So I bought a 20 year old Fisher RS636 Receiver at Goodwill yesterday.....

Larro Darro · Sep 29, 2013

Got off work a little early this afternoon. We had an early supper, so I had some time to work with the Fisher. I looked through all my cleaning products and decided to try Lemon Fresh Pledge. After forty five minutes of cleaning everything that moved, {and some that didn't} with a shop towel, an old toothbrush and a handful of Q-tips, I hooked up speakers, plugged her in and tried it. Works like a charm. All six channels are clear and loud. The surround level, balance and input balance all work. I didn't try all the inputs, but I feel like I'm in the clear with it now.

The sound was good enough to earn a place downstairs, if there was a slot open. But I will put it in the library for now. Since four of the speakers already in there are bookshelf speakers, I only have to decide on two more. The Pioneer and Panasonic are the best two small ones I have. The two SSI's are only rated for 15 Watts, so I couldn't really crank it tonight when I was testing it. Here are a couple of shots with the six speakers I hooked up to test.

Thanks for the advice. Cleaning, and working all the knobs back and forth did the trick.

troutsqueezer · Sep 30, 2013

Glad to hear it. I would have mentioned that turning all the knobs and pushing switches will work sometimes but the longer-lasting fix is to clean them with lubricated contact cleaner. You should probably still do that. Not sure about Pledge...

Larro Darro · Sep 30, 2013

The Pledge was what I could find in my cleaning closet. I was ready to work on it, so I gave it a try. I'm going to town tomorrow. I will pick up some cleaner from Radio Shack. I have four or five older receivers in the barn that could use a cleaning anyway. Everyone knows I collect them, so when they come across an old one, they bring it to me. {not to mention the ones I buy at thrift stores}

I might pick up a small soldering iron and some solder while I'm in town. I have a real nice Sony that has a short on the left channel. I bet it is a cracked piece of solder somewhere.

Larro Darro · Oct 1, 2013

Ran up to Marianna this afternoon. I stopped at two shopping centers looking for Radio Shack, and when I ask in one of the stores, I found out they had closed. I guess I don't get into the electronic stores very often. That is two that were closed and I didn't know it. But I did find some switch cleaner at Lowe's. So after supper, I gave all the switches and knobs a little spray, then cleaned up the excess with Q-tips. I took out the other system in the library and hooked up the Fisher. I went ahead and swapped CD players while I was at it. I had a little panic during the first test when the surround didn't work. But then I realized it had to have a CD or DVD to work in surround, and I was listening to the TV sound. As soon as I put on a DVD, it all tested out fine. Now I don't have any excuses for not getting my books in order.

Here is the Fisher in it's new home.

Larro Darro · Oct 25, 2013

I picked up another receiver at Goodwill on Tuesday. This one is a Kenwood KR-A4020. I found out it was made in 1991-92, so it is a little newer than the Fisher. {and about half the weight} It has 4 channels X 50 watts per channel. Last night I hooked it up and put it through it's paces. I liked the way it sounded, and wasn't real happy with the Fisher in the library. I'm not sure what the problem was with the Fisher, but the speakers were acting like they were near their power limit on about a quarter volume.

So I took out the Fisher and put the Kenwood in it's place. It sounds better with four speakers than the Fisher did with six. I guess I will put the Fisher in the storage room with at least four full size speakers and see how it does. Since I already have the speakers stored in there, I won't be adding anything, just rearranging it. I haven't packed the speakers up yet because I wasn't happy with the setup.

As if I don't have enough old stereos, I will likely buy an old Pioneer amp today from a pawnshop for $5.00. I was in there buying hunting arrows on Tuesday and saw the price on it. When I looked at the back of it, I saw why it was marked down. There were no RCA jacks. All the hookups were through a clip. I have some equipment with this kind of hookup, but not a tuner. But it is only five bucks. I'm sure I can find a way to use it.

Larro

Edit: I forgot to say that I payed $20.00 for the Kenny.

troutsqueezer · Oct 25, 2013

The thing about old electronics is the life span of aluminum electrolytic capacitors. While the transistors, resistors, inductors may last a lifetime, that type of capacitor will probably not. These caps are used in the power supply section and in a few other places for supply purposes (as compared to frequency filtration). Most folks who hang on to or restore old equipment will replace the aluminum electrolytics. Since you have an interest in this field, you might want to visit the AudioKarma forum.

You also might find this page on my website interesting: http://www.goldfinch-acres.com/Amps.html

Or not...

murphy1244 · Oct 25, 2013

troutsqueezer said:
The thing about old electronics is the life span of aluminum electrolytic capacitors. While the transistors, resistors, inductors may last a lifetime, that type of capacitor will probably not. These caps are used in the power supply section and in a few other places for supply purposes (as compared to frequency filtration). Most folks who hang on to or restore old equipment will replace the aluminum electrolytics. Since you have an interest in this field, you might want to visit the AudioKarma forum.

You also might find this page on my website interesting: Amps

Or not...

I read your complete Web Page, Man, I'm impressed. I owned a Threshold 400A and Dalquist speakers DQ-10s with a Luxman 353Mk3 preamp. Awesome sound. The Electrosound speakers sounded a bit flat to me. Bought my stuff used from Hoffmans in Brook Park Oh.

Larro Darro · Oct 25, 2013

troutsqueezer said:
Since you have an interest in this field, you might want to visit the AudioKarma forum.

You also might find this page on my website interesting: Amps

Or not...

I have used AudioKarma many times for information, and joined the forum last night. It doesn't matter how old or rare a piece of equipment is, someone over there will have a thread about it. And your site is very interesting. Thank you for sharing your stories with us. You are living a full life.

I have never been able to afford high end audio equipment and have only bought two receivers new. But I have got into the habit of buying used equipment. I would guess I have 15 to 20 amps and receivers now, some from the 60's and 70's, but most from the 80's and 90's. I try to never buy something I wouldn't listen to. And as storage issues are getting more acute, I have been selling a few now and then.

It was the lack of storage that made me decide to pass on the Pioneer amp today. Although I did get a Technics 60+1 CD changer for $22.50. The plan was to change it out with the one at work. But I just saw a review that said it had trouble with CD-R's, and all my CD's at work are copies. I may have to use it at home after all.

Larro