Sansui 7000 Hiding in Basement

[malanga]

So, did any of you ever find a piece of stereo equipment in your house that you just don’t remember getting? I did just that recently while cleaning my basement. Moved some old blankets and found a Sansui 7000 sitting under them! I had to rack my brain for several minutes to recall getting it, and I only have vague recollections of when I bought it last year and put it aside for a later examination. I was busy with school, and then a death in the family, so it was forgotten until now. I hooked it up to see how she sang, and I was not disappointed. I did find a few problems though. The left channel crackles, but after about 5 minutes it plays normal once warmed up. Most of the labels on the buttons have fallen off, which I understand is common with this unit. Another problem I found is that the although the tuning meter goes all the way to FM 108, I can only tune stations as high as 105.5, then it stops. It is not stuck; that is where the tuning capacitor has physically been turned all the way to where it has made its full revolution. It seems that all the other stations below 105.5 are actually lined up with the dial indicator, so I believe this was done intentionally. Anyone have any idea why this was done in such a way? I have learned that the Sansui 7000 was marketed overseas, and not in the States, so I wonder if there were no stations higher than that where it was originally sold, so it was intentionally tuned that way. Any additional Info would be most appreciated. I will try to post some photos later tonight or tomorrow

 

[ferninando]

had one got for free from orig owner from viet nam, not the owner but the 7000. an overseas model, asia specially, dont know europe.
Looks great , 70wpc, heavy and labels come off. AK guy has made excellent repos if you missing any, otherwise just a tad silicon rubber sealant will put em back on.
do a search for the new lables.

 

[Thespeakerdude8]

Solid state receivers don't "warm up." It is more likeley you have an old worn out cap (or caps) somewhere that are slow to charge up, causing the crackling. Also, if you haven't deox-ed all the controlls you should as a start. Hope this helps

Maybe echo can help with the tuner problem...

 

[malanga]

Here are some quick and dirty photos. I included a photo of one of the small circuit board that are on each side of the 7000. I assume they are part of the amplifier circuit and will need recapping?

 

[zenith2134]

Bet the big power supply cans are okay still. I'd change the small guys if anything. Check the resistors too if you can...they go off spec too.

 

[nosirrah]

Labels

So, did any of you ever find a piece of stereo equipment in your house that you just don’t remember getting? I did just that recently while cleaning my basement. Moved some old blankets and found a Sansui 7000 sitting under them! I had to rack my brain for several minutes to recall getting it, and I only have vague recollections of when I bought it last year and put it aside for a later examination. I was busy with school, and then a death in the family, so it was forgotten until now. I hooked it up to see how she sang, and I was not disappointed. I did find a few problems though. The left channel crackles, but after about 5 minutes it plays normal once warmed up. Most of the labels on the buttons have fallen off, which I understand is common with this unit. Another problem I found is that the although the tuning meter goes all the way to FM 108, I can only tune stations as high as 105.5, then it stops. It is not stuck; that is where the tuning capacitor has physically been turned all the way to where it has made its full revolution. It seems that all the other stations below 105.5 are actually lined up with the dial indicator, so I believe this was done intentionally. Anyone have any idea why this was done in such a way? I have learned that the Sansui 7000 was marketed overseas, and not in the States, so I wonder if there were no stations higher than that where it was originally sold, so it was intentionally tuned that way. Any additional Info would be most appreciated. I will try to post some photos later tonight or tomorrow

I think member Spaceman knows where those labels can be had, but a search for threads should find them for you.
Any large metro area will have a graphics design or sign shop that may be able to help.
Casey:thmbsp:

 

[malanga]

I think member Spaceman knows where those labels can be had, but a search for threads should find them for you.
Any large metro area will have a graphics design or sign shop that may be able to help.
Casey:thmbsp:

I was able to contact BrandXRC who is sending me a set of labels!
I LOVE Audiokarma!



Now if I could just find a service manual, or at least the schematic...:scratch2:

 

[pisces]

So, did any of you ever find a piece of stereo equipment in your house that you just don’t remember getting?

That's great! That's like (but better) than finding 20 bucks in a jacket pocket that you hadn't worn since last winter ...

 

[BrandXRC]

Now if I could just find a service manual, or at least the schematic...:scratch2:

PM me

 

[malanga]

I had some free time this afternoon so I decided to work on this receiver. The knobs came off easily enough, then I took the bezel off and gave the glass a good cleaning. I was able to actually remove the circuit board with the pots, and man did that make getting the deoxit in there so much easier!
I then proceeded to deoxit all the panel switches, cleaned the knobs then put it all back together. I also changed the panel bulb that was dead. Plugged it in and all was well. The crackling I was having in the left channel on start up was now gone! I suspect it must have been due to one of the pots. The old girl has cleaned up nicely, although the case had a bunch of scratches on the top. Now to start cleaning up the back and the interior...

 

[nosirrah]

the Case

I had some free time this afternoon so I decided to work on this receiver. The knobs came off easily enough, then I took the bezel off and gave the glass a good cleaning. I was able to actually remove the circuit board with the pots, and man did that make getting the deoxit in there so much easier!
I then proceeded to deoxit all the panel switches, cleaned the knobs then put it all back together. I also changed the panel bulb that was dead. Plugged it in and all was well. The crackling I was having in the left channel on start up was now gone! I suspect it must have been due to one of the pots. The old girl has cleaned up nicely, although the case had a bunch of scratches on the top. Now to start cleaning up the back and the interior...

