This little Yamaha receiver followed me home

[human]

So, I was walking around Goodwill earlier this evening (almost always a dangerous proposition), and the pickings were pretty slim to say the least. No vacuum cleaners worth even a first look, let alone a second, but one item practically jumped off the shelf at me, screaming "take me home!". It was a Yamaha R-500 stereo receiver, made in 1981 and priced at only $15. One look told me it was from the tail end of the classic 'silver face' era, just before everything went digital; in fact, the input selector doesn't have a 'CD' position, just 'Aux'. It's got a clean, classic appearance with an analog tuning dial, controlled by a dampened knob. The knobs are smooth, not knurled or ribbed, and and the buttons are square. A little online research shows it's in the lower-mid range of Yamaha's lineup from that era, having retailed new for around $330. At 40 watts per channel, it won't exactly blow the windows out, but it'll be enough for my modest listening needs--not full-blown audiophile, but not exactly junk, either. What really amazed me is just how clean the thing is, inside and out. Looking down into the vents on the top of the case, the interior is immaculate, not a speck of dust anywhere. The faux wood veneer is nearly perfect, no scrapes, gouges or chips, and the satin silver face shows no scratches or smudges. I'm not exaggerating to say it almost appears as if it had just been unboxed. The only two defects I've found so far are that the AM loop antenna is missing (no big deal) and the tuner dial doesn't light up. I've got a bulb on my eBay watch list, but with shipping, the damned thing would cost more than I paid for the receiver! I'll need to decide what I want to do about that before I hook it up in a more permanent installation. Interestingly, the bulb looks like a headlight bulb for a G-series Kirby, but I imagine it would be much smaller. While I haven't had a chance to fully test the receiver, I did plug it in, power it up and listen through headphones. I was able to tune in an FM radio station without an external antenna attached. Amazingly, there was no scratchiness in any of the knobs (tuning, volume, treble, bass, balance, loudness) when I turned them. That was pretty surprising for an almost 45-year-old receiver. I've got an extra pair of speakers I can hook up, but I'll need to get some speaker wire, then plug in a CD player to give the thing a proper listen. I'll also need to decide which of my receivers, presently in active use, it'll replace. It's just too good to stack in a closet.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Very nice. Goodfind.

 

[cheesewonton]

That is cool. Yamaha used to be pretty high quality. Not sure today.

 

[human]

So, I decided to take the top cover off of the Yamaha R-500 to verify I had the correct bulb on my watch list, and it's a really strange setup. The bulb is indeed a smaller version of the ones that go in a G-series Kirby, but it's rated at 28v/100ma. It's interesting how it all goes together. The bottom half is in a rubber grommet/carrier that slides into a metal holder behind the front panel. The top half of the bulb is covered with a green sheath, kind of like a mini condom, that gives the panel light its color. If you could find sheaths of other colors, you could five the unit a custom panel color. Cool idea, but I doubt I'll expend much energy looking for that. The weirdest part is the wiring, which uses two of the tiniest crimp connectors I've ever seen to connect the bulb. The best part of all this is when I put everything back together and turned the receiver on (yes, I unplugged it before taking the cover off), the panel light worked! Now, there's no need to replace the bulb. Another interesting characteristic, for lack of a better word, is the power plug and the two female power receptacles on the back of the unit are not polarized. I guess 1981 was just at the very beginning of that trend, but it will make it difficult to plug other, newer components into the receiver. Not the end of the world, just a minor complication.

 

[cheesewonton]

So, I decided to take the top cover off of the Yamaha R-500 to verify I had the correct bulb on my watch list, and it's a really strange setup. The bulb is indeed a smaller version of the ones that go in a G-series Kirby, but it's rated at 28v/100ma. It's interesting how it all goes together. The bottom half is in a rubber grommet/carrier that slides into a metal holder behind the front panel. The top half of the bulb is covered with a green sheath, kind of like a mini condom, that gives the panel light its color. If you could find sheaths of other colors, you could five the unit a custom panel color. Cool idea, but I doubt I'll expend much energy looking for that. The weirdest part is the wiring, which uses two of the tiniest crimp connectors I've ever seen to connect the bulb. The best part of all this is when I put everything back together and turned the receiver on (yes, I unplugged it before taking the cover off), the panel light worked! Now, there's no need to replace the bulb. Another interesting characteristic, for lack of a better word, is the power plug and the two female power receptacles on the back of the unit are not polarized. I guess 1981 was just at the very beginning of that trend, but it will make it difficult to plug other, newer components into the receiver. Not the end of the world, just a minor complication.

