Realistic STA 64 Repair and Restore

I've always liked these little receivers. They were well built and sounded great (at least to me)! This amp came with the main fuse blown, a shorted output transistor, many leaky capacitors and a tuner that was not very selective. Watch and see how this project turns out!

[@christopherhamm1574]

Nice video! I was a factory technician for Tandy from the mid eighties to the mid nineties. At that point the writing was on the wall regarding disposable electronics. Ive rebuilt thousands of amps in that time. Some of the Realistic models were average but many were exceptional. Most failures Ive seen were caused by intermittent bias pots and people stacking stuff on top which interferes with cooling. I had a great time working on these units... Thanks for the memories.

[@jeffreyhaynes5774]

I was a bench tech.for a major company in brooklyn N.Y,and Radio Shack stereo equipment sounded just as good as some of the other brands,and was more reliable.Hated to see them go out of business,makes me nervous about Sears.

[@lowrybrock8272]

Hi! I just discovered this video and I wanted to say thanks. My dad had one of these when I was a kid and we spent a lot of time listening to it. I found one recently on eBay and the guy that shipped it did a poor packing job and it arrived damaged. It was also not as described, the volume knob turns all the way around and all the lights were burned out. I bought a new faceplate to replace the broken plexiglass and found the whole front control assembly which I will replace. I have a long background in electronics so I know what I’m doing. I also have the schematic and service manual for it. Thanks again!

[@timschutte8310]

, you are an electronic Einstein !!!!!!! I marvel at the way your thought process works and your knowledge of reading and UNDERSTANDING wiring schematics !!!!!!! your abilities never cease to amaze me !!!!!! I would love to find an older receiver and have you restore it. my uncle Rick had an Pioneer receiver growing up in the 1970s and a record player. with a pair of nice Altec Lansing tower speakers. he played a lot of rock n roll. mostly Rolling Stones. he was a Vietnam vet. it sounded so clear and very punchy.

[@jeffberwick]

i like the way you show the true story as it happens, even when your initial guess is wrong. That's real life!

[@nickkoski7076]

your channel is the best i have found on fixing vintage audio.. the way you break down how and why you trouble shoot is great. dont change a thing keep the new videos coming.

[@moeman135]

I bought this as part of the best system pictured at 5:34 of your video. I've used extensively it over the years and I have no regrets about buying it. I have it coupled with 4 Optimus 5B speakers and a old Technics cd player and it still sounds great after all these years. The only thing I did to it was to replace a couple of bulbs. After 40 years I guess I got my moneys worth. Thanks for the video.

[@quantumbits]

I had one. Bought as a "scratch and dent"for about 40$. It was dropped off the back of the truck and backed over. I repaired it to run. Loved it all through college!

[@williamstaten8102]

Cool! Been waiting for a realistic video. I own 6 Realistic receivers.

[@n7565j]

I have one of these I got for my birthday back in the late 70's early 80's. It burned out a transistor that my father replaced and it's still providing me enjoyment down in my basement workshop :-) I still love the way the tuner knob spins so smoothly ;-)

[@florenciomendez5529]

These are beautiful stereo receivers, I have a Realistic STA-42 it sounds really nice.

[@finscreenname]

Watched this video and I now again have my first love, a Realistic STA 64 that after some work is like it just came out of the box. What a unit! The wood walnut veneer case and brushed aluminum face is just another level after looking at black tin boxes with plastic faces for decades. The weighted tuner knob.... I forgot there was so many radio stations in between where the digital numbers stop at. It may not come in perfect but hearing a station 2 states away by chance is like discovering some undercover spy ring or something. lol A lot of folks think of clock radios and such when you say Radio Shack but back when stuff like this came out they had some pretty nice stuff. They put the same quality as the bigger names into their stuff but they were not known for their big power where a lot of the money comes into building power receivers. I got around that by using a 7 band EQ and a 40 watt per channel power booster from a car. For a 12 year old kid in 1980 my system was jamming. For the one I have now I included a Technics 7 band EQ through the Tape monitor. From the high level output speaker connects I ran it through a high/low converter and into a Crown CT 4200 Power Amp to a set of Infinity RSa speakers. If you have ever saw the first Star Trek movie, I refer to it as my V'ger project. When you can let the receiver do all it did but without the speaker resistance coming back to it (heat), opens it up to what it could have been. Everything you and I loved about the Receiver but more and more and more. Funny thing is when I went to find one of these receivers I found one that was missing the wood box but had a faceplate so it would fit in a commercial rack system. So I guess I was not the first to think about fixing it by just adding more power.

