Home Entertainment Center

I picked up a can of electronic contact cleaner and applied the cleaner to the Sansui problem switch and noisy vulume control potentiometer. The volume control works without noides now. The switch works but a future problem may arise. The switch has a high friction grinding effect when I toggle the switch. I don't think that is normal. A failure may be immanent in the near future. I don't use the switch very oftwn, so some time may pass before the switch fails permanently. I cleaned up the amplifier and placed it beside my current amp, a Pioneer SX-255R receiver/amplifier. The Sony tuner is in place too, but has some rust on top that needs to be cleaned. I may use the Sansui to bi-amp my speaker system. This means replacing the roll-off crossover controls on the backs of the speakers with 5-way binding posts that will separate the horns from the woofers. I'll run the horns to one amp and the woofers to another. I'm ordering an equalizer to compensate for room a...

   I opened up the Sansui amplifier this morning. After setting up the DVM and oscilloscope.    I worked backward from the output and tracked the problem down to a faulty switch. I touched the oscilloscope probe to the wire leads on the switch to examine the signals. Both signals were present, but the act of applying pressure change the output. The signal becam loaded with static. I flipped the switch rapidly a dozen times and the static disappeared. I went through this process of causing static and filpping the switch once more to make sure the problem was consistant.    Both channels are on now, but the switch may cause more problem. I ordered a can of electronic contact cleaner for the noisy volume potentiometer. I'll apply some to the switch. Perhaps that will solve the problem, or forestall further problems.

I replaced parts of my system during the overall upgrade. I have a Sony tuner from the late eighties and a Sansui AU-505 stero amplifier from the seventies. The amplifier lost one channel just before the upgrade but had a noisy volume potentiometer for sveral years before that, and a broken paddle swtich. I recently sw some Sansui paddle switches for sale on eBay. A new pot, or some contact cleaner will improv the amp's condition. Fortunately, I'm trained as an electronics engineering technician and have a DVM and ocsillosope to use in troubleshooting the amp. A website on the web archives old audio gear data including schematics for some. I found the Owner's guide and a set of scematics and service manul for the Sansui amp. This gives me everythin I need to find the problem. The Sony tuner is still good.

I received the diaprags, see last post, and wentto the local home improvement strore and got a replacement set of screws. I installed only part of the screws and bolts since I'll be installing the better set next month. Even so, the cheap diaphragms and partial screws made a distinct improvment over the bookend speaker panels I substituted, albeit temporarily. There are distinctive highs missing before. Two more developments: I discovered the left channel of the amplifier is weaker than the right channel. I had to rotate the balance knob half way to far left ( 9 o'clock position ) to get a true balance. The speaker may be at fault. I'll have to check both the amp and the speaker more closely when I get time. I have partial hearing in my left ear and a smaller degree in my right ear. I downloaded and installed some equalizer software to my lptop and setup the channels to compensate for my hearing loss. I can use my latop with headphones and the equalizer to listen to...

   This entry concerns the horn drivers' diaphragms.    Previously, I had found there was no output from the speakers in the high frequency range. I disassembled the horns and found that both diaphragms had broken leads. This accounted for no high frequency audio.    I ordered a pair of cheap Chinese temporary replacements which arrived a coupleof days ago. I installed one and the difference was notable. Better than the temporary setup using the speaker panels from a couple of bookshelf speakers.    However, the second diaphragm was not installed. The screws had been broken some time in the past and short pieces were found in the holes. All three were involved. At some point in the past, someone else had worked on the speakers. Parts that were not original to the speakers had been used as replacements for missing or damaged original parts. Other substitutes included the segmented foam speaker grilles with Altec badges. One quote for reproductio...

   I've found reproductions of my Altec 806-8A diaphragms. They cost $121 but will be worth the money.    Until I get the new diaphrgms, I've added a couple of old speaker panels to get bck the mid frequencies and some of the highs. I also ordered a couple of cheap Chinese imports to try out. Their reputation is less than admiring. I'll try them anyway.    A couple of images of one of the substitute panels is included. I used aligator clip leads to make the connection. Both speaker cabinets now how have improved functionality.

   I finished most of the upgrades to my media system.    Some time ago, I realized my speakers were not producing high notes. I read article after article and forum post on the Altec speakers. There were some that referenced problems with the horns. Having read those too, I decoded to disassemble the horns and examine the diaphragms.    The leads/wires connecting the diaphagms to the mounting block, hence the reat of the system, were bent at right angles and breaks occur at the point where the bend occurs. This explained the absence of high notes.    I thought back to my history with the speakers and I could remember, at least a couple of times, when I may have played Jimi Hendrix CDs a litlle too loud, overdriving the system. That;s probably when the damage occured.    One of the articles I read in a forum dealt with one user's experience with the problem and his repair of the breaks.    I considered taking his approach,...

   Movie files come in an assortment of formats and compressions. The variability innstorage specifications is great.    My favorite is the Matroska format. Multiple subtitle languages and audio tracks can be stored in that format. The Matroska format is to video what TIFF is, in my opinion, to still pictures.    TIFF is my favorite still image format.    When I download a movie file, the file may be dubbed, overdubbed, and/subtitled. The dub is in a language other than the original. The overdub is recorded on top of the original at a higher volume level and can be difficult to listen to.    A French film may be dubbed in Farsi, Italian, German or some other language. If the film is an English language film that has been dubbed, I search for a version in English and of smaller resolution.    I extract the audio. I extract the video from the higher resolution version, usually 720p or 1080p. I then combine the video into...

This blog will include my home entertainment center and construction. Keep in mind, I trained and worked as an electronics engineering technician. Some of my knowledge and experience was valuable in acquiring and setting up this system. DESCRIPTION : I have recently built a a media center for my blu-ray and dvd discs as well as my audio album collection and old VHS tapes. The system is composed of: -LG oled55c8pua smart tv (4K capable) w/remote -Panasonic VHS player/recorder w/remote -Samsung BD-F5700 Blu-ray/DVD/CD player w/remote -Pioneer SX-255R tuner/receiver w/remote -Pioneer VSX-42 AV receiver, w/remote -Altec Lansing Valencia 846B speaker cabinets, modified for bi-amping -Cerwin Vega HED ch203 speaker cabinets -Polk Audio PSW-10 subwoofer -Bang & Olufsen RX-2 turntable/SMMC4 catridge -RCA digital signal antenna -Channel Master 2-port HDTV signal amplifier -Eotech DAC optical digital audio converter for use with DAO -Sennheiser HD201 headphones -unbrande...