Fixing everything else on the MCS 3233: Clean controls, lamp replacement, and much more!

Need tools? Here's a video showing what I use (with links!): • Must-Have Tools For Wo...
In this video I clean the controls with DeOxit, replace the dial lamps, diagnose broken indicator LED's, repair a non-moving signal strength meter, recover an inoperable preamp, and correct my mistake of blowing up another section of the power supply!

[@j81851]

This is the stuff (and after 50 years of doing similar) that real troubleshooting is made of. You now have a method, a path and a strategy as well as assessment and evaluation skills better as a result of the MCS being slightly cost cut engineered. You made it better than it was!! I am very proud of your sticking it out and finding the truth where all these nit picking problems were. Not only that you actually found anomalies you would have never discovered and fixed if you were not persistent to the point of complete success!! Bravo job well done.

[@TheKeymaster316]

Dude, you really have something going on with his channel right now. I love how you stuck with the troubleshooting and narrowed down the issues one by one. Your patience and your ability to explain things easily is really gonna help people repair their own equipment. Bravo good sir, bravo.

[@71organicmusic9]

Please let the kitty know that we said 👋......hi!!!!

[@chasebarnard5750]

I don't know anyone who would have stuck with a piece of junk like that, and followed it all the way thru to the end. You have great patience.

[@wollaminfaetter]

I love sitting here with a beer in hand and watching you push yourself closer and closer to the limit. It's good entertainment.

[@wobbiewall4821]

Glad you stuck with it. Just an FYI, having both + and - supplies doesn't really mean it's DC coupled. You proved it yourself with the failed coupling caps after the tone circuits. Good work, for sure.

[@groovechampion1462]

You fixet that wreck up pretty good! liked following along. Im 45 and been messing around in stereos since a kid, love them old 70´s gear. its good to see that even younger guys share the hobby! we are gonna be needed in the future to fix this stuff.

[@vsmichael1]

Buy you deoxit fader in green can that is made for potentiometers so they won’t damage the film on the wipers in the potentiometers. These are safe on plastics too. Too late after you have used it. Cheaper isn’t always better in contact cleaners. I could have damaged my volume & bass / treble variables with that deoxit D5 if a had not researched it. Those are 1963 Harman Kardon potentiometers & can be damaged easy.

[@ultrametric9317]

You know in the early days of quality FM tuners, the FM band was a desert - so to test the FM you would dial up the ubiquitous "easy listening" station. This had a lot of stereo separation and distinct sounds to test the bass and treble response. It was a good way to get an instant feel for speakers when combined with a particular unit. I would do this in the 80s and 90s when judging the sound of a system. Your theme music qualifies as easy listening.

[@thomaselliott4562]

Great videos. So important to me to be able to rescue classic silver face amps and receivers, keeping them out of landfills and having them bring listening pleasure to someone again. Nothing quite like giving them a new lease on life. Keep up the good work!

[@Mrsteve4761]

Persistence pays off and I'm sure some of us learned something along the way. Well done!

[@TJET737]

Nice troubleshooting techniques throughout the 2 videos of this MCS 3233. Good job!

[@ScottMicciche]

If I remember correctly, if those baby-blue electrolytic capacitors are made by Sanyo, they were always problematic. They might be worth shutgun-replacing all of them. Nice video and really great diagnostics.

[@thomaskendall452]

I agree, and I'd even go so far as to replace all the electrolytics. Would you put a barn-find 1979 car on the expressway without changing the tires? The MCS-3233 is 44 years old and long past its use-by date. They're nice receivers: somewhat "tubey" in sound signature (a big plus with a lot of people), an only OK tuner (but, these days, who cares about radio?) and that mid-range tone control.

[@jdpinbaytown]

@@thomaskendall452 Agree as well!, I just done my Magnavox 300 Receiver "From 1972" and was all original and was working, But Wow what a improvement the new Caps made!, When I tested all the old one's they were waayy off the original values!

[@thomaskendall452]

In the late 1960's, I worked for a local stereo shop. Half my time was selling on the retail floor; the other half was spent as an apprentice to our tech. A majority of our repairs were on tube equipment. It was basic policy to replace automatically all the caps except the mica ones and most resistors, because of the heat and high voltage. The tube gear came in for repairs every three or four years. The improvement in sound could be dramatic!

