I just bought a Sansui 800 Receiver off epay for $30 for my basement shop. I have found memories of being in my dad's shop as a kid working on kid things while my dad was cranking classic rock on his motorola (I think?) mono radio while working on home projects. I was looking for the a similar vintage sound for my shop and thought this was cheap enough to bite.
I received the receiver and the power button works very quirkely (word?) and the volume and balance pot are hideously noisey, with even one channel cutting out except for 10% of the contact. I guess that is to be expected despite the "in good working condition" ad. Anyway, I cracked it open to take a look-see. Whoa, that is engineering! Don't see that kind of parts and work in today's stuff. The receiver dial has a must be 3lb weight on the back to make it smooth.
Then I flip it over and low and behold a full detailed schematic in a pouch on the bottom!!! The entire receiver is detailed in this thing.
Don't see that these days. Then I happened to look back at the paperwork that came with the receiver and wouldn't you know, what I mistook for a operations manual (there is one of those too) was really the service manual with a step by step schematic, diagram and how-to service manual. Even a newbiephile like myself can take a whack at this!
For $30 I'd hardly expect to get the paperwork, not to mention and so-so working prototype. Actually it is working ok, if you can get the power to click and hit that volume spot where the speakers aren't crackling. But the source selector has an extention and open frame switch that would easily cost you >$30 these days on epay.
This has got to be my funnest electronics learning project yet!
