Guidance: Pilot 240 Curtain of Sound Amplifier

mike6565

New Member
Hi All,

I am seeking some guidance on this unit I found for free yesterday, it is a pilot 240 curtain of sound amplifier.

The Pilot Amp powers up, but I have not gotten any further than that.

I am a little handy, but have never attempted any kind of update for cleaning or replacing the capacitors etc. on vintage gear.

Should I get this serviced or is it a major issue to try and do this myself?
What do you think it would cost to get it serviced?
And is it a lot to learn how to update this unit?

I just got back into vinyl a year ago, so I had my eye on a tube amp for some time at the right price point, and this find was a great start. I have a small budget for someone to service it, but I am willing to give it a try if I can find good video demos to help me along.

There was also a Sherwood FM/MX Tuner, I think it may be a tube system as well that was attached to the until that does not appear to be powering up, is this worth trying to troubleshoot as well?

Thanks for the guidance!
 
Do not power it up without a pair of speakers hooked up. You can damage tube amps by doing so. You had a wonderful amp fall into your lap. Yes it should be serviced before use again you could damage the amp. No one knows your skill level so only you can determine if you can service it. The large can capacitors will be the biggest expense. There are several people on AK that will service it for you just ask for an estimate. Good luck. You have a nice amp to work with.
 
Thanks very much for the response.

Can you point me to the direction for the service estimates on the forum?
 
The Pilot 240 was my first tube amplifier, and the first one I restored. It really is not that difficult to replace caps, and it's a learning experience. If you doubt your skills then by all means have someone on the forum do it.
 
Yes it should be serviced. Never worked on this particular model but pictures of the underside make me think it wouldn't be awful to do. Not sure how comfortable you may be working around high voltages so the option of where to have it worked on is up to you.

Sherwood also made some rather nice tuners, so that would be worth checking into as well. What model is it? FM-MX I'll guess maybe an S-3000 III or IV ? Even the later solid state S-3300 tuner is a nice piece. I picked one of those up recently to pair with an early Sherwood solid state integrated and it performs very well.
 
Thanks for the responses. Although handy, this would be a tinker project for me, and I am not sure if I am up the task, so I might want to have someone look at it. Where can I find some suggestions for locals (I live in Nassau County/Long island) /and or a mail in estimate that are forum recommendations?

As for the tuner, I only took a pic of the front of the tuner it doesn't list a model, on the left is a stereo*bal*hush wording. I have to check out the backplate for the exact model # later on tonight.

Thanks!
 
Hello,
I can not help for the maintenance, I too am currently looking for the same service, but currently living in Cambodia ... that s make it hard to find, I might would have to find the time to learn by myself.
Anyway very good amp that fall into your hands, I bought mine a substantial when it was still in working condition, and don t regret it at all,
these are quite close to the hh scott 222 series and sound and build quality are very nive
whatever happens keep it, through the time it will become difficult to find one ...
Enjoy !
 
The first one is always going to be the toughest of any endeavor, but I can tell just by the way you talk, that you are completely up to the task. Something to consider is the fact that older (and newer for that matter) tube gear is more maintenance intensive than SS stuff. That's not to say it's inferior, or less dependable, it just needs a bit more love. Maybe you're old enough to remember when we had to replace points and plugs in our cars, and they would usually need a valve job and at least re-ringing before 100k. You will need a few tools, like a good iron, some small needle nose pliers, a decent meter, etc... This is stuff you'll need sooner or later anyhow if you run tube stuff long enough. I'd suggest once you get the unit, give it a good cleaning, then locate a schematic. After that, we can help you with a parts list, which is half the battle most of the time. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at just how easy tube gear is to work on. Think about it, back in the day, almost all tube amps were available as kits, or pre-assembled. I'm sure untold thousands upon thousands were built on kitchen tables by fellas with no more experience than you have, and they didn't have the net, or AK, which is your real ace in the hole. These guys can talk you through anything, they really can. Once you get it finished, you will have some audio happiness that only comes from servicing one's own stuff, it actually makes it sound better. :) But seriously, you'll have a pretty good understanding of what's going on, and with that knowledge, you'll be able to get the most out of any system you have. Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it!
 
Hi All,

I am seeking some guidance on this unit I found for free yesterday, it is a pilot 240 curtain of sound amplifier.

The Pilot Amp powers up, but I have not gotten any further than that.

I am a little handy, but have never attempted any kind of update for cleaning or replacing the capacitors etc. on vintage gear.

Should I get this serviced or is it a major issue to try and do this myself?
What do you think it would cost to get it serviced?
And is it a lot to learn how to update this unit?

I just got back into vinyl a year ago, so I had my eye on a tube amp for some time at the right price point, and this find was a great start. I have a small budget for someone to service it, but I am willing to give it a try if I can find good video demos to help me along.

There was also a Sherwood FM/MX Tuner, I think it may be a tube system as well that was attached to the until that does not appear to be powering up, is this worth trying to troubleshoot as well?

Thanks for the guidance!
It seems to me that you are ready to dive into the fantastic world of tube amplifiers. Instead of giving your money to a tech, (although being a part time techie i support any who can throw work their way) you could invest in the tools and instruments necessary for rebuilding your amp. I never met a "handy" man or woman who was not willing to spend something something on new gadgets. The Pilot is also a nice candidate to work on since it is point to point wired and thus all components are discretely laid out for you. You are already way ahead since you did not even have to pay for your donor unit. Thus you are in a no loss situation here, unlike a novice who has spent hundreds on the donor unit and may risk it all by cocking up the rebuild. And a big plus, it is a lot "cleaner" than working on cars!
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I found a local tech who will service the Pilot for what seems like a fair price of $230. He said the Sherwood tuner will require a lot more analysis, so I think I might give that one a shot to work on myself and will start another thread or search for some help on that. I appreciate all the guidance.

I have a U-Turn Orbit turntable, what would be a great cartridge to pair with this Pilot and can anyone suggest some speakers that would sound nice with this tube amp? I have Definitive Technology ProMonitor 200's with my current setup, but those might be a bit large to push (rated at 20W, but I also have the Pro Monitor 100's and Pro Monitor 800's I can test, as well as some older JBL62's.

But I would like to keep an eye on some other reasonably priced models that might pair well if anyone has any suggestions that would sound nice.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

Mike
 
Theoretically, big, efficient speakers like Klipsch, Wharfedale, Bozak etc. are the traditional pairings with low power tube stuff.

I have successfully run KLH Twenty Threes with my Pilot 654 receiver (higher power than a 240, uses 7591 not 6L6 for outputs) but I was near 50% on the volume control at normal listening levels. But if you have a small room and don't crank it regularly you might be OK with more demanding speakers.
 
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