Does anyone repair boomboxes here?

[mnguy22]

New poster here and my apologies if this is the wrong forum, I was curious if any members do repair work for payment on this site? I have an old Sanyo M-X720K that I bought in the early 80's and it has huge sentimental value. Sadly, over the years, I lost the power cable and though it powers up with batteries, I can't get the radio, shortwave, or a cassette tape to play (just a lot of crackling on the speaker). At this point I don't even know if it's salvageable but I thought I would start here and ask.

Thank you in advance for any leads on vintage boombox repair gurus.

 

[floyd]

Welcome . the first place I would start is by opening it up and try a good spray clean of the controls and switches . that would involve opening up the radio and using the appropriate cleaning / lubricating spray to get inside the controls as best you can . the controls get oxidized inside and can cause all kinds of sound issues.

 

[mnguy22]

Thank you, Floyd. I appreciate the suggestions and may try that if I can't find a person I can hire.

 

[mbonn82]

Hey mnguy22, welcome, fellow Minnesotian here. I recently joined the group as well for a Sanyo M-X960K that I acquired. Sounds like similar issues I had been having with mine. I personally had no luck finding anyone willing to work on boomboxes in the metro area so had to dig into it myself. Contact cleaning that floyd mentioned and belt replacements did resolve most of my issues. Obviously those are just my results, but it's a cheap and fairly easy way to at least narrow down what the actual issues are if something more involved is necessary.

Let me know if you do end up finding anyone willing to work on them.

 

[Reli]

Just ask for advice before you spray the contact cleaner. A lot of people just spray it all over the switch without actually getting it into where it needs to be. Post pics when you take it apart, and we'll help you.

 

[Tinman]

Welcome.
Unless you completely abused it (threw it in the ocean, lake, pond or swimming pool, ran it over with a car/truck, etc.), it's almost definitely salvageable.
You can get replacement AC cords on Amazon or ebay.
Constantly running on D batteries can get expen$ive.
The cassette player will most likely need new belts.

 

[mnguy22]

Thank you mbonn82, Reli, and Tinman - I will most likely give it a shot this weekend.

Any brand recommendations on cleaning spray? Are we talking the canned air or something else?

 

[Reli]

No, DeOxit. And I recommend getting a needle squeeze bottle to apply it with, because some of the lubrication holes are really small.