Robert
Tapehead
Andy,
You may remember I sought your advice some time ago about a lovely old Pioneer SA9800 amp I bought. Basically, it caughed and spluttered into life at switch on for a few minutes and then worked ok. Well, the problem cured itself with use, probably because the thing had been stored in its sealed carton for 20 years and needed to wake up
Anway, as I type this the Pioneer if playing Ella Fitzgerald sweetly through my Kans (don't laugh) but I'd like to perform a few mods to get the best from the old girl. This is what I had in mind:
1/ Replace the supply caps. At 25 years old I guess they are not at their best. The amp has four 15000uf caps.Cost not being an issue, what are the best available?
2/ The internal screaned cables are extremely thin and the PVC covering has become brittle. I plan to replace them with some decent Mic cable.
3/ The speaker wiring is very thin. Even Denis Morecroft would raise an eyebrow at these wires
I plan to replace it with something more substantial. I have some spare Origin Live Soli-Core and will probably use that. I'll take te cables direct to the pcb and bypass the speaker selector. I'll also add four 4mm sockets to the rear panel to use in place of the twist lock things allready there.
4/ The mains cable in a thin 2 core item (the unit came from the USA) which again has become a little brittle. Plan to replace with some decent cable.
5/ Wire wraping is widely used inside the amp. While not using solder will have its own advantages am I right in thinking that oxidisation could be a problem and should I clean and then solder over the wire wrap ?
All switches have been cleaned and are crackle free.
What do you think?
Any other ideas?
This is the beast.....
Thanks,
Rob.
You may remember I sought your advice some time ago about a lovely old Pioneer SA9800 amp I bought. Basically, it caughed and spluttered into life at switch on for a few minutes and then worked ok. Well, the problem cured itself with use, probably because the thing had been stored in its sealed carton for 20 years and needed to wake up
Anway, as I type this the Pioneer if playing Ella Fitzgerald sweetly through my Kans (don't laugh) but I'd like to perform a few mods to get the best from the old girl. This is what I had in mind:
1/ Replace the supply caps. At 25 years old I guess they are not at their best. The amp has four 15000uf caps.Cost not being an issue, what are the best available?
2/ The internal screaned cables are extremely thin and the PVC covering has become brittle. I plan to replace them with some decent Mic cable.
3/ The speaker wiring is very thin. Even Denis Morecroft would raise an eyebrow at these wires
I plan to replace it with something more substantial. I have some spare Origin Live Soli-Core and will probably use that. I'll take te cables direct to the pcb and bypass the speaker selector. I'll also add four 4mm sockets to the rear panel to use in place of the twist lock things allready there.
4/ The mains cable in a thin 2 core item (the unit came from the USA) which again has become a little brittle. Plan to replace with some decent cable.
5/ Wire wraping is widely used inside the amp. While not using solder will have its own advantages am I right in thinking that oxidisation could be a problem and should I clean and then solder over the wire wrap ?
All switches have been cleaned and are crackle free.
What do you think?
Any other ideas?
This is the beast.....
Thanks,
Rob.