Hitachi TRK-8130E (#2) - Getting On With It!

[MyOhMy]

Well, I thought, there's no time like the present so today I decided to take a BIG step.

I'd once confided in a friend about this and she said: "If you're going to do it, take precautions, don't rush and don't get yourself too excited too soon because the first time will be an experience you'll remember forever.........and don't be embarrassed because it's your fist time!"

Here's the story (so far) with pictures to make the thread nice and pretty:

All is revealed, minor panic sets in at what I've gotten myself into:


All the parts were well connected and I found it awkward to remove the components individually so they all came out together after a bit of juggling things around. The nightmare scenario going through my mind at this point is "Just how do I get all this back together again???":


Then I found out that these 'things' can be unplugged/disconnected to make life easier - another thing I learned today!:


I even found some 'powdered egg' which was a surprise although it'll not be scrambled for my toast! Can anyone explain this to me?


After removing the well preserved corpse of an unidentifiable, ancient beastie it was into the bath with the front casing:


Horrors found include a broken post, a speaker wire that had detached, a scratch on the tuning window and 'toffee' for lubricant in the tape deck!:





Using the hints, tips and info from other threads & posts on the forum I polished out the tuning window thread. The picture is a little generous of the portrayal of the end result but it's still a vast improvement:


I cleaned off most of the historical 'toffee'/congealed lubricant and the used Servisol Super 10 to tease out the rest of the gunk and now the mechanism works fine, prior to this it was like trying to force a golf ball down a garden hose full of toffee when pressing the buttons!

Next it was time to tackle the wandering speaker wire - dear me, something else I'd never had to do before! So, I watched a couple of YouTube videos, obtained the kit, did a test run, checked the wiring diagram as to where the wire should go, did another test run just to be sure then referred back to the wiring diagram 'cos I'd already forgotten that bit........... Anyway, here's the result. I'll not win any awards for the end result BUT it is a first time - and the wire has stayed connected "WooHooooo!!!


Hitachi quartz clocks on radios don't often stand the test of time, this one is no exception. I know it's battery operated so there must be a '+' and a '-' into the clock to power it, after checking the wiring diagram (I'm getting good at this, eh?!) I held the wires and batteries together by hand and found the clock only has a partial display as part(s) of the LED have failed(?). Never mind, it's not yet the end of finding a replacement in time.


This is as far as I've got at this time but I'll carry on with a little more confidence from hereon in. I've always been fairly good at practical things but the intricacies of the electrickery aspects, details of PWB's and other specialist technical wizardry will always elude me. Next I'll be repairing the post and I'll be posting on this soon. (See what I did there, eh? 'posting' - HA!)

So far, the most anxious aspect has been the thought of how to put it all back together because there's little room for manoeuvre within the casing and many of the intricate & complex wiring paths were made very short and tight at the assembly point by small, nimble fingered hands belonging to experts at their craft but I'm sure I'll get there in time!

Thanks for the time in reading this, the only thing to add is that it's been fun in a strange kind of way!

 

[MyOhMy]

Another job done:
I placed the broken post in the original postion and brushed the joint area with 'Plastic Weld'. If it does what it says on the bottle it will weld each side of the joint together making it as strong as the surrounding plastic. I've no experience of this or the claim the manufacturers make so time will tell on this but it's looking good so far.


All four speakers and both mic's are now refitted.

 

[-GZ-]

You are just kicking ass all over the place. You have my rookie of the year vote.

 

[trippy1313]

You are just kicking ass all over the place. You have my rookie of the year vote.

I'm gonna have to agree. Very impressive, really not knowing hardly anything and diving right in the deep end.

Two thumbs up, way to go!

 

[MyOhMy]

You are just kicking ass all over the place. You have my rookie of the year vote.

My, Oh My how I laughed at that and dear me, I can't stop the tears! Thank you very much indeed!

I'm gonna have to agree. Very impressive, really not knowing hardly anything and diving right in the deep end.

Two thumbs up, way to go!

Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence! You just wait, there'll be a time soon when I run out of steam or 'hit the wall' but I'll deal with that at the time.

 

[Northerner]

You are just kicking ass all over the place. You have my rookie of the year vote.

Yep...absolutely. Top work, especially for a noob

 

[blu_fuz]

Kickin ass and taking names!

 

[MyOhMy]

Yep...absolutely. Top work, especially for a noob

Thank you, I'm trying to keep this as simple as possible and not get too far ahead of myself just yet. If I stick to non-tech stuff I just may get through this alive!

