Phase Linear 5000 FM Tuner Restoration

frhodes

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#1
I found a Phase Linear 5000 FM tuner on Ebay for $46 plus shipping. The seller had stated that the stereo light wouldn't
lock on to stations and the 19 kHz pilot tone needed repair. I guess this is why nobody else bid this unit up.

My Electronic Guru brother in law attached a frequency counter to the demodulation circuit and sure enough the
19 kHz tone was over 22 kHz. He examined the trim pot and it seemed within specifications but would not adjust below 22 kHz.
Before replacing the LM1800 demodulation IC he decided to remove the 390 pf capacitor in the circuit and although it measured to specs he replaced it and BAM a perfect 19 kHz tone and stereo light comes on like a laser. (Must have been cold solder joint)

I had to replace the on/off switch as the previous owner had done a bad job on the previous replacement.
The lamp dial reflector was rusted so I sanded it down and repainted it silver. (Rust doesn't reflect light very well)

Sanded and refinished the chassis cover and replaced the original RCA outputs with CMC RCA outputs. (bling is my middle name)

Changed the lamps to bright white led's and they really bring out the silver of the dial.

Now I have a very minty tuner that works perfect.

Now to find a wood cabinet.
 

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orange

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#4
Navo, to answer the avatar question a minute, the slope is steeper and the tangent is off the chart.

Does it equate?
 

NavLinear

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#5
Navo, to answer the avatar question a minute, the slope is steeper and the tangent is off the chart.

Does it equate?
The angle of the rear slope causes the slope of the two arcs to steepen. So the answer is a resounding yes.
 

orange

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#6
that would be yer co-sign...
 

Wayne G.

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#7
I found a Phase Linear 5000 FM tuner on Ebay for $46 plus shipping. The seller had stated that the stereo light wouldn't
lock on to stations and the 19 kHz pilot tone needed repair. I guess this is why nobody else bid this unit up.

My Electronic Guru brother in law attached a frequency counter to the demodulation circuit and sure enough the
19 kHz tone was over 22 kHz. He examined the trim pot and it seemed within specifications but would not adjust below 22 kHz.
Before replacing the LM1800 demodulation IC he decided to remove the 390 pf capacitor in the circuit and although it measured to specs he replaced it and BAM a perfect 19 kHz tone and stereo light comes on like a laser. (Must have been cold solder joint)

I had to replace the on/off switch as the previous owner had done a bad job on the previous replacement.
The lamp dial reflector was rusted so I sanded it down and repainted it silver. (Rust doesn't reflect light very well)

Sanded and refinished the chassis cover and replaced the original RCA outputs with CMC RCA outputs. (bling is my middle name)

Changed the lamps to bright white led's and they really bring out the silver of the dial.

Now I have a very minty tuner that works perfect.

Now to find a wood cabinet.
Vey nice indeed. I recently picked one up from eBay and the cosmetics were rough although it worked fine and performed well. The knobs (the smaller 4) were all dented so I got some 1 1/8" aluminum bar stock and made new knobs that duplicate the originals. I believe they actually look better than the originals. I like the replacement RCA jacks - great idea. Mine also needed the reflector cleaned, however just removed rust and polished. I will post some pics soon.
 

Rat44

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#8
Never laid eyes on one before .
How does it compare to other units ?
I have used the Pioneer and Kenwood tuners before and a good tuner will spoil you .

Dennis
 

frhodes

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#9
Never laid eyes on one before .
How does it compare to other units ?
I have used the Pioneer and Kenwood tuners before and a good tuner will spoil you .

Dennis
I've been using it for the last few days and it is just as good as some highly rated tuners, but has a few extras
like variable set of output jacks, 4 & 9 db expander and adjustable mute. Extremely happy with it.

Plus it's fantastic looking.
 

Skynyrd77

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#10
That is a beauty. I just might have to find one of the to go with the WOPL 1000... Don't use a tuner a bunch but when I do I wouldn't mind looking at one of those.. Very nice!!
 

laatsch55

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#11
The 5200 SerII's match your pre-amp. The same one Mark had. Tim has it now but I think he'll wind up with a Pioneer TX 8500 II that I have...then of course he'll be wanting to get rid of that....
 

frhodes

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#12
That is a beauty. I just might have to find one of the to go with the WOPL 1000... Don't use a tuner a bunch but when I do I wouldn't mind looking at one of those.. Very nice!!
That's why I bought it. I have 7 other receivers and tuners to listen to FM but with this one matching my Phase Linear 400 and 2000
is so visually superb.
 

Skynyrd77

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#13
The 5200 SerII's match your pre-amp. The same one Mark had. Tim has it now but I think he'll wind up with a Pioneer TX 8500 II that I have...then of course he'll be wanting to get rid of that....
Well when Tim is done with it let me know.. I'm in no hurry at all as you know. It will be a couple months before I have play $ again..
 

marcok

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#18
I have recently restored a PL 5000 and since it was never imported in Italy I need to know how to work
the muting pot in this device . Does max mean max sensitivity or high level muting ?
In my sample , that works fine , max position increased sensitivity and decreased muting .
For me it was wrong , considering the behaviour of other tuners . In any case I have inverted two wires on
pot to reverse the situation , but I'm not sure that is the original situation .
Thank you in advance .
Frhodes ,
at the beginning I had the same problem with PLL an I too I have to replace the 390 pF cap .
Ciao
Marco
Ps: I have also modify the deemphasys for european standard
 

Dutch54

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Jun 1, 2022
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#19
I found a Phase Linear 5000 FM tuner on Ebay for $46 plus shipping. The seller had stated that the stereo light wouldn't
lock on to stations and the 19 kHz pilot tone needed repair. I guess this is why nobody else bid this unit up.

My Electronic Guru brother in law attached a frequency counter to the demodulation circuit and sure enough the
19 kHz tone was over 22 kHz. He examined the trim pot and it seemed within specifications but would not adjust below 22 kHz.
Before replacing the LM1800 demodulation IC he decided to remove the 390 pf capacitor in the circuit and although it measured to specs he replaced it and BAM a perfect 19 kHz tone and stereo light comes on like a laser. (Must have been cold solder joint)

I had to replace the on/off switch as the previous owner had done a bad job on the previous replacement.
The lamp dial reflector was rusted so I sanded it down and repainted it silver. (Rust doesn't reflect light very well)

Sanded and refinished the chassis cover and replaced the original RCA outputs with CMC RCA outputs. (bling is my middle name)

Changed the lamps to bright white led's and they really bring out the silver of the dial.

Now I have a very minty tuner that works perfect.

Now to find a wood cabinet.
Where on the board is that 390pf cap? Want to check it before I dig in any further. Thanks for any help.
 

George S.

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#20
Zombie thread Dutch. There's two versions of the main boards in these 5000. The S2 has a different layout than than the S1. Schematics are hard to find. I have both and can scan and post them if your in need. The S2 has very little documentation.
I also replaced that 390pf cap to bring the 19 kHz back to center alignment on the trim pot.
Where's it at? Beside the trim pot on a shared trace.
 
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