Sansui 9090DB receiver

[uncle sam]

The output on my receiver, both channels are somewhat garbled and has some distortion. In addition, the left channel cuts out intermittently, if I vary the volume control it will, sometimes, come back, but not for long.
I purchased the unit at the Guam Naval Exchange back in 1978 along with my Bose 901's series III.
It was a great ride until this development, any ideas on where I might start looking.
I'm willing to tackle this head on, though it's been some time since I graduated as an electronic technician from a full 2 year program back in the 60's...I would say a bit rusty!

 

[sKiZo]

Clean the controls ... that could help, and if it hasn't been done before, certainly not a waste of time.

Before you do that, try "exercising" the push buttons. The db series has known issues with a two sided board that goes intermittent when the solder dries and cracks over time. If you can get the intermittent channel back, or "cure" the noise doing that, there's all sorts of info on how to get that board working again. Ain't easy, but the receiver is certainly worth it.

 

[approse]

It's a given the unit is past due for some rework even if it didn't have symptoms. ALL the driver boards need rework for the resistor problems and a cap replacement and general once over. Haven't found an exception to that yet in the last 20 years. If yours has not been reworked you've been extremely lucky, those intermittent's and misc pops are a warning and need to be addressed before it blows something bigger - namely the outputs. By your symptoms I know it may well be a dirty volume control causing the most of it but, I wanted to make sure you were aware of the normal problem with the unit. It's only a matter of a couple hours work to fix it right!