Vacuum Fluorescent Display Repair - 1986 Soundesign 3867 Clock Radio Cassette Tape Recorder

[@TheGuitologist]

UPDATE: I have changed a couple details in the title and description of this video to reflect viewer comments that, in spite of the IC chip data sheet that I found indicating an LED display, this is, in fact, a VFD or vacuum fluorescent display. Admittedly, I am not an expert on displays, so I appreciate the correction on the part of viewers. Also, I updated the year of the device to 1986 to reflect a viewer comment that a date code on the IC dates the device to 1986.

[@pedroemmett3509]

Instablaster

[@laurajohnson4086]

I absolutely LOVE the look of vacuum fluorescent (VFD) segmented displays - especially in BLUE !!! I've been replacing capacitors on my old Windows XP computer motherboards. I like to use the Weller WESD51 50W Adjustable Digital Display Soldering Station. I'd like to learn to fix the VFD displays on Roland MKS-70 synthesizers from the 1980's.

[@jasont.9559]

Wow, that really takes me back. I had the version of this with separate speakers. When that alarm went off in the video, I had a small seizure and thought it was time to get ready for school.

[@sooneraviator]

You call it "crude", but that IS the way. The simple stuff first, clean, check caps because they always go bad, burnt components etc. You've got the skills and the experience to know where to start looking. Nice fix! Love your channel! From music to vintage to electronics, its got it all to keep me watching!

[@scotshabalam2432]

I love VFD! They are nice and bright they also last a long time. Nixie tube is the only thing that comes close and the problem is they run hot with high voltage and are expensive!

[@toxicgraphix]

It is so great that you put these videos online. I have been stupped by a problems just like this, and went online to find a solution, that is how I found your channel in the first place ,.,

[@TheGuitologist]

+toxicgraphix thanks. Glad to have you.

[@budandbean1]

Truly my hero Brad, I am humble in your presence... by the way, we all have to make choices in life, mine was always fanny pack or man bag. I too chose man bag...

[@indigogolf3051]

Good fix and good spot on the capacitor. That struck me as pretty advanced chippery for a 1986 model. Most of the junk sold then still had descrete components.

[@mischef18]

I guess most would throw it away if it was not doing what it is meant too these days but with a clean inside and bit of tinkering it is basically like new again, nice one bro. All the very best and only 8 and a half hours till the 25th here in NZ, can almost hear those sleigh bells in the distance.

[@TheGuitologist]

My 7-year-old is hearing them for sure.

[@mischef18]

Nothing wrong with her far away hearing then.

[@JohnGotts]

The chip has a manufactured date of the 10th week of 1986. Edit: Great fix!

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks, John. Changing the title to reflect this. I didn't even think to look for a date code on the IC.

[@captkava]

Those Sears Craftsman screwdrivers rule! I've got somewhat of a full set handed down from my Dad. They must be 40+ years old. I've gotta have them nearby on the bench. It's unbelievable how well they fit on vintage gear. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@richardturk7162]

Thanks for" coming out" and great video. You do have super trouble shooting skills . I had a guitar strap that was almost a dead match for that purse strap.

[@TheGuitologist]

+richard Turk now I have FOUR of that same pattern strap.

[@The1queencollector]

Love it, I still have by my bed my NTV Nikkai TV digital radio clock, red LED display and everything, 1982, the radio and click still works perfectly, if it breaks I will give you a call lol, I still have all its details as well. Great video

[@TheGuitologist]

+The Queen & toy collector sounds like a cool piece.

[@davidthayer3258]

My best find at a Goodwill recently is a Dean M 10 and from what I can tell (as someone who has been playing guitar for a little over a year) it's a pretty good amp

[@Goomer]

4:07 you got that right, embarrassing to call it music.

