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Another Yamaha C-2a Restoration

Will_Emanuel

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Hello all, wanted to go ahead and provide some documentation on another Yamaha C-2a restoration. This unit was brought to be with the notorious popping issues that seem to plague these units. At the time I wasn't entirely sure just how deep I'd need to get into this unit, so I started with a recap and replacement of some of the trim pots. I quickly found out that the popping issue was most definitely semiconductor related, and also discovered a bias issue on a cold startup. This was later found to be the result of damaged 2SC1953s in the equalizer section. In the end, all electrolytic caps were changed, although not really necessary, the large film caps were also changed, the VD1212 double diodes were replaced with 2 1N4148s in series, all resistors on the tone board were replaced with dale RN60D series resistors, some of the trim pots were replaced with Bourns replacements (note: replacements for all trim pots are noted in the BOM), and the vast majority of the transistors in the unit with exception of the dual FET packages and the MC amp transistors were replaced with matched replacements. The replacement of the majority of these transistors was not all that necessary as the 2SC1953s seemed to be the main issue, but I did notice some slight improvements in the final DC offset swing, which was very large to begin with. I'll attach a complete BOM below with all the parts used in my unit, hopefully this will be beneficial to others. Special thank you to Milo63 who went through the hell of taking note of all the resistor values on the tone board. I did make sure that these values aligned with those on my unit, and made note in the BOM of any difference in values between his findings and my own. The replies from me following this initial post will document some of the work I did to my unit.
 

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Here is the unit when it first arrived on the bench. All original with the exception of 2 transistors in the tone amp being swapped. I first started with the caps and trimmers, making sure to remove all of the corrosive glue that was present.

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Here we are after round one, replacing all electrolytic caps as well as the larger film caps and some of the trimmers. The bias issue and popping was still present after calibration, so the next phase of swapping semis began.

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Here making some progress, all transistors replaced outside of the large TO-220s and the double transistor packages, as well as the VD1212 double diodes. Note the two VD1212s in the top right were eventually addressed after taking the photo.

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Here is the equalizer amp with the VD1212s and the majority of the transistors being replaced. Note the 6 problematic 2SC1953s are still present here, these were later swapped with KSC3505s when identified as an issue.

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It was at this point were I started to find the cracked resistors in the tone circuit and found the threads discussing the long process of replacing the resistors in the tone amp. This was the next area to address.
 
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A few days later, a massive pile of resistors lay before me, and I started tackling the tone board resistors, shortly after replacing all of the smaller transistors.

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Here is the tone board with the caps, VD1212s, and semis addressed, before the replacement of the resistors.

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And here we are after the long process of addressing the resistors. I found the two resistors directly in front of the 2SK150 packages were 15 ohms, rather than 33 ohms which was found in Milo63's unit. I have included this note in the BOM and attached suitable Dale RN60D replacements. The completed tone board was then installed back in the unit, the faulty 2SC1953s were found and replaced, and the 4 100 ohm Fusible resistors were also replaced with metal film resistors as noted in the BOM.

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Here is the unit completed unit, now working flawlessly. Now time to reassemble and put it through its paces.

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Thrown back in the main system, sounds excellent.
 
Thanks for posting this!

I've got a C-2a on the shelf with popping issues, which I've tried everything short of a full semi and resistor swap in the tone board. It has been sitting for years at this point. I happened into a C-2/M-2 set, and I'd really like to swap the C-2 for my old C-2a. This might be the direction I need to get it running.
 
Hi. I’m in the process of restoring my C-2a, which had the same popping issue, and a right channel which would go dead as well. I’ve now rebuilt the tone board, using your BOM, and it seems to be working, although I’m letting it run for a while to see if the issues return.

Was there any particular reason why you didn’t also replace the resistors on the main board? Or did you just not get to that before your preamp became stable?

Thanks!
 
Looks great, congratulations!


Just curious, how you would describe the C2a with your Nak CA 7 in terms of sound quality?
 
Hi. I’m in the process of restoring my C-2a, which had the same popping issue, and a right channel which would go dead as well. I’ve now rebuilt the tone board, using your BOM, and it seems to be working, although I’m letting it run for a while to see if the issues return.

Was there any particular reason why you didn’t also replace the resistors on the main board? Or did you just not get to that before your preamp became stable?

Thanks!
Typically the resistors on the main board don't get beaten up by heat nearly as much as the resistors on the tone board. I've yet to come across any issues with them there.
 
Looks great, congratulations!


Just curious, how you would describe the C2a with your Nak CA 7 in terms of sound quality?
The CA-7 is definitely a more refined sound in my opinion, not as bright as the Yamaha, and having the defeatable tone section is something that's quite important to me. Still don't understand why the C-2a did not have a defeatable tone section.
 
Thanks again for this information. I've now implemented these changes in my C-2a, which had the well known popping issue, as well as a right channel which would go dead after maybe 15 minutes of operation. It's now working fine and sounding good.

