New Guy...with the most beautiful MXR150!

[RAD150 38]

Well until I broke a button, that is...

So here's my story: 

I live in Southern Maine now. Back in 1988 I purchased an MXR150 receiver when I lived in Mansfield Mass from a department store called Lechmere. It came with the walnut veneer wood sideboards which I thought was pretty good looking. Then about 15 years ago, as an amateur woodworker, I thought I could do even better so I cut 2 slabs out of some Brazilian cherry I had and copied the original boards exactly. I finished them in 3 coats of semigloss urethane. The result was spectacular. I think I might have the most gorgeous Carver receiver ever (unless someone else did the same thing and outdid my Brazilian cherry wood). I will upload a photo when I get permission.

 

So I've always kept this unit in pristine condition. I still have the original box which I use whenever I move, and I have the original FM antenna. The manual is somewhere in storage (I hope). The only problem is the sound of this receiver has been getting lousy. I figured it needed new capacitors and luckily I found the refurb kits on Ebay by Circuits and Concepts. I'm still waiting for the kits to arrive but I got the instructions and figured I'd start pulling some of the old caps and resistors. So I'm flipping the unit over and my hand accidentally crunched the video/dad button. The plastic on these things are obviously old and very brittle! I'm sure I'm not the only one out there with broken knobs or buttons...

 

So my question right now is is this button available anywhere? And is it possible to change it out? It looks like it's very difficult to access it, there's so much wiring and stuff to dismantle in the display panel. Any advice? 

[Sk1Bum 12,417]

Hello RAD150 and welcome aboard.

 

The Carver receivers are very popular here. I'm sure someone will be able to answer your questions.

 

I'm anxious to see the pics. I know it will look outstanding!

 

Circuits & Concepts is a good choice. Les is an active member here. 

 

[3M_Audio 2,228]

Welcome! Nice story on the side panels for your MXR150. And I'll certainly agree - there's nothing like nice real wood for audio components.

 

And sorry to hear about the button but if you search the forums here, you'll find there are a number of us looking for those plastic button caps for various Carver components (I'm looking for a CT-6 power button myself). They are pretty fragile and only get more brittle with age. To the best of my knowledge, there aren't any off-the-shelf replacements so looking for a system that's being parted out seems to be the best option (for now). I'm intrigued by the idea of 3D printing buttons and other small plastic pieces, but I have a long learning curve before I could try this personally. Hopefully someone more skilled in that area will jump in and give it a try.

 

And glad you found Circuits and Concepts for some replacement components. Post some pictures when you get started as quite a few of us enjoy following along with repairs/refurbishments.

[4krow 7,165]

The printing idea is a solid one. I still don't think like that. In my mind, someone would be machining such a beast at tremendous cost.

[3M_Audio 2,228]

3 hours ago, 4krow said:

The printing idea is a solid one. I still don't think like that. In my mind, someone would be machining such a beast at tremendous cost.

 

I know. I'm still trying to get my head around the idea that a plastic part can just be made whenever needed for $1 of plastic cable. Pretty amazing.

[Kurt 3,114]

Welcome!  Carver receivers are terrific!

[AndrewJohn 10,708]

On 3/23/2024 at 3:08 PM, RAD150 said:

So my question right now is is this button available anywhere? And is it possible to change it out? It looks like it's very difficult to access it, there's so much wiring and stuff to dismantle in the display panel. Any advice? 

 

Check with Les, at Circuits and Concepts on the controls/knobs/buttons.  He at one time had a full complement to offer.  send him a PM on Ebay, or here on this site, he's a member under the same name as his Ebay selling account.

 

Love that MXR-150, I have one just like it, wood sides, it's so elegant.

 

Welcome to the site, @RAD150, so glad you found us.

[Rob 6,212]

Welcome to the site!!!

[RAD150 38]

Well I don't know what I did wrong but it's just not running right after installation of the new parts. I'm not very good with electronics so I sent it off to a repair shop. I hope he can get it straightened out. He's going to look into fixing the broken button while he's at it. Hope he can fix that too. Crossing my fingers! 

[Technic1500 20]

Well, I have an MXR-130 and I had to make on my 3D printer parts to put back into the Faceblock.  Not a great picture as this system has size limitations.  All the pushbuttons on the bottom were made by me.  I also make the regular buttons for the controls.  I made the buttons and had to re-engineer the parts holding them as they were broke too.  The reason why you don’t see them out there is because it takes a lot of time to get them right, and they don’t sell. 

Edited July 13, 2024 by Technic1500

[Receiver2000 4,371]

Welcome!!!! Hope you get that 150 rockin' properly real soon.

[kve777 6,896]

Nicely done! Welcome!

 

[robpar 11]

Hi, I have an MRX-150; impeccably maintained. Bought in the 80's and had since, some work done over the years like relays, some resistors and general clean up. I haven't recapped since it still works great but I bought the recap package just in case. My main system now is a Parasound Halo with Polk RTi12's which I like a lot but still use the Carver with small Klipsch RP-600M's I have both systems side by side and switch between them depending on my mood. I'm not an audiophile by any means but I love my Carver and hope to continue to use for many years. People criticize it but I don't care; it sounds great to me. On a side story, my repair guy (Modular Electronics) tells me these older units can be repaired whereas a lot of the new stuff has proprietary chips that become obsolete very quickly.

[Rob 6,212]

I had my MXR 150 for 35 years and it was the best receiver I ever had. Loved it. People loved the sound while cranking out the tune on some CV PA speakers. Easily restorable and worth it in my opinion. 

[Rob 6,212]

On 7/13/2024 at 9:11 AM, Technic1500 said:

Well, I have an MXR-130 and I had to make on my 3D printer parts to put back into the Faceblock.  Not a great picture as this system has size limitations.  All the pushbuttons on the bottom were made by me.  I also make the regular buttons for the controls.  I made the buttons and had to re-engineer the parts holding them as they were broke too.  The reason why you don’t see them out there is because it takes a lot of time to get them right, and they don’t sell. 

One of the reasons you don’t see the buttons out there is because nobody makes them. And if you can get a display frame, the plastic is old and fragile and will break easily if you don’t know what you’re doing. I’ve reconstructed many of these and used epoxy and other materials that work for the most part very well. 
 

Those buttons are separate pieces and the pins on the main piece get melted to the button assembly. It would be nice to have the whole display available and be a new production piece. 

Edited January 2 by Rob

[Rob 6,212]

It would be nice to get things like these made. 

[Half Life 978]

4 hours ago, Rob said:

It would be nice to get things like these made.

Hey Rob,

 

Couldn't these be 3D printed say using ABS or PEEK?  Color-matching would be the difficult part.  I could definitely print one no problem.  I'd have to locate a set of the button, model then and print.  Hmmm, sounds like a nice winter project.

 

BTW, I got into 3D printing (additive manufacturing) many, many years ago because of my pinball machine restoration hobby.  Lots of those parts are no longer made.

[Rob 6,212]

4 hours ago, Half Life said:

Hey Rob,

 

Couldn't these be 3D printed say using ABS or PEEK?  Color-matching would be the difficult part.  I could definitely print one no problem.  I'd have to locate a set of the button, model then and print.  Hmmm, sounds like a nice winter project.

 

BTW, I got into 3D printing (additive manufacturing) many, many years ago because of my pinball machine restoration hobby.  Lots of those parts are no longer made.

I don’t have any experience with 3d printing but it would be nice to get reproduction parts of the same quality. 
 

Im sure there are many levels and capabilities that 3D printers can achieve but the layered look? Can 3D printers create a piece that is a perfectly smooth surface? 

[HoraceAnkle 10]

Welcome !