Good job !

All of my 1980s and a lot of my 1990s vintage Kenmore vacuums lack polarized plugs.

 

[human]

I think the first polarized plug I encountered was on a Hanimex portable TV set we got when I was in high school in the early '80s. We couldn't plug it in because the outlets in the house, built a decade earlier, weren't polarized. I ended up having to file the fat contact down to make it work.

Good job !

All of my 1980s and a lot of my 1990s vintage Kenmore vacuums lack polarized plugs.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Very cool.

 

[cheesewonton]

I think the first polarized plug I encountered was on a Hanimex portable TV set we got when I was in high school in the early '80s. We couldn't plug it in because the outlets in the house, built a decade earlier, weren't polarized. I ended up having to file the fat contact down to make it work.

There was an adapter you could buy at any hardware store to let you plug a polarized plug into an older wall outlet. But how many took the effort to determine which contact in the wall outlet was hot and which was neutral. Probably no-one.

 

[vacerator]

Great find! Whatever it may need, it will be worth the repair. Choose a reputable tech. Some take short cuts and cause further problems resulting in more expense afterwards. Hopefully it wasn't overworked or abused, so may only need a good cleaning. Well built in the 70's but Yamaha amps. and receivers do have common issues with transistors, resistors and capacitors. They didn't use expensive hard to find mosfet's though.
In my experience with new Yamaha "audio only" two channel components, they are still very well built, with great sound. Not inexpensive either, as they were back then, which is why the vintage models are rarer than Pioneer, Kenwood, Sony, and a few Marantz. The new high end As 2900, 3200 and 3900 intergrated amps. do have mosfets. I love my S-801 amp. and CD player S-303.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I hope it is fine.

 

[human]

Great find! Whatever it may need, it will be worth the repair. Choose a reputable tech. Some take short cuts and cause further problems resulting in more expense afterwards. Hopefully it wasn't overworked or abused, so may only need a good cleaning. Well built in the 70's but Yamaha amps. and receivers do have common issues with transistors, resistors and capacitors. They didn't use expensive hard to find mosfet's though.
In my experience with new Yamaha "audio only" two channel components, they are still very well built, with great sound. Not inexpensive either, as they were back then, which is why the vintage models are rarer than Pioneer, Kenwood, Sony, and a few Marantz. The new high end As 2900, 3200 and 3900 intergrated amps. do have mosfets. I love my S-801 amp. and CD player S-303.

Yes, it was definitely not cheap when new. To put it into perspective, the $330 that receiver would have cost new would be about $1,175 today, adjusted for inflation. The lack of dings and scratches on the exterior indicate that it was well cared for. Amazingly, the interior is just as pristine as the exterior, with virtually no dust built up and no signs of overheating. Of course, appearances can be deceiving with solid state components. Almost all older audio components eventually need deep servicing. Receivers of pretty much any manufacture need to have things like capacitors replaced over time. The good news is they designed to be serviced, unlike most modern electronics, which are intended to be disposable. The most vexing thing on this particular unit is the light bulb for the tuner display. I got it working the other evening, but it quit again as soon as I secured the outer cover into place. Undoubtedly, there is a loose connection somewhere that needs to be traced out and corrected. Oh well, it's always something...

 

[centralsweeper63]

I hope you can find the loose connection.

