|
New member Username: PhaedrasPost Number: 1 Registered: Jul-04 | G'day, everyone. I recently purchased an old solid-state amp from a thrift store at the affordable price of 8$. I really like this old Scott 350R, and the style is just classy and radiates warmth. Though it still works, there is a multitude of smaller problems that stand in the way of this becoming a stereo centerpiece. -The unit flickers and crackles for approx. 1 minute after flipping the switch on. I'm assuming the transformer is fritzing, or maybe a capacitor is blown (suspicious capacitor link at bottom), but I eventually revvs all the way up. -The right channel of the Aux input does not seem to work. -Speakers crackle at mid- to high volumes, though the receiver should technically be able to handle the speakers, which are 110 Watt (not sure if it's one or both...but they are 3-way standalones with 12" bass speakers) -Power meters seem to be off. The levels for both channels are never even close to each other. I really would like to keep and use this unit, but these defects are really bothersome. What would be your advice; get it repaired by a professional or just sell it for parts? Or take a soldering iron and just exchange a part or two? I've included pictures of the receiver in case anyone was interested. http://img69.photobucket.com/albums/v211/niftypenguin/?action=view¤t=DSCN1 366.jpg http://img69.photobucket.com/albums/v211/niftypenguin/?action=view¤t=DSCN1 370.jpg http://img69.photobucket.com/albums/v211/niftypenguin/?action=view¤t=DSCN1 368.jpg http://img69.photobucket.com/albums/v211/niftypenguin/?action=view¤t=DSCN1 365.jpg |
|
J. Vigne Unregistered guest | Well you've fallen in love with the girl no one else would invite to the dance. You now own a mid70's Scott reciever which was, excuse the expression, junk when it was new. But if you like it that is your perogative. Unfortunately you are describing power supply problems that will be costly to repair. More imortantly you are unlikely to find anyone who will touch this product. Most shops clean out their schematic files every ten years or so and it is unlikely you will find a shop that has the information needed to fix this unit. You can try but I wouldn't expect good results. If you find a shop willing to take a stab at it ask if they will give you an estimate of repair costs before you jump into an expensive repair for something that isn't really worth the money. The crackling at volume is probably just a dirty control. You can try to repair this yourself just don't drench the inside of the unit with cleaner. I'm not sure why you like this piece but there are much better items to sink your fortunes into. |
|
New member Username: PhaedrasPost Number: 3 Registered: Jul-04 | Whoa. I wasn't expecting the response to be so negative (you're sure this is the same amp we're talking about?), but thank you for your frank reply; I'll give you the benefit of the doubt if you can explain to me why this receiver is such a piece of crap. I was under the impression HH Scott made generally solid electronics. Also, aren't there repair shops that have older schematics for the sake of repairing older units? And is a schematic all that necessary? Can't one just test each component (resistor, transistor, whatever) individually for defects? |
|
Silver Member Username: SoccerPost Number: 230 Registered: Apr-04 | Ok, you like the unit, let's see if we can help. Near the capacitors, check all fuses. Be worried also with the the other capacitor, the brown color at the bottom is suspicious. Check for DC voltage at terminals of the power transistors, should be something like 2N3055, very much used at the time. If there is voltage, equal on both channels, the transistors should be gone. If not, it's the power supply section. Near the capacitors, also check those big resistors, but remember, everything you check, must be checked removed, so you don't check the rest of the circuit. Good luck and keep us informed. Enjoy |
|