[@audiotechlabs4650]

In the late 70s I had a home and car service repair and I worked on warranty repair for K-Mart. I must have repaired 100s of Soundesign equipment. What a piece of shit! They were affordable and usually lasted about the same amount of time as the warranty. 90 days. I called them Unsoundesign! You never give up and that may be your greatest talent! Love all the videos you make! Happy Holidaze! Thankz

[@TheGuitologist]

+Audio Tech Labs the good ol' days of department store warranty service. Wow, I thought I was an old man. ;)

[@audiotechlabs4650]

The Guitologist I am 67 and when I play guitar and sing, I feel 18 again, ever time! You still the best half of your life left. Be vital and enjoy every minute. Thankz

[@DavidMFChapman]

Great troubleshooting! I love how your tone of voice changes when you solve apparently hopeless cases. P.S. you played a snippet of Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The drummer for that session was Jerry Granelli-he lives here in Halifax, Nova Scotia now and is a respected jazz mentor in the local scene.

[@MaxStax1]

My first stereo years ago was a Soundesign combo unit.An AM/FM receiver with an 8-track player built in and a turntable on top with a hinged clear cover.Two of the worlds cheapest speakers to round it out.Definitely bottom of the line,but it did fine for me as an 11 year old to play my Cowsill records and 3 Dog Night 8-tracks.

[@TheGuitologist]

+max stax I remember those. I have a ton of Sears catalogs documented and you'd see those a lot in the electronics section.

[@damusicianstrikesback5337]

That thing is old as me. Lol! Great job repairing too! Merry Christmas!

[@Groove1024]

i love that old Vacuum Fluorescent Display they look really nice i still use a radio clock with VFD

[@dantanner1721]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, from New England!!

[@jamescorvett]

i really liked these blue displays from the 80s. really hard to find them in blue majority was red. i didnt like that because i woke up seeing red one time and thought my bedroom was on fire(damn vodka lol). I also only use those high quality components like nichicon rubicon or panasonics. but you dont find many of them inside used electronics always them cheapo crapcons from china. I hope you and your family are having a great Holiday, Brad. And Merry Christmas to you all !!

[@skycarl]

Good fix Brad. Merry Christmas to you and your family pal.

[@TheGuitologist]

Thank you, Carl. Merry Christmas to you too, sir.

[@abelincoln95]

Dude! I have owned 2 or 3 Sound Design products over the years. We used to have a store called "Roses" and they sold that brand.

[@TheGuitologist]

+Abe Lincoln I actually had something very similar to this in the 80s too.

[@tjoelfoster]

I bought a Sound Design stereo at Sky City in the mid 70s with monies from my first job. BTW, I understand Rose's is on the rebound.

[@GasNBullets]

Generally the 9v battery is only a time and alarm memory battery. It does not function in a power outage but does keep the time and alarm settings once power is restored.

[@TheAgentAssassin]

HAH Loved it ! "DARM A PERBG A DO A MURICAN !!" I've been pressing this --> 04:24 over and over .

[@MrPnew1]

Brad is a Manly Man and if he wants a Man Bag we will support him despite societal constraints :) @16:00 this just goes to show the value of a close physical examination for leaking/ burnt components, especially in the light of having no schematic. Great job Brad. UR the Capacitorologist :)

[@TheGuitologist]

+Pedro147 thanks, Pedro. You have my vote.

[@TheLambLive]

17:52 - That sound is giving me horrific flashbacks. I don't wanna get up for school!!

[@djpimpstick]

I was really hoping to catch some more of that sweet Michael Bolton tape.

[@TheGuitologist]

A sneak peek at my new purse will have to suffice.

[@onemanswrld]

I bow to your repair skills....until you carry that purse...

[@TheGuitologist]

+Steven S then you will also bow to the purse. :)

[@markanderson350]

You could have measured the ripple voltage on the capacitor. First check DC, then flip to AC for ripple. A big cap near a diode is usually a power supply. We learn to draw circuits looking at PC boards. I think you are in the tube age. A visual often fixes many problems so great job. Merry Christmas.PS yes I hate Country music where you force yourself to sound country. Just play it in reverse so you get your dog, wife and pickup truck back.

