Sony ICF Pro80 Repair?
Keith
I tried replacing the 440uf and 220uf caps on the audio board, but no luck.
Has anyone ever seen a schematic for this radio? Anyone have any good
suggestions on how to repair it? I'm guessing one of the 'lytics has gone
bad, but havn't found it.
I have a lot of sentimental attachment to this radio, and I'd like to get
it working again. Any help out there? How about Sony repair centers?
Keith
Peter Maus
Keith wrote:
>
> Has anyone repaired a PRO 80? Mine lost AM operation (FM still works).
> I tried replacing the 440uf and 220uf caps on the audio board, but no luck.
>
> Has anyone ever seen a schematic for this radio? Anyone have any good
> suggestions on how to repair it? I'm guessing one of the 'lytics has gone
> bad, but havn't found it.
I have the same radio. Mine started to howl in AM modes about 2
years ago. Because of its age, and because the caps in my Sony
radios seem to dry up at a faster rate than any of my other radios,
I recapped it. End of problem.
Most of the caps in this radio are SMT. You'll need a good eye to
find them and a careful hand to replace them all. Good quality SMT
caps are available from most electronic supply houses.
>
> I have a lot of sentimental attachment to this radio, and I'd like to get
> it working again.
More than sentiment, it's actually a damned fine radio. That alone
is reason enough to do the job.
> Any help out there? How about Sony repair centers?
Sony repair centers can be expensive, and in some cases very
difficult to deal with. Though my own experiences with Sony at the
central customer service center have indicated that a new day may be
dawning at Sony, dealing with the service centers can still be a
crap shoot. Call them and find out if they'll even touch this radio.
>
> Keith
John KB5AG
low audio output. I hadn't thought about the caps in it.
Do surface mount caps have relatively short lives compared to others, or are
we just suffering from poor quality all around these days?
John
"Peter Maus" <Pete...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:3AE31BEF...@worldnet.att.net...
Peter Maus
John KB5AG wrote:
>
> Ah....interesting! I have a PRO80 that receives fine, but has extremely
> low audio output. I hadn't thought about the caps in it.
> Do surface mount caps have relatively short lives compared to others, or are
> we just suffering from poor quality all around these days?
The first generations of SMT caps were not the best. Not sure
why...and remember this radio has some miles on it by now. Sony caps
in general are tough to get more than 10 years life out of. I've had
to recap every Sony radio I've ever owned. Can't say the same about
any others. Not even my ICOM.
Ross Archer
Peter Maus wrote:
> John KB5AG wrote:
> >
> > Ah....interesting! I have a PRO80 that receives fine, but has extremely
> > low audio output. I hadn't thought about the caps in it.
> > Do surface mount caps have relatively short lives compared to others, or are
> > we just suffering from poor quality all around these days?
>
> The first generations of SMT caps were not the best. Not sure
> why...and remember this radio has some miles on it by now. Sony caps
> in general are tough to get more than 10 years life out of. I've had
> to recap every Sony radio I've ever owned. Can't say the same about
> any others. Not even my ICOM.
Wonder why that would be? I would assume all the major Japanese mfrs.
(or for that matter, all major XYZ makers) would tend to buy from the
same parts pool, from a small number of OEM part makers.
Or perhaps Sony makes and uses their own (not as wonderful) capacitors?
On a related note: I'm under the impression that periodically running
power to a radio/VCR/etc. will keep the caps' electrolytes from separating,
or perhaps more accurately nudge the electrolytes back into separating
so that they never get enough "off" time to separate unreversibly into a
short or pure open.
So if you run it an hour or so a week, I'm hoping you're covered for life.
Any experience on this out there?
Peter Maus
Ross Archer wrote:
>
> Peter Maus wrote:
>
> > John KB5AG wrote:
> > >
> > > Ah....interesting! I have a PRO80 that receives fine, but has extremely
> > > low audio output. I hadn't thought about the caps in it.
> > > Do surface mount caps have relatively short lives compared to others, or are
> > > we just suffering from poor quality all around these days?
> >
> > The first generations of SMT caps were not the best. Not sure
> > why...and remember this radio has some miles on it by now. Sony caps
> > in general are tough to get more than 10 years life out of. I've had
> > to recap every Sony radio I've ever owned. Can't say the same about
> > any others. Not even my ICOM.
>
> Wonder why that would be? I would assume all the major Japanese mfrs.
> (or for that matter, all major XYZ makers) would tend to buy from the
> same parts pool, from a small number of OEM part makers.
> Or perhaps Sony makes and uses their own (not as wonderful) capacitors?
Pretty much had me stumped. But I think you're close to the mark.
Sony tends to be an insular company, rarely buying out of house
unless absolutely forced to. And the quality of caps is pretty lame.
Tolerance tests I've done on the caps inside new Sony radios often
show leakage rates that far exceed practical application, and
capacitance variations of more than 200%.
Surprising to say the least.
>
> On a related note: I'm under the impression that periodically running
> power to a radio/VCR/etc. will keep the caps' electrolytes from separating,
> or perhaps more accurately nudge the electrolytes back into separating
> so that they never get enough "off" time to separate unreversibly into a
> short or pure open.
You're right. Running the rig will definitely keep things lively.
But not indefinitely. One Sony table model was on 24 hours a day.
Caps failed almost in unison. The electrolytes dry out, over heat.
And then I have Panasonics that I've never had to touch that still
work everytime they're turned on. And an old Bulova clock radio I
had in high school that my parents used for 15 years before that
still works just as well today as it did then, and has never been
opened.
Quality differences.
>
> So if you run it an hour or so a week, I'm hoping you're covered for life.
> Any experience on this out there?
Sadly, not always the case.
Mark Rehorst
audio is down to a whisper. It seems all those radios are failing at
about the same time.
MR
tom...@gmail.com
What can i do to restore the sound on all modes?
I must say that i didn't replace the caps from inside the DC / DC converter.
I have same problem as you. Have you repaired it?
I know is a old group but what can i do :(
fred k. engels®
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