Strange Radio Behavior Question
 

I came into possession of my girlfriend's circa-1990 stereo (integrated phonograph, cd changer, tuner with external speakers) this year and had the radio playing in the garage for months. After the first cold snap I realized it was not making any noise . . . the entire tuner control panel is unresponsive, which is likely something I can track down, but the weird issue is this: The sound returns for .5s as the unit is unplugged. There's no medium where the sound returns and the power does not get cut (varying degrees of prong contact has no effect until the power goes off). I'd understand if a fault prevented a signal from getting to the speakers but can't fathom why it'd come back for such a short duration and only then when being unplugged. Some strange short . . .

The issue does not present if the power is shut off using the power button.

Might anyone suggest what could cause this?


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Is the receptacle in good condition? The plug?

Total long shot here: I'd open up the case and look for popped capacitors or other "roasted" components.

Sounds to me (pun not intended) like a great opportunity to tell the girl friend that her old stereo doesn't work anymore and it's doing nothing but cluttering up your garage, so SHE needs to throw it in the trash....at her first opportunity....like right now! I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen? You get a new girl friend with a working stereo system? :D

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Use electronic cleaner and blow out the sweeps and pivot points first?
There may be carbon in the corners, but it's probably a transistor as noted.

The volume dial of my car radio jumped around from 20-0-5-20 but improved when I spun it.

As fanaudical mentioned, likely power supply capacitors, if so easy fix.

LOL .... Pelicans always have the perfect solution :D!

Thank you for the kind replies but shopping for new girlfriends is soooo hard these days. Plus, who gets the extra dog when there are 9?? Splitting is somewhat out of the question.

I'll crack the stereo open and take a look at the boards.


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Good luck...my experience has been that those "all in one" units weren't made to last long. But then, I still have an old tuner/cassette twin speaker unit in my garage. Cassette died decades ago but the radio still works. Nice to have some sound when in the garage for any length of time.

Update: Went into shop to start pedal cluster rebuild & grew tired of being stared at by a silent stereo so I managed to plug-unplug-plug it fast enough to keep it from completely cutting off (keeping the radio's sound going for a good 2-3 seconds). Shut it off. Turned it on & noted static coming from R speaker. Tried a few buttons, now working, changed the source from tuner-tape-tuner and the sound came back

Why is it working? Why did it quit? I blame the cat. The cat is in league with the miniature horses, the devil and possibly one or two of my neighbors.

Anyhow, the stereo is playing again, an aging sentinel loudly standing between us and the giant rat that lives somewhere in the garage.

Tune in tomorrow for the "Any Ideas Why My Garage Burned Down?" thread, exclusively here.


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The neighbor moved out this summer from Mississippi to Maine. She couldn't catch one of her cats the day they left. So I got to take care of her cat for 2 months until she came back to get it.

It was a polydactyl cat. That sum***** had opposed thumbs. You don't think I watched my 6 for 2 months with THAT cat around?!

We have a mobile veterinary business (and a clinic). Once went out to vaccinate two barn cats of unknown temperament . . . client carried them in and the first cat was perfect, not even a flinch. Her second cat pushed past the vet as she opened the carrier, launching itself into the plexiglas surgery door window. Bounced off a few more cabinets, jumped onto the dash and rammed both a-pillars with its head several times . . . then things got bad. It dove into the driver side dash and staked a spot as far back as possible.

I positioned myself upside down in the seat and managed to scruff the now-angry animal and pull it out of the dash. My gf said, "Here, I'll take him," and I passed the cat to a reaching woman's hand.

It was the client's hand, and the cat bit the @$% out of her thumb/hand. She immediately let go of the cat but it kept biting her as she tried to shake it off, eventually managing to sling it upwards where the vet caught it mid-air & was promptly bitten.

She managed to stab it with a sedative she'd prepped while trying to dislodge it from her arm. It eventually went to sleep, the client went to the hospital, the doctor ended up on antibiotics for a couple of weeks and the truck ceiling looked like a murder scene.

Cats regularly commune with Satan.


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Yes they commune with Satan. They are furry axe murderers. Better you than me.

I watched a cat grab hold of a guys achilles tendon with both paws /claws then bite into it. Guy flinched big time and as he was going down backwards stepped on the cats neck with his other foot.

It was surreal and reminded me of the devil dog in the original Hills Have Eyes.

I kept thinking the cat came from hell and it might get up like Herbert Wests cat Rufus in Re-Animator.

Cat let out a scream, got up and ran off. Back to the hell it came.