[@340clock]

Thank you for your videos. Very informative. I love watching!

[@Electrolab28Ag]

Great Job... Well done. The receiver looks great. Thanks for another great Video.

[@donaldchapman8392]

Great video. I just picked up one of these has has a low and distorted left channel - so I will rebuild / recap it and use the MJE-3055 transistors you mentioned on the outputs.

[@kennethiman2691]

Realistic receivers always impressed me.

[@nathanschannel701]

Wow. I've found this "thing" and had it sitting in my room and one day,, I decided to hook one little speaker .. this thing is just amazing!

[@God-has-entered-into-my-body]

these are beautiful, and sound awesome

[@MrTopsoil911]

Great work as usual

[@RobertKohut]

Nice! Very Realistic repair!!

[@2574mcu]

I had one when I was in junior high school. I had it for quite a few years until I purchased realistics sta-2300 receiver.

[@EdisonCollector]

I used to sell these in the 70s. Quatravox was a GREAT feature on some models that had good versions of the circuitry such as STA-84, while some absolutely SUCKED (STA-85). It would take sounds in the background, amplify them, and use that as a synthetic 4 channel sound. I used to cut out the A speakers and listen to Beatles on the B speakers w/that feature going. Heard some interesting stuff! For instance on the Sgt pepper reprise just before A DAY IN THE LIFE (going by memory) I recall hearing voices saying something like: "The President." "What?" "The President." "Oh." Or something along those lines (this was 40 years ago so I'm stretching my memory, but I loved the Quatravox feature on the STA-84.)

[@saarike]

Nice repair!

[@pd1jdw630]

It was sold by Phillips in Europe under the name “Erres” I loved the sound of it.

[@dynacoman7363]

Informative professional video. Many good tips for any rcvr. Thanks for posting.

[@mdzacharias]

The channel imbalance in my experience quite common, and the volume control tracking is partly to blame. That's why balance controls should not have detents and why we should not be afraid to use the balance control. I have to listen mainly on headphones and these small differences can be very noticeable in my situation.

[@judges69]

Have a STA 95 been using everyday in living room, works great. Have only cleaned the controls and caps look good. Will recap at some point

[@incorner-edits]

Do you have fix sansui 771 amplifier received

[@j.t.cooper2963]

One of my friends got one of these systems with the MC-1000 speakers and turntable for Christmas in 1977. Pretty damn good for 16 WPC.

[@exitar1]

Well done! I have one of these receivers and cross my fingers it’s still working properly!

[@jimjones1652]

Nice video with some usefull stuff. I have the STA-64B version and I had to replace the output transistors on the left channel and used 2SD880Y but DC has risen to 150ma. I think I prefer the D880 sound to that of the D313 side. I do have some MJE3055s I may try on the other side. For a beginer they are a nice amp to work on.

[@TY-ob7fz]

I'm a bit of a pioneer snob and in my days, realistic and lafeyette receivers were considered unknown brands and judging from how much components have to be changed can justify the reasoning. They used to inflate their output wattage with different standards and taking apart some of their units can see much details in building simplified. Anyway, IMO and many apologies to people who do enjoy and treasure these vintage electronics.

[@BarnabyBarry]

At some point they created the RMS wattage ratings-most of us could not afford separates like Pioneer-so we bought compact stereos from RS and Lafayette and department stores and enjoyed them

[@thedoctor6610]

Nice look Receiver good job

[@WeebLabs]

I noticed that you have the Loudness function enabled. That is most likely where your "warmth" is coming from!

