Vintage Reciever Repair?

[ninefivezero]

Hi, I'm new to these forums, and vintage audio in general (I mean, my receiver was "born" more than a decade before I was) so if there is somewhere better to ask about this, feel free to point me in that direction.

Anyways.

I bought a Pioneer SX-727 on craigslist for $30, but it has a few issues. The most obvious is that the tuner face does not light up, though the tuner is the best I've ever heard. The next issue is that the right channel cuts out from time to time, but for some reason jiggling the Tape Monitor 1 button seems to fix it. Finally, it is missing one knob, but that is not a big deal.

Looking around, I found one in good condition selling for a whopping $350, and besides, I like it a lot so far. Seems to be a very good piece of hardware. I called a repair shop in Seattle where I live, and they charge $80/hour plus parts, which I don't want to spend if I can avoid it. I build my own computers and am a hands on person, so I'd like to do it myself if it is possible.

What is involved in this repair? It seems all that is needed is a new bulb, maybe cleaning and tightening some contacts and a new knob if I decided I care, but can anyone help me out? I've been looking around for guides on this kind of project and am coming up empty handed.

Any help would be great, thanks.

[Zilch]

Yup, you've got it.

There'll likely be numbers on the base of the bulb telling what the replacement will be. The service manual will say, too.

Contact cleaner will likely fix the switch.

The repair guy may have the knob....

[ninefivezero]

Related, I also bought a Yamaha CR-840 that is a total dud. The sound is VERY poor, especially in the low frequencys, then when you turn it up a bit the sound cuts in and out, all the lights on the front flash. Power supply?

I paid $85 for that one and am pretty pissed about it because it is unusable, and the guy I bought it from is ignoring my emails...

[intotubes]

DeOxit on the noisy button. It is expensive but worth it because it WORKS. Take the top off and expose the opening of the button. Spray the stuff in there and work the button back and forth a few dozen times. Works like a champ. Congrats on the score.

[Phil H]

Deoxit is good stuff. You might also try visiting AudioKarma. It is a very active bulletin board with lots of talk about vintage receivers. Many of the members fix there own equipment. http://audiokarma.org/

[Pioneer727]

Go here.

http://audiokarma.org/

Ron

[Thom]

Get genuine deoxit from "Caig " I think the company is there are others that sound similar but they aren't the same. It's good on your interconnects. Used to have sort of a following when it was "Cramlin" doesn't seem to go bad I've had cans kick around 10 years or more.