Realistic STA-2250 receiver

my bias adj board with multiturn vr's for fine tuning.....
 

Attachments

  • bias fine tune mod board.jpg
    bias fine tune mod board.jpg
    115.4 KB · Views: 29
In the early eighties, whilst in year 10, I used to work part-time at the local Radio Shack store. Given my minuscule hourly rate when I was about 15, a Realistic amp was not a realistic option for me. Fast forward about 35 years (OMG ) and I’ve bought an STA-2250 off eBay. It works very well, until it warms up, at which point it intermittently crackles and pops in the right channel only. This occurs even with the volume fully wound down and/or the balance turned fully to the left channel. Switched off for an hour or more, and then back on, again it’s fine for X minutes. Any thoughts as to a likely capacitor or transistor etc?
 
Last edited:
I had a similar experience with my 2nd 2250, i replaced the electro caps on the tuner board and it came good, and my 1st 2250 was cured of something similar by replaceing the caps on the tone board,, but i would try some deoxit on the mode selector switch first and it wouldnt hurt to do all the pots while your at it
 
I should add to my previous post that I only use the amp with AUX inputs. This would likely rule out tuner issues.
 
hard to say exactly what it is, for that you need to trace a signal thru with a scope and then method of elimination.
I have one it has a power switch issue as it is a composite type of switch which are hard to find and repair.

iirc there are a number of connectors that could use a bit of a juggle/cleaning to wipe off oxide. there is also a reed relay that shorts out the audio before the amp, used for things like power up/down and when switching sources.
I posted the schematic on hifiengine some time ago and there is also the service manual avail now.
 
should add to my previous post that I only use the amp with AUX inputs. This would likely rule out tuner issues


Bares mentioning this forum section is for tuners. If you have ruled that out start a new thread in Solid State forum.
 
If he had started a new thread instead of adding on to a thread with 46 posts already, I would move it.
 
here is a useful mod of mine for the old girl. not a new idea by any means, in a 2250 it really adds a feature that brings it back into use much more. the Bluetooth board is 4.2 wired via its line level stereo output jack to my unused tape 2 input, powered by a 5v power supply that fits in perfect (Mean Well MP3295 from jaycar) switched with the amps power on but wired onto the primary side of the amps transformer so there is no line noise...a much needed external antenna (for range) which covers the whole house and then some... the lossless BT board sounds awesome through the amp, crystal clear audio...paired easy with tablet and phones, nice to sit back and remote control the volume and music.... really worth looking into..

bluetooth mod.jpg
 
Last edited:
sta-2250

i have 2 of these units myself, i totally re-capped them both and the difference is astounding, one ive had from new the second i purchased as a re-build project, apart from the recapping and adding some multi-turn vr's to fine tune the bias on the amp board ive had to do nothing else they perform like gems :)...i do have the service manual for this amp, and will be happy to scan and post it if theres still interest in this unit .:music:
Hi, dennis57. Names mike. I just got one of these from our local recycling. Looking to recap the unit. Is there any way to tell me the the capacitors you replaced? Thanks
 
Hi Mike, as a matter of necessity I replaced all the caps on the power supply,y board first, then to clean up the sound quality the tone board, amp board and eventually the tuner board. As only some were faulty on each board I replaced the lot to save ending up married to it.....the result was worth it, crystal clear audio that sounds great through my mach 2's
 
Hifiengine has the schematic and service manual same quality as mine but already uploaded, all the parts info you need is there, good luck and have fun with it ...
 
Hi Mike, as a matter of necessity I replaced all the caps on the power supply,y board first, then to clean up the sound quality the tone board, amp board and eventually the tuner board. As only some were faulty on each board I replaced the lot to save ending up married to it.....the result was worth it, crystal clear audio that sounds great through my mach 2's
Hi, its me again, IT would really help me if you told me where you got the capacitors. This is my first time doing a full recap and I have not found any capacitor kits. If you could tell me where you got them, if it was a website or if you painstakingly went to the service manual and looked for every one. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Michael
 
Hi, in regards to where I sourced the capacitors, most were purchased from jaycar , and what they did not have in stock at the time from WES electronics. The parts list was obtained directly from the service manual, and I did board by board. Where possible I replaced all soldered connections with plug in connectors to make any future work easy to access. (not a fan of wire wrapping and posts).
 
Awesome receiver! Very impressed by it's sound, very full and dynamic. Do your presets still work? I'm working to replace some caps on the controller board to see if that fixes it. Hoping the big C827 4700uf is the culprit.
The one time I fixed preset amnesia by replacing a cap, it was just a dinky one....
 
yeah c827 is the usual fix, .....it does sound quite good hey, mine runs into a set of mach 2's with reworked xover's using poly's and a set of super tweeters, clean and punchy ....and yes the nasty brown covers were replaced by black haha.
 
Back
Top Bottom