I noted one typo on your list, with the power supply output transistors TR255 and TR256. You show TIP42C (a PNP transistor) as a sub for TR255 2SD476A (a NPN transistor), and TIP41C (a NPN transistor) as a sub for TR256 2SB556A (an PNP transistor). Of course, TIP41C should be used for TR255, and TIP42C for TR256.
 
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Thanks again for this information. I've now implemented these changes in my C-2a, which had the well known popping issue, as well as a right channel which would go dead after maybe 15 minutes of operation. It's now working fine and sounding good.

I noted one type on your list, with the power supply output transistors TR255 and TR256. You show TIP42C (a PNP transistor) as a sub for TR255 2SD476A (a NPN transistor), and TIP41C (a NPN transistor) as a sub for TR256 2SB556A (an PNP transistor). Of course, TIP41C should be used for TR255, and TIP42C for TR256.
Correct, thanks for catching this. Just added that backwards in the BOM.
 
Wow, thanks for the write up and pictures! I’ve got a properly functioning C2a that I want to get at before it problems pop up.
I’m going to use your BOM to order all of the non perishables and stick them in the box with the unit. Knowing me, everything will be NLA by the time I can get a free minute to work on it.
 
Hello all, wanted to go ahead and provide some documentation on another Yamaha C-2a restoration. This unit was brought to be with the notorious popping issues that seem to plague these units. At the time I wasn't entirely sure just how deep I'd need to get into this unit, so I started with a recap and replacement of some of the trim pots. I quickly found out that the popping issue was most definitely semiconductor related, and also discovered a bias issue on a cold startup. This was later found to be the result of damaged 2SC1953s in the equalizer section. In the end, all electrolytic caps were changed, although not really necessary, the large film caps were also changed, the VD1212 double diodes were replaced with 2 1N4148s in series, all resistors on the tone board were replaced with dale RN60D series resistors, some of the trim pots were replaced with Bourns replacements (note: replacements for all trim pots are noted in the BOM), and the vast majority of the transistors in the unit with exception of the dual FET packages and the MC amp transistors were replaced with matched replacements. The replacement of the majority of these transistors was not all that necessary as the 2SC1953s seemed to be the main issue, but I did notice some slight improvements in the final DC offset swing, which was very large to begin with. I'll attach a complete BOM below with all the parts used in my unit, hopefully this will be beneficial to others. Special thank you to Milo63 who went through the hell of taking note of all the resistor values on the tone board. I did make sure that these values aligned with those on my unit, and made note in the BOM of any difference in values between his findings and my own. The replies from me following this initial post will document some of the work I did to my unit.

Glad my resistor list was of use. Did I make any errors I need to go back and fix for future surfers?
I've got another C-2a on the bench for glue removal and because PHONO 2 seems to be weaker than PHONO 1, not a vinyl guy so I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong.

MANY thanks for your BOM.
AK is a treasure.

ETA: I love the way my Yamaha's sound, I hate the way their manuals/schematics are laid out.
 
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Glad my resistor list was of use. Did I make any errors I need to go back and fix for future surfers?
I've got another C-2a on the bench for glue removal and because PHONO 2 seems to be weaker than PHONO 1, not a vinyl guy so I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong.

MANY thanks for your BOM.
AK is a treasure.

ETA: I love the way my Yamaha's sound, I hate the way their manuals/schematics are laid out.

Don't believe any of the values you provided were wrong when going through my list. I'm chasing down phono issues in the current C-2a I'm working on, the unit likes to double it's bias when the MM phono stage is selected, and behaves just fine when the MC stage is connected. This only happens when a cartridge is connected to the phono inputs. Quite strange, all semis have been replaced on the board, and I've confirmed the are in correctly. The unit works fine outside of the bias issue.
 
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Несколько дней спустя передо мной лежала огромная куча резисторов, и я начал заниматься резисторами тональной платы вскоре после замены всех транзисторов меньшего размера.

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Вот плата тона с адресованными цоколями, ВД1212 и полупроводниками до замены резисторов.

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И вот мы подошли к концу долгого процесса устранения проблем с резисторами. Я обнаружил, что два резистора непосредственно перед корпусами 2SK150 имеют сопротивление 15 Ом, а не 33 Ом, как в блоке Milo63. Я включил это примечание в спецификацию и приложил подходящие замены Dale RN60D. Готовую тональную плату затем установили обратно в устройство, неисправные 2SC1953 были найдены и заменены, а 4 плавких резистора сопротивлением 100 Ом также были заменены металлопленочными резисторами, как указано в спецификации.

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Вот готовый блок, теперь работает безупречно. Теперь пришло время собрать его и проверить.

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Выброшенный обратно в основную систему, звучит превосходно.
 
Подскажите пожалуйста, почему вы решили заменить плавкие резисторы (100 Ом)?
 
Подскажите пожалуйста, почему вы решили заменить плавкие резисторы (100 Ом)?
Welcome aboard Fan

I don't replace fusibile's unless there out of tolerance... :biggrin: To each his own..:thumbsup:
 
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