[@mlbabineaux]

Sanyo was a premium semiconductor manufacturer. Their 2SD1341P was top shelf :)

[@InssiAjaton]

I have an STA 2200 that I bought in 1979 or 1980. Sill mostly OK. It has needed replacement of memory backup battery and it probably soon deservers overhaul of the capacitors. But the real problem is the pushbutton switches that would really need replacement, as contact spray has just very limited effect. On power-up the tuning VFO does not often lock in and the speaker protection relay chatters. The effect sounds like between stations hiss mixed with motorboating. One thing that I did when I bought stuff from Radio Shack was to buy (or sometimes get free of charge) a service manual. They have good schematics and parts lists. Of course the Radio Shack part numbers are nowadays not too much of help. And speaking of schematics, I would guess that the filter you mention in the IF section is ceramic (actually two), rather than crystal type. The difference is in the Q factor. and price, of course. A crystal filter at 10.7 MHz is way too narrow and sharp for HiFi use. A single crystal filter is great for Ham use in single sideband, where the target audio covers just 300 Hz to 3.3 kHz audio.

[@larryshaver3568]

My youngest brother got one of these for Christmas that year.

[@mattgama3251]

Great information, just purchased a realistic sta 52 from an estate sale for $5. In mint condition. Everything works great. Wonder what you used to treat the wood. I'm also going to use the deoxit d5 for the knobs. Thanks

[@fernarias]

I'm surprised you didn't replace the epoxy coated diodes. They tend to fail open and I always replace them on sight with glass diodes, usually 1n4148s. I've had them split in two while replacing them, scary. There are some in the power supply and in the amp section that I could see from your video.

[@dougmcartin3881]

A bit of linseed oil rubbed in with several coats will bring that wood back to life very nicely..

[@garyvanbuskirk7014]

Very nice unit , who made project one brand tuner/amps they look just like the Realistic or Pioneer receivers ?

[@bobnevala5218]

This comment may not be read by you Tony, but this was A Great Video! You explained the basics of what to look for with failing Capacitors from the exterior. I watch another channel called (Vintage Audio Addict). He say's to move switches and buttons when cleaning them 100 times to make sure that they work correctly after many years of service. Maybe you did move that Balance Control 100 Times, but it needed to be moved 200 Times to clean it? Because of your honesty, some people will now understand how important it is to move the controls a lot when cleaning them, because they could end up chasing a problem that is so simple to correct and over look it. P.S. Loved your recent videos of testing Capacitors 500 different ways and showing that they need to be replaced.

[@xraytonyb]

I never count how many times I move the control. I think the main takeaway from the comment is that you move the control a sufficient amount of times to let the cleaner spread out into the control and properly clean it. Hope that helps.

[@finscreenname]

Funny how these so call "cheap" receivers out lived the company that sold them. I had a STA 64B growing up in the 80's. Put a little pre amp on there and maybe a equalizer and you can blow windows out with 16 watts.

[@bikdav]

I noticed that BIG tuner section (which took up lots of space). What do today's tuner's sections look it (if you have any hanging around)?

[@eeeeetfish]

Nice work ! I was Given a sta 64 -b - not working - Is this something that That would make good platform to learn how to repair ?

[@leadsinger13]

How did those LED replacements work out?

[@quiksr20]

Hey Tony, New subscriber and really enjoy the content as a new tech ( just getting started and learning ), Currently im fixing a blown left channel on a STA-100 Would you happen to know where I can find the service manual? I found the schematic and owners manual on hifi-engine but not the service manual. Im not sure what pins I need to probe for idle current and where to adjust dc-offset etc.. Any info would be greatly apreciated, I know my Marantz 2235 had adjustments for both DC Offset and Idle current. Thanks in advance! DG

[@Rems61]

I bought one of these on fleabay a couple of months ago for $6.00. Not as pretty as yours, really just dirty and a broken dial glass. Glass no big deal as it is plexiglass, I might just cut a piece of SS glass to replace it. Wood cabinet in nice shape also just dirty. Haven't started restoration yet, but will soon, "why I checked out your video". These old receivers seem to have a pretty good following for being low power. From the couple of videos I have watched on them they really seem to perform well. Thanks for the video as I see what I am up against with the repairs.

[@archsixx2845]

Ive always Found the sta-52 to be a much nicer and greater model over this, especially with the lit interface etc to me it has more character, this is still a beautiful amp none the less

[@finscreenname]

Replace the bulbs with the originals. It should put out a soft glow that works great as a night light.

