Oct 8th, 2015
Q) I recently bought a vintage Scott 388-B receiver that plays very well except for the FM I can't get the multiplex board to light the stereo light. The voltages seem ok at the test points on the board. Can you help? Thanks.
A) The unit needs a real, complete service. Unfortunately, units of this age will require many capacitors throughout the unit to be replaced, this is a certainty, and with a proper tuner alignment may solve the problem. Also a thorough cleaning of switches and board connects needs to be done. To be honest, experience has shown either the unit gets serviced properly and will survive, or it will limp along, never showing it’s potential. At this point unfortunately our service rate to fix these is almost always about 200 plus parts, because typically so many capacitors are aging and out of spec (must be replaced). Sometimes I’ll do a quick $120 fix, but this will not solve all the fidelity or reliability issues. Nice machines though with amazing FM tuner and somewhat “tube-a-phonic” sound character.
Thanks,
-Vince