Cleaning a old receiver

factorz

A coworker gave me his parents old Vector Research VR-5000 to use with my 5B's. Overall it's a nice unit and is all I was really needing for a secondary setup. My question is it's clear that his parents rarely used this thing or cleaned it. What would someone use to clean the inside? What is typical? Thanks!

cnh

That's a nice piece. I have one in the "collection": 44 watts x 2 @ 8 ohms and lots of reserve power. I have it running a couple of HH Scott S-11s. As far as cleaning, there are a lot of experts on that here.

But let me throw out a few ideas, don't take these as gospel because I don't have as much experience as the Big Boys.

First thing to do is open her up and hit all the controls with Deoxit cleaner or the equivalent. Not too much. Couple of sprays into each control and then work the controls a couple dozen times, let sit for a while before powering up. You can also use this on inputs and outputs and speaker connections on the back that might be oxidized.

A can of compressed air may be useful if its not SUPER compressed, you don't want to "blast" the unit but use it in conjunction with a high grade super-fine bristle soft brush to sweep away dust, steer clear of the tuner.

Actually, I'm going to be hitting up a Technics SA-5570 with all this as soon as I have a spring day that's not too windy or too cold. Because, this one is layered with dust!

There is more that can be done. And others should feel free to add or "correct" anything I've said above!

Have fun. People often compare Vector Research gear to NAD or the equivalent. Chances are that the unit is still in decent shape, might need some caps, but I bet it sounds decent even as is!

cnh

gdb

I would not use alcohol, ammonia or windex on any exterior areas. There are numerous wipes made that are safe for monitor screens, plastics, aluminum, etc. PS: post a pic of that bad boy when yer finished !

factorz

Thanks guys! I will try to take some before and after pictures once I can get around to it. CNH since you own the unit as well is there anything else you can share? The guy who gave it to me didn't have a manual and a search only turned up some info on the now defunk company. Most of it I can figure out, but there is a In/Out switch that seems to give it a little extra bottom end. Also in the back of the unit is what I believe is a antennea??

gdb

That in/out sounds like a loudness control. Leave it out when you're playing at hi volumes.

cnh

There are two In/Outs. One is as gdb says a "loudness" control that boosts your bass when your volume is low. Yeah, keep that off if you're pumping the volume. The other in/out is the FM muting--which simply mutes the static between FM stations when you're tuning in an FM station.

The Black bar, I'm assuming, that's what you mean, is the AM antenna which is built in on vintage units.

The VR has a pretty good tuner in there and should be able to run in 4 ohms as well as 8 like most pieces of that era.

But I suspect the VR-5000 is late '70s, possibly very early '80s. They were "pricey" in their day.

Vector Research receivers were outsourced to the "same" Japanese" and Taiwanese factories that were building products for NAD and Rotel in that period. So the build quality is very good. That's why it's still working? Probably shares internals with those others? Might also give you some idea of what the sound might be like. To me it sounds somewhere between a Rotel and a NAD.

You're right, not a lot of info on these. Don't have the manual either.

BTW, for those who haven't seen this. It's an anodized metal black/grey face with typical FM signal strength and tuning meters and a lit tuning scale. A very nice looking piece, classy for a non-silver face!

cnh

factorz

Thanks for the reply's and what info you could provide. Interesting about the possible NAD and Rotel connection. I did give it a little more time tonight and it really is a nice unit and made me realize how sweet the 5B's are.

On a side note the guy who gave it to me also threw in a BX-1 Nackimichi tape deck. I don't own any tapes anymore, but I have read they are making a come back! Might just put it up on the local CL to see I can flip it quick.

DaveHo

When I pick up a piece of used gear my usual routine is as follows.

1) Blow out the loose stuff with compressed air.
2) Take a 1/2" throwaway paint brush & thoroughly dust off everything inside & out. Be careful not to get the bristles caught.
3) Blow again.
4) Deoxit on all the controls & jacks. I use these:

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/it.A/id.2542/.f?sc=2&category=202
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=200-025

5) While waiting for the excess Deoxit to evaporate, clean the exterior with a dusting product designed for electronics. There are a couple different ones. Don't remember off the top of my head what I currently have. LCD screen cleaner for the plastic/glass fronts.