FM Alignment Tech in MI?

[itguy1010]

Just looking for a basic FM alignment for a Pioneer SX-434 in the SE MI area. I know of 2 retail Vintage shops in my area that offer tech services but they are (IMO) obscenely priced and have 6 month waiting lists. I am willing to pay good money for good work but when you get quoted nearly $700 for a basic recap and cleaning then its time to rethink the options.

I would do the alignment myself but I lack FM and Multiplex signal generators.

Thanks

 

[satellite65]

http://www.radioxtuners.com/

This is AK member Punker X

 

[itguy1010]

http://www.radioxtuners.com/

This is AK member Punker X

Thanks. I'll hit him up.

Still looking in the mean time.

 

[zebulon1]

Just looking for a basic FM alignment for a Pioneer SX-434 in the SE MI area. I know of 2 retail Vintage shops in my area that offer tech services but they are (IMO) obscenely priced and have 6 month waiting lists. I am willing to pay good money for good work but when you get quoted nearly $700 for a basic recap and cleaning then its time to rethink the options.

I would do the alignment myself but I lack FM and Multiplex signal generators.

Thanks

I thought about not posting this:

So what would you pay for the service?
I do feel the $700 is a little high. Its hard to tell a guy than a small receiver almost as much work as a larger one.
If a guy takes it on and does a proper job. Hopefully, elevates any returns and he will own the work.
An example: A sx-1010 is a complicated receiver to work but the smaller receivers can be as much labor in doing a service. The components are going to add and there will be a few extra hours in labor but they are not that far apart.
An alignment from a pro is a luxury. The equipment and knowledge are all in that job. It's all labor and shop rate.
$130 for an alignment seems fair to me. $500 for the rest? 6 hours at $60 for labor (For a guy working from home) and then add parts. It's close for a audio shop business.
Maybe it was the six month wait, that put it over the edge?

 

[itguy1010]

It was high to me. That's all I want to say about it as this subject has the potential to get very heated. I appreciate your answer and the reasons you list make sense. I don't want to start a debate about why I feel it was too much. If what I said bothers you then perhaps you shouldn't have posted it.

Thank you for explaining shop labor value to me.

 

[zebulon1]

Copy that.
I can feel the frustration in a guys voice when I say virtually the same thing.
If you want to send to me I'll do it right. We can talk about the fees privately.

 

[itguy1010]

Copy that.
I can feel the frustration in a guys voice when I say virtually the same thing.
If you want to send to me I'll do it right. We can talk about the fees privately.

I appreciate that. I'm not a great tech but I know what I can and can't do properly and RF is just an area that I'm not very strong in and there's not much justification for me to strengthen my skills in it. I'm trying to decide how important having a terrestrial FM broadcast receiver that works on this unit is to me. The more I say to myself "get it done because the job isn't finished" the more I wonder if its worth it (to me).

I may take you up on that but no worries if I don't. Just means I decided I could live with being a cheapskate. lol

 

[zebulon1]

There is cheaper equipment that can get you really close (enough).
For instance, The TinySA would work For the RF part.
A old 75mHz scope would do it.
There's cords and adapters you'll need but you could tinker and learn something too?
Xraytony (YouTuber) recently did a 1280 alignment and he did a good job showing the procedure.
If issues arise, that could be a challenge to sort out but there will be help here at AK.
Defiantly a learning curve but if I can figure it out, you can too. You might even catch on quicker

 

[itguy1010]

There is cheaper equipment that can get you really close (enough).
For instance, The TinySA would work For the RF part.
A old 75mHz scope would do it.
There's cords and adapters you'll need but you could tinker and learn something too?
Xraytony (YouTuber) recently did a 1280 alignment and he did a good job showing the procedure.
If issues arise, that could be a challenge to sort out but there will be help here at AK.
Defiantly a learning curve but if I can figure it out, you can too. You might even catch on quicker

Actually, I do want to upgrade my scope from an old Tektronix 15MHz to this tablet scope (Fnirsi 1014D) which claims 100MHz but I doubt it goes that high very well. Also could use a decent signal generator although that scope has one built in that would suffice for as little as I need. I just don't plan on doing enough receiver work to justify the gear. Don't get me wrong, I love gear but I'd rather put the money into something that earns its keep.

I'll give it some thought.
Thank you for the excellent suggestions.

 

[itguy1010]

I decided after a lot of back and forth about what I really need vs. what I really want I ended up trying out one of these Owon HDS242S 3 in 1 meters. I initially dismissed these combo units thinking that they probably don't do any of the 3 well. I dug deeper and kept finding good reviews. A few of these reviews were "teardown" reviews and compared the meter to results from much more expensive gear.
40MHz dual channel scope
25MHz signal generator
and a pretty accurate DMM

If it works as well as claimed in the reviews then it will also make some more space available on my cramped workbench. I still won't be able to do FM alignments but I can live with that for now.

 

[zebulon1]

Nice.
Your going to have fun with that.

 

[TomSc]

That is a lot of kit for $155! Having all those features in an affordable handheld would have been considered impossible a few decades ago.

 

[satellite65]

Glad I saw this. I've been wanting a floating ground scope and a sig gen.
I ordered an HDS2102S, and am pleased with it so far.

Operation isn't all intuitive with minimal buttons and no knobs, but the 40-page manual is very helpful.
One thing I haven't found yet is what the line with the arrow pointing to the middle of it, under the model number is for.

 

[zebulon1]

Cursor?

 

[onwardjames]

For the OP, I'll vouch for Zebulon as both an excellent tech and an all-around good guy.

Best wishes and luck to you, whatever you decide.

 

[itguy1010]

One thing I haven't found yet is what the line with the arrow pointing to the middle of it, under the model number is for.

The way I understand it the line is like a timeline and the arrow points to the point in the stored wave that is currently being displayed or the trigger point of that stored wave? Here's the only thing in the manual:

The pointer indicates the trigger position within the current storage depth.

For the OP, I'll vouch for Zebulon as both an excellent tech and an all-around good guy.

Best wishes and luck to you, whatever you decide.

From the limited exchange and from what I've read of a few of his posts in other threads I have to totally agree with you. Thanks for the well wishes. I opted to ship the SX-434 on its merry way down to my daughter and grandson in TN yesterday. She said that they absolutely never listen to the radio. So I added up what I had into the receiver and decided to let her get it aligned if she changed her mind about terrestrial radio. But, I am starting to consider the challenge of acquiring the basic minimum gear required to improve, if not align, the FM tuner sections on some of these rigs that I work on. It appears that this new hobby of mine is going to stick around now that I'm well into my 4th receiver/integrated amp.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions. I would not be doing these repairs/tune ups if not for the great body of work that is documented in these threads or the patient assistance from the guys (and gals?) here on AK.

 

[nvrman]

I decided after a lot of back and forth about what I really need vs. what I really want I ended up trying out one of these Owon HDS242S 3 in 1 meters.

So after a few years, how do you like this scope? Did you grow out of the 40MHz? I am currently looking to learn how to use a scope, working on Tube amps but as I learn, I don't want to be sorry I spent that extra $30 on something else. Over all can you provide you feedback on how this scope has worked out for you?
Thanks in advance!