Capehart Smoking

[Josh Jenkins]

Hello,

Im new to Audio Karma. I had an old Capehart that was passed down to me from my grandparents. It worked for a while, but recently when plugged in it started smoking. When I plug it in now it doesn't do anything. Any idea what to target here for repair? Thanks!

Josh

 

[Aerobat]

What's the model number? You'll need to take it to a repair tech that works on vintage gear. It may not be savable though.

 

[gadget73]

I could throw some darts at likely suspects but more information is always a good thing.

 

[cademan]

Yes, more info, and pics please.

 

[s-petersen]

If it smelled like tar... likely a power transformer, sweet maybe a can capacitor...

 

[trainbuftony]

When they let out the smoke, often times they leve a component chared black. Open it up and with the unit unplugged see if you see anything with a smoke trail leading to it.
Take a photo or two, then we can all be more helpful.
Most likely the cooked component is cooked due to another component which pulled too much power through it.

 

[Josh Jenkins]

Thanks for responding! Here are some pics. The larger black box piece on the outside has the tar looking substance that looks like it melted. When I plugged back in yesterday there were no signs of power getting to the unit.

 

[s-petersen]

The transformer looks pretty bad, it may be toast. When these units are run with bad filter, or coupling caps, the transformer overheats, and eventually shorts out.
The transformer, filter caps, and coupling caps may need to be replaced.

 

[trainbuftony]

Theres not enough tar coming out of the transformer to cause me to worry about it.
Has the radio got a fuse?
One of those jj 6bq5s looks cooked, while the other has bright red paint. That may be the component which drew too much power.
Check the fuse and get back to us.

 

[gadget73]

trafo obvously got hot, and that isn't a great sign. Hopefully it has a fuse that failed before the transformer did. I have seen lots of things built without a fuse though.

Happen to have a model number or a chassis number?