R.I.P., Sony STR-AV330...
My Sony receiver stopped working when I accidentally slid the volume control all the way to the right. I immediately realized my mistake and turned the volume down, but it was too late. The Sony had gone dark. I removed the receiver's lid and discovered that I had blown a fuse.
I replaced the fuse, but that didn't fix the situation. The Sony kept blowing fuses. I don't know why. I didn't want to spend any more time or money on it, so I removed the receiver's legs and put it on the curb. That was during junk weekend, and the Sony was gone in 20 minutes.
I went back to shopgoodwill.com and won an auction for another Sony receiver that was missing its front leg. I guess I'm a sucker for those.
The Sony STR-VX550 pumps out 50 watts per channel and was manufactured in 1983. So, it meets my nerdy 1980 -1985 criteria. It was $48 with shipping, so it was close to my price target of $40. The auction listing stated that Sony "turns on," and that was all that was tested. It was true that it turned on. My problem was that none of the other buttons worked. Not. One. Other. Button.
Goodwill auctions offer no returns or refunds, so I had purchased a Sony brick. Dang! I wasn't ready to give up, though.
Ladies and Gentlemen, our hero:
I removed the lid and faceplate and did my best to spray the back of the switches with the DetoxIT. Then I pressed each switch about 50 times. I sprayed more DetoxIT and worked the switches again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Very slowly the receiver began to show signs of life. At first I could only activate the radio. A few minutes later I could move the volume up and down and the balance from left to right. After two hours and a sore finger, I had most buttons reliably making contact. I had to clean a couple of switches again a few days later because they had stopped working. It is a work in progress. But at least it is not a brick.
For a guy like me, DetoxIT is quite a handy product. I just bought a second can.
Since I had legs from the other Sony receiver, I was able to replace the missing one in seconds. I also soldered in a new 3V lithium battery for the radio's preset memory.
Right now the receiver is paired with a Technics SL-P150 CD Player and Minimus 7 speakers. They're all on the freezer in the garage until I can be reasonably sure the button contacts have stayed clean.
I was happy to learn that this Sony receiver works with a remote. That's a first for me with an old receiver. I could get an offical Sony remote on eBay for $25.
But this Gemini Universal Remote does almost everything the offical RM-S750 would do. I really like how these Gemini remotes work with older electronics. I bought another Gemini off the 'Bay instead of the Sony remote.
While testing the AM reception, I listened to a couple of sports radio personalities discuss the Star Wars "May the Fourth be with You" day. I thought that they were going to make fun of it, but instead one said something like this, "I'll be honest, I don't understand the guy who dresses up like Darth Vader and goes to those conventions and hangs out with other adults in costumes. But I bet he looks at guys like me going to a ball game and says, 'Look at that guy wearing a uniform to the ball park. What does he think? That he's one of the guys on the team?' I think it's the same for pro wrestling and NASCAR fans. I might not understand the Darth Varder guy, but I get him. I might not understand the rabid NASCAR fan, but I get him and I get the pro wrestler guy, too."
Again, I am paraphrasing what I heard, but I think I captured the spirit of their conversation. It was refreshing to hear someone say, Hey, I'll admit that we're different. I don't really understand your enthusiasms, but I can respect them, and I can respect you.
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