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Technician recommendation in Oakland / Bay Area

erikd

erikd

New Member
Hi AKers,

I recently picked up a gorgeous Yamaha CR-820 that had only been driven to church on Sunday. The only flaw I have noticed is that the lamps are all out. I asked a stereo shop in Berkeley who estimated $150-200 to replace the bulbs. I'm new to this, but that seems high.

I'm looking for recommendations for independent technicians or shops in the Bay Area, preferably in Oakland / Berkeley / East Bay who do good work for reasonable prices. Could you please share your favorite? I promise not to take up all their time :)

Has anyone had any experience with the technician at Strictly Vinyl in Albany?

Thanks a lot, Erik

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You can't do it yourself? It's shouldn't be that hard. If the amp is working and you are not handy, I would just use it and forget about the light bulb. I won't even pay $50 to change the bulbs, problem is a tech has to open it up, look at the bulbs and likely has to order the bulbs to put it in. I can understand they are reluctant to even take on the job. Those bulbs might not be as common as standard resistors, transistors or capacitors that they stock in the shop.
 
I've had a few minor jobs done over at Technopia in Walnut Creek. They are very reasonable when it comes to their rates, but don't seem to be able to handle the more detailed repair jobs. I have a P2200 amplifier that they couldn't repair at Technopia so I took it over to Sheldon at Champlifier in Alameda. He did a great job but his rates are... expensive. Cost me more for that one repair than it cost me to buy any of my amps, but at least I can have confidence in the quality of the repair.
 
Start at thread in the yammy forum of AK. Easy job to do yourself. I never found a tech in SF area I was hapoy with.
 
At the record store I go to the 2 guys who own it have had a Marantz receiver and a turntable repaired by this guy and they were both pleased with his work, I haven't used him so I can't comment I believe he's in the excelsior/outer mission area of SF.

From his business card the guys at the record store gave me:

Playhouse Electronic Artifacts
repair.restoration.modding
Matt Householder
matthouseholder@hotmail.com
415 516 7562
 
This should be easy to DIY, the hard part is to find the replacement bulbs and is not much easier for a tech. Open it up, take pictures of the bulbs and post here and people can help. You really want to drive all over the bay area to get if fix? Take the cover off, post pictures and ask for help. People can show you how to do it.

If I were doing service, I would charge more on this also. I have enough transistors, resistors and capacitors to cover a lot of the repair, but I have to go on web to search for those odd ball bulbs and order it. Take me time to do the search, it's more work for me. Charging $150 to $200 is a very polite way to say "I don't want the job"!!!

Also, how much is the receiver worth? You really want to pay to fix the light if the thing is working?
 
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Audio and Video Repair in San Rafael is good for small jobs you don't want to do yourself. I'd estimate $60-$80 to replace a bulb, particularly if you buy it and bring it in. 1014 B street. 415 459 6703
 
Talk to Rich at the Sound Well in Berkeley. Probably not any less expensive that what you've been quoted which is why you should do it yourself. Easy inexpensive and rewarding.

Best of luck,
Uenjoy

EDIT: Oh, you've already been to Berkely
 
I don't believe the Sound Well still works on vintage gear. Judging by the loads of ex-Sound Well unrepaired gear I have worked on.

Rob
 
Hi guys,
Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I will try it myself, looks straightforward. But it's helpful to have the recs for tech that I might need in the future.

Thanks again, Erik
 
erikd said:
Hi guys,
Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I will try it myself, looks straightforward. But it's helpful to have the recs for tech that I might need in the future.

Thanks again, Erik
Click to expand...

That's the spirit. Any question, just post pictures and ask. Remember the site Rob posted where to buy vintage bulbs in post #8. That would be my biggest concern of buying those really old bulbs.

Even if you have further problems, try DIY, learn how to solder, get a decent soldering iron and ask help here. It's not worth paying hundreds for service. You have to look at how much the amp worth vs cost of service.
 
You can do it yourself - no problem! Those bulbs just pull right out, then connect the wires.

Just don't drop any solder blobs!
 
And move the tuner dial pointer away from center before pulling the case off, and putting it back on.

Rob
 
Yah....

You got to open it up and clean it anyway. Q-tips and electrical contact cleaner while looking for things that might fry your unit. You wouldn't want to loose it now that you found it.....
 
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