Damn. I seem to have bad luck with these, or maybe they're just really poorly built. I tried to look up the OEM through
UL, but with acres of Togyo Koshin caps, convoluted design, and sloppy soldering, maybe I'm best left with the illusion it's maybe as fine a maker as Funai.
But yes, to the problem(s). It will not power up on AC. On DC, the power light flickers on low volumes, bass transients, when running the dial lamp, .etc. It's dimmer with radio on, dimmer yet with both radio and deck running, .etc. When the light dims, the audio breaks up a bit and loses clarity. This all gets worse as the batteries age, and by 1.45 nominal at rest volts, the radio gets weak reception and the FM multiplexer doesn't work. Also, the cassette hits auto stop on all functions, just like my last 3996A. Perhaps a common problem for the model. Worse yet, one tape monitor/aux channel plays at barely above a whisper. This is true either with a cassette adapter or with the aux jacks and the record button down. The meter responds the same - one channel down.
I know probably half the caps are marginal, but I suspect it can run another five or ten years of reasonable performance if I just change a couple critical ones. But, to do this, I'll need a schematic. I'm waiting to hear back from Sam's, but I'd thought I'd ask if anyone else had already tackled this model and had some impressions.
UL, but with acres of Togyo Koshin caps, convoluted design, and sloppy soldering, maybe I'm best left with the illusion it's maybe as fine a maker as Funai.
But yes, to the problem(s). It will not power up on AC. On DC, the power light flickers on low volumes, bass transients, when running the dial lamp, .etc. It's dimmer with radio on, dimmer yet with both radio and deck running, .etc. When the light dims, the audio breaks up a bit and loses clarity. This all gets worse as the batteries age, and by 1.45 nominal at rest volts, the radio gets weak reception and the FM multiplexer doesn't work. Also, the cassette hits auto stop on all functions, just like my last 3996A. Perhaps a common problem for the model. Worse yet, one tape monitor/aux channel plays at barely above a whisper. This is true either with a cassette adapter or with the aux jacks and the record button down. The meter responds the same - one channel down.
I know probably half the caps are marginal, but I suspect it can run another five or ten years of reasonable performance if I just change a couple critical ones. But, to do this, I'll need a schematic. I'm waiting to hear back from Sam's, but I'd thought I'd ask if anyone else had already tackled this model and had some impressions.