[davodavo]

I've been doing electronics repair since the days of vacuum tubes and reel-reel decks, and still work on pretty much anything analog without often needing a circuit diagram.

There seem to be three classes of gear:

• Collectible, remarkable stuff that's always worth restoring (think Ferrari)
• Stuff that you might be worth the effort, but it has to be in great shape before you start (think Alfa Romeo)
• Stuff that wasn't great to begin with, and should only be done for sentimental reasons (think FIAT)

Almost always, you'll never get your money out of restoring old gear, even if you do it yourself.  It's a labor of love, and can be fun just for the challenge.  For example, I brought a stunning Dokorder 4-channel deck back to life, but I learned the hard way about the problems of circuit-board feed-thrus and designs that heavily used relays (like, 20 of them).  I probably put 100 hours into it.

I'm happy to provide guidance on the details of restoration (in particular, ways to save time), as well as some "reality therapy" about the worth of even beginning the project.

[orthobiz]

I have Pioneer SX-580 receiver with a nonfunctioning channel. I tend to accumulate stuff that seems to land on my doorstep and then once or twice a year get one of my friends' kids into analog.

Anyway, I own a soldering iron and a multimeter but really don't know how to begin checking capacitors, cold soldering points, etc. to fix this and other gear.

Any advice on a book or video to begin my journey down the rabbit hole? (Right now I'm in the turntable setup WallyTools rabbit hole so my time is a bit limited)

Thanks and welcome to AC!

Paul

PS I think this falls into your second category, worth the effort, not rusted out or abused in its previous life.

[kd4ylq]

Hey DavoDavo,
                       I've been collecting & fixing Ferraris (& Maseratis and Lambos) for many decades & work on them myself as a labor of love. e.g. I've recently finished a top to bottom restoration of pair of MC 75's and they look pretty much like new and sound even better. They took ~ 30 years, because I had to work for a living and raise a family but those distractions are behind me now. The C22 & 7C are also in the same condition, but work was completed much more recently. I have a MR71 whose front panel is dull compared to the NOS panel & glass that I installed on the C22. Have you found a cleaning product and or method to restore those Mac panels to a like new luster? It may be possible to buy NOS glass and lower panels, but I'd like to see if they can be made reasonably close to new without the expense of buying NOS parts. Thanks for sharing your experience!

  Jim  kd4ylq