Fun with electrical contact cleaner! Please let this be "our little secret"!
By The Horse
@TheHorse (209227)
Walnut Creek, California
May 13, 2024 8:58pm CST
Please don't tell anybody this. Let it be our little secret, to quote the great Scarr, from Lion King:
A lot of stereo (and mono) components from the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the Sherwood S-7100A receiver, Marantz 2215 receiver, KLH Model 21 radio, and Fisher X-100B tube integrated amplifier, do not need expensive repair when you rescue them from that dingy basement or garage. Grandpa's spirit wants you to rescue them in an easy-peasy way
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Many of them have a dead channel, or scratchy controls, or crunchy input jacks, simply because nobody has bothered to give their electrical contacts a good cleaning in 50 years.
If you score some Electrical Contact Cleaner from your local Home Depot or Ace Hardware, you can give all of the controls, including knobs, switches and buttons, a quick bath with the stuff. Work them left and right, or up and down, or in and out (no, it is not quite as good as good sex, but it's close) and then see what happens!
It even seems to work on the tuning mechanisms (move the tuning knob back and forth and see what moves) inside the case! Don't be afraid to give baths inside the case of these venerable old components. No water allowed, though.
I just gave a bath to my 1971 Kenwood KR-5150 stereo receiver, and it sounds great in my main system. I then gave one to one of my KLH Model 21 radios. Same thing.
Don't let the electronics repair people charge you $100 for what you can do for way less than the $10/can the stuff costs.
Whee! Remember you read it on MyLot! I'll attach a photo of a late 1960s KLH Model 21 radio I restored a few years ago if I can find it.
I'm going to order some sushi first.
12 people like this
11 responses
@kaylachan (60593)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
14 May
LOL, talk about having sfun and saying to hell with the mylot censors.
5 people like this
@kaylachan (60593)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
14 May
@TheHorse You were having fun with it, and really, you were trying to be instructional, too.
3 people like this
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@RasmaSandra (75082)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
14 May
Sounds like your're having great fun, Enjoy your sushi.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (161648)
• United States
14 May
I wish I knew what our speaker was. It's in a room with a ton of crap. I guess we must have pitched the matching speaker. Have a good day.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (209227)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 May
@LindaOHio If it's an Acoustic Research AR-3a, it's worth about $750. ![](/Content/images/emotes/whistle.gif)
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1 person likes this
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@BarBaraPrz (45937)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
14 May
If I ever manage to find the stuff, it may just be what my old boombox needs, but I think I may have thrown it out.
2 people like this
@xander6464 (41090)
• Wapello, Iowa
15 May
Do you get a commission for every can of Electrical Contact Cleaner you sell? Or did you make the same deal with them that you made with Guitar Center ((The "I do all the work and you get all the money" deal)).
1 person likes this
@Charlesbronson (947)
• Indonesia
14 May
(Don't let the electronics repair people charge you $100 for what you can do for way less than the $10/can the stuff costs). That's very true.
And it happens often. Thank you for reminding. ![](/Content/images/emotes/thumbup.gif)
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1 person likes this
@TheHorse (209227)
• Walnut Creek, California
15 May
@Charlesbronson And of course, sometimes it goes the other way. ![](/Content/images/emotes/doh.gif)
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1 person likes this
@Charlesbronson (947)
• Indonesia
15 May
@TheHorse Yes that's right. Sometimes before you do it, it seems difficult. After doing it, it turns out it's not as difficult as imagined.
1 person likes this
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