Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 24

Thread: Resurrecting an oldie

  1. #1
    Senior Member Donald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Las Vegas, CA
    Posts
    527

    Question Resurrecting an oldie

    In 1976 I bought this beast. Pioneer SX-1050. Don't know what it weighed then but now it is 50 lbs. It was used with my JBL Dorian S12 speakers which I bought in the late 60s and still have. Apparently it sold for around $700 then. Which was almost a months take home pay for me. Now they are on eBay for $260 and up.

    What I love about the Pioneer was the feature set. 3 sets of speakers, main IN-OUT jumpers, 4 band EQ, tape loop, 120 watts, etc.

    http://www.classicaudio.com/forsale/pio/SX1050.html

    It has not been used for 10+ years. I bought a Variable Voltage Regulator just to fire this thing up.

    How should I fire this up and what should I look, listen, smell for as I move up to 120 volts?

    Name:  PC150007.jpg
Views: 1021
Size:  33.1 KBName:  PC150008.JPG
Views: 915
Size:  89.4 KB
    had L25,L36,L40,L120,L300,AquariusIV(2),S1,4408 have L65,L100,L222,DorianS12,B380

  2. #2
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    7,743
    Granted, I know nothing about this subject but somehow I feel I remember hearing a Variac is not just unnecessary on a solid-state device but may even cause some harm?
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  3. #3
    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    in "managed decline"
    Posts
    10,054
    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    Granted, I know nothing about this subject but somehow I feel I remember hearing a Variac is not just unnecessary on a solid-state device but may even cause some harm?
    I'm with Phil on that one.

    Just had an SX-1010 , plugged it into the wall , no hum, smoke or noise, so put in headphones to check it out. All seemed fine, so tried cheap speakers. fine again.

    So then better speakers. All good. Those old Pioneers are really built well , I personally would not hesitate to "give it 120 & see what happens"
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  4. #4
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,720
    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    Those old Pioneers are really built well, I personally would not hesitate to "give it 120 & see what happens"


    I also agree with Seawolf on using robust or disposable speakers.


    Widget

  5. #5
    Senior Member Donald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Las Vegas, CA
    Posts
    527
    All my speakers are JBL. None of them are disposable.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post


    I also agree with Seawolf on using robust or disposable speakers.


    Widget
    had L25,L36,L40,L120,L300,AquariusIV(2),S1,4408 have L65,L100,L222,DorianS12,B380

  6. #6
    Senior Member Donald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Las Vegas, CA
    Posts
    527
    Well, I guess I will just fire it up with nothing attached and hope for no smoke or flames.

    Quote Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97 View Post
    I'm with Phil on that one.

    Just had an SX-1010 , plugged it into the wall , no hum, smoke or noise, so put in headphones to check it out. All seemed fine, so tried cheap speakers. fine again.

    So then better speakers. All good. Those old Pioneers are really built well , I personally would not hesitate to "give it 120 & see what happens"
    had L25,L36,L40,L120,L300,AquariusIV(2),S1,4408 have L65,L100,L222,DorianS12,B380

  7. #7
    Senior Member 1audiohack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Las Vegas Nevada
    Posts
    3,092
    If you don't find an answer here that makes you comfortable, take it to a trusted repair shop and pay them to wake it up for you.

    Barry.
    If we knew what the hell we were doing, we wouldn't call it research would we.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    GTA, Ont.
    Posts
    5,109
    FWIW, my trusty Sherwood S-7200 receiver that I bought new in 1973 ,( as well as a duplicate for my parents ) both still have good power supply caps .

    Still, I guess one can't be too careful if you truly love the gear .

    If you bought a Variac, I would use it to ( possibly ) reform the electrolytics ( power caps ) as directed all over the internet ( do I need to the googling ? ) .




  9. #9
    Senior Member Donald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Las Vegas, CA
    Posts
    527
    Well, the variac method seems to involve getting the caps out of the unit and creating a DC current limited circuit then building up the voltage to the caps working voltage.

    i thought the process was to just slowly ramp up the AC voltage to the whole unit.

    Quote Originally Posted by Earl K View Post
    FWIW, my trusty Sherwood S-7200 receiver that I bought new in 1973 ,( as well as a duplicate for my parents ) both still have good power supply caps .

    Still, I guess one can't be too careful if you truly love the gear .

    If you bought a Variac, I would use it to ( possibly ) reform the electrolytics ( power caps ) as directed all over the internet ( do I need to the googling ? ) .



    had L25,L36,L40,L120,L300,AquariusIV(2),S1,4408 have L65,L100,L222,DorianS12,B380

  10. #10
    jbl
    Guest
    You won't hurt anything using a Variac. The Varac is used to bring the voltage/current up slowly on gear with a known problem. Bringing up your Pioneer slowly will only result in the relay engaging at a certain voltage point as you advance the voltage dial. Under normal conditions, the circuit would stabilize before the relay engages. Of course if there is a problem with the amp it would stay in protection, (Relay not engaged) where as it would engage a few seconds after firing up at the AC outlet voltage of your location if everything is ok.

  11. #11
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    7,743
    Just saying that my Crown owner's manuals all caution against running any equipment outside a window of 10% variance from rated power requirement. I suppose if you're just turning it on and not using it, it might be okay. I have no idea.

    More thoughts here: http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...on-solid-state
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  12. #12
    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    in "managed decline"
    Posts
    10,054
    Maybe Phil I are just recalling this old post ?

    Quote Originally Posted by GordonW View Post
    Also, some SS amps with brick-wall power supply regulation can have their voltage regulators damaged by too little input voltage. Unless you're SURE that you DON'T have regulators or switch mode components, I'd be careful about running a SS amp at lower-than-spec voltage for more than a few moments...

    Regards,
    Gordon.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  13. #13
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,720
    Quote Originally Posted by jbl View Post
    You won't hurt anything using a Variac.
    I damaged the power supply of a preamp doing this... I won't be using a variac to bring up any equipment in the future.


    Widget

  14. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    La Habra, California USA
    Posts
    1,546
    May be wise though to build a Dim Bulb tester that will limit inrush current - if something has or will fail shorted, could save extreme damage and give some protection while everything is starting up and stabilizing. A lot of AK techs use that to bring an old unit up for troubleshooting. And with a unit sitting idle for that long, you don't want to chance turning it into an expensive door stop.
    When faced with another JBL find, Good mech986 says , JBL Fan mech986 says

  15. #15
    Senior Member Donald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Las Vegas, CA
    Posts
    527
    Is there not a voltage across the bulb thereby reducing what is available to the unit being tested? I understand the variac may not limit current.

    I hope everyone has a stash of incadescent bulbs. http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/13/news...ight-bulb-ban/

    I did see an article that used a 3-way bulb. May stock up on them.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Opinions on resurrecting 4612's
    By Cozmo in forum Lansing Product DIY Forum
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 12-06-2013, 07:55 AM
  2. Resurrecting JBL 4343's
    By overton in forum Lansing Product DIY Forum
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 02-08-2008, 09:32 AM
  3. Goodie oldie
    By CONVERGENCE in forum Music
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 12-19-2007, 09:34 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •