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Sony STR 6050!

Nucities

Nucities

Active Member
I picked up a Sony STR 6050 for $60 +30 for shipping on eBay. wasn't even really looking but it looked almost mint, with wood case and really clean but listing said "The stereo powers up, and it appears to be receiving stations, however, whenever the volume is increased there is a lot of popping sounds, and it never actually plays the stations."

I sent him a question and he/she said that they hadn't tested any of the other inputs (phone, aux etc.) so they only checked am/fm. Any thoughts on what this might be? I'll of course do the thorough deoxit cleaning and see if that makes difference but this sounds like something else to me.....either way even if I just get a near perfect wood case I'd be happy.

I love these old Sony's
 
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here is the image from the listing

s-l500.jpg
 
That's beaut. Good luck.
I really don't understand ads that say "tgis and that not tested". If you're in the business of drudging up old stuff why can't you drop a couple of bucks on a cheap RCA cord to test the RCA inputs and buy even a cheap turntable to test the phono.:dunno:
 
I've the STR-6050 also, they are very nice looking units. I vote for a fader lube cleaning, it clears up a lot of random noise.
 
OK.....it was delivered yesterday and it looks amazingly clean. I honestly wonder if this unit sat in a a box for 45 years? Anyway the eBay description was accurate, when turned on in FM it initially will pull the station then some fairly loud pops and cracks and it never pulls the station in. Oddly the same thing happens even if it in Aux. Phone etc. but obviously without the initial sound of the radio coming through. Even more odd, the power seems to continue to the unit for several seconds after its been turned off?

I've downloaded the manual and aim ready to get in there and clean it up but I'm stuck before even first base. How do you take the wood case of this thing? My STR 7065 has screws on the side. This has no screw at all; it looks like it should slide out from the front but I cant seem to locate a set screw of any kind. Anybody know?
 
Do you see screws on the bottom, maybe where the feet are? I have a 6060 with wood case and the unit slips in and IIRC, the screws were on the bottom.
 
Those old Sonys are beautiful but troublesome, sometimes. I think the 6050 is circa late 60s, so it may be time for a full recap. Of course I recommend some more investigation about your issue before recapping, because the problem might be somewhere else.

I recapped a few Sonys of that vintage (STR-6060, TA-1080, TA-3120), but none with your symptoms. I left alone the big filter caps which measured ok, all the others were out of spec, some with capacitance increased about 50%, others 100% or more, but ESR (except for the smaller ones 1-10uF low voltage) was generally still very good. And since my latest misadventure with an STR-6060 I would also check mica caps.

I also own a STR-6050, it works even though soundwise it would surely benefit from some TLC... I hope you can fix your unit, it looks amazing!
 
Pay attention to the length of the screws that come out with the feet. Note which holes the lengths came out of and be sure that one goes back into the right spot. There's a reason they were installed that way to not interfere with the electronics underneath.

Cheers,

David
 
Thanks to all for the help. So I've opened it up and again I can't overstate how clean this unit is. Like not a spec of dust inside at all. What is also cool is that It is really uncluttered and well laid out. The inside of my STR 7065 looks like a birds nest inside by comparison. It's clear that the 6050 needs some repair and I think. It's worth the effort. I'm pretty good with a can of deoxit and ive replaced lamps, haven't soldered a thing since I was in high school 25 years ago but I think I'm going to give it a shot again and hope to learn something.

So in testing this receiver out it seems clear that the problem exists somewhere between the power switch and maybe the power supply? In any event more than deoxit would fix. I want to test it to make sure the effort will lead to a functional unit. What should be tested before I even look at replacing capacitors etc? I'll look online for guidance but any help would be appreciated.
 
On the behavior on FM, the tuning cap - that's the big finned thing that rotates when you turn the FM tuner's knob - needs to be cleaned. I'll bet it sounds like this. Dealing with it is part of the normal contact cleaning procedures for any old receiver.

Big AK Stickey on the topic is found here.

Lots of Google hits here.

On the extended time after power off that the receiver continues to operate, this is normal. There are no relays to disconnect the speakers like there were on later models. This means that the power cap(s) continue to discharge after you turn it off. All receivers actually do this but the relay disconnecting the speakers prevents you from hearing what it sounds like.

One other word of warning for any rebuilding: The quality of board material was not good on this era of audio gear - not just a Sony problem, too. If you do not have the best desoldering tools and techniques, the runs will easily detach from the board. Repairing your repair work will be a pain in this case.

Cheers,

David
 
OK....made a little progress. Cleaned the tuner and all the pots and switches. The volume knob which is actually balance and volume on this unit was filthy, pretty gunked up. No idea why as the rest of the machine is as clean as any I've seen. So after thorough deoxit the loud popping, cracking etc is gone. (seems like a big success so I'll take it) I can now tune to a station and it seems to be pulling a good signal. However it is very quiet even at high volume and the bass seems to be almost completely absent sans a hum that gets louder as the bass is increased. Might be time to start looking at the caps? Any and all advice is welcome and has been helpful already.
 
sorry to resurrect an old thread with a related / unrelated question. I have a 6050 but with a broken tuner glass. Any ideas where to find a replacement ?
 
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