J. Vigne Unregistered guest | Sorry you took my post to be extremely negative. But I never called the unit crap. Crap is a far away place from junk. And by the mid 70's Scott was having someone else turn out junk for them. You are correct that at one time H.H. scott was a good company. Their problems started in the late 60's when the company began to fall behind in designs. By the time your product was made Scott was on its way to being no more than a name that was used by a Japanese company to market product in the U.S. very much like Emerson and mid70's Marantz There are products that are worth puting money into repairing and there are products that are not the wisest choice to invest in. That said, that doesn't stop people from restoring a '72 Rambler Classic sedan. It's your choice how you wish to spend your money. It was you who gave the option of scrapping the unit all together so I assumed you wanted to know an honest opinion. I can't tell you there is no one who can fix your amp. You may stumble into a shop where the tech has a reciever just like yours. But it is unlikely. First you have to find a shop that repaired Scott in the 70's. No shop I have been involved in would keep schematics for more than about twelve to fifteen years on most products. It is a matter of storage space. If you don't see a piece of equipment for awhile and/or you had problems getting parts the last time you tried you are not going to keep something that simply takes up valuable space. And it is not just a matter of checking parts, you want to know what you are looking at and for. The tech also has to have specified values to trace a problem or repair a circuit. Let's say a bias resistor is shot. The tech has to know the values of the components around the resitor to know what he should be seeing as he goes through the circuit and he has to see the circuit on a schematic to know how to trace the circuit properly. He also has to know the voltages that he should be seeing and adjusting for. A good tech will charge $40 - $60 an hour, you don't want to pay him to take each resistor, capacitor, diode and transistor out of the circuit and check. Besides after 30 years the values have drifted and all he can check for is does it work, not does it work to spec. If you doubt my word please take it into a shop and see if you can get anyone interested. I truly wish you luck since you obviously like the reciver. Again, sorry you took the post the wrong way but since you asked for an opinion I felt it best to give you the best information I know. If I owned this reciever I would not be putting money into it. |
|
Gold Member Username: John_aPost Number: 1799 Registered: Dec-03 | Erik, Let me just say J. Vigne knows his stuff. Restoring that amp could be worthwhile, though. You would have to try to get a service manual or at least a circuit diagram. Google turns up amazing things these days. I am in a similar position with a 1979 Armstrong 621 stereo amp which I owned from new. Let me just warn you the discharges from dirty potentiometers etc. can take out speakers; I hooked up some small speakers from an inherited music center (no real value) and one loud crackle took out the bass-midrange on the left channel. The speakers are all glued togetehr and were designed to be thrown away, not repaired; they are no loss. the amp is great though. Other warning; the real damage to the amp was done by an incompetant repair centre who charged a fortune and made it worse. |
|
Gold Member Username: John_aPost Number: 1800 Registered: Dec-03 | Jan, it sounds from your description that HH Scott was a US equivalent of UK Harold Leak. Leak made very well respected amps in the 60s. The name was bought, and the badge put on junk. It produced good sales for a very short period, and a lot of dissatisified customers, I assume. The name has now disappeared completely, as far as I can tell. I think a similar fate has more recently overtaken Tandberg and Grundig. How are the mightly fallen. I worry about the new ownership of Quad. Please tell me it is a different story..... BTW, I shall post on "Old Dogs" about KEF "Instant theater". |
|
Silver Member Username: SoccerPost Number: 234 Registered: Apr-04 | Again: Let's see if we can help. Near the capacitors, check all fuses. Be worried also with the the other capacitor, the brown color at the bottom is suspicious. Check for DC voltage at terminals of the power transistors, should be something like 2N3055, very much used at the time. If there is voltage, equal on both channels, the transistors should be gone. If not, it's the power supply section. Near the capacitors, also check those big resistors, but remember, everything you check, must be checked removed, so you don't check the rest of the circuit. Good luck and keep us informed. Enjoy |
|
New member Username: PhaedrasPost Number: 4 Registered: Jul-04 | Thank you all for your replies. I've decided to just keep the receiver in storage for now. I've wielded a soldering iron before, but doing the necessary repairs would probably take up a larger amount of time than just hunting for a similiar unit. I might work on it in the future, but for now hoarding this and searching for another receiver (my 2nd choice would be a Marantz) seems like the best idea. Thanks a lot, guys. |