How to clean a tuner (analog)

dr*audio

Fish fingers and custard!
1. Vacuum out all the dust you can from the interior. Don't touch the fins on the tuning cap!

2. Blow the dust out of the fins with compressed air. Don't touch the fins.

3. If you examine the tuner cap, you will see brass contacts at each point where the shaft passes through the metal housing. (Including where it passes through the internal walls.) These make the ground contact and they get dirty. Buy some NON - RESIDUE contact cleaner, and inject it into all these brass contacts, then work the tuner back and forth across the dial at least 20 - 30 times.
4. Then apply just a drop of CAIG Faderlube to each contact. It is better to use a syringe to apply it, rather than trying to spray a small amount. If you contaminate the fins of the cap or the circuitry, you will detune the circuit. Work the tuner back and forth 20 - 30 times again.
This procedure will cure all kinds of woes; noise when you turn the dial, certain stations not being received sometimes, when other times they come in clearly, etc.
 
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Thanks !

Thank you dr*audio - this is really useful information - the number of times I read posts by people, who have just / or are about to, attempt enthusiastically "cleaning" their tuner with what seems like unsuitable materials - it's nice to have the real deal.

Sticky ?

John
 
I asked to make this a sticky some time ago and nothing happened. I don't know how to go about it.
 
Stuck... It should be mentioned that this could bring your tuner closer into alignment, or put it out of alignment. Anyway it will affect alignment of the frontend and local osc.
 
I've got one that acts like a bad ground. It is real twitchy at the low end of the dial. I started a thread with pictures in the DIY section. Is grounding the tuner shaft with a jumper a valid test?

- Pete
 
No, work the tuner back and forth across the dial a bunch of times. If it improves, it is a dead giveaway it needs cleaning. If you suspect it needs cleaning, best to clean it. Like chicken soup, "it wouldn't hurt!"
 
I use electrical motor cleaner. Safe for plastic, zero residue, gets the plates and contacts super clean!

i'm with you rrenslipevol, quick and easy ! i very carefully use a soft paint brush and a can of air to remove dust from the area first. in fact , i'm going to go do my sansui 717(?) after i get done here!
 
You are right again. Today it was really bad. It wouldn't tune a station with the mute on. Connecting the jumper had no affect. I when through another cleaning cycle and it got better but would drift. If I shook the tuning wheel everything would start jumping. I noticed there are also contact clips between the gangs where the shaft passes through the frame. I cleaned them and applied a little 100% deoxit and presto, it worked.

Thanks for your original post. It was very helpful to sort this out.

- Pete
 
Yes, perhaps I should have clarified to look at each point the shaft passes through the frame. I'll go back and edit it. Glad I could help!
 
thanks dr audio for your post and thanks AK for making it a sticky! i have been putting off cleaning this sansui tu-717 since i bought it. it was sold to me as a drifter but it was very dirty electrically when i got it and radio here sucks so it has been ignored for about 6 years. it sounds excellent after a good cleaning . i took the sellers word for it that it needed aligned and will be listening and watching to see just how much of the reception problem was caused by dirt. thanks again! john
 
it's been close to 24 hours since i cleaned my sansui tu-717. before cleaning, this unit would not maintain signal reception for more than a couple of hours and the tuning meter would indicate that signal was no longer being received at its strongest and would actually be out of the tuned in zone on the meter. after 4 1/2 hours continuous use last night and 6 1/2 hours continuous use today the tuning meter needle remain dead center and the tuner sounds marvelous, dispite my poor location. very cool !
 
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