[@janbill79]

Yeah,cool.. I did want to see the next one. Those darn capacitors, but made for a great video on repair and testing. great work

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

The stuck VU meters are often freed up via heating the screw with an iron for a few seconds. No no with contact cleaner in the meters. Good troubleshooting. Really looking forward to the STK video. Those things have been the defeat of a few amps I have intended on rebuilding and sold for parts.

[@ripmcmanus773]

Great vid! I'm so glad you decided to record the follow-up and that you had the patience to see it through to the end (minus a few LEDs). I don't know about your other subscribers, but I'm always as interested in the chopping down of the tree as I am the fine sanding, so thanks!

[@reinkansman1081]

Nice return on this lengthy project Aidan. Congratulations

[@jring11453]

Very interesting watching both videos!!!! Thanks so much!!! Glad you gave us the second video.

[@Sunnbobb]

I would not trust a tech if they did not love cats. I enjoyed this one very much. Where is your "buy you a coffee" button? :)

[@morrisonAV]

Great troubleshooting skill. I'm hoping to get better at it myself. Well done for sticking with it!!

[@jimpalmer1969]

Nice job, you saved another one from the scrap heap.

[@lammjame]

I remember going in JC Penny's as a kid and I always went to the stereo section and looked longingly at these receivers (and other MCS models on display). Eventually, I got one of the cheaper MCS receivers and used it all through college. It was a great unit. To this day, I still have my MCS turntable and it works perfectly (though it has been serviced once). Great video.

[@waynekozak1462]

You really are a great repairman ! I love your videos, I learn a LOT from them ! Thank you!

[@joanfrellburg4901]

Educational, and at times your comments make me laugh out loud. So glad you won the battle !

[@terrym1065]

Patience is the key to success...and being able to read/understand a schematic don't hurt😉 Great job Aidan, sticking with the job shows character and resolve👍👍 On this unit I would have done the LED mod, easier to do and a more permanent fix but replacing with original bulbs has benefits as well $$$. This unit will make someone very happy, old school rules. Nice work diagnosing the multiple problems and fixing this unit, well done. Thanks for the video and work, my cat watched the whole show.... See ya soon.

[@terrymatvichuk1421]

It sure was a problem child ,one thing after another, good job!👍

[@johnb5519]

Great going. Very interesting, kind of like solving a mystery.

[@AnomaloCaris460]

Excellent detective work!

[@reneneron2971]

That is actually a nice receiver. Well featured.

[@burtwatson8990]

Really enjoyed watching this series. I have a 3233 and a 3245, both of which have served me well over the years. Enjoyed learning the process...keep 'em coming!

[@David-ik8wj]

we would get the JC Penny christmas wish book after thanksgiving. I remember asking Santa to bring me a MCS stereo system. Must havve been a bad boy. Got a crap Sound Design stereo record player. still thankful of it as it beat listening to the clock radio which i still own 48 years later.

[@tdub7130]

Found your channel recently and love watching you hunt down issues on these beautiful classic receivers!

[@AHFixIt]

I'm glad you enjoy it! Thanks!

[@collinwood60]

More great detective work with Sadie's help! Thanks for another interesting video that I can use to refer to if I have the same issues with my gear.

[@kennethiman2691]

I always recap vintage receivers. Not everyone agrees. But it's an inexpensive way to get maximum performance. But how do you like the sound? I think it's a sleeper receiver with great sound.

[@JamesE707]

Excellent work sir!

[@JamesE707]

Worthy of note - don't be surprised if a meter's internal torsion-like spring shows partial collapse. It's happened to me a few times, luckily I had replacements. The symptoms are similar to what you experienced.

[@biggie9817]

Increasing the voltage rating on those caps increases reliability. Per MIL Spec for high reliability , applied voltage should be 50% of capacitor rating. Even though you didn't like that receiver, to me it looks like a nice '70s era SilverFace and serviceability looked pretty good also.

[@pd1jdw630]

👌🏻 well done! Don’t forget to put some grease of the gears. Or at least some bar soap.

[@VidelicetMoi]

Thank you for showing your work and that means this follow up video.

[@gregoryjohnson2028]

These are the good videos. Thank you for making this. That's a really cool receiver. Thanks for bringing it back to life.

[@collinwood60]

Thanks! Dave from Maine!

