RAD150 8 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 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? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk1Bum 9,888 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3M_Audio 879 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 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. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4krow 5,077 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3M_Audio 879 Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt 1,389 Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 Welcome! Carver receivers are terrific! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Community Admin AndrewJohn 8,182 Posted March 25 Community Admin Share Posted March 25 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob 4,304 Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 Welcome to the site!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAD150 8 Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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