Panasonic SA CH 11 Bookshelf Stereo Cassette and CD Repair

Another fun one. Bookshelf stereo. Who though these were a good Idea?

[@MsCori76]

I’ve always loved Panasonic units, they produce a beautiful sound & great natural bass. I actually own 3 of the 3 in one units from 1991, 1998 & 2005 & they all still work well.

[@MsCori76]

I wouldn’t bother with the units that have the 5 stacker cd player in them. I owned 2 of them & the cassette decks are the first to break! The cd player is good & great sound & bass but poorly made with the cassette decks.

[@MsCori76]

& hard to get into too, to repair them.

[@glenngoodale1709]

The best part is when you tell old stories .....cool ....Thanks for your videos

[@lyntonprescott3412]

Spurred on by your video I tried to repair my Sony Microsystems with none functional CD player. Took me a long time to get it apart but I did manage to clean the lenses. Put it all back together and lo and behold- it still doesn’t work! Lynton

[@jaka5161]

Bought one of these in 92'. Its still goin strong.

[@vcrreview6437]

I can't resist watching your videos. So I watch every video of you...boss you are Great 💝💝💝

[@teacfan1080]

JVC, Junk Very Cheap, never heard that before! For my high school graduation in 1983, my parents got me a Zenith all-in-one stereo system. Back then my parents were Zenith everything. Had the record player on top, cassette player front left and the radio with the long rectangular shaped tuning dial. Had VU meters too for recording to tape. Had a nice hinged dust cover for the record player and didn't feel plastic junk. Had the silver knobs on the front and piano type keys for the cassette player. I used the hell out of that thing. The first 45 rpm record I played on it was "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran. I sold it in 1991 for a new system.

[@fulwell1]

My goodness! I have not seen one of those for a very long time - sold quite a number of them back in the day too. That model was popular for bedrooms and kitchens, and if I remember correctly it was the CH55 with the spectrum analyser that was popular as a living room set for those who couldn't accommodate separates. To be fair, for what they were, the sound wasn't too bad - certainly better than the offerings from Sharp and Phillips around the same price point

[@josephfiumara9065]

I'v been watching your videos for some time . I find it really awesome how U know how to fix so many different electronics and what not .

[@OX71]

I had one of these that I ran for some years, my parents still use it and the tape decks are in the same condition, maybe I'll try and clean them up next time I visit them. The speakers do sound terrific.

[@seslan]

Great video! I have a 1991 Samsung SCM-7550 that looks similar to this one internally. I am currently using it as a "headphone amp" since I do not have any. It has a broken display which shows random characters. I am planning to fix the display and do a cleaning on it. It seems like a good idea to replace the thermal paste on the heat sinks as well. Learnt a lot from your video. Thanks!

[@devicemodder]

My grandparents still use one of these in their living room. as it's mostly used for radio, the decks are still ok, along with the 5 CD changer.

[@skylerbowen9353]

Wow I haven’t seen that thing in a long time. That’s an SA-CH11. I got one of these for my birthday in 1994. My first CD player. Came with The Sign by Ace of Base. The speakers that came with, with the rear bass reflex were really something. It died in 2007. Repair shop couldn’t get parts so I just let them keep it. I really miss that thing. If you still have it and want to sell, let me know! Would love to take a trip down memory lane.

[@FreeDom-id6yb]

I had this stereo!!! back in the day this stereo was serious equipment - medal, slim but heavy

[@EastAngliaUK]

Looks very well made no empty box in side.

[@Friendroid]

I have a Philips FW46 displaying "No Disc" with intervals equally uninviting, almost identical typology.

[@tacofortgens3471]

Had a So y MHC 710. It blew laser diodes left and right, replaced 2 opticl blocks in 1 year, 250 a pop. Threw it to the trash in 1995 and got ke seperates.

[@xeroinfinity]

i just picked up a Sharp version similar to this, MD-X5. everything functions but so sound output. It might be showing an error code too. I just liked the small speakers so the rest is a bonus if i can get it working. thanks for sharing!

[@briant333]

Sounds like the Kef Concerto speakers, Very sought after now but bloody huge! I had to fix one of those panasinic units with the 5 cd changer. Almost threw the thing at the wall at one point such a pain to work on.

[@12voltvids]

Brian Taylor These kefs were probably 4 feet tall. Huge cabinets.