If those scratches aren't too deep try a bit of Old English and some OOO steel wool...
Casey

 

[malanga]

They are rather deep in some places. I may have to strip the finish and try to fix them. :grumpy:

 

[malanga]

I decided to hook this up as my main amp for a few days to get a feel for it. I set it up with my Technics SL-D3 turntable, a pair of the famous Insignia $35.00 speakers stacked with a pair of minumus 7 (okay I am space-shy!)

So far, the sound is excellent. The Insignia and minus 7 compliment each other nicely. The bass is rich and clear, while the highs sound good, but could be a bit sharper for my taste. I am hoping a recapping would help with that. Even the wife is impressed with the sound, and she is hard to please when it comes to audio! I just finished listened to Quincy Jone's LP "The Dude" and it played beautifully through the system. I sure am glad I cleaned my basement!

Now if I could just figure out why the tuner only goes to 105.5...

 

[ferninando]

forget recapping the spkrs and just wait till you can get better ones(recommended). I put upgrade xovers in the minimus with some improvement in hi end but not that much. Better spkrs work out best in long run.
I sanded down my wood cabnet and restained and polyurethaned for a beautiful finish. Semi-gloss.

 

[malanga]

forget recapping the spkrs and just wait till you can get better ones(recommended). I put upgrade xovers in the minimus with some improvement in hi end but not that much. Better spkrs work out best in long run.
I sanded down my wood cabnet and restained and polyurethaned for a beautiful finish. Semi-gloss.

I was talking about recapping the receiver, not the speakers. I actually recapped the Minimus 7s some time ago as well. I do have better speakers, but I am shy on space at the moment. I hope to hook up the EPI 100s I refoamed last month to the Sansui. :yes:

 

[Tim Welsh]

Been there

That's great! That's like (but better) than finding 20 bucks in a jacket pocket that you hadn't worn since last winter ...

I find cash in my pockets pretty often, but always and only just before bedtime the night before payday, and after a long period of near starvation.

 

[persil]

About the tuning range , In a 1974 (US) catalogue it states :

European version on mains operated equipment:
Due to effective safety and radio regulations in Europe, specially designed equipment is available which we will call for convenience
"EU (European) version".
From operational standpoint, the EU equipment has:
1. No UL (American) type AC outlets on the rear panel.
2. FM radio reception band from 88 to 104MHz on tuners and recievers.

The 7000 you have looks a bit like the "Seven" in this catalogue. I have one "EU" receiver and it does indeed only tune to 104+ MHz and has none of those dodgy unshuttered mains sockets fitted (due to higher voltages on the EU mains supply - 220 to 250volt, regulations here have insisted that sockets be shuttered for safety reasons since the early 60s)..

Hope this answers your original question?

 

[malanga]

About the tuning range , In a 1974 (US) catalogue it states :

European version on mains operated equipment:
Due to effective safety and radio regulations in Europe, specially designed equipment is available which we will call for convenience
"EU (European) version".
From operational standpoint, the EU equipment has:
1. No UL (American) type AC outlets on the rear panel.
2. FM radio reception band from 88 to 104MHz on tuners and recievers.

The 7000 you have looks a bit like the "Seven" in this catalogue. I have one "EU" receiver and it does indeed only tune to 104+ MHz and has none of those dodgy unshuttered mains sockets fitted (due to higher voltages on the EU mains supply - 220 to 250volt, regulations here have insisted that sockets be shuttered for safety reasons since the early 60s)..

Hope this answers your original question?

That does indeed! I thought that this tuning range was set intentionally and not an accident. I wonder if I could have it recalibrated to cover the full range? Well, that is hardly a priority, because I rarely listen to FM broadcast. Still, if the opportunity presents itself in the future, I shall look into it. I have ordered new capacitors to recap this receiver, but I have been lazy this holiday season. I think I should turn an eye back to it and start recapping and restoring this Sansui!

 

[orionkc]

Hey fellas,

I just picked up a 7000 and a QS-500 on the cheap. Both Units function as they should but there is one problem. The plastic Headphone Jack, the Mic Jack and the Dubbing/Tape2 Jack on the 7000 are broken. They are made of plastic and I might be able to super glue them back together. I would rather replace with something more permanent. Anybody know where I can get some replacements, or could I replace them with some made of metal? Thanks:thmbsp:

 

[DCinDC]

That does indeed! I thought that this tuning range was set intentionally and not an accident. I wonder if I could have it recalibrated to cover the full range? Well, that is hardly a priority, because I rarely listen to FM broadcast. Still, if the opportunity presents itself in the future, I shall look into it. I have ordered new capacitors to recap this receiver, but I have been lazy this holiday season. I think I should turn an eye back to it and start recapping and restoring this Sansui!

Reply to old thread. I bet I know why your tuning doesn't go up all the way. I just fixed it on mine.

There are seperate am and fm tuning caps. the am one skipped a tooth and stops the knob and cord from continuing to turn the fm cap.

loosen the two screws on the AM cap, that's the one NOT in the cage. tune to the top of the band, then tune down will assisting the am cap to turn gently with the cord. do this till you can get back to the screws on the am pulley and tighten them back. Might take you a few tries to get the am dial right, but this works!