Vintage Hi-fi Hardware Makes Me Happy
May. 20th, 2014 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogOne bit of wonderful. I hadn't taken the vintage Marantz receiver that my uncle fixed up for me out of the car until this evening due to a combination of rain and business. Now that I've got it in the house I have to rhapsodize over how gorgeous it looks. This unit looks like it came right out of the factory! Not only did he replace the broken speaker jacks, loose antenna, and missing power button (with a perfect match!), he even replaced all the lamps that illuminate the radio dial and signal meter on the face. When I turn it on, the classic eight-inch-long radio dial lights up in soft green, and the indicator needle shines bright and white in front of it.
Speaking of the radio dial, he greased the track the needle slides on too. I think the grease solidified a little in transit; I had to take the cabinet off and give it a little nudge to get it to move with the tuning dial, but it's working wonderfully now. This is no digital tuning system. This unit has an analog tuner, using a cord attached to the smooth, heavy dial that both moves the indicator needle physically across the display, and operates the variable capacitor that accomplishes signal discrimination. With the cabinet off, I can rotate the tuning dial and actually watch the gears attached to the capacitor assembly turn, and see all the rotors slide slowly in between the stators. It's elegant. I may try to make a video of it.
In short, this is a gorgeous machine. I haven't used it in years, and I'm so excited to have it back and in working order! I'm so grateful for all the work!
Speaking of the radio dial, he greased the track the needle slides on too. I think the grease solidified a little in transit; I had to take the cabinet off and give it a little nudge to get it to move with the tuning dial, but it's working wonderfully now. This is no digital tuning system. This unit has an analog tuner, using a cord attached to the smooth, heavy dial that both moves the indicator needle physically across the display, and operates the variable capacitor that accomplishes signal discrimination. With the cabinet off, I can rotate the tuning dial and actually watch the gears attached to the capacitor assembly turn, and see all the rotors slide slowly in between the stators. It's elegant. I may try to make a video of it.
In short, this is a gorgeous machine. I haven't used it in years, and I'm so excited to have it back and in working order! I'm so grateful for all the work!