[@vk3hau]

I have a Pioneer Amp that I still use to this day, it cost me $2000.00 AUD back in 1994 ( VSX-D603S ) , had it for 6 years with out fail, then one morning wake up to it not powering up, found my girlfriend son who was 3 years old found the power voltage selector switch on the back and changed it from 240volts to 110volts, I had to replace the main power transformer , I also glued the switch back to 240volts position.

[@bassblaster505]

running a 240 volt unit on 120 volt should not have resulted in NEEDING a new transformer. all it would do is cut the voltages inside the unit in half

[@12voltvids]

He is in Australia, they run 240 volts there. Setting the power transformer input to 120 will provide double the voltage and burn out the transformer. Likely it was just the standby transformer for the remote that was toasty. Had the unit been switched on, every component would have seen double voltage, and there would have been a cloud of very smelly smoke when all the capacitors in the power supply went "Pffffffffffffsssssss"

[@vk3hau]

12voltvids Yes, it was the standby transformer, still a $140AUD part , as you say, lucky the unit was in standby and not turned on.

[@12voltvids]

Yes saw lots of blown standby transformers. Here we are on 120v center tap neutral. The feed to the house is split phase 120, so phase to neutral is 120V, but phase to phase it is 240V. That gives us here in N.A. flexability. Low voltage for small things that you plug in, but full 240 volts for bigger things like electric car chargers, water heaters, base board heaters, range, clothes dryers ect. A big problem here on the coast is corrosion from the salt air. If the neutral return to the transformer breaks, the neutral will float and will go to the phase under the most load, resulting in a severe over voltage on the other side. Remember that current on a 120 plug is expecting to return on the neutral, but is that bond is lost the neuteal will rise, and voltage will drop on the side with the larger load stalling things like compressors in refrigerators and burning them out, at the same time that the locked rotor in the air conditioner or refrigerator is pulling full current that is all ending on on the floating neutral side, which in effect doubles the voltage causing everything on that side to go POP. I did a tear down last year on a little switching power supply that the MOV went pop when the neutral on the house went open.

[@darinb.3273]

Yes indeed that is a serious issue if the center tapped neutral goes flaky it does exactly as you described (higher current items on the other side of that neutral will shoot a much higher voltage to the other side) ... image putting 3/4 horse motor (with a start winding) in series with a 100 watt incandescent light bulb super bright light till it burns the filament out LOL .... and yep if that's an electronic device it just might be cheaper to toss it rather than try and fix it .... I'm sure there would be MANY COMPONENTS that had their smoke let out of them ... and you all know what happens at that point (no smoke no working component) its almost worth it once q year to clean the neutral at all locations once a year to make sure that it makes a solid connection so there isn't a current war to start with

[@Synthematix]

I had a silver JVC 2 part stereo like this, it was solid aluminium, damn it had good sound and was a real high quality machine and weighed a ton

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

I have a very similar unit made by Aiwa in 2000. It I not as good as this one. The tape player is absolutely mechanical, no solenoids, No auto reverse, A single motor, plastic flywheels. Had to replace the belts. Sound better than I thought. Also the spinning section of the 3cd player’s clamp needed to be slid up of the shaft of the motor. Still stops playing sometimes for about 20 seconds then kicks back in. The cd still spins off center. Needs new motor maybe.

[@markovicaca3322]

buddy i have the same one but it won't play music from my phone when i connect it to aux...Can you help me 

[@rawr51919]

Not sure why you didn't speed-calibrate the tape decks like you usually do. Might be another video at some point?

[@12voltvids]

Nope. Not spending any more time on this. Sold it off cheap. Speed is close enough.

[@DrDroogkloot]

I have had an akai 2 piece mini set in the 90’s. It had problems with the cd player. In the end it was a piece of crap like most of those all in one sets. Most of the time i used separate devices like amps, cassette decks and tuners etc etc... at the moment im very happy with my vintage pioneer set. Late 70’s stuff.

[@Synthematix]

Some all in ones were very very good! the metal jvc stuff was awesome

[@andypalm7061]

Very interesting. I see your point on what a pain it was to work on. I noticed the deck mech. looks like the AR-300 type found in your other vid on the DS-20 portable. (and right you are about the sound quality of that unit),as i have two myself,and they still impress! I think many of these Panasonic units wrongfully took a back seat to Sony. Now I love sony,but if I may say; even units like this sa ch11 may just have been better performers in the long run.i only had one problem with one supply spindle "clutch" slipping in revers-play mode.other than that...nothing. I love the "huge estimate " reference. I don't blame you after seeing this! good stuff.