[@TheGuitologist]

+Mark Anderson hahaha. In modern country, the Satanic messages happen when played forwards.

[@JeffreySJonas]

Straps for guitar, camera, purse, etc. tended to be the same stuff in the 70s. You'll see the same design over and over, same width, same fabric.

[@santioriginal]

Lol 04.10... i thought the same thing! Such a nice compact cassette clock radio! Nice!

[@matthewf1979]

Merry Christmas!! I hope Santa drops off some of the tube horde left over from the 60’s.

[@jackmatthews2840]

Hey Brad great job keep up the interesting videos.

[@cjmarsh504]

I haven't heard of sounddesign in a long time

[@harrygaul4475]

Some of those older chips had a D/A (digital to analog) converter in them, and in which case the voltages can be checked. If you have some of tnose older Texas Instruments catalogs they list these types of chips.

[@TheGuitologist]

One problem with that datasheet I found which was close is there were no suggested voltages or values on the surrounding components. Maybe TI would have that info... I didn't think to check their site.

[@harrygaul4475]

Brad, as you probably know that back in the early 80's everyone who fixed audio equipment needed catalogs to look up the types of IC chips and OP amps. Op amps (operational amplifiers on IC chips) are easy to figure out because they mimic transistors, and often times will contain several amplifiers in one IC chip. The problem always was that after new IC chips came out then you needed a new catalog. Technology was changing faster than technicians could keep up with it. Even with the Internet available it's often difficult for technicians and engineers to find technical data sheets without catalogs because companies don't always publish the info on the Internet. Have a great day and Christmas.. ..keep rockin, playing guitar and fixing older audiophile equipment !

[@userPrehistoricman]

Interesting LED display. It appears to be sealed and has filament wires... almost like a tube.

[@TheGuitologist]

Others are commenting that it's a VFD, but I'm just going by the chip datasheet I found. Maybe they're correct.I'm not exactly a wiz at troubleshooting vintage displays.

[@userPrehistoricman]

Yeah it's a VFD, I was kinda joking before. Maybe your chip is for driving VFDs? I suppose it's possible to use an LED driver for VFDs because they don't need a lot of grid voltage to light up.

[@userPrehistoricman]

Also blue LEDs weren't invented when this thing was made. If it used LEDs, it would be red or green.

[@exoticcar5482]

@@userPrehistoricman It could have also been yellow or amber, but those colors were unpopular

[@greatreset3]

Nice PURSE!

[@TheGuitologist]

+Ed Axeman I thought so too. Matches my new blouse.

[@Realroyrogers]

LOL, You had backing up there for the first minute , carry on....

[@scott729]

Nice job Brad

[@dsfabc777]

Now I'd like to see one of those Revox B77...

[@russellhltn1396]

"I can change the display by shorting pins ..." *cringe* Seems like a good way to blow a chip if you don't know what the pins do. But visual inspection is always a good tool. Good job on spotting that cap. That unit doesn't look half bad. The Sound Design units I remember were gutless wonder stereo units. They didn't sound too bad, but once you opened them you discovered it was all case and no guts. The output transistors were a joke. They must have been running close to full power at normal listening volume.

[@TheGuitologist]

+Russell Hltn yeah, I know. Voltages are very low on this and risk of damage is probably minimal, but I hear ya. Thing is, it's mine, and I wasn't too worried about being careful. Most I could lose is $5.99. That was my thinking.

[@WillyMcCoy50]

"Any problem you can't lick, Lick it in the end". Ralph Waldo Emerson

[@coreysousa6480]

Sweet purse!

[@pamparitas]

cool radio i love the look

[@TheGuitologist]

+pamparitas the colors and blue display are cool.

[@Wildman9]

You didn't get a set of matching pumps?And your a Michael Bolton Fan.teeheeJust to funny,your always cracking me up bud.Good job as usual,and Funny too

[@TheGuitologist]

+bob bitchen someone PLEASE send me a Michael Bolton tee! I'll wear the hell out of it.

[@stevenmiller5366]

Cool!! Great job!!

