Finished work..it`s 3:30 am. Stop in at the local convenience store, pick up coffee cream,milk and bread as per the wife`s earlier instructions. I ask the night shift weary clerk if he has any glue, he looks at me puzzled, looks at my nose, looks at me dressed in my dirty coveralls and plaid work coat and says,"what, model glue?" "No", i said, white glue, you know, lepages or the like. He says "we`re fresh out of it". I was looking distraught, after Spending many long hours at work, devising a plan, thinking about the project..he says to try the local 24 hour grocery store down the road. I paid for my purchase and went to the 24 hour store. I walked in and said" Hi, do you have glue?" Looking like a junkie who needs a fix, she says "follow me".. those two words, again.."What are you looking for"? she says. I told her white glue, she says "I have model glue right here.." I said no, white glue. She returns to her post, opens the drawer and hands me a half full bottle of white glue and says it`s on the house. Beaming, I left the store and hurried home, beginning the arduous task of refoaming.Looking at the job at hand, thinking, hmmm ...Being Christmas time, before beginning, I opened my favorite bottle of Captain Morgans` Rum, poured myself a glass of Christmas cheer with egg nog, and began the arduous task..more of a personal quest..to restore this Pioneer back to it`s original state, as it was bought in the store. Being somewhat of a stickler when it comes to originality, it comes from living in the `80`s..always having that bottle of visine in my pocket ready to provide me with..instant gratification..which one time, yielded 1 drop for 1 eye, none for the other. After the visine took, before going in the house, my smoking friend at the time says"Look, you`re only half stoned!" We broke out in that belly laughing silly laugh that only the smoke could have caused...I never wanted the parents to know I was smoking some funny stuff back then ..my Mother had, of all things, a Clairtone 7978, (rising 20/20) that saw many parties, mostly VH and Ozzy played through it when I used it,surely it was a relief from Don Williams and Reba Mcintyre that Mom blasted through it- but being on a low budget back then really hurt to put batteries in that monster..OK, off topic, the rum is kicking in..what I am trying to say here is that the affinity I have from owning and repairing vintage boomboxes from back in the day keeps me feeling young and satisfied that each boombox has it`s own personality , it`s own characteristics that need to be kept original, because that is just the way it has to be..My wife thinks I`m crazy, but that`s ok too..I must be, I am married after all..
Cleaning the old foam off, drinking rum, watching a cool synchronized Christmas light show on the internet, a local person has went to the task of lights flashing to music. I took a break when TSO came on, man I love TSO..then continued my task. At 6am the deed was done. Pressing gently on the cone listening for any coil rub, one was acting up. Gently removing the new surround from it`s perch, resetting it, and perfect..now to wait...
Get up at 1pm, empty house, kid in school, wife at work, brewed my coffee and gently , methodically, placed the woofers in their housings.Soldering the piezo tweeters back in, closing the cabinets, and powering on, my heart thumping like a rabbit in heat..the first song i find to crank the 12.5 watts rms per channel, is none other than TSO..(trans SIberian Orchestra for those not in the know, fantabulous Christmas music meant to be played through a boombox, or at least I think so) My need for instant gratification was completely satisfied, I was beaming ear to ear.
Needing parts for another machine, I packed the boombox in the car, and went to my local electronics shop.Placing the box on the counter, Sheila says" Hi! Nice to see you need my help" in a sarcastic tone. "Look at this," I said..showing her the new surrounds, she says "You two timed me." I said I would never do that unless the need was so great , that I had to look elsewhere. Finding the needed parts , she said, " Can you have a look at my boombox, It`s right here in the back" I was waiting for those 2 words again, "follow me".. It didn`t happen, I just followed. A GE Blockbuster needing some minor work was sitting there staring right at me." Why not get your tech to do it" I asked. She says " You seem to have a magic touch for these, I put my trust into your abilities." I took off my coat, went to work and done in a half hour. Working like a charm, Sheila says " Thanks for fixing my box". At a loss for words, I said "You`re welcome" . What else could I say? Guys??
Pictures of repair to be posted shortly..
3/4 of an inch to cover!
Cleaned and ready..
Glued and ready to be pressed in..
Checking for coil rub..
Done! Glue when dried dries clear.
Cleaning the old foam off, drinking rum, watching a cool synchronized Christmas light show on the internet, a local person has went to the task of lights flashing to music. I took a break when TSO came on, man I love TSO..then continued my task. At 6am the deed was done. Pressing gently on the cone listening for any coil rub, one was acting up. Gently removing the new surround from it`s perch, resetting it, and perfect..now to wait...
Get up at 1pm, empty house, kid in school, wife at work, brewed my coffee and gently , methodically, placed the woofers in their housings.Soldering the piezo tweeters back in, closing the cabinets, and powering on, my heart thumping like a rabbit in heat..the first song i find to crank the 12.5 watts rms per channel, is none other than TSO..(trans SIberian Orchestra for those not in the know, fantabulous Christmas music meant to be played through a boombox, or at least I think so) My need for instant gratification was completely satisfied, I was beaming ear to ear.
Needing parts for another machine, I packed the boombox in the car, and went to my local electronics shop.Placing the box on the counter, Sheila says" Hi! Nice to see you need my help" in a sarcastic tone. "Look at this," I said..showing her the new surrounds, she says "You two timed me." I said I would never do that unless the need was so great , that I had to look elsewhere. Finding the needed parts , she said, " Can you have a look at my boombox, It`s right here in the back" I was waiting for those 2 words again, "follow me".. It didn`t happen, I just followed. A GE Blockbuster needing some minor work was sitting there staring right at me." Why not get your tech to do it" I asked. She says " You seem to have a magic touch for these, I put my trust into your abilities." I took off my coat, went to work and done in a half hour. Working like a charm, Sheila says " Thanks for fixing my box". At a loss for words, I said "You`re welcome" . What else could I say? Guys??
Pictures of repair to be posted shortly..
3/4 of an inch to cover!
Cleaned and ready..
Glued and ready to be pressed in..
Checking for coil rub..
Done! Glue when dried dries clear.
Figures that you would have a hand in it. 