[@PaulJCost1]

More quality content! Thanks for these great videos, this is the kind of stuff that gets me more attention! I got a Technics Stereo Cassette Deck RS-B665 and i would like to know your opinion about this model. Thank you!

[@tkempke]

Dave, nice job as usual. Had a similar unit some years ago that had a 5 disk changer that was jammed. By the time I got it apart far enough to do anything, I had no idea how to get it back together. Suffice it to say it went in the recycle. As an aside, what is that “chime” that we hear in the background of many of your videos? Just curious since you never mention it when it happens.

[@chrisvinicombe9947]

Ahhh so that's how those bloody ribbon connectors come apart. I've been scared to just pull on them 😂😂😂😂 also didn't know about the push down then remove one either. I'd assumed they had to be desoldered .....face palm Thanks for the video I learnt something 👍

[@coondogtheman]

Wow that's a pretty beefy amp on that stereo, look at that heat sink. Is there a fan inside? 25:34 On those three blue connectors it looks like the pinout connections are printed right on the board, I like that. It has helped me in many of my mods. The sharp stereo I modded in one of my videos didn't have these on the board, I had to get a schematic online. I have a 300 watt kenwood mini system that I got back in 2001-2 ish and it still works to this day. The belts are getting weak but I don't use tapes much anymore.

[@TreboriRobertHZ]

Great idea. Keep up the good work.

[@Clayma911]

this video was help me so much, thanks.

[@sahookriti7]

Panasonic sa ch32.The cassette door doesn't close after inserting cassette, both decks.one pinch roller moves freely but the other one isnt going down on its own.If done manually, it bounces back like a spring.This is stopping the cassette insert.Pl help

[@fuckyou96]

What do I do if the cd is spinning too fast ? I popped the radio cover off and when I hold my finger on top of the cd spinner the cd works. But the minute I take my finger off it starts spinning too fast and won't play . 🥺

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

You said they sold jvc, Panasonic, and some Sony all in one stereos, but did they sell Aiwa? A lot of Aiwa products were actually more reliable than Panasonic, and jvc. I do not know about the Sony ones though. I have an Aiwa with similar problems that this panasonic had, but it was from the year 2000. The issues were not as bad. The belts on the tape slipped and it would not turn at all, so I replaced the belts and it works perfect. The CD player would not read. I cleaned the laser and it sorta works now. It does not read all discs, and always stalls on the first track of every disc, not to mention it skipping if I put a subwoofer anywhere near it and blast it, or if I jump too high. I think, since it is a 3 cd unit that is actually, in my mind, worth repairing, I may buy a new Sony kss213f optical pickup.

[@12voltvids]

Aiwa was a sister company of the Sony corp.

[@hareshpatel3411]

I have Sony Music System I want to change it's lence, so which precautions do I need to take while unlock the lence and install in the cd pickup mechanism?

[@SirJeff]

I just picked up a SA CH33 beside a dumpster in my school today. It had the same problems

[@LifeSized101]

Yay now i can fix my almost identical SA CH55 I recent found $25 / 1991 was$1299

[@mikesamra9126]

Nice. Do you ever work on any vacuum tube gear like old Fisher, Sherwood, Mcintosh, etc?

[@12voltvids]

Of course I do. I have a MacIntosh MAC1500 that I will be restoring some day. I have done several vintage radios over the past year. I have also built 2 tube amps on camera over the past couple of years.

[@josephfiumara9065]

My neighbor threw out a Sony stereo hcd-gx450 i took it home plugged it in and has a blinking power button red lite , opened it up i don't see any bad caps any idea what i should be looking for?

[@12voltvids]

No

[@rlwings]

Great videos, thanks! ... But I must ask you a question. Did someone actually pay to have that Panasonic all-in-one repaired? I mean I've seen those things in the garbage around my area. Just doesn't seem that it'd be worth the cost of repair... You must be doing someone a favor. :)

[@12voltvids]

It's my unit. Was given to me. I fixed it Ryan sold it on craigslist.

