QRX-9001 assistance needed

[Obbop]

Quaddies!!!!

Taking my beloved 9001 into a local repair shop. One of the guys there dates back to the quad days and is ready and willing to make my 9001 function properly again.

Gonna' put in new electrolytic capacitors and resolder the bad board(s).

Any advice, tips, plans, info, etc. that I can share with the tech so he can be totally prepared when the unit is opened would be appreciated!!!

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[QuadBob]

Hey Scott,

I know if you wanted my opinion you probably would have just dropped me an email. But for public consumption I feel I should offer the following:

You are probably making a big mistake with your QRX-9001 by taking it to ANY local shop. Here is why;

If the local guy is honest and well intentioned then he probably is about to "discover" what it takes to restore the QRX-9001. In which case, he'll soon find that it gets extremely complex and messy in trying to replace all 264 of those electrolytic capacitors in there. Luckily for him, I'm sure you've taken extremely good care of your receiver....so unlike some I've done off of Ebay, yours probably doesn't have anything more than the "usual" problems. But, I've now restored quite a few of them over the past years. It still takes me a minimum of 50-60hrs of work to complete one without any "unusual" problems! And, remember I've done it numerous times...so I know exactly how everything comes apart.....goes back together, and where all the test/troubleshooting points are physically located to quickly troubleshoot cold solder joints, failed components, etc.
So, if he's trying to make a living at "audio repair" and he's agreed to the work at a fixed price acceptable to you.......he'll soon realize that this project is going to "cost" him a lot more than he realized in bench time.....so he'll be forced to either try to "shortcut" the work, or renegotiate the price with you.

On the other hand, if he isn't reputable......he'll immediately try to cut corners, and/or simply start running the clock on your restoration. Do the math yourself........what is his "normal" bench labor rate? If we assume even a modest $50 per hour........50 hours (if he's as fast or faster than me) would quickly turn into a $2,500.00 bill for you! And, he'll have your QRX-9001 hostage until you pay up.

I've had plenty of experience now with just the situation you are entering into. Local shops either try and fail, or they don't even try once they see what is actually involved/required to do it right.
I'd invite some of the others here on the board that have talked to me in the past about about even well intentioned "local audio shops" to add their comments. Texquad, Marcsten are two that come to the top of my mind who had really "good" guys try and get their 001 receivers going.

I hope you don't take this the wrong way Scott, I'm nothing but grateful for your hard work and support of the quad community over the years. And, I know you love your QRX-9001 as much as I do my own. I wish you all the best my friend in getting your QRX-9001 going again......but I honestly believe you'll be sorry.

Hope I'm wrong on the above......let us know how it goes!

QuadBob

 

[Obbop]

Money is tight so I am looking at a minor rebuild ala resoldering those boards that go bad.

Currently, all that functions is the Hall mode of the Vario-matrix. All the other functions are bad... as in very low output in one channel, etc. The Hall mode works great so I assume that the amps, etc are fine.

I'm also having the pots cleaned, etc.

If I had the bucks I'd go for a flow-blown rebuild.

I am going to discuss the recapping part after he opens it up. Perhaps a partial recap in critical areas???

If all goes well I am hoping to get the 9001 running again then, after I finish getting that teaching certificate and working again I would consider the full rebuilding.

Any tips or ideas for a partial fix other than trying the resoldering of the boards that tend to go bad???

TIA

 

[QuadBob]

Ok Scott,

On a super tight budget....and to keep it running for awhile, have him give you a price to re-cap the two F-2624 Driver amp pcbs, and the F-2639 25vdc Power Supply pcb. All three of these boards are relatively simple to "recap", and will prevent the 9001 from "self destructing" due to its age. The Power supply drives your decoder pcbs and pre-amp stages. The Driver pcbs I've found will destroy its resistors (over current condition) and/or take out the power transistors when the caps are gone. And, be sure to have him recalibrate the boards once this is done! (Amp bias, and dc offset)

But, its the pass through joints that will give him the real trouble...he'll have to totally disassemble the front of the receiver...including the front frame piece to gain access to both sides of the function select pcb. Then there are 54 pass through joints to be re-done, which he should "pin and solder".

Keep your fingers crossed!

QuadBob

 

[Obbop]

Thanks for the info. I'll present the chap will all that he will be facing and see if he appears to be capable and willing.

 

[Marcsten]

Yeah, I been there. I had a nonfunctional QRX 6001, as some of you may recall, and took it to a local shop. They are reputable, and they spent three weeks ordering and installing parts, then called to tell me it was ready. Boy was I excited; less excited when they said 'no charge.' Uh oh ... counld.t fix it, could you? No, sorry; time to get rid of it and move on, they said. If they were not reputable, then I would have had the same thing and been out a coupe of hundred. Hopefully it will find its way to Bob and be rececitated. How's it going, Ray?
Marc