Sansui T-550SW tuner repair

[Chandan]

Hi Friends!
Just got an used Sansui T-550SW 4 bands tuner with the
understanding that it was in pristine condition. Paid Rs 5000/-.
Unfortunately it just does not work. Dead! No dial lamp! No
output! Although showing full signal.

Does anyone know any responsible technician in Mumbai who
can repair it?

Thanks and regards
Roushon

 

[Saket]

Pristine as such?

From whom did you buy it? Are you sure that there is no 'hidden' on/off switch? Check for broken contacts/ shorted plugs/ wires/ fuses. I will certainly check if any fuses are out of their holders, particularly if it was shipped.

If its really 'dead', in my opinion, it should not be difficult to repair. Intermittent problems are more difficult to repair. I would suggest you to take it to any decent technician & he should be able to bring it back to life. But before that, I suggest you a DIY check out at least.

Do update us.

Regards,
Saket

 

[Chandan]

Pristine as such?

From whom did you buy it? Are you sure that there is no 'hidden' on/off switch? Check for broken contacts/ shorted plugs/ wires/ fuses. I will certainly check if any fuses are out of their holders, particularly if it was shipped.

If its really 'dead', in my opinion, it should not be difficult to repair. Intermittent problems are more difficult to repair. I would suggest you to take it to any decent technician & he should be able to bring it back to life. But before that, I suggest you a DIY check out at least.

Do update us.

Regards,
Saket

Thanks for reply. Purchased from Rohitt, now banned. He is still claiming
that it was in pristine condition when it left his shop. Tried all kinds
of possibilities, no luck, it is just dead. I will open it, but still
hoping that Rohitt will take it back (may be I am a fool). Or at least
refund part of the money (again I may be a fool). He is as dead
silent as his tuner.

Regards
Roushon.

 

[nakamichi]

last week i bought a technics 111 cd changer and a sansui t-60 tuner from rohitt. both in very very good condition.no probs at all.
rohitt gave me about 9 reference in rajasthan, iam from jodhpur.
spoke to 5 of those ppl to whom he has sold the stuff, n all are happy with the equipment given by rohitt.

 

[Chandan]

He did the same with me, gave several contacts in Mumbai. But that does
not help when something is dead. I am sure he did not check it before
sending. Wasted huge amount of time, frustrated and felt terribly
cheated, searching net for some help and circuit or manual etc etc.....I am
now trying to restore it myself if possible. Opened it, the dial lamp is broken.

Can someone help me with a address where I can get this lamp? Its pin voltage is 16vac.

Thanks and regards
Roushon.

 

[hemantwaghe]

what is ur location in Mumbai?

 

[Chandan]

I am in Colaba.

The lamp looks a bit like the attached picture. In the circuit the voltage
across its pins is 16vac. If any of you can help me or
give me a address where I can find it I will be grateful.

Thanks
Roushon

 

[reubensm]

In my view, 5k for a tuner is way too much. Anyways no intention to rub it in. As Saket mentioned, the jerks and bangs during shipping may have dislodged something. Also he has rightly mentioned that if it is completely dead (not powering up), thats good news as it may be easier to fix. Tuners that light up but do not play or do not play well are tricky to fix and need expert help.

 

[Chandan]

Never ever opened or serviced any old piece of electronics. So far only
constructed new. The tuner inside has layers and layers of dust...nothing is
readable...like a ghost city. It was build in 1974. Downloaded several clean
pictures of the inside from the net. That helped in identifying individual circuits.
Beautifully built.

Power supply is OK and all the circuits have voltages, checked at the power
pins of the ICs. At the moment studying the preamp stage and the output
stage, seems problem is there. Will then follow backwards. Expecting as
Saket said. Pray for me....

Regards
Roushon

 

[hemantwaghe]

Roushan nearest repairman I can suggest is Pandurang 9619816225 oyr trusted TT repairman @ opera house.Near charni road station.
He works in a Philips shop which primary service radios ( yes such shops are there) and he repairs old radios , tape decks etc.
Many times such person tell that it is expensive to repair ,ask him for a quote many times their expensive is rs 300- 400 affordable.
He may ask you to to keep your stuff , maybe you need to talk in advance..
You can give my reference and regards , in fact some other forum members has taken his service. This guy is bit slow ( or dheela) due to his age ,but reliable and nice chap..
In case of any issues PM .

 

[Chandan]

Roushan nearest repairman I can suggest is Pandurang 9619816225 oyr trusted TT repairman @ opera house.Near charni road station.
He works in a Philips shop which primary service radios ( yes such shops are there) and he repairs old radios , tape decks etc.
Many times such person tell that it is expensive to repair ,ask him for a quote many times their expensive is rs 300- 400 affordable.
He may ask you to to keep your stuff , maybe you need to talk in advance..
You can give my reference and regards , in fact some other forum members has taken his service. This guy is bit slow ( or dheela) due to his age ,but reliable and nice chap..
In case of any issues PM .