[@markanderson350]

I have KEF drivers in a Cabinet. 3 way and yes, oval woofer. I think I can get good money for them one day.

[@12voltvids]

Mark Anderson Yes those were bloody expensive drivers for sure

[@markanderson350]

@@12voltvids I have the b139 woofers the b110 mid-range and the t27 tweeters in a homemade cabinet. Back in the 70s it was about 400. They sound smooth.

[@TonyBanks21]

Fantastic Job

[@MarceloJavierMazaLuparia]

Great Video! You know if this devices got clones by other brands? Check Philips FW 26 and FW 46 And you are totally right about'em, I got a Philips FW46 for my 12th birthday! haha! (around 1995) Question: mine's screen had a green backlight but as burned out. I cant seem to find the actual replacement to get the actual bright green color. Any advice?

[@shaun9107]

Panasonic , look good , sound good and they last a good time , they just keep going . Apart from LG crap

[@ahmadfitri3206]

Hello, thank you for the video. Currently I have this model. After a long time being in the store, I tried to turn it on. Currently I am using not its original ac adapter (I'm using any available in the house). It shows the standby mode and the red light, but it wont turn on. I remember last time when using this, it has problem to turn on, and sometimes it keeps changing its mode from aux, cd, to tape. I'm not an expert on this, is the problem serious to get it fixed?

[@ahmadfitri3206]

Also I tried the remote control to turn on (in case if the power button did not work), still not working.

[@sarabjitsinghsondhi5960]

Please help make video of sa ch46 audio showing error not functioning

[@macgvrs]

Our daughter decided she wanted to sun bathe on the lawn and she wanted to hear the radio out there, so, she cranked the volume to max and went outside. That terminated the tweeters in both speakers. I was not happy.

[@Markokk888]

What was that song on a tape at 36:38 ?

[@Markokk888]

we will never gonna find out.. any luck with shazam anyone ?

[@d.logic1]

think it's probably from his royalty free library. ive heard it a few times in his other videos.

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

I once put 9 volts into a CD spindle motor, and it spun like a fan, fast enough that it took like a minute for the CD to stop.

[@efertheredfish2]

What is the name of the music at 39:22?

[@anshsharma123]

I have Panasonic sa ch55 the upper display is fine but the lower equiliser display is very dim, please help me how to fix it

[@12voltvids]

Have no idea. Sold this unit no longer have one like it.

[@anshsharma123]

@@12voltvids ok no problem

[@CotyRiddle]

had plenty of shelf systems when I was younger. they all sucked and sounded like garbage. I miss the GE transistorized quadrophonic 8-track/record player/AM FM stereo I had with original speakers. now that baby sounded nice.

[@jeffrey2xtreme195]

I have been looking at these all in one Panasonic stereos from the early 2000s and I know there not the highest quality but why is everyone I have looked at so dirty in the cassette player and some of them are rusted how do you clean all that stuff out. I mostly listen to cassette tapes and I still thinking if I should even get one of these because all of the videos people send me of there's playing a tape it just sounds so muffled and I know with high end equipment cassettes can sound amazing anyone have any suggestions?

[@12voltvids]

Cassettes never sounded amazing no matter what you played them on.

[@jeffrey2xtreme195]

@@12voltvids I like them but it's just my opinion I also like vinyls.

[@TheThecyclist]

ive got a seperates system consisting of a marantz amplifier circa 1985 a kenwood tape deck and a bush record deck and large speakers the volume control on the amp is getting a bit crackly would switch cleaner sort this problem?

[@12voltvids]

Yes contact cleaner will probably clean up that control.

[@sarabjitsinghsondhi5960]

Pls my sach46 panasonic showing error help

[@thedogememesproductions6354]

I also used to have a very reliable Philips power amp that died in 2016 due to a relay problem

[@yt678901]

For electric switches i use Mobil1 0w40. No cleaning required and the switch works more than it had initially worked.

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

At first glance this looks like an unbranded tuner, a Panasonic amp, an anasonic tape player, and an unbranded CD player. Someone obviously tried prying the logos off and broke them. Maybe a kid in the house it came from.