[@rpsproject5349]

Nice litle repair, just wondering if that cap was across the power rail for the IC to help keep it stable, so when it went bad the ICs +V went with it. The date stamp on that Texas Instruments IC is from October 1986 just like your title states and no I could not find the data sheet for it either.

[@Wilted_Brainz]

Merry Christmas.

[@RealGengarTV]

Shivers at 17:53

[@tyschmidt5609]

Great vid

[@MC-ph7gr]

Hi. Thx for the great video. I have a question. I have a Sony Lbt-V902. There is 2 problems with the tuner and equalizer displays. Tuner: Some characters of the tuner display are dimer then the other ones. Equalizer: Right channel display is dimer then the left one on the spectrum analizer display. Are these fixable without changing the displays which are impossible to find replacements? THX

[@drthndr911]

Brad, Love your vids. Keep up the good work. Hope you had a merry Christmas. I repair electronics, amps etc for friends etc for cost of parts But have decided I have enough work to start doing It for pay now. Was curious how you determine your bench fee and pricing For repairs. Thanks, Jim

[@wickedxe]

Love your videos BTW good on ya.

[@ssgeek4515]

I have a car radio with a mini floresent display with no lite at all. Will locate the chip and poke around looking for power pins or duff caps. It doesn't tune to any station.may be related

[@cruisepix]

My guess the 9-volt battery is K.A.M.or keep alive memory for when there is power outage. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks. Merry Christmas. I'm certain it's a backup for power outages in the night. Keeps you from missing school or work.

[@cruisepix]

The Guitologist roger that

[@MrPnew1]

@7:46 Bingo :) Brad is onto already

[@jusb1066]

yep doesnt run the radio or clock as such, the display will still be dead, its just a keeper for a power outage, if the power is out, your still missing school, super common on 80's clock radios

[@russellhltn1396]

Jusb1066, depends on the unit. It may kill the display, but it probably still runs the alarm/radio. The whole idea of the battery was to still wake you up at the right time.

[@AbramstankTV]

Damn Tony Malito commercial on the radio, of course.

[@shaneeaston4027]

There is a little capacitor that wants to be a resistor in all of us. Man-bag if it feels natural.

[@BonesBroken]

I would like to thank you for your vids, so, thanks. Lol. Always wanted to do work like yours, got my first soddering iron at 9yrs but found out I had bad color (word colour adapted for trans atlantic readers) vision. Due to poor colour vision I could never get certified to work as any sort of electrician. Oh, well, hobbies I guess, happy Xmas and peace from Ireland.

[@TheGuitologist]

I'd like to respond to your thanks and seasons greetings and admission of being Irish with a link...so here's that link...after some more ellipses...

[@TheGuitologist]

Tom Treacy kzbin.info/www/bejne/iX3VepxvhbCZeq8

[@sverregraffer6371]

Is this really an LED display? In my eyes it looks like a VFD. In any case, a nice fix.

[@TheGuitologist]

Sverre Graffer I thought that too, but datasheet said LED

[@nonsuch]

There's a carrot top who can barely walk With a sippy cup of milk

[@auchlowtrus9300]

Radical

[@TheGuitologist]

Like, totally!

[@mushkamusic]

Hey Brad, huge fan of the channel, on a somewhat unrelated subject, I have a Boogie F50 which has a rather interesting issue. There's an audible low octave on the clean channel which appears only within a certain register. Have you any clue as to why this might be happening?! any thoughts would be much appreciated! Could it be some crusty caps somewhere? Nevermind dude, just answered my own question. I just swapped the power tubes for an old set of 6L6s and hey presto, low octave gone. These new JJs I put in rattled like bastards so I guess they're just a crappy pair of tubes?

[@TheGuitologist]

Operator microphonics. Nice catch.

[@MC-ph7gr]

Good video. But some digits are dim then others

[@twinsmm1]

now you need some matching shoes.

[@ordinaryk]

Totally agree on the fake country-pop crap. It almost sounds like something they'd do on South Park to make fun of country-pop, except it's not a joke. Tragic, man.