Hi Hemant,
Thanks so much for the contact. Without disturbing any circuit (not even touching the dust) I am just looking at the inside of the tuner. Definitely will contact him tomorrow or on Monday.

Thanks again

Regards
Roushon.

 

[reubensm]

Never ever opened or serviced any old piece of electronics. So far only
constructed new. The tuner inside has layers and layers of dust...nothing is
readable...like a ghost city. It was build in 1974. Downloaded several clean
pictures of the inside from the net. That helped in identifying individual circuits.
Beautifully built.

Power supply is OK and all the circuits have voltages, checked at the power
pins of the ICs. At the moment studying the preamp stage and the output
stage, seems problem is there. Will then follow backwards. Expecting as
Saket said. Pray for me....

Regards
Roushon

Suggest you first pursue the idea of getting your money back from rohitt. Also keep in mind that re-sellers of old electronics usually don't back them with any kind of gaurantee so you'll have to push your luck. If I buy something which I was told was working perfectly, I'd show up at the sellers door if I got something that did not work.

 

[Chandan]

Suggest you first pursue the idea of getting your money back from rohitt. Also keep in mind that re-sellers of old electronics usually don't back them with any kind of gaurantee so you'll have to push your luck. If I buy something which I was told was working perfectly, I'd show up at the sellers door if I got something that did not work.

The guy is extremely clever. Main problem he is from Mysore. I have tried
my level best asked him for a refund. I even asked him for 50% back so
that I can get it repaired. He is adamant and says it was perfectly working
when he sent.

For information: he is banned from hifivision. Also he is
there in site theaudiophile.net under the name `Rahul' and does business
there. So one should be careful.

Regards
Roushon.

 

[Chandan]

Thank God!

Found a dial lamp in Lamington Road and the dial came alive. Next,
was looking at the output stage and studying the circuit carefully. Actually
the clean pictures from the net was very helpful. Suddenly came the idea,
touched the RCA jack directly on the circuit from where the output was
coming and Bingo! it was singing. I could not believe. Now I needed to
access the solder side. There are so many PCBs attached, that thought
was killing..but the back of the case was very easy to remove and got the
whole backside of the PCB completely exposed which gave me access
to the solder side.

Another surprise: both the points where the RCA socket were soldered
were disconnected from the track, seems to me because of prolong use.
So, I just needed to connect these two point to the respective points of the
circuit by two pieces of wire and the tuner is fully alive.

It was very exciting as this is the first time opened such an old electronics.
Finally my frustration has gone, although wasted considerable amount of
time behind it.

Thanks to all, especially to Saket for his wisdom `Dead means alive'
which gave me the impetus to take up the job myself.

Regards
Roushon.

 

[reubensm]

Brilliant Chandan, I can feel your excitement out here. It is truly brings great joy when electronics so dear to one starts to sing again, the joy turns to pleasure and extreme happiness if one could achieve this by doing it by one's self.

 

[reubensm]

The guy is extremely clever. Main problem he is from Mysore. I have tried
my level best asked him for a refund. I even asked him for 50% back so
that I can get it repaired. He is adamant and says it was perfectly working
when he sent.

For information: he is banned from hifivision. Also he is
there in site theaudiophile.net under the name `Rahul' and does business
there. So one should be careful.

Regards
Roushon.

Well, there's always a risk when buying something one cannot see or listen to, also if one does not know the seller. Here is a classic example of a fraud who appears all over the place, trying to sell used electronics:

PLEASE BEWARE OF FRAUDSTER SRIKANTH RAGHURAMAN FOR SALE from COIMBATORE Tamil Nadu @ Adpost.com Classifieds > India > PLEASE BEWARE OF FRAUDSTER SRIKANTH RAGHURAMAN FOR SALE from COIMBATORE Tamil Nadu ,free,indian,classified ad,classified ads,secondh

Here is the example of one of his fraud adverts:

http://chennai.olx.in/nakamichi-av-1-amplifer-for-sale-iid-39692247

 

[keith_correa]

Deleted post.

 

[Chandan]

Brilliant Chandan, I can feel your excitement out here. It is truly brings great joy when electronics so dear to one starts to sing again, the joy turns to pleasure and extreme happiness if one could achieve this by doing it by one's self.

Yes, I will never forget this experience and excitement. Finding the dial lamp was another adventure in Lamington road, but nature helps when one is so eager to solve a problem...

Thanks and regards
Roushon.

 

[nakamichi]

i have had very bad experience with sreekanth raghuram, he had deposited 3k for a tape deck i his account and he never turned up.
he did the same with my friends also.

 

[Saket]

Great work Roushan!

I was off for a vacation, & this good news greeted me! I was sure that it was fixable! but hats off to you for great DIY.
I can imagine how happy you might have been fixing it...I was happy like a pig in a slop when I fixed my Technics TT fully automatic mechanism. Gives immense pleasure whenever I see it doing its duty and 'obeying my orders'.

Great start to 2013 for you. Happy New year to all my HFV friends.

Regards,
Saket