realistic expectations rant for cost of recap.

Tech rates do have a range from reasonable to unbelievable, depending on location. On the coasts that rate is in the 85-125 range I would say and closer to 50 in the least expensive areas of the country.

Then you have to figure the time involved with this recap. It is a long process.
1) repair the unit
2) inventory the caps in the unit
3) determine other items that need to be replaced
4) order the parts, verify in-stock,
5) spend the hours needed to remove the boards swap the parts and reinstall the boards
5a) clean all controls as they become accessible during the disassembly process unless done in the repair phase.
6) bring the unit up to verify work done
7) burn in the work done
8) performance test the unit
9) try to add up all those hours and hours needed to do this recap
10) prepare for the discussion with the owner as to why his recap of more than 100 caps and a few other components costs more than he could buy a unit for off the bay.

A full recap is not cheap. If it is, there is something wrong. This is why we do them ourselves while we plead for cap lists and BOMs while techs don't want to do them.

Guys ask me all the time why I charge around $850 to do a refurb on say, a Pioneer SX-1050, when there are people on ebay offering to do it for $400. I just tell them "one word: quality". Plus all of the above.
 
With something like a Pioneer SX-1010 or Marantz 2325, I probably have close to 20 hours into a full on restoration in order to do a decent job. My bench rate is $50, but there is no way I'll ever get $2K plus parts to rebuild a receiver.
Most people will not have their receivers restored unless they do them themselves. It's a no brainer if you like vintage low cost gear like this, learn to do it yourself or toss it in the trash if it dies.
 
Just contact Mattsd, blhagstrom, Echowars, or hell, all 3. Get in line. Wait. Save funds. Ship. Wait some more. Enjoy.

Been down this hole with 4 different receivers. While I won't do it again, I do not regret it.
 
Recapping a receiver takes a lot of time. Generally 1 hour per board. You have to carefully remove the caps so as not to damage the foils on the board, checking the orientation of each cap against what is marked on the board (because some boards have errors on the silkscreen) and put the new cap in the same way, double checking your work. There are usually other problems with the receiver due to it's age, noisy or intermittent transistors, open resistors, pots that don't come clean the first time, bad solder joints, etc. You have to bench test the receiver for at least an hour to make sure it's ok. Usually it needs an rf alignment. Add another hour for that. Usually I spend 5 - 7 hours on a job like this. I charge $75 per hour. do the math.
 
Most people will not have their receivers restored unless they do them themselves. It's a no brainer if you like vintage low cost gear like this, learn to do it yourself or toss it in the trash if it dies.
Not true. That's what most of my customers want. That's why I am so backed up, it takes a lot of time to do one job. Also most of them pick up one job and drop off another one, same thing.
Oh, and I don't ship, so don't ask.
 
Recapping a receiver takes a lot of time. Generally 1 hour per board. You have to carefully remove the caps so as not to damage the foils on the board, checking the orientation of each cap against what is marked on the board (because some boards have errors on the silkscreen) and put the new cap in the same way, double checking your work. There are usually other problems with the receiver due to it's age, noisy or intermittent transistors, open resistors, pots that don't come clean the first time, bad solder joints, etc. You have to bench test the receiver for at least an hour to make sure it's ok. Usually it needs an rf alignment. Add another hour for that. Usually I spend 5 - 7 hours on a job like this. I charge $75 per hour. do the math.

You're dang fast, Doc. :biggrin:
 
I thought you said that rent wouldn't be covered at $150 an hour (3x $50/hr). At 150 billable hrs per month per employee, that would be $22K per month. Assuming 1000 sq ft of space, that's $22/sq ft per month...about 12-16x the going rate here. If that's the case, rates there would need to be significantly more than $125/hr!

In any case, back to the OP, there is no harm in further investigation.
 
Not true. That's what most of my customers want. That's why I am so backed up, it takes a lot of time to do one job. Also most of them pick up one job and drop off another one, same thing.
Oh, and I don't ship, so don't ask.

There is some difference between what you two said. I think most people are not going to pay the big bucks for a full restoration/reconditioning, but certainly those who have come to you as customers are willing.
 
You mis-read it. I suggested simple replacement of 20 electrolytics on power amp, power supply and protection board as a reasonable 1st step, and suggested it could be done for around $200.
 
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I thought you said that rent wouldn't be covered at $150 an hour (3x $50/hr). At 150 billable hrs per month per employee, that would be $22K per month. Assuming 1000 sq ft of space, that's $22/sq ft per month...about 12-16x the going rate here. If that's the case, rates there would need to be significantly more than $125/hr!

In any case, back to the OP, there is no harm in further investigation.
You got to learn to use the quote button, we don't know who your questioning or talking to.
 
Recapping a receiver takes a lot of time. Generally 1 hour per board. You have to carefully remove the caps so as not to damage the foils on the board, checking the orientation of each cap against what is marked on the board (because some boards have errors on the silkscreen) and put the new cap in the same way, double checking your work. There are usually other problems with the receiver due to it's age, noisy or intermittent transistors, open resistors, pots that don't come clean the first time, bad solder joints, etc. You have to bench test the receiver for at least an hour to make sure it's ok. Usually it needs an rf alignment. Add another hour for that. Usually I spend 5 - 7 hours on a job like this. I charge $75 per hour. do the math.

Average Receiver value recapped or no recap $300-$450, it's not worth paying someone $500-$600 on top of what was paid to buy the receiver at least for me. No one will pay for your labor on a resale. Then the fact is money would be better spent on something else for a $1000 total investment than on a run of the mill receiver, again IMHO. Unless the receiver has some sentimental or real value and all the numbers don't make sense.

Also doing a mid to late 70s Sansui your price might double trying to remove all the glue.
 
It is economics.
In some cases you will not even hear a difference after this recap exercise.
I guess you can see why Pioneer will not even touch them, even if is a simple fix.
I fix them all the time, people are throwing them out, they can not afford to fix them. Move on to the next. It sometimes takes me a while to figure out where that 10 cent diode is gone.
 
I thought you said that rent wouldn't be covered at $150 an hour
No I said rent wouldn't be covered at your $46 hourly rate here. And frankly I don't know why your insisting on arguing about what a bonafide business would have to make around here. My shop time is $325 (this incudes materials) an hour to cover cost and make ends meet. A auto mechanic shop time in gas stations is $125 + Parts an hour around here and they also make money on the parts. Your just not going to see any real service business around here not charging $100 and up for shop time if in fact they have a separate shop from where they live and run a real business.
 
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