[Alain Arseneault]

Hi all.
The other day, my wife call me and said she saw a Yamaha Home Cinema system on the side of the sidewalk a bloc away from our place.
She waited for me to get there and I saw a complete home cinema surround system in good condition, other than it came from a heavy smoker's house.
I did the first trip carrying the amplifier while my wife waited for me.
Then I brought the subwoofer and she brought th five little speakers.
Once everything in our appartment I was the external of of the stuff to remove that (POUAH) odor.
I will soon test everything, I have to get some speaker cable with interconnects.
I've open the receiver and surprise, full of dust , when I say full... FULL !
Of course by the look of it, it doesn't look like high end stuff.
The subwoofer is made of thin wood, I've opened it because I hear a rattleling sound, so I took a photo and didn't find anything.
Probebly it came out while carrying it.
Here are a few photos...
More to comme soon.

Double A

[Alain Arseneault]

Cannot post the photos, I will try again later.

[Alain Arseneault]

More photos.













You can see there is nothing in end in that free Yamaha stuff.

I might modify the subwoofer with some NoRez, good binding post, wire, etc...
Might not cahnge much, but it will be fun for a retired men.

Double A

[WGH]

I might modify the subwoofer with some NoRez, good binding post, wire, etc...

Does it all work? You are the second person in the last week who has rescued stereo equipment from the curb, taken it apart, dreamed of modifications, all without plugging it in first.

You don't need speaker cables or interconnects yet. Plug in the receiver and push the ON button.

Instead of NoRez stick a couple of layers of self-stick vinyl floor tile on the sides, stuff the box with fiberglass (usually found at construction sites) and call it done. NoRez is too high end for that sub.

[Alain Arseneault]

Does it all work? You are the second person in the last week who has rescued stereo equipment from the curb, taken it apart, dreamed of modifications, all without plugging it in first.

You don't need speaker cables or interconnects yet. Plug in the receiver and push the ON button.

Instead of NoRez stick a couple of layers of self-stick vinyl floor tile on the sides, stuff the box with fiberglass (usually found at construction sites) and call it done. NoRez is too high end for that sub.

Hi WGH,
I didn't mention it, but I did push the power button for a few seconds and it didn't blow up.
For the subwoofer NoRez, I use that word incorrectly, because that's the only word that came to mind.
I have some high density foam.
This project is a good project for a retired man like me.
Thanks for your advice.

Double A

[FullRangeMan]

You could get a spray paint can and paint inside black.

[Alain Arseneault]

Hi all.
I finally decided to open the receiver and no surprise to me, it's dusty, every, extremely dusty.
Later on today I will vacuum the iside.
Any ideas of any other way to clean the dist ?

Double A

[JakeJ]

DAMN!  It looks like it grew hair!

Do you have an air compressor?  If so, blast it out.  First I'd turn it upside down and tap on the bottom just to knock out any large debris then blast it.

Not sure if cleaning with alcohol is advised as it can break down some plastics.

The big downside is the smell of ancient tobacco use.  UGH!

Upholstery cleaner for the grill cloths, if they are removeable?

When air blasting to clean make sure you are upwind.

Tha's my .02.

[FireGuy]

"When air blasting to clean make sure you are upwind".

Nice, point well noted.  A keen life awareness skill many times overlooked.  Moi included. 

[JakeJ]

I left out the line, "Ask me how I know." 

[Alain Arseneault]

Hi all.
First step in cleaning the mess.....
It did remove lots of whatever you call it.



The vacuum cleaner did remove lots of it.



Did a good job, however that's the first step.
Later (When I feel like it) I will do step two meaning cleanibg with air duster and small brush to do a better job.
I have not decided yet if I will remove the PCB to reach all places....



I powered the unit and it didn't catch fire or blow up.

It's a 5.1 system, but to try I only connected two speakers and the FM and CD works.

I will do more testing, so far so good for something that didn't cost me a penny !

More to come.

[S Clark]

Where do you plan on using it?   

[Alain Arseneault]

Where do you plan on using it?

Hi S Clark.
I already have a Yamaha home cinema receiver system that I bought on sale 18 months ago.
I have also mini system from Panasonic with Sony speakers source is laptop for my wife.
I also have a mini system for my computer. (Cambridge audio with Schiit Magni DAC.
Soooooo enough, no more room. Plus even after many cleaning process, it still smell cigarette smoke
for me that equivalent to skunk smell.
Therefore I will give it to Renaissance equivalent to your Goodwill.

It was fun but I'm sure I can find other stuff to play with and have fun again.
(Thanks for inquiring and asking.

Double A.

[Digi-G]

Does it all work? You are the second person in the last week who has rescued stereo equipment from the curb, taken it apart, dreamed of modifications, all without plugging it in first.

You don't need speaker cables or interconnects yet. Plug in the receiver and push the ON button.

Instead of NoRez stick a couple of layers of self-stick vinyl floor tile on the sides, stuff the box with fiberglass (usually found at construction sites) and call it done. NoRez is too high end for that sub.

Wait.  You break into construction sites and swipe their insulation?

I bet that equipment smells even worse when it heats up.