Like anything in an interconnected world I start to prepare and finally paint the floor and get disracted by old electronics. This is the way.
I blew a part on my sound follower a few years ago. I had turned it on to check functions and work out how it worked and then a little pop happened and a puff of perfect white smoke rose up from within the PSU block somewhere inside the machine. My thoughts then, after looking closer at the board concerned was ‘what chance is there of fixing this?’.
Well, several years later, I’m clearing the workshop to paint the floor and the sound follower is stood there on its own. I think, fuck it, lets have a look at this thing, partially spurred on by the success with the Kinoton spark circuit. After removing the PSU block and taking a closer look at the blown part I can see that its easier to get to and remove than I first thought.
Anyone had much experience searching for old manuals online? Well, you get these companies that bought up loads of service manuals and now sell them off for what feels like silly money. I found a complete manual including schematics for a similar-ish model to mine and thought it would be worth the risk of getting it.
I was very happy when it came because it had everything I needed plus more because it was also an opearation manual. I challenged myself to find the correct schematic and part ‘before’ I consulted my electronics friend.
What we are looking at here (took me a few days to decipher the manual and its detailed outline and indexing system) is a part of the PSU circuit where there are 3 relays. rel.1, rel.2 and rel.3. I knew that the blown part, after extracting it, sat between two relays, most probably 2 and 3. I also know, or had learnt from my friend that the part was a RIFA which were known to blow because they allow mositure in. You can find umpteen stories on the internet with radio engineers and electronics folks waxing lyrical about when it happens to them. They act as noise suppressors across mains lines in audio equipment. Easily replaced by modern ceramic caps.
The manual also shows some additional parts (which I dont have) that I guess I’ll be chasing for the next twenty years like this optical sound reader.
You may well ask what is the point of this machine? Dont! Don’t, you understand! Don’t ask this question, never ask this dumb question. Its a machine and it needs our love and attention. It did a job, a good job back in the day and theres absolutely no reason for it to retire from this job. It was built by human hands, designed by human minds, run by human skills and enjoyed on the cinema screen by humans!! What more fucking reason do you need.