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Newbie, Original owner signing in. Need Help


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Hi Folks,

 

I am original owner of a TFM-35 and a C-11.  I picked them up when I was in college in Orange CT at Sounds Alive in the 80's.  The TFM is in need of resuscitation and I guess the C-11 would be as well.  I am looking for advice and thoughts on how best to do that.  Money is tight and I am in NH which makes a WA repair expensive.   I am not afraid to try the recap route though I don't have experience in this.  I am fairly technical if that makes a difference.  Your expertise would be greatly appreciated.

 

Best,

     Drew

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Welcome to the site Drew!

 

There are a number of TFM 35/25 recap threads on the site. 

 

I would read read through them and determine if you have the skills and equipment necessary for a DIY. 

 

ITCH

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WELCOME @DrewNH!

The C-11 and TFM-35 are a good combination.

Read through the threads mentioned above by itchitch.

If you decide the refurbs are above your pay grade there are a number of techs

on this site (located at various locations) who can help.

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Hello DrewNH, and welcome to thecarversite.com. We're glad you're hear. ;) There is a lot of information here, much technical know how, and a pretty good bunch of folks that are happy to help. 


There are techs here from all over the US, so shipping to WA shouldn't be a problem. One or more of them will chime in when they see your post.

 

Please consider uploading some pics of your gear in the Members Systems area. We all like pics of all kinds of audio gear.


In the meantime, kick your shoes off, turn up the music, and welcome aboard.

 

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Welcome. As a new member,  I would encourage you to post questions and pictures. As your post count increases, more features of the site open up. As far as your TFM-35 goes, read through the service manual HERE. Identify any service bulletins needed and familiarize yourself with the layout of the amp.

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Welcome.jpg

 

Welcome Drew.  You've found the right place for help and guidance on bringing those units back to life.  I'll defer to the numerous folks who know their way around the insides of electronic devices, but you should be able to find help and guidance at every level, here.

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Welcome to the site!  Dennis Miller is in Maine and is one I would trust!  You have come to the right place for info on carver gear!  

 

Long live OCCD!

 

barry

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Welcome.

Should be able to DIY.

You will need a decent soldering iron and some good solder wick, plenty of it if you're going to do a power supply recap. I sometimes use a manual solder sucker for the large solder joints, but these tend to leave solder fragments lying around. 

Figure out ALL of the parts you need and order them in one buy if possible.  Mouser and Digikey charge $8 shipping, Mouser has a Fedex 2 day option for that price, Digikey does not.

Lots of good resources on this site.

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Welcome to the site, glad you found us.

As mentioned above do some reading to help decide which way you want to go.

Plenty of helpful people to answer questions and or help.

Be aware that there is serious voltage in this amp. 

Good Luck, and enjoy the site.............

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Wow, thanks Guys.  Great welcome and offer of resources.  I will explore.  Pics will be slow in coming since my Carver gear is in storage until it is functional; meaning it is on an ugly shelf in my basement.  I have a mishmash of other audio stuff that I am currently running.  I recently acquired some basic Vandersteen speakers which has really motivated me to get my Carver stuff back online.  I use a Denon reciever and Norh speakers in my HT setup.  Wanted to start a new setup for stereo in  another room with the Vanderseteen speakers and the Carver stack.  I also have a Carver CD player (original) and Carver Tuner (used) along with a Dual turntable.  Not high end by any stretch but should sound really good.

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Welcome Drew !! Glad you found us. Re-capping the 35 should not prove to be too difficult. Lots of threads and info available here.

 

Go ahead and add a belt kit and a good cleaning / re-lubricating for that CD player. The belts have certainly turned to goo or dried up. Good news is they are easily replaced and are cheap - look on ebay for people selling kits.

 

As far as not being "high end", if it sounds good to you, it's high end to your ears - and that is what matters.

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Welcome DrewNH.  Love that neck of the woods.  Spent a few years running a division in Manchester.

 

There are excellent techs on the east coast, too.  Mentioned above are @dennismiller55 and @kve777@Nahash5150 is in MI, and that's not all that far - easily a ~$30 FedEx Ground shipment.  That gear will bring back lots of memories, when you get it tuned up, and crank it up!

 

What speakers do you drive with it?  Post pics, we love pictures.

 

Welcome to the site!

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Snap into a Slim Jim!!

 

Thanks all for the recommendations.  My original push for joining this site is that I could not find anything on the highly recommended mods I had seen referenced on the interwebs.  Can anyone steer me to the pdf's?

 

My CD player does not track at all, don't know if a belt/lube job will fix that.  As for what I drive with the TFM - originally it was a pair of Infinity's.  The problem was when I wasn't paying close attention during gatherings, friends would turn it up and pop the EMIT tweeters.  This turned out to be an expensive habit.  I replaced them with a set of Bose AM-5's since I was in grad school (read: broke) and I got them from a friend who worked at Bose.    Hold your Bose hate please, I worked there later in research and I get there is a strong hate for the brand among the audiophilia.  These were the first of the satellite speaker design and blew my friends away.  Worked well in the small apartments I lived in.  The AM-5s are now my computer speakers  (with random amps) and are still cranking. 

 

Cut to now, as I mentioned the Carver stack will power a set of Vandersteen 1Ci's and perhaps my set of Norh 7 speakers. 

 

On a side note, I also picked up a used Integra DTR-7.8 AV Receiver which I plan on using in a new HT setup.  If anybody knows anything about this receiver I would love to hear.

 

Cheers,

    Drew

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