointer piece. So if you get green LED's you're going to have more of a deep blue-green color than the yellowish-green original color. I think you're supposed to get amber LED's if you want it to look closer to the original.

I pulled the blue filters out of mine just to see and I found I preferred the natural color from the incandescents. Almost a tangerine color and just so happened to match my CD changer and the strobe on my turntable.

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Very nice little receivers. In fact your thread has me thinking about pulling mine off the shelf and taking it up to the bedroom to use with some little Advents. :banana:

joshvito · Jan 4, 2015

Little Advents? I'm pretty new to hifi, are those newer or vintage speakers? I was planning on going the local hi fi audio store and getting myself a nice pair of speakers in February. I was just going to talk to salesman and sample a few sets if possible.

Roboturner91 · Jan 4, 2015

sorry, Advent Minis. 3 a.m. baby feedings mess with my brain.

Johnno_Oz · Jan 14, 2015

Good luck with the restoration, looking good already, post pics once done please! Did the volume knob turn up from Germany yet?

I love the "baby" CR-420, I am very happy with mine. I lucked out on that had been re-capped and sounds gorgeous. Lovely warm tones and it's plenty loud enough for my small space.

T.O.S. · Jan 14, 2015

Nice one .I am keeping an eye on one . But can't find the specs for the headphones output

joshvito · Jan 14, 2015

Still waiting on the knob from Germany. Any day now I bet. I have some replacement bulbs too. I still need to put in an order for some solder tools on amazon this week.

More to come. Thanks for the input so far. As far as recapping, I'm going to see how it sounds after I am done with lights and such. Admitting ly, I'm no expert, but I don't see any leaky or bulging caps

joshvito · Jan 14, 2015

T.O.S. said:
Nice one .I am keeping an eye on one . But can't find the specs for the headphones output

Are they not included in the doc's on hifiengine.com?

ZOOM · Jan 15, 2015

T.O.S. said:
Nice one .I am keeping an eye on one . But can't find the specs for the headphones output

It's the same as the regular amp output. The only difference is the series resistors of probably 270/330/470 ohm on each channel.

Allisonholic · Jan 23, 2015

I still have the 420 I bought new in '77 from Federated in Costa Mesa, great receivers. I've had to replace the lamps and deoxit but that's all. As in a previous post it doesn't have the heat issues my 2020 has

joshvito · Jan 23, 2015

Im pretty excited to put this unit back together this weekend. All the parts and required tools have arrived. I'll have to practice soldering on some scrap wire too.

joshvito · Jan 24, 2015

I put the receiver back together today. I replaced both tuning meter bulb with some incandescent supplied by dwojo. I left the tuning bulb alone, as it worked and appeared to have been replaced more recently than the others.

I ordered a replacement volume knob from that giant auction site. Turns out, I didn't need it, because the previous owner had put the volume knob on the loudness pot. I listed the duplicate on the auction site, and now I am watching for a replacement knob for the Loudness switch. :tears:

I notice a few knobs that look similar to the one i need, but are listed as CR 400 series knobs. Anyone know if they are the same knob as the CR 420?

According to hifiengine, the part numbers in the manuals are DIFFERENT but the photo looks like the real deal. :scratch2:

Below are some photos of the progress, and the lights all lit up.

Johnno_Oz · Jan 25, 2015

I've got a spare balance knob, you'll just have to wait for postage from Australia. No charge to a fellow AK'er. Contact me offlist if interested.

Just looking at the knob prices on ebay, three of 'em are the same price as a whole receiver!

joshvito · Jan 31, 2015

Hooked up a brand new pair of B&W 685 S2 to the Yamaha today. It sounds better than anything I've ever owned. I can "hear" why this hobby is addictive.

Yamaha CR 420 : amateur cleaning, fix

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