Sony TA-F60 Integrated Amplifier - Repairs (Ep.148)

[@codyshive]

I really appreciate this video! I've had a TAF 60 since 1983. We used it to power the sound room at a catalog showroom called Service Merchandise in Jacksonville Florida. When they refitted the showroom, the old Sony that had suffered a blown output transistor came out and was put into the trash. I swept it up and took it home to fix it. I used it for many years. And then it wound up traveling with me everywhere I moved and ended up in my basement. I pulled it out about a month ago, and the 33 ohm wire round resistor lit up like a Christmas tree bulb. While I do have the service manual, and it's an original copy so I can read all the values perfectly well, your video filled in some of the gaps that I didn't understand. After extensive board work, which seems to be required on these units as their foil traces are rather fragile, replacing the resistor with a ceramic version, and replacing the relay that sits alongside of it, I was ready to recap it. The biggest confusion I had was with the stated voltages, versus what I was measuring. Your video clarified that perfectly. Now that I have recapped everything including the power supply, the unit switched on and work like a champ last night. Thanks for a very instructive and thorough video!

[@TrevorsBench]

Well done Cody. Persistence pays off, glad to hear you were able to get it working again

[@3dsmaxrocks699]

Best repair channel on the internet. Wish I had 1/100th of your knowledge.

[@TrevorsBench]

No, not the best. There are others I watch and learn stuff from everyday

[@outfield1988]

Me too

[@3dsmaxrocks699]

Perfect video for a rainy Saturday 👍

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks for watching, more to come

[@alexismethenitis]

Excellent work as always, Trevor. Thanks so much for showing the board repair.

[@rjonzun5828]

Excellent. I learn so much watching your repairs. And I think this is a good example for noobs when buying vintage equipment. There was a lot of work involved here.

[@craigm.9070]

Thanks for that very interesting troubleshooting and restoration ride. Heatpipe thermal cooling technology before the computer industry grabbed it and ran with it. You can begin to see the manufacturing process move away from using a great deal of metal in the overall build; smaller, thinner, lighter weight units on the horizon. This unit sounds like a nice integrated amplifier...enjoy! Thanks again for your time.

[@TrevorsBench]

I was pleased during the listening tests. This is a nice performing amplifier, for a Sony

[@SergZak2023]

Keep up the great work, Trevor. Your hard work and awesome content are much appreciated! I for one am more than happy with whatever length your videos are. Great content is great content! 👍

[@chaber6419]

Always a pleasure spending time with your vids.

[@jimomertz]

I still have this amp from 1984 when bought new. Great amp. I have 2 others too. That boiling in the heat pipe is quite normal.

[@TrevorsBench]

I can imagine the noises the heat pipe makes can be alarming for some if you don't know what it is

[@outfield1988]

Love watching your work. Thank you for making the videos it is a blessing.

[@zambrano966]

Buen video, a mi también me gusta reparar equipos de audio, te comento que tuve un amplificador SONY (TA-F5A) y también tenia esa fuente conmutada. Te puedo decir que era muy bueno, tenia 70 vatios. Una vez dejo de encender y era la fuente conmutada, esa fuente tiene 4 transistores TO-220 de los cuales uno se había ido, pero ojo tienes que montar el mismo numero porque si montas un sustituto no va arrancar. Bueno la repare y la tuve unos cuantos años, hasta que la vendí, después me arrepentí. La mía tenia do VU meter grandes en el frontal era bella, bueno para mi gusto, me gustan los VU meter. La caja de la fuente era exactamente igual a la tuya. una caja totalmente hermética de aluminio. Ahh otra cosa una de las peculiaridades de este amplificador, es que la impedancia mínima permitida es de 8 ohm, por eso no puede poner los 4 altavoces al mismo tiempo. Por eso no tiene el a+b.

[@chrisdado]

When I see any vintage amp with a heat tube sink I swerve it, replacements are near impossible to find. I converted a failed Technics 550 to a standard heat sink as an experiment, it was a lot of work, never again. Thanks for the video Trevor.

[@TrevorsBench]

Have you seen many failures on heat pipes? If so what was the common failure points?

[@chrisdado]

@@TrevorsBench I've only come across 2 amps with failed heat pipes (both technics), I've encountered more heat pipe failures in PC hardware. I'm not sure of the failure mode but suspect it is heat induced metal fatigue leading to tiny fractures and evaporation of the fluid inside.

