Denon AVR-3806 Repair Question

stretchl

So the unit pictured below is one of the pieces I found for next to nothing at a church garage sale a few weeks ago. While testing it out today I discovered that some yahoo broke off the part of a male optical cable I guess while removing it from the back of the unit. There's a plastic part of the optical cable stuck in the female port.

I've tried everything possible including tweezers, a pair of Kelly forceps, a darning needle and a pair of needle nose pliers trying to get that damned little piece out. No luck.

So... taking off the top I see that the optical inputs are part of a green board that connects to the rest of the unit via ribbon cables and sits atop what appears to be a motherboard.

Question -

Is the green board for the optical inputs soldered into the motherboard, or should I be able to wiggle it free after having unscrewed the board from the back of the unit?

There's a service manual at https://www.manualslib.com/manual/949310/Denon-Avr-3806.html The relevant pages are 86 and 88. The board I'm dealing with is part 1-2 on page 86, referred to as a "1U-3700-2:DIGITAL IN UNIT" on page 88.

One of the images below barely shows the stuck piece of cable in OPT-2 in the rear of the unit. The other gives a general idea of the innards of the thing.

Thanks for any help -



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Viking64

When using one needle to pry it out, it is possible that when putting pressure on the broken piece, you are sort of skewing it a little, and it can't slide out straight. Maybe try 2 needles, each opposite the other. Then the piece might not be getting pushed up tightly to one side and slide out easier.

stretchl

I'll give that a try, @Viking64

polrbehr

If you can't remove it without serious risk of damage, I would try to find a repair shop to bring it to. Considering its age, it's a real robust AVR, for next to nothing I would say it's definitely worth it - as long as the HDMIs work (all two of them ).

DaveHo

What about carefully threading a screw in there? One with just enough bite to grab the plastic of the broken male connector, then pull straight out.

stretchl

DaveHo wrote: »

What about carefully threading a screw in there? One with just enough bite to grab the plastic of the broken male connector, then pull straight out.

That's a damned good idea. The double darning needles don't seem to be working.

mdaudioguy

DaveHo wrote: »

What about carefully threading a screw in there? One with just enough bite to grab the plastic of the broken male connector, then pull straight out.

That's a good trick. I've used it myself for other similar instances.

Another good trick I've learned as I get older (in case all else fails)... Just forget about it! Do you really need 4 digital inputs?

stretchl

Well, gents. None of the above worked. I tore that port up pretty well. Ended up opening the unit up, removing the digital card, finding one for $10 on eBay, putting everything back together and, voiá! Tested good as new!

Appearing soon at a Flea Market near you.

pitdogg2

Stretch might be interested pm me what you'd like to get out of the 3806