View Full Version : tuner spray and no FM


superdeez
07-15-2006, 11:22 PM
Hey guys, I have two questions for this forum:

1) Where can I find some tuner spray? There used to be a good TV repair shop in a strip center near my house wehere I could find it...but now there's a clothing shop there. >(

Anyone know of a store or chain of stores that might still carry it? (I already tried Wal*Mart's electronics dept. A guy younger than me looked stupid at me and then started showing me plasma TVs and telling me they could be leased for a very minimal amount of money.

2) I have an old Koyo KTR-1022 from 1965 or so. As long as I've had it, it's gotten great AM reception, but FM was dead...or so I thought. Just recently, I set it to FM and actually got a signal. What I was able to pick up was very strong stations, but I picked them up pretty poorly and had to turn the volume up all the way to hear them. It almost seemed like the antenna wasn't doing its job because I was only really able to get anything when I had the plug to my headphones either near or in the jack. What could the problem be?

Chad Hauris
07-16-2006, 12:49 PM
Have you checked if the antenna connection has broken inside...we have seen several cases of the wire to the tuner getting broken from the antenna rod.
Have you tried radio shack? If all you need is a little bit, they should have a small can of Deoxit which I find is the best.
For mail order sources search on google for DeOxit (Caig), also Tech Spray has a line of good electronic cleaning products.

Andyman
07-16-2006, 05:51 PM
Tuner spray?????????

I think there's several threads here about folks who killed their FM by spraying a lube into the vanes of the variable cap; if that's what you're thinking of, be careful!!

FWIW, I've cleaned variable caps with 100% alcohol (anhydrous) and a fine artist's brush. Be VERY CAREFUL with any oily substance and certainly don't go spraying WD-40 in there (yep, it's been done)

superdeez
07-17-2006, 11:57 PM
The antenna lead appears to be good still. It seems like it's getting the signal but is having some kind of troube amplifying the signal? It is worth note I had never heard anything on FM before this. I'm not too experinced with FM circuts.

I'm actually not sure where I'd need to look to remove the corrosion because this is the first time I've seen a radio with apparent corrosion on the tuner. But it seems like everything from 700-800KC and 900-1050KC is really fussy.

Jeffhs
07-19-2006, 12:08 AM
My 1980-vintage Zenith H480 AM/FM/FM-stereo clock radio was working great on AM and FM until I shot some contact cleaner into the slide pots. Now the FM is almost dead, but the AM band works as well as it always has--long distance reception, hi-fi sound, all the hallmarks of pre-GoldStar Zenith. I say the FM is "almost" dead because I can hear FM signals very faintly (but not in stereo) with the volume control at maximum, almost like superdeez's Koyo radio. The stereo indicator and the dial lights are out as well. What did I do wrong? I never thought a shot of contact cleaner could cause this much trouble. Did the stuff short out a transistor, the stereo MPX decoder IC, or...? :dunno:

superdeez
07-20-2006, 03:54 AM
Huh. Maybe my dad shot contact cleaner in his radio at some point in the last 40 years and that's what's wrong with my FM.

holmesuser01
07-26-2006, 12:35 PM
Your problem could easily be a dirty selector switch for the AM/FM/MPX bands. Dont just spray just anything. If you neutralize your tuner, you are up a creek

Been there, done that.