[@BillyBongwaters]

You and that soldering gun lol

[@TechGorilla1987]

That's a European Carry All. Get it straight! Skip to around @8:00 to get to the actual repair portion...

[@TheGuitologist]

Manbag for the metrosexual.

[@TechGorilla1987]

You strike me as the kind of guy that didn't really watch a whole lot of Seinfeld. That was a nod to the show.

[@piersuntersander]

What happened to Michael Bolton...

[@TheGuitologist]

He tried to touch me.

[@TheGuitologist]

#metoo

[@brushcountrybob5347]

LOL!

[@rillloudmother]

not to victim blame, but if you were carrying a purse you might've been asking for it.

[@Bencarelle]

NO ONE deserves to be touched by that no talent ass clown.

[@jasonford-kann4153]

the date code only reflects the manufacture date of the chip it self those flat panel larger type of vfd displays weren't manufactured until 1989 this model as well as the jc penny variant of the exact same model were manufactured and marketed in stores in 1990 ive been in the digital clock sales and repair business for 30 years and the issue with your clock is not the display it is the display driver ic that clock was in constant use. the fading of the phosphor is due to age and can be fixed by overvolting the filaments a vfd normally operates at 30 volts ac, usually in alarm clocks or clock radios its a minimum of 12 volts, connect a gator clip to each filament (first 2 in the same clip-positive and last 2 in the same clip-negative overvolt at 24 volts for 3 seconds and then disconnect, its called a reviving process.

[@garyholcomb9949]

How can I get in touch with you about working on my amp?

[@tomj4506]

Dont agree with the purse BUT you are 100% about the alleged county music. Its lts as bad as rappers doing Doo-Wop. 73 Tom LFOD !

[@Barnekkid]

Dude, you had me a little worried with the purse thing. Don't do that.

[@mark006868]

Geez Louise....

[@UnrealVideoDuke]

I thought you were going to make a Boombox into a Jammin Boombox

[@neilbarbu]

So was it belt driven or direct drive? Belts are the common problem with old cassette players. That’s should have been included but great vid nonetheless. Rock On wierdo.

[@TheGuitologist]

+Neil Barbu I did not examine that part. Tape was working, so I just cleaned transport and heads.

[@florisbackx1744]

What is this?? No Micheal Botlon????

[@dmcintosh1967]

i have 1988 soundesign component system and it built in clock and uses the same display and circuity and it is bad too

[@llaeeZ]

17:50 the most annoying sound in the world...

[@Music10161]

It ain't country after 1975

[@TheGuitologist]

Mike Mixer some decent stuff trickled on longer, but that's a pretty safe cutoff.

[@EmberBlaze-ij7of]

btw thats a vacuum fluorescent display for the record

[@TheGuitologist]

EmberBlaze1997 its LED according to the chip datasheet

[@markanderson350]

That ain't happening in Country. I could not agree more. I grew up in Toronto and every country radio station failed. Classical is more popular than country.

[@SpringDivers]

I think that clock uses a vacuum fluorescent display.

[@TheGuitologist]

Hey Wayne. That's what others are saying as well, and I thought it was fluorescent at first too, but figured the chip datasheet was more right than my assumption. I'm still not 100% sure on it.

[@SpringDivers]

Here's a quote I got from BBC news "Professors Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura made the first blue LEDs in the early 1990s." They ( above mentioned) got a Nobel prize for their work in 2014. Interesting.

[@SpringDivers]

www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29518521

[@wickedxe]

Vacuum Florescent Display NOT LED

[@TheGuitologist]

+wickedxe you're one of many to point this out, so I researched further today, and it's clear you and others are correct. The data sheet I found was for a different IC design. Changed title and description. Thanks!

