Yesterday I went to an elderly ( 82years ) Dutch friends place, help him sort out his Sony Amp issues connected to his TV... NO SOUND.... soon sorted that out for him, but was a little unhappy as there was no ' output ' for his Subwoofer ... anyway , he has all 5 speakers and Dolby Home Theature cranked up as I leave.... playing Louis Armstrong. ( his favourite )
As I walking out, he got my attention .... here , take this with you, see if you can get it going ( 55year old Valve Radio ) German made....Blaupunkt
Got it home ... took the back off it ....what a mess... enough dirt and dust in there to ' top soil ' my front lawn and evidence of ' bugs ' had lived in there at some stage.
How to get all this ' mess ' cleaned out....??? .... I know, grabbed my Ryobi Blower and went to work ..... quite a ' dust storm ' later, it looked some what better.
Put her on the work bench .... plugged it in .... 1 light working , VFO ( variable capacitor )wouldn't turn ( seized ), couple of Valves in rear not lit up.... basket case I thought...!! ( boat anchor )
Took it outside and ' pulled ' everything out .... more dirt under chassis .
Pulled all the Valves out, cleaned and re-seated then again.... couldn't find any ' dry joints '
Used my ' always trusty ' can of Isopropyl Alcohol and went over everything electronic.... the VFO was still an issue, won't move.
Dial cord was still in tact ( not broken ) .... I'll fix you I thought ...out came the can of CRC, sprayed a few times, let it soak in .... bingo, we have movement.
Replaced the dial light that didn't work ( fingers crossed when I turn it on again )
Turned my attention to the ' Case ' ... veneer was coming off the front, not much you can do there...wiped it over and put it all back together.
Back to the ' Work Bench '.... plugged it in .... 2 dial lights lit up... valves warmed up and we have ' hiss ' ... turned VFO up and down the Dial, stations booming in everywhere.
I told him I have it working .... keep it he said ....I've got 2 other H/T Amps you can have ... Sony and a Sherwood... Sony has an issue, but the Sherwood works.. it's bloody heavy ... take em' both.
They'll be another story .....
Col....