Modular Component Systems??? Who really made these

My main turntabe is an MCS. Nothing fancy but it works great.
Direct drive, strobe, pitch control, auto.

I'll eventually replace it with a nice Marantz woodbase unit, but only for asthetics.
 
I just got a mint, with manuals 3233, I love the thing, well constructed, decent size power supply and sounds pretty good as long as you don't push it to the point of clipping. Then it gets really nasty very fast.

I've had it hooked up to Bose 201s for the last couple of days, I was going to sell it orginally but I think I'm hanging on to it now.
 
Hi,

I had a MCS turntable which was actually a Technics SL-Q2 with slightly different styling. Some MCS gear was also manufactured by Foster Electronics of Japan (Fostex) and some of it made by NEC Japan!
 
Well, it looks like at least for the 3275 the manufacturer was NEC...or the same contract manufacturer was used by both (MCS 3275 on left, NEC AUR 8075 on right):

This would tend to make me believe the 3253 was sourced from the same manufacturer -- whomever -- due to similarity in controls, layout, and components. :yes:
 
Mcs 3215

OK, I know I am way late to the party here- not sure if anyone who knows anything about these units is still connected to this site, but I will give it a shot.

My son picked up an MCS 3215 Stereo Receiver from my uncle. It was in his garage- said it didn't work. I have yet to test it, as they were cleaning out the garage due to a water leak caused by clogged gutters. My son said this was "under water" but I know that to be a bit of hyperbole, as there was no standing water in the garage. Maybe it got wet, I don't know, going to give it a few days to dry out just in case, before I test it.

I opened it up. Sadly, this doesn't look to be any spectacular unit. I don't see any output ratings anywhere, but it consumes 195W. There is a large heat sink with an amp attached marked "STK459 Stereo Amplifier". From what I gather, that is 2x15W. Oooo. Aaaaa. Impressive. /sarcasm

Obviously NOT one of the models of legend I read about above.

OK, so is not likely worth much, except maybe as a trot line anchor, if that. I cant help myself, I have to FIX stuff. I find the analog tuner does not want to turn. Its not frozen, but likely the shafts were seized up enough to damage the gearing, so its movement is very intermittent, and difficult. Its a tiny little tuner- IMO- but I have to ask... is it replaceable?

That said, I must be crazy to even want to fix this unless somebody knows something I don't know about this unit. I mean, I was thinking of pulling the Technics SU-V78 out of the garage ($3.00 garage sale item- had a blown fuse) and replacing it with this.
 

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Looks pretty low end to me too.

Yes, it has to be. I mean, just look at it... weak!

Was not really worth my time to post it up here, now that I think of it, or your time to read this. I was just confused when one of the early posters in this thread said he had this same model # and it was 125Wpc, really nice, etc... I don't doubt him, but obviously something changed between when they built his and mine.
 
The 3125 is the good one, the 3215 is probably about as far down the line from it as you can get. JC Penney sourced this stuff from a few companies, NEC, Sanyo, Technics, I'm going to guess that low end one is a Sanyo build, looks similar to one of the other Sanyo built MCS units I have in terms of layout. While Sanyo could and did build good stuff it seems their MCS branded stuff topped off around 30wpc or so, so mostly lower end fare.
 
It looks like MCS BOTL model, guessing early 80's due to LED's replacing the signal strength meter. Maybe 15 - 25 watts per channel. It is a nice unit to practice doing repair on it. That way if you do break something, it's no big loss.
 
The MCS 3223 looks like a Technics receiver. When I first saw one for sale on eBay, I immediately thought to myself that was a Technics product. Looks like the 76-77 era generation of receivers with a similar radio dial.

I have bought and resold several MCS turntables, that were all made by Technics. The latest one is a MCS 6601 that I just bought yesterday on eBay. They have all played real nice. I always swap out the factory RCA cables and put on modern surround sound type RCA cables in their place and they sound just as good as the Technics tables I do the same swap with.

The MCS table's controls are usually different and the bases feel lighter weight and were not made from the same exact material as their Technics' counterpart model. Many parts were identical to the Technics tables.

Would they play as long as a Technics table? I don't see why not as they share the same basic innards and most important electronics. I also get top dollar for the MCS tables when I sell them, as much as I get for my Technics tables.

I haven't bought a MCS or Radio Shack receiver yet. What I have read in this blog sounds correct to me. A friend of mine used to repair stereo equipment (that is now vintage). He explained that Radio Shack did use more than one manufacturer for their receivers (as mentioned above). I had never heard about the middle man that sourced the units for Penny's and RS, so that was news to me and sounds very plausible.

