Brociner CA-2 & A100

jonboy55

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
This is the Brociner CA-2 Control Amplifier and A-100 Preamp in their original cabinet.

Haven't done anything with it yet.

Any suggestions on how to clean up the face plate of the CA-2 without making it worse then it already is?

It was found in a wet basement and both the electronics and cabinet have been effected by the dampness.

Thank you.

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Wow!! Although I can't help you with cleaning up of the amp and preamp. Heres a website with some brociner gear. Your the second one to post a find of some brociner gear within 1week. The other guy posted help identify tube amp which I did as a brociner mk30a. http://www.hifilit.com/Brociner/brociner.htm

Thank you.

I already had found that web site.

I picked up the Brociner about a month ago but I've been busy with other things.
 
Hard to tell, is it engraved brass ? or plated with silk screen

It's definitely engraved. Looks like brass. But it is green colored an gross. I'm going to think long and hard before I do anything to this.

Thank you.
 
metal polish is probably your friend here. It looks like brass, the green is the copper leeching out of it.
 
That green corrosion looks like copper verdigris from repeated seawater exposure. It will discolor brass in the same fashion.
It should be soluble in water and alcohol.
 
Awesome gear, pretty rare too! I have seen a pair of those amps/preamps on a Japanese audio site. You might be surprised how well the brass cleans up.

I would start with nevr-dull polish from a hardware store. It is highly recommended for polishing faceplates
 
I'll start working on it later this week and report back on the progress.

Thanks to everyone for their help.
 
Well, I finally started to work on the Brociner.

Took the unit apart which took hours because one of the knob set screws was messed up.

The front panels are made of brass so that helped in cleaning. I still need to do some more cleaning on the front panels. The Control Amplifier front panel was the worst and still needs more cleaning.

The far right knob on the control panel gave me a lot of trouble because the set screw was partially gone from the water damage. I started to drill out the set screw and unfortunately that knob broke in half with part of the set screw still in it. But at least it was a clean break. I can glue it together but I still have to get the set screw out. I've shown a photo of the knob broken and pushed together. I may have to look for a replacement if I can't get the set screw out.

Here are some before and after photos:

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Setscrews are usually too hard to drill. If there's any exposed in the inside of the broken piece, you may be able to grind a slot in it with a Dremel disc. That style knob shouldn't be too hard to find.

On to the electronics! CA-10 is in Sams folder 200-3, A-100 is in 232-2. You're in luck - Radiomuseum.org has scans of both. Non-members can now get schematics, 3 pages per day, 10 per month,
 
Thanks for the information.

I don't think I will have access to the set screw and have made inquiries into finding a replacement knob.

I have access to the Sams Photofacts. One of our local libraries has a digital subscription to Sam's so I can obtain any one at no cost.

Unfortunately the wood cabinet has some water damage which I will have to deal with.

Well, onward and upward.
 
If the metal piece is already broken free of the knob, try heating it with a propane torch to see if that breaks it loose. Better chance if you can aim the heat at the sleeve but not at the set screw. It will expand around the screw and add some clearance in there.
 
Nice work on that faceplate! And sympathy with you on trying to loosen that set screw. I have the same problem with a couple of knobs from a Philips PA amp from the fifties. The screws are very hard steel, but rusted fast...
 
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