[@CoreyStevensBlues]

Great video. Need more troubleshooting ones like this!

[@historymakesmesleep]

hey.. great work...SADIE!!!

[@bobgrob4]

33 watts per channel - by Matsushita (Technics). I had several friend that owned MCS. Decent gear. One worked at Pennys so his whole family had MCS stuff. Worth repairing for sure.

[@PyroRob69]

After everything you have done to fix this unit, it has to make you think someone was in there dinking with it. My pops had a full working system with tuner, amp, cassette, etc, in the late 70's / early 80's, and this was as good as my Marantz 2216B.

[@RandySmith-iz1ml]

Great job, let us see the finished product!

[@jeffberwick]

At 9:12 when you were soldering the wires onto the little bulbs, I thought of the little "helping hands" gadget with 2 alligator clips mounted on a swiveling base. That is super helpful for soldering two loose wires together.

[@McCullochMac6]

Nice ....Great detective work...love watching your videos....I mess around with broken audio amps once in a while...that other people tell me that repair shops say are not fixable. well lets just say they are lazy... because I always seem to get them working...lol

[@Skips1964]

Great video. My very first receiver when I was in high school was an MSC series 3210. I still have my MCS 6400 belt drive turntable!

[@warstar77ify]

Pure Awesomeness, thank you.

[@DihsWohs]

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

[@SteveMasonCanada]

Great video, thanks for sharing. Lots of work for an obscure receiver, but why not. I have that same scope.

[@alexzildjian]

Muchas gracias 😃👌 saludos de Ensenada Bajá México 🇲🇽 Excellent Vídeo 🙏🙏

[@charles401]

Very nice work...great perseverance!

[@ThomasBock-pm5ll]

Thanks for your persistence!

[@jimcabezola3051]

Mahalo for following up on the last one! I almost bought one of these things back in 1978, but I chose a Pioneer SX-580 instead. Looking back, I think the tone controls of this J.C.Penney machine would've nicer to have than the simpler bass and treble controls of the Pioneer... Not to mention the 15 or so more Watts of power...

[@wizzkidelectronics]

that tuner was a great one to learn stuff on

[@paulb4uk]

Superb work it sounds great now.

[@Monza62000]

i fix meters on cb radios all the time ,,was going to tell you but your smart on what to do....keep up the good work

[@bmboldt]

I have seen that issue where the bulb won't go dim when turning on a receiver with the speakers selected. Freaked me out when it first happened. I found not selecting the speakers when turning on the receiver took care of it. Using a larger bulb also would do the trick.

[@SirLunchalot2]

Good job Sir, thanks for sharing.

[@michelk1445]

Great repair 👍

[@batmandestroys1978]

You are one of the great electronics engineers not only on KZbin, but in the entire World! I love the Channel so much! The presentation is great. I love the music. What I loved so much about this absolutely fantastic video, some electronics engineer will show off and strip the whole of potentiometers down to clean the controls, this can make it very difficult to assemble the controls back together again properly. Everybody should clean the controls the way you do! Love the new house!

[@b.powell3480]

Great video!, those pesky caps !!

[@FixthisCD]

Good job, glad you stuck it out

[@Thetimeisnow78]

Nice work young man

[@robertlundstrom8061]

Thanks for working through this one. Good job!

[@pietromanno8916]

GREAT JOB!! NEVER GIVE UP !!!!!!

[@ant242002]

Want to work on another mcs? lol. Having an issue with my digital station matching my analog station read out. Any suggestions or I can send you a MCS 3236.

[@R3TR0R4V3]

Great job dude! Really cool looking receiver. It would be nice to find a higher wattage one.. They'd be total sleepers. 😎

[@greengrayradio1394]

Nice troubleshooting! I share your attitude towards electrolytic capacitors, measure, then change if bad ones. If several of same type are bad, change these. And, the shorted, black-spot ceramic in the first video was strange. Must have been stressed, or a bad part from the start. If a power spike, the diodes would likely also have been bad

[@robertgriffin7569]

Looking good...thanx again..

[@John-N-541-ym7dx]

Looks like Marantz tried to make a unit like Pioneer and ended up a MCS

[@mikepxg6406]

What a great looking thing.

[@superkev]

brilliant video thankyou,keep up the good work 😁

[@paulschumacher1263]

Fantastic! Way to persevere!