I will say that I am hooked on Technics receivers. I have bought three in the past 4months and still have 2 of them-- SA-400 and SA-505. Both are excellent receivers made in the 1978-80 period. I really like their sound. No "warm and fuzzy" tube amp sound here. Far better than the "Mac wanna own ones" IMHO! Sound is very realistic, well defined, musical and the receivers have a nice strong output at all volume settings. I have them teamed up with some vintage Polk monitor 5A and 7A speakers and Technics tables made in the same period. I am constantly buying and selling Technics turntables, so the model varies at any time. I also have Sansui receiver/amps from the same period and now enjoy listening to the SA-505 more than my Sansui G-5700 receiver!

Technics receivers are often under-rated by electronics dummies and Marantz snobs who have never heard one and have read only about the period criticism of their cheaper cabinets. I never heard a cabinet that made a difference in a receiver's sound though, have you? LOL
 
Hello I am new here. I wanted to know if this receiver is any good and there is anybody left that repairs these and cleans them I have a lot of static when turning the tuning knob and I know you used to be able to spray something on that in side to clean it I just don't know how any tips are much appreciated
 

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I haven't had one but those MCS receivers are highly regarded around here.
There are still some people who fix vintage gear, many hang out around here.

The spray you are talking about is called contact cleaner and many people use a brand called DeOxit with good results. There is a thread titled DeOxit for idiots or something like that stickied at the top of this forum if you want to learn more. I'd say it's worth reading the thread one way or the other but if it's just scratchy controls it's worth taking care of yourself.

Welcome to AK by the way!
 
I haven't had one but those MCS receivers are highly regarded around here.
There are still some people who fix vintage gear, many hang out around here.

The spray you are talking about is called contact cleaner and many people use a brand called DeOxit with good results. There is a thread titled DeOxit for idiots or something like that stickied at the top of this forum if you want to learn more. I'd say it's worth reading the thread one way or the other but if it's just scratchy controls it's worth taking care of yourself.

Welcome to AK by the way!
Thanks for the reply. I wish I could find somebody around here locally that could clean this for me. Would it hurt to take a air compressor and just open the machine up and carefully blow it with some air to get all dust and stuff out of there? Is there such stuff that you can spray on the circuit boards that evaporates quickly after you spray it and it washes all the grime off of it I also have and Kenwood receiver in my garage doing the same thing
 
I'm one of those guys who seems to have had to hear everything in the vintage side of our hobby before settling in and after all that? An MCS 3125 and MCS 3275 are two of the most appreciated. (When I first seen them I thought they were ugly but now I only see good looks??? Lol.) Both NEC and they sound gutsy, well balanced, fast and clear (with high end warm). They'll never leave!
 
Known by me MCS manufacturers:

NEC (made their best gear)
Panasonic (the best MCS turntable was a SL-Q2 variant with a different control panel style)
Hitachi
Sanyo
CEC/Chuo Denki (saw one MCS badged belt drive turntable sourced from CEC/Chuo Denki)
Audio-Technica (MCS turntables usually were factory fitted with Audio-Technica cartridges, the cheapie models with AT 91, the rest usually had AT 71E in the 1/2" era and P mounts usually AT92e or the private brand equivalent)
 
You could use compressed air with a soft brush and clean it up no problem. Just be sure to not go full 150psi into the thing and try not to knock around any components with the brush. I use a flux brush for this and it works pretty well though a small paint brush would likely work just as well.
As for cleaning it with liquid, there are lots of threads about this.
If it's really disgusting I'll remove the face along with everything else I can and wash the boards with water and something like Formula 409 (making sure not to hit the transformer or tuning cap). If it's not too bad you can use ispropanol and a brush while spraying it off with compressed air. Alcohol does seem to leave a little residue around the holes in the board I've noticed but it does a pretty good job of cleaning sticky cigarette goo off the inside of stuff. Not as good as a bath in the sink but not bad.

There might be an AK'r nearby that could help you deoxit the thing. List where you live and maybe someone will let you know they can help.
 
Our family stereo (TT, receiver and speakers) when I was a teen in the late 70s was an MCS, purchase from JC Penney. My parents gave it to me for my room when they got divorced a couple years later. I listened to that stereo in my room daily for a few years. I left it behind after school when I moved out. Not sure why. It was all Technics stuff.
 
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