[@qbitsday3438]

Great ! Very educational ! Thank you.

[@wykehammato2784]

Trevor, I love your videos, one thing if I can mention, is that you are using the wrong screwdriver on Japanese gear. Your Klein is a fine tool, but for Japanese gear a JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) Phillips screwdriver makes your life a lot easier. Please keep these videos coming!

[@erikdenhouter]

Many would have bricked this one. Good job. From this example, it seems to me that that conducting glue only starts to decay when there's a voltage on it.

[@TrevorsBench]

I've noticed this too. Areas where there is no chance for current flow, the glue stays intact. Areas where the glue bridges a potential, it gets corrosive, conductive and it turns black

[@davidgranic2509]

Almost bought that one. For the work that was needed it better sing like an angel The ic’s usually scare me off as the tend to be unobtainian.

[@TrevorsBench]

I'm the same when I see ICs in the power amps, I tend to run away. This one does sound good and I am pleased with the amp now that I've used it for a few weeks

[@don7680]

Lots of work on this with all the corrosion. Really a bizarre layout too. Those three boards joined with the long jumpers are asking for failed solder joints. You don't run a dim bulb tester or Variac? It would have been fun to see those meters dance a bit more with some music at the end. Nice job with it.

[@Nalinc33]

Honestly I never seen a power supply like this before . Just like Chernobyl Sarcophagus sealed nicely .

[@robertdavis5714]

Cannot believe those Caps in that metal box (with a gasket, but has 2 holes for wires?) are ok, crazy technology mini transformer with it's power board.

[@danhorton6182]

Love the content, thank you. Would you be able to tell us in the future what you use when making replacements? I was really curious what you were going to swap in for the 2SA1138. The small fet, 2SK30, I’m sure you may have had one of those one hand. I think that would be great info to have.

[@vivienkollarnehorvath7822]

I also have such a device, it plays for a few minutes and then turns off! 😢

[@TrevorsBench]

Something is not happy with the protection circuit

[@johnsenchak1428]

You see those heat pipes in modern computer (laptops) It's 27.5.volt sugared divided by 8 ohms No THD measurements ? the rise time is called the slew rate No noise floor measurements with regards to dynamic range ? copy righted music alert .

[@TurntableGuy]

The design of that amp looks like way more trouble than it's worth. I'll take the tried-and-true meaty transformer and heatsink system. Looks like Sony was trying to be radical for the sake of cost cutting.

[@TrevorsBench]

I think they were trying to be cutting edge. Large R&D budget but business as usual in the production line

[@johnsenchak1428]

Another change all the capacitor video, test for ESR and then ramble on and on Typical

[@TrevorsBench]

Thats how it's done

[@johnsenchak1428]

STOP SENDING LONG VIDEOS

[@TurntableGuy]

STOP WATCHING

[@johnsenchak1428]

@@TurntableGuy Edit it down for content get rid of all the nonsense .

[@danielross868]

John- Your a pest. I see you have 4 (yes 4) subscribers and your telling others what to do?. I think your best to go away and do something else - you dont have to watch you know.....

[@TurntableGuy]

@@johnsenchak1428 Go make your own channel and produce it the way you want. Stop pissing on people's hard work.

[@Sonnell]

@@johnsenchak1428 Wow, show your comments to a psychologist, and talk about them.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

fantastic effort trev. one of my favorite vids of yours to date. how hot do you run your iron? some guys that work on video game consoles and fix crack by flowing with a wire embedded as a new trace. the suspense after powering up for the first time after working on it is always a fun time. well done. a nice unit for the collection.

[@paulb4661]

I think the tip temp settng is also dependent on the type of solder, size of the tip and the heat capacity of the track/lead. With proper, lead solder you can run it cooler, a larger tip will also hold more heat. Soldering process is rather brief, so the tip has already done its job, before the sensor detects temperature drop and applies power to the heater. Thus the larger the tip, the lower the setting. I think you need between 590 and 690°F for the bulk of the jobs. Most importantly, keep your tip in tip top condition by not letting it run dry.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

@@paulb4661 i was just curious. Ive been a tech for 12 years.

[@TrevorsBench]

I like to run my tip as cool as I can stand. Helps with tip life. I also shut the iron off if I'm not using it. If I get annoyed with the long wait times, I'll crank it to max for the duration of that job.