[@SvoBrianRobles]

How did you do it

[@antigen4]

wow these have all the build quallity of a realistic transistor radio of the day

[@larryshaver3568]

i'd like to find one of those receivers, it sounds fantastic

[@foxypuper0514]

I got one of the realistic sta 800 there not hard to find on eBay for like 350$ looks very similar to this

[@debrawomack9863]

I have an STA-64 in which the Aux, Phono, radio does NTO work, but I can connect in input to the tape monitor and it works. The amp is apparently working perfectly. The caps all appear to be pretty good, no swelling or leaking visible. I don't see any burned components either. Any ideas?

[@RalphRacc00N]

input select switch or tape input switch could be dirty stopping signal

[@daredeviltm159]

How about 2300 performance di u have any experience with the unit

[@keithgilliard9191]

How can I purchase one that’s already repaired and ready to use?

[@antigen4]

if you find a blown fuse it DOES NOT mean there's a problem with the device - oftentimes it can be that the wrong value fuse was used ... also important to check that no one has put in a 'too high' rated fuse

[@larryshaver3568]

are the tallest capacitors Nichicons?

[@PecanPie1102]

Its incredible sound quality. 70s Japanese were #1. Was that automobile bulb #194 for 12 volt?. Can you do a follow-up video on adding a 3.5 auxiliary jack and/or bluetooth connection. Then it will be forward compatible 👍🙌.

[@stphinkle]

I think you can connect your iPod, iPad, MP3 Player, Computer, Smart Phone, Bluetooth Receiver, CD Player, Tape Player, Phonograph, TV, or other device with a cable adapter to the AUX or phono input depending on the device. Simply connect from the headphone jack to the receiver this way. Many of the older receivers took a 1/8" plug to two RCA plug cable. Most electronic stores carry this cable. You also could order one from Amazon I think too. If you have multiple device inputs you could probably order an audio selector switch that allows you to select which input you want to patch to your Aux input.

[@byronbeasley642]

Realistic is not Japanese. Realistic was made by Tandy / RadioShack It already has RCA inputs. You can already connect any line level device to it. If you want 3.5mm then all you need is a cable

[@byronbeasley642]

And those are 110 volt AC dial lamps. Not at all automotive

[@TheShackGuy]

This was made in Korea.

[@1959Berre]

Nice wood, is it walnut?

[@TheShackGuy]

American walnut veneer

[@dicko195]

bulbs look like 70-90's side marker lites

[@larryshaver3568]

i think a warm sound simply means smmoothe and rich,not harsh

[@SvoBrianRobles]

Any help with replacing old bulb with led bulbs

[@androidboxhome586]

Brian, those looked like T10 automotive bulbs

[@larryshaver3568]

was that made in 1976 or'77?

[@TheShackGuy]

77-78

[@larryshaver3568]

didn't the STA-64B have 26 watts per channel?

[@finscreenname]

16

[@TheShackGuy]

18

[@wheeler2581]

who built radio shack's reciever's?

[@finscreenname]

Foster/Fostex, Sanyo, some actual Realistic designs, Sansui and I've even herd some are from Sony. All depends on model and what is inside.

[@MrSalsa1973]

I heard some by Onkyo

[@TheShackGuy]

Sansui, Sony and Onkyo had nothing to do with Realistic receivers. Neither did Fostex, which is the headphone division of Foster. Funai (Sanyo) built the STA-35 and 35B, the end. There were two manufacturers of Realistic receivers from 75-89; Tandy Electronics and Foster Electric, with most being made by Tandy. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1laZVTI-3JgO9iTXwHc7I0mEpfSqb8O0bREcGWk10oiM/edit?usp=drivesdk

[@kellysuzannefuller1437]

I have sta 95

[@iamrichrocker]

how i miss Radio Shack..may the creditors figure out what to do with all that junk they sold for the last 20 years...

[@dedeedo9355]

I've heard the sound test a bunch of times now and it's just pointless, they all sound the same thanks to the mic.

[@Jamesnov1970]

So why are you here then?

[@dedeedo9355]

To watch the repair what else.

[@jeffm2787]

You should never buy an amp that has colored sound. if you want to change it's characteristics do so externally. Give me a ruler flat amp with crazy low distortion and I'm happy.

[@antigen4]

just clicked on this to see how crappily made these actually were

[@jordan390a]

It might sound good and all, but that is a prime example of terrible build and component quality. Perhaps the worst I've ever seen from Realistic...