R-8 no tuner?

Hi All
I have an R8 that sometimes the tuner works and then just goes away on FM the AM is still there but FM stops? The memory cap is good because it will hold the memory.

I just got a R-8 for $25 and have a simliar problem. I went through yesterday and DeOxit'd all the pots and connections.

As for the tuner, I can tune it to a station and it will hol there if I shut down and come back hours later. My problem is more in the presets in the P1-P8/P9-P16 button. It seems to be stuck in the P9-P16 selection and it won't go to any of the P1-P8 presets.

Not trying to hack the thread, just thought it might be realted somehow and would like to know how to fix.

B

Hello,

I'm new here. This will be my first post. Hope I can help a little bit.

Over the years I've owned the R-5, R-7, R-8, R-9 and also other Yamaha receivers. All were purchased used from eBay.

I don't know how to put this delicately, but my experience with the R-single digit line was less than stellar. Every single one had intermittent problems that I eventually traced to bad solder joints. Some of them I managed to fix, some weren't worth the effort. And of course most of them had the memory loss issue, which is actually an easy fix.

babeba67: I had more or less the exact same problem with at least one R-8. In my case re-soldering basically all the solder joints on the board behind the squishy memory buttons (also cleaning them) corrected the problem.

I have a very rudimentary understanding of audio circuitry and am NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, an expert at this. Just someone who likes to try and fix things for the learning experience.

Interestingly, I found the R-5 to be the nicest sounding of the bunch. It had a warmer, sweeter sound than its bigger brothers, which are on the bright side. The R-9 is a beast, but try finding one in good working condition. I wouldn't pay more than a few dollars for any of these receivers.

Yamaha's earlier amps, on the other hand, are a whole different animal and much better put together and most importantly, sound much better.

Thanks for the info cgal! For a first timer and poster this was very helpful. I'll take the cover back off and look to solder those areas you mentioned. I saw this R8 on CL and thought what the heck for the price of a large pizza it would make a good spare bedroom receiver.

I have many newer Yammy RX series receivers that have issues with "flickering" orange readouts so I know this is not the strong suit of Yamaha. I also have an M-85 and M-45 that are really well built so I'm not hating on Yamaha, just disappointed that out of 8 receivers about 1/2 of them have this issue.

I remember back in the day right out of high school my buddy bought the R5 and we loved the sound. Always wanted an R9 at 125wpc, but like you said hard to come by in good shape.

Thanks again for the info,
B

Second the posters on the R-* series -- decent receivers, but plagued with "issues" that grow as time progresses. Not worth the aggravation, IMO. There are many receivers from that time peried are just as good or better, and do not drive you nuts.

R-8 and R-9 memory loss. C-178 .047 farad (47000uf) 5.5vdc. near IC 109.

I have an R-8 that's a crackly mess even after several rounds of De-Oxit. If you press the faceplate in just the right spot and the wind is blowing the right direction that day it sounds pretty nice. I tried to get my kid to press on it while I settled into my chair and listened to the new Gary Numan but after a half an hour his arm got tired (my kid's arm, not Gary Numan's). Sigh. I need to learn to solder because I'm sure that's the issue, my attempts so far have ranged from disastrous to merely incompetent.

Bad solder joints just go with the territory on our older gear. I don't hang around in the other manufacturers forums much to see if it's a Yamaha specific problem or more of an old stuff problem but I'd imagine we aren't the only ones with issues.

I got an R-5 recently for a cool $5 and I'll agree with the poster above, from way back when, that it is a genuinely nice sounding receiver.
I took it apart to change the bad memory cap and was surprised to find Black Gate and Cerafine caps in there. A little reading shows it cost around $500 back in 1985 so not a cheap unit really.

On the subject of taking it apart...it's a giant pain. No bottom access panel so you really have to get in there to do any work. I'm not sure if your R-8 is like that but if you've got to get to the selector board you're likely going to have to do some digging.
I'd say it's worth the trouble though. It's got something none of the higher end units of the day had, namely remote volume and source control. I'm guessing back then it was more audiophile to have to get up to change sources or volume but we've grown lazier as the decades have progressed.

I have one that was from a thrift that needs to warm up for about an hour before it functions right.Sounds pretty good though when it does.