[@johndrx165]

Lot of work!

[@watdanuqta-mf5ms]

Nice. Now have you seen an MCS-3285? That one was made by NEC for JC Penny and it has a much better power supply and binding posts, moving coil phono, etc. On a purely aesthetic level, I think it is just awesome. Never had a chance to hear or see one in the flesh. The whole face is buttons and toggle switches with some great digital displays. I'll bet that it would be some project, just cleaning up and restoring all those switches. I'd even consider getting one working/not working if the price is low enough and the chassis/faceplate is clean. I don't need it, but I just love its looks.

[@jimhines5145]

I was really surprised the lamps were not socketed. On a few of the Pioneers I have worked on, the sockets became dry rotted and crumbled to the touch. Good thing that didn't happen with these. I would have opted for LEDs if possible, but your call. Great video as usual!

[@mikerhodes9198]

Good job.

[@brianclark2370]

Hi.I like your troubleshooting and your work on all typs of amps. One amp typ I have not seen you do Is from yamaha. From Brian w.germamy

[@dhpbear2]

28:00 - My guess as to why those 2 caps failed; they were connected in reverse-polarity due to faulty markings on the circuit board (or the schematic).

[@jeffsheets9389]

Thank you good video 👍

[@b.powell3480]

Tone defeat takes all tone and loudness filters out of the circuit, so, the volume is going to be lower than with the tone circuit is connected in circuit!

[@MikeGervasi]

I would have replaced the bulbs with 555 white LEDs. Looks clean, no heat, and lasts.

[@saarike]

Great!!! Thanks.

[@jimnjele.bean-dayone3505]

OUTSTANDING sir..Great job chasing it down....I really like that you took on the challenge. Fixing the tuning meter was great....I dont recall ever seeing one stuck like that. Tracking down bad caps in the preamp, excellent. You mentioned that the receiver has a number of those in it, do they seem ok? I was just thinking gthat they could be dried out due to age...GREAT JOB again sir. Thanks for sharing !!

[@jimnjele.bean-dayone3505]

I forgot to add, cudios to the assistant cat, could not have done it without them...

[@Wurlyscope]

Good troubleshooting. This amplifier should also have all caps replaced because, unfortunately, once it start, they go bad like dominos.

[@tdub7130]

Thanks!

[@davidbailey6350]

Good job…..!

[@joew94th]

Great video! Where do you find the schematics?

[@codyshive]

Nicely done! I admire your can-do bias, nothing fazes you. I was particularly interested in this video, because not much is said about JCPenney's short-lived Modular Component System equipment. I remember seeing them in the store window of my local JCPenney (like 45 years ago!). I remember the sales person telling me that Panasonic made the series for Penney's, but I've since read that multiple OEMs made different components. Thanks for the follow-through, as well. I watched the first one and had hoped to see you complete the job. Are you offering these for sale on eBay or some other outlet? If not, you'll need to rent a separate garage for all the equipment you're fixing!

[@rogersellers493]

Really enjoy the channel. Lots of good repairs that are easy to follow. I also have an old MCS 3233 that needs some repairs. Where did you find a schematic diagram for this unit? I have scoured the internet and can not find one anywhere. If you have a web link or some insight as to where you found one, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and keep up the good work!

[@hdibart]

Nice !

[@clevermusicbox3630]

Wear your Lavalier microphone under your tshirt and clip it to your collar. Doubling the distace reduces the volume by 3dB. Also the pickup pattern will utilise the direct vocal transmission to it, indirect via bodily contact. Also it will mean ambient noise and echo have less impact on your audio, just cleaner and stronger. Visually people don't mind bad quality, but with audio it's much more noticeable. You'll also have more to work with generally. HTH

[@psionicfish]

Those bulbs look exactly like automotive lightbulbs

[@R3TR0R4V3]

Exactly. Like the commonly used 194 bulbs

[@robertsuszek2327]

do you sell any of your repaired items?

[@dtracy03ss]

Great Job! Do you ever put any of these up for Sale once you have them Awesome Again?

[@jimwhite9989]

Impressive skill set. Do you work on send in orders?

[@BS-ql9zm]

I have a this unit from Original owner. How much would you charge for tuneup? It functions but might need a good cleaning