Coming in loud and clear
Tuners often get forgotten about and for the Pioneer line of tuners, this is a shame as they developed their own in-house ICs and some of the higher models boasted specifications and features that often left other top of the line tuners behind. With a little TLC, any of Pioneer’s tuners can be brought back to factory specification and pull in crystal clear, static free stereo broadcasts.
Electrical
Tuners are quite reliable and it is rare that one arrives completely dead. I give it a full check-over and test all functions. Due to the fact that most incorporate at least two Pioneer ICs, sometimes it may be necessary to source replacement ICs. As Pioneer made these themselves, it is not possible at this time to replace these with another modern IC. Any other problems are addressed and often a recap will make large improvement with regards to the ability of the tuner to pickup radio broadcasts and reject noise and other nearby broadcasts. Many tuners incorporated Tantalum capacitors which can fail catastrophically and burst into flames. Prior to this, they will start to generate a lot of noise often heard as hiss and crackling. It is very important to change these to a much more stable and accurate type of capacitor.
I can perform most calibration procedures on any tuner but I am currently limited due to trying to source the required equipment to carry out a full calibration of all functions and bands.
Cosmetics
Some tuners such as the TX-3000 or the TX-9800 have glass plates rather than perspex which can be broken or cracked. I can replace these with new glass or upgrade a perspex plate to glass instead. Many options are available and as standard, all replacement glass is toughened and meets British standards.
Blown lamps can be replaced with either triple life filament bulbs or LEDs in either a more traditional warm white or a modern cool white. In some cases LED conversion may not be an advisable option due to the nature of the circuit conditions, for example the stereo pilot lamp.
Any tuner that incorporates wooden surround or side panels can be refurbished and refinished professionally or have brand new sides or cover made, fitted and finished with stain and gloss. If you would like to have a special custom case made, this is also possible. Each case is bespoke and is made upon request.
I strive to achieve a new or better than new finish on any item and if the top or bottom metal covers are blemished or speckled with rust, these can be stripped back to smooth metal and resprayed to their original colour, usually black, to give a new and smooth black; finishing off the tuner with a high standard of finish.