 

[human]

Okay, I don't know whether to be frustrated or just bummed. I finally got the receiver hooked up to some speakers and a CD player, only to discover the panel light is the least of its problems. The right speaker channel is completely dead. At this point, it seems I have two options: I can throw more money at it, assuming I can find a shop that can fix it, or I can just take it back to Goodwill for a $15 merchandise credit. I've got to make that decision in the next couple of days.

 

[centralsweeper63]

That's a shame.

 

[cheesewonton]

Okay, I don't know whether to be frustrated or just bummed. I finally got the receiver hooked up to some speakers and a CD player, only to discover the panel light is the least of its problems. The right speaker channel is completely dead. At this point, it seems I have two options: I can throw more money at it, assuming I can find a shop that can fix it, or I can just take it back to Goodwill for a $15 merchandise credit. I've got to make that decision in the next couple of days.

Make sure your cables are good, that the contacts are clean and there isn't a dirty / dead spot on a switch. It is probably something really simple.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Good idea.

 

[cheesewonton]

Good idea.

Most of us are kind of spring loaded to assume the worst when something doesn't work ( or when a pet is sick too ) but often the problem is something simple and easy to remedy. Look for the easy fixes first.

 

[centralsweeper63]

My teacher couldn't find out whythe TV wouldn't work, it was a lown fuse.

 

[vacerator]

Make sure to power it off when doing anything on the rear panel. F.Y.I., new Yamaha amps. and at least two channel receivers are designed for serviceability.
The different boards are vey similar to a P.C. design. In the top models, the power caps. have screw terminals, and different grounding than the Top-Art design models. They're no slouches however even with lower price points. Some say a new amp. with 100 watts per channel compares to a vintage one with just 60 watts, but t.h.d. distortion was usually higher, and damping factors lower.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Cool info.

 

[human]

I've done some additional testing and have confirmed the problem is with the receiver and it's more than just a dead spot on the knob. The final test was to hook up another known good receiver with the same speakers, cables, and CD player with which I was testing the Yamaha. The sound from the second receiver is equally good across both channels. By comparison, the Yamaha has pristine sound only out of the left channel, while the right channel is distorted to the point of being unintelligible. It's the same on both the 'A' and 'B' connection pairs, as well as through headphones. In the right hands, I know it can be repaired, but just feel like that is a bit beyond my skill set, and I have no idea where to take it to be repaired. Sadly, I feel my best course of action is to face reality and take it back to Goodwill before the ten-day return window closes.

 

[cheesewonton]

I've done some additional testing and have confirmed the problem is with the receiver and it's more than just a dead spot on the knob. The final test was to hook up another known good receiver with the same speakers, cables, and CD player with which I was testing the Yamaha. The sound from the second receiver is equally good across both channels. By comparison, the Yamaha has pristine sound only out of the left channel, while the right channel is distorted to the point of being unintelligible. It's the same on both the 'A' and 'B' connection pairs, as well as through headphones. In the right hands, I know it can be repaired, but just feel like that is a bit beyond my skill set, and I have no idea where to take it to be repaired. Sadly, I feel my best course of action is to face reality and take it back to Goodwill before the ten-day return window closes.

You might be surprised there are people out there who love old audio equipment and know how to repair old components. If there is a high end audio dealer in your area they will know who to contact. I have a set of what were very expensive Infinity home speakers I bought from the AFEES Overseas Exchange Catalog in 1985 that will need new foam around the woofers. There is a fellow in Santa Ana who once worked for Heathkit who can repair them. Another shop in San Diego can restore just about any audio component and they make their own in-house active crossovers ( I have one so I can run one amp for the woofers and a separate tube amp / MOS-FET hybrid amp for the mids and highs. Don't throw in the towel until you have investigated a repair.

 

[centralsweeper63]

I hope someone can cheaply repair it for you.

 

[vacerator]

It likely has a few bad transistors. A common vintage Yamaha problem. Unfortunately I cannot recommend a reputable servicer in your area. I know of several, but they are up here, in Buffalo NY, Brooklyn, Long Island, and Washington state. You could ship it to one of them Old school audio of Long Island will lovingly service and warranty the work, and carefully cushion pack it and return ship.