Kickin ass and taking names!

A warm "thank you" for the compliment - the job ain't done til the lady sings (or something like that)!

............................................

Update on the Plastic Weld application:

The post seems to be rock solid. At the time I glued the post I also glued two old CD cases together so, once dry, I could 'stress test' these rather than test the post a bit too soon thereby loosening it. The two CD cases are absolutely stuck together rock solid, they are as one, a single solid object, joined for life, inseparable, twice as thick now double the strength!!! Once I'd determined this I then tried to move the post and.....nope, no movement at all so that's one thing less to worry about now. Very pleased!

 

[T-STER]

You are just kicking ass all over the place. You have my rookie of the year vote.

This. I have to agree this is my exact sentiments.Really enjoyed reading this. You need to let me know where you got the cement, I have been looking for some good post repair stuff.

 

[Ambience]

Very very nice! Keep it up!.

 

[MyOhMy]

This. I have to agree this is my exact sentiments.Really enjoyed reading this. You need to let me know where you got the cement, I have been looking for some good post repair stuff.

"I thang you, Sir"!

I spent a while searching on Amazon and found the Plastic Weld Cement listed at £5.79 (no capacity size on the bottle but the bottle stands about 4" tall), it only takes a little for a joint as it's a very thin liquid so a small bottle ought to go a long way. I bought this primarilty to use when making the new cassette door cover on my GF-9000 so it came in really handy on this BB as well.

Here's the blurb from the listing on Amazon:

"You've probably seen that fence paint advert which says something like "It does what it says on the tin" Well, this does what it says on the bottle - but it doesn't just stick plastic - it welds it together! It does this by dissolving a thin film on each surface to be joined then evaporates very quickly forming a welded joint- one as strong as the surrounding plastic.

For best results, hold the pieces to be joined; use a small brush to apply Plastic Weld. Capillary action will spread it the length and breadth of the joint, forming a continuous solid weld. If the brush stiffens when dry, dip in Plastic Weld to soften. It can be used to cement any of the following plastics to each other, or in any combination; Styrene, Butyrate, ABS, Acrylic (Lucite or Plexiglas) Perspex Do not use on Styrofoam".

Very very nice! Keep it up!.

Oo, er, misses! Thank you for the support, it's very well received.

 

[trippy1313]

That's such a more convenient bottle. The stuff I used does the same thing, but comes in a tin can, with a tin lid, after having it less than a month, it somehow evaporated out of the can, only getting to use it 4 times, when it should have lasted a lifetime.

 

[caution]

Another one already! I love it! Your posts are such a pleasure to read, the level of excitement baked into them is so good I could eat it. It's really nice to see some validation from all the work users have put into journaling their own restores. I'm still trying to wrap my head around having never soldered before, you did fine! I'm trying to remember when I picked up my first iron, but I can't, I think Reagan had just been sworn in!

That's such a more convenient bottle. The stuff I used does the same thing, but comes in a tin can, with a tin lid, after having it less than a month, it somehow evaporated out of the can, only getting to use it 4 times, when it should have lasted a lifetime.

Keep the can in a baggie, that's what I do. I started that after noticing the the needle dropper bottle would lose everything I put in it after a couple days with the cap in place.

 

[MyOhMy]

Another one already! I love it! Your posts are such a pleasure to read, the level of excitement baked into them is so good I could eat it. It's really nice to see some validation from all the work users have put into journaling their own restores. I'm still trying to wrap my head around having never soldered before, you did fine! I'm trying to remember when I picked up my first iron, but I can't, I think Reagan had just been sworn in!

Thanks for the kind words and support, caution. YouTube comes in handy if ever you need to find a bit of help - but no video I saw mentioned the fact that if you get distracted when the HOT soldering iron's at rest near a bare arm it'll certainly stop the daydreaming after a bit of contact with the ol' skin - TWICE!!! (Another not-to-be-forgotten lesson learned!)

 

[goodman]

Good luck with this restoration.

 

[MyOhMy]

Good luck with this restoration.

Than you very much, your post is very encouraging - not that I need much more encouragement at the moment 'cos I feel like I'm on a roll!!!

However...........................................AN UPDATE:

So, with all the cleaning of pots, switches, levers, tuning facia inside and out, repairs carried out it was time to put the whole shebang back together again (gulp!) and, looking at all the mixed up, stray spaghetti and noodles it was with a little apprehension that approached the task. Well, here we go...............

