a look inside and repair / service of the 1970s SONY CRF-5090 AM FM earth orbiter radio I have to buy most items myself to make these video's so any help would be greatly appreciated "become a Patreon" / markusfuller
I have worked on these types of radios for more than 40 years. Just some advice. Always check for DC voltage on the volume pot. If you have more than a few milivolts the the scratch noises and pops will be back soon. Check for leaky caps.
I don’t have the earth orbitor but I have the zenith trans oceanic royal 3000 and I believe it to be the best radio in the world These earth orbitors are terrific looking and sounding though and can’t fault them.great video.done with passion!
What an absolutely gorgeous radio. I was only a kid in those days... but I always had GREAT difficulty getting the cat's-cradle of string back in - that connected the tuning dial to the vari-cap.
If you read the service manual, which is available free online, it will become clear that by removing the two screws on the side (top-side)...you can then pull the front carefully off, to gain access to the variable potentiometers (ie rapidly gain access to the volume pot as to as spray contact cleaner in it). This procedure saves several hours....versus the procedure of removing the entire chassis from the rear.
Very nice radio, i have found a few nice multi band radios here in the local thrift shops, but mostly Radio Shack ( Tandy ) ones of the mid to late 70's. Sold them all on in the end because of lack of space.
Hi Neil. Thats my biggest problem, I would like to keep everything I buy but I only live in a flat so Things are only here temporarily. but there are so many car boot sales here where I live there is always a supply of things to keep my curiosity occupied.
I love the concept of "just needs a little TLC". Like you said, it sometimes takes a fair bit of effort, but, especially when it comes to devices from this generation, that's often all it takes to get them back to working order. (Instead of saying, "well, that's toast, toss it!", I mean.) It's a lot harder nowadays with predominantly SMT and ICs but still, I always encourage people to not be afraid of opening things up and having a look. By the way, what was the "anti-static spray" you referred to? Thanks for the videos, great work!
hi mark.i have a sony.crf 5090.same issues as the one you just tackled.servisol £6.83 now, one of the screws top right will not come out,ruined the thread.ended up drilling it out.stuck in with super glue.? the other screws where easy to remove.will use servisol when it arrives,hope it works as well as it as for you.are you still in the bussiness of repairing radios.i have a few that could do with your skilled attention.
Oh man, Adagio by Albioni (sp?) is so lovely. Anyone remember hearing it in the sci fi classic Rollerball? Off topic, sorry. Was caught up in the moment, heh. I remember those really curvy circuit traces from ye olde days. Have not seen that in a long time.
+Michael Bauers I first heard that on Space 1999 when i was a kid and thought it was wonderful. it was the scene where there was a graveyard of spaceships and this spider looking alien eating the crews of the ships. beautiful music in a scary horror scene. Brilliant.
Hi Marcus - great radios, I have one in good order (now) and one as a parts donor. Enjoyed your video but I was shouting at the screen - you missed two screws that would have made your task a lot easier! There are two screws in the side panels top and front that actually hold the whole front panel in place. Remove all the knobs, remove the two screws, pull the front panel forward past the two spring clips and you're done! Turn the panel sideways and feed it back through the cabinet and you can remove the whole lot from the cabinet. I did repair my buckled dial scale, plenty of "copies" on RU-vid but here's the original.... www.radiomuseum.org/forum/sony_crf_5090_earth_orbiter_repair_of_warped_dial.html. Best wishes - Martin ZL2MC
Shame SONY didn't see fit to use a SO42P Downconverter Double Balanced Mixer and a MC1496 for SSB Demodulation and a Bridge Rectifier for AM Demodulation.