[@upsidediy3945]

That I s a good stereo because of the equlaizer, auto reverse. I have one side cassette player has low sound, so im going to clean the head some, knowing it can be alignment or something. Thanks,The junior story sounded if the stereos receiver amp was blowing the speakers . If it was different components...sorry for your business, karma

[@raymondleggs5508]

That amp board is the same size of the one in My Technical Pro receiver except instead of the amp module theres 6 Amp transistors and more resistors, transistors and caps.. and other stuff. lol. It claims 1500w when the transistors are 65w max. sounds better than sony's STRDH130 for some reason. Odd.

[@thedogememesproductions6354]

The only part I hate is that how these are filled with roaches and full of dust but I clean the hell out of it

[@12voltvids]

That is what air compressors are for. Leaving here cleaner than it arrived.

[@12voltvids]

Coronadraht Compressors are great but you need a disacant to remove the moisture. Mine has a can and I put these bags of silica gel into it. That removes the moisture

[@catsbyondrepair]

I have always called them trailer park stereos

[@thedogememesproductions6354]

12voltvids yes indeed

[@rajreigns3032]

Can I play through mobile, Pls help if yes how

[@alcoholisfreedrink]

How is this even possible to blow amplifier? I turned my home made amp all the way up. amp is 30w and speakers are 60w. I couldn't blow it up.

[@victorcoss2600]

Impedance mainly, running the amplifier at lower impedance than it's rated for will cause it be overdriven. You can run lower impedance speakers but you can't crank the volume knob. If you want to safely run lower impedance speakers then run them in series not parallel.

[@12voltvids]

Usually it is freyed speaker wires. shorting. I don't know how this kid managed to blow the Kef speakers twice and blow up 2 amplifiers. Must have been one hell of a party. I just saw the equipment come in after the fact blown the crap,

[@zx8401ztv]

That didn't take too long out of your day to fix, someone will find it usefull :-). I've repaired equipment from heavy smokers, sticky surfaces that look like poo with the thick coating of niccoteen, bloody disgusting!!. Imagine a bowl of detergent/warm water going dark poo brown after cleaning it, horrible :-(. I too hate the single module audio amplifiers, names like San Ken and S.t.k modules just make me want to run away lol. They work but more often than not are the problem.

[@thedogememesproductions6354]

Yep me too it's not good

[@zx8401ztv]

Elvis Ramos/ ERB systems. I'm not a smoker eather, so it's horrible. Or you may be commenting on the audio modules, they are poo too :-D

[@thedogememesproductions6354]

Both

[@thedogememesproductions6354]

It's just I prefer to use normal MOSFETS because they dont always fail

[@zx8401ztv]

Elvis Ramos/ ERB systems, Yes mosfets are much tougher than the old bipolar transistors, but i've seen some nicely made amplifiers over the years and bipolars can last really well with a good heatsink and protection added. Mosfets are better at coping with abuse, look at most switchmode power supplys, they get really toasty lol.

[@KisseroBahiense]

I have the sa ch 33... the cassettes decks are making me crazy!

[@raymondleggs5508]

some companies still make and sell these types of things!

[@charlesratcliff7436]

Great video. I enjoy your expertise and perseverance, but why bother with this junk? Your time is better with the pre-1990 components that sound great and are built like a brick.....!

[@Watcher3223]

Slightly punny joke... I bet working on a Panasonic shelf system can be quite a MASH...

[@evyapmelyapimi]

Anasonic olmuş :))

[@ambientblue-eyedmonkey8849]

20:05 I'm a certified idiot, it never occurred to me trying to press those connectors in. I'm new to this, but still... I even broke one trying to pry it out.

[@12voltvids]

Thats OK, the idiot that used to be my assistant at the shop broke a few before he figured it out too.

[@ambientblue-eyedmonkey8849]

@@12voltvids lol

[@pumja602]

Hello, I need you to repair my machine.

[@HDXFH]

Not fond of the newer ones if these, by late 90s and 2000, these were junk

[@technixbul]

mee liky :D

[@midrash100]

Why would you tell us a story how you fixed a guy's speakers for almost $5,000.00 ? Why didn't you tell the guy that it was not worth repairing . Glad to hear you are not in business any longer.

[@12voltvids]

It wasn't my business. I was just working there. I had no decision on the repair, I was just the guy pulling the old parts and replacing them, and I had no control over what those parts cost from the supplier. The labour on that repair was probably only 100 bucks. I left that place 9 years before it went tits up.

[@turnersparadise8368]

So if you want to buy this piece of shi...er...this beautiful unit off me, call me at...