Lappy on to refer to the image files, technical diagrams to hand and bolstered with a nice, strong cup of tea I set about sorting out the complicated mess I'd created. I was doing fine until I had to start undoing connectors (more than once) 'cos 'this one' should have gone over 'that one', not under and 'the other one/two/three' wouldn't reach 'cos the first one (no, not that one, the other first one with orange cable that didn't seem to fit where I was sure it should go) was in the way but that was confusing 'cos the other 'that one' should have routed the other way round this post, not that one and how did that wire (not the first 'that wire') end up in the tuning window???.....................................I'm sure you get the picture. It's a good job I took lots of pictures and the wires were pretty colours, and there was me thinking the reason for all the pretty colours was to identify different components, live wires etc. - silly me!!!

Anyway, all done so on went the rear casing, all screws secured - even the one into the post I'd repaired with Plastic Weld was tightened nice and firmly - so now was the moment of great anticipation...............would it work? In went the plug to the mains outlet, power cable was plugged into the rear of the BB, I turned on the power supply at the mains...............switched on the BB after all this testing labour of love and.....................nothing! Zip! The thing was dead! It had met it's demise! It was no more a functioning BB! There was not a spark of life! It's soul had gone the big BoomBox Land in the sky! So, being English I had another cup of tea to once again raise my now sunken shoulders. Having renewed my morale and been comforted by a cuppa I returned to the BB, I switched the mains supply back on to double check, TURNED THE 'ON' BUTTON AT THE REAR OF THE BB 'ON' THIS TIME, switched on the machine and..................................................IT WORKED! Everything was working just as it ought to, even tapes sound good! I'll tell you this: you've never seen a smile as big as the smile I had at this point, I was grinning from ear to ear!!! Ha!. take that, oh BB!!!

This (Hitachi TRK-8130E #2) still requires a replacement aerial as someone in the past has replaced the original with a cheap, too short, Micky Mouse one but that's an easy fix and I'll consider an external paint job at some future date. Also, the growling sound reproduction from the L/H speaker isn't solved although it is much reduced, it's just less so now. Perhaps a second round of cleaning/maintenance is needed in due course after the BB's had the function switches etc. worked for a while. For now, though, I'm happy and feeling a teeny weeny bit more confident.

But wait - there's MORE! Having acquired two 8130's in the hope of ending up with one decent one (which I now have apart from a paint job) I acquired another one last night from eBay! Cheap as chips at £18.99 +postage, listed as 'not working', bits missing from the outside and an unknown condition on the inside (I'm just hoping there's something inside the box!) I thought: "Well, If I acquired 2 to make 1 decent BB the why not acquire 3 BB's in an attempt to end up with 2 decent ones, eh"? So, total cost of all three BB's is a little under £70.00 which isn't bad and the very least I'll end up with is one good BB, perhaps a second good BB and whatever is left of a third BB for spares, practicing paint spraying techniques, lettering and so on. I could even 'steam punk' one!

All that remains for me to say now id a BIG "Thank you" to One and All for your online help, support and encouragement in giving me the confidence to achieve all that I have so far.

ps:
Any thoughts on the 'egg powder' anyone?

Edited for spelking tismake.

 

[Ambience]

Ha, I love reading your posts. Awesome, the thrill of picking up a new boombox and not knowing what's inside or I'd it'll even work is part of the fun for me. I think you and I are about the same level of experience here, so I can relate with everything you're going through. It's pretty scary opening boxes and tearing it all apart, but once it gets put back together and you switch it on, oh there's nothing like it!

 

[MyOhMy]

Ha, I love reading your posts. Awesome, the thrill of picking up a new boombox and not knowing what's inside or I'd it'll even work is part of the fun for me. I think you and I are about the same level of experience here, so I can relate with everything you're going through. It's pretty scary opening boxes and tearing it all apart, but once it gets put back together and you switch it on, oh there's nothing like it!

Cheer, Ambience, every kind word helps. I agree with all you say, it's a steep learning curve but it's fun! Having read you post regarding opening a box for the first time not knowing what to expect, I had a feeling of dread 'cos the next I'll find myself taking on will be an absolute nightmare inside, a nightmare! I'll probably peek into the gnarliest, most complicated, filthy BB that was ever to be found!

 

[Okelly]

Great read...goes to show how much information one can get from this site to take on a new challenge. Looking forward to seeing the finished box 📻.

 

[stosoorok]

Great read/work indeed! You got burned by soldering iron, get used to it! ...or buy something like this:

If you don't buy it now, you burn yourself again and again, I know what I talk about!