[@wickedxe]

Sorry Brad I really didn't mean it the way it sounded; a few too many drinks. Your video's are always interesting. Merry Christmas :)

[@puggawompy]

Nothin' unmanly about a handbag, manbag or fanny pack... if you're feeling a bit wary of it, maybe hang a spark plug on the strap ring or something like that. Crossing the line would be if gone got yourself a nice pair of red pumps or whatever... ha ha. Seasons greetings to you & your family Brad.

[@TheGuitologist]

I think opening up the front of the shirt to reveal a bit of chest hair offsets the manbag. Whaddaya reckon?

[@puggawompy]

That would about do it!... ha ha. Touche.

[@johngerson7335]

Oh no! The SJW Pod People got Brad! Told you not to go to sleep! ROFLMAO! Merry Christmas to you and your family Brad!

[@TheGuitologist]

I've taken to drinking soy milk and eating tofu...what's wrong with that???

[@johngerson7335]

+The Guitologist It'll keep your soldering iron from getting hot lol!

[@jasonford-kann4153]

audio chip is going bad as well as tuner components

[@JanetArnold1257]

Why?!!!

[@TheGuitologist]

Because I CAN, sister! :P

[@model_number_band]

Apparently Michael Bolton intimidates his masculinity... Does your mother know how you feel about her safety from predators? What a stupid fucking post on what was a cool amp channel. Unsubscribed.

[@JanetArnold1257]

Give the guy a break, it's Christmas. Hopefully in the future, he will do this shit on his own time. LOL

[@model_number_band]

Thomas Jefferson - Congratulations on demonstrating that public school can't fix everything... The good news is you can still find employment shoveling shit, despite the 70 IQ. Ponder that for a few weeks and get back to me when you can form a single complete sentence. Then we'll see about some counseling for your animal fetishes.

[@trapperjohn8481]

That looks to be more of a European carry all.

[@TheGuitologist]

+Trapper John I have the sudden urge to buy a Fiat.

[@brianyork5510]

It was a capacitor in transition to a resistor how dare you judge and call it bad...lmao

[@TheGuitologist]

+Brian York the cap can have my purse when I'm through with it.

[@BonesBroken]

Brian York , funny as hell, reminds of a comedy sketch show I saw recently where a father was given a congratulations by the nurse/midwife on the birth of his son, upon hearing this the 'father and mother' take outrage at the nurse for 'imposing sexuality on their child'.... Strange times peeps. Lmao.

[@brianyork5510]

I think I saw that too. Can't remember where. Funny!

[@brianyork5510]

I actually did laugh out loud when I read your comment...funny.

[@waltersmetak]

You must have balls of steel to walk around town with that, eh?, "handbag"......

[@unique23b32]

20:32 Brad, Brad, Brad. Either practice what you preach or tell us the truth, bro. "*CAPACITORS CAN KILL YOU!* *Always* drain capacitors before touching them!" Blah blah blah I've never seen you or *anyone* on KZbin drain a capacitors when working on electronic devices. You just start poking around with your booger retrievers - even with the thing plugged in! I think it's a conspiracy to have me bring my $5 1985 plastic Chinese babycrap yard sale radio to a technician for repair to help your fellow hotwires become millionaires! Also, you got me again. Yes, I watched another one of you videos. Keep em coming (might be time to do something pertaining to a guitar - "guitologist" and all.... Jus sayin)

[@TheGuitologist]

+Unique 23b the voltages in the area I was touching are less than 16VDC. Not an electrocution risk. High voltage tube circuits are a different story.

[@unique23b32]

The Guitologist, Oh well. I still have never seen you or any other KZbin tech ground out a capacitor (even in the high-voltage areas of vintage amps). Kinda makes me wanna run around the house with scissors. Merry Christmas 👍

[@rchavez2112]

WTF? Pin 14 = colon out?

[@redjetfirebird]

AfreakinMEN on the modern country bull crap!!!

[@Ryan-re7oj]

:D James Brown - kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3aYdWWef82Umbc

[@mdbaus]

I have to ask "why" as well."....spend your time working on things that are worth a shit, dude....lol

[@TheGuitologist]

+mike bausman pissed me off that it worked and then broke. I had to know why.