Vintage Audio Activities...

[CitroJim]

Wow! What an excellent little tool Mike I like it a lot, especially that it can be used with the components in-situ...

[Peter.N.]

Looks useful Jim - if you do much electronic work, which I don't now.

Peter

[CitroJim]

Looks useful Jim - if you do much electronic work, which I don't now.

Peter

I still do a bit Peter, just to keep my hand in... I must admit Mike's new tester makes my AVO 8 look a bit dated now...

I do have a job to do on one of my Leak Stereo 30 amps soon - one channel has gone a bit intermittent due to a duff balance and/or volume pot...

No point in spraying them with Servisol as they have been several times in the past; they're just worn out...

Quite shoddy really and clearly not built to last. They're only about 55 years old...

[Peter.N.]

Try WD40 Jim, I have actually found it better than Servisol. I don't know how old my Servisol is mind, I haven't bought any since I retired and that was 20 years ago!

I bought a Fluke meter about 40 years or more ago, very expensive but having blown up several early digital meters that were about £25 by trying to measure the resistance of the mains (or something similar) I decided to Invest in the Fluke, on of the best things I ever did, you can try to measure the resistance of the mains with impunity and it just screams at you and reverts to its previous setting. They really seem to be indestructible, I only recently disposed of it due to the LCD screen falling apart. I bought a rather larger one off Ebay which I don't use a lot now, probably more on the car than anything, I think I paid about £40 for that but they are still very expensive new.

The old one earned my living for many years. I have a cheapo from Ebay for electrical work and that seems to be pretty good compared to the early digital's.

I just recently bought a Philips EL3542 tape recorder also from Ebay, looks very nice, have been looking for one for years, I bought one new in the '50s and it was about the best domestic machine I ever used, 3 speed, four track and about 15 Khz at three and 3/4 ips and 20 at seven and 1/2.

I have a stack of tapes with such things as David Jacobs Pick of the Pops recorded in the 50s/60s. I will run through when (and if) I get it going and see if I have any famous 'lost tracks' I am awaiting the belts from Greece!

I went to examine it when it came and found the deck cover screws missing but inside there was half a broken belt but no other signs of interference. I keep telling myself its analogue and and valve powered
so if I can't repair it I really have lost the plot!

Peter

[CitroJim]

I bought a Fluke meter around 20 years ago and although expensive at the time it's been a great investment - indestructible

I've used WD-40 on 'hopeless case' pots in the past with good results Peter so as these two are just about on the hopeless spectrum, there'll be nothing to loose... Or perhaps GT85 would be better?

That's great on the tape recorder I had one as a young teenager and they are absolutely superb In their day they were the one to have.

If you can't fix it then I doubt anybody can. Just watch out for the infamous Philips tar-bombs cunningly masquerading as capacitors They really are the root of all evil...

[Peter.N.]

I will let you know how I progress (if I do) Practically all the pop music is on Utube anyway but it would be interesting to listen to what else is on there. I know there is at least one episode of 'beyond our Ken' or 'round the horn' I seem to remember. What is GT85 Jim, sounds like jet fuel.

Peter

[CitroJim]

I look forward to news of your progress Peter Listening to old tapes can be a journey of delightful discovery

What is GT85 Jim, sounds like jet fuel.

Just another flavour of WD-40 really but with added PTFE and particularly liked by the cycling fraternity. AC-90 is another variety...

[Peter.N.]

Oh right thanks.

Peter

[xantia_v6]

Today I remembered that I had a 240V Dremel which failed last year, just not running. I found 2 electrolytic capacitors on the control board, a 1?F which measures 770nF with 55? ESR and a 100?F which measures 19?F with 75? ESR. For comparison, a new cap from my junk box has an ESR of 0.5?.

With a couple of new electrolytics fitted, the Dremel is functioning like new. The hard part was working out how to reassemble it, as I dismantled last year and threw all the bits in a shoebox.

Pity I bought a new one...

[CitroJim]

Excellent result Mike

[CitroJim]

A vintage radio at our recent Vintage Event... Note the bottle of Camp Coffee!

For context, it was positioned by a mock-up of an Anderson Shelter as part of a WWII exhibit...

[Peter.N.]

I like it Jim. We had an Anderson shelter in the garden but it kept filling up with water. I had a Morrison shelter in my bedroom, like an iron/steel box for you bed to go in so the roof didn't collapse on you, how you got out if it did I don't know.

Peter