Harmon-Kardon TA 230 Stereo Festival

[TC Chris]

The older I get, the more I am inclined to buy good stuff. I have a classic Simpson VOM that I inherited from an elderly family friend. It's durable & reliable but a bit wonky, as they all seem to be, on ohms.

Cheap wrenches frustrate me usually. But the '65 Olds had a recessed oil drain plug that required a special wrench, and the wrench I got required 1/2" drive, and then I did not have a 1/2" handle. I was poor and needed a handle to change the oil right now, so I bought a $3 imported ratchet handle. To my great surprise, it worked flawlessly and continued to do so until the tool box was stolen from my car. Its $12 replacement was not nearly as smooth.

So generally I buy good tools and maybe some day another person will remember inheriting them. I think about Walter every time I use his VOM, or the sturdy Atlas floor drill press, or the little ball-peen hammer.

Chris Campbell

[William]

I have this brand, had it for a long time and it seems to work just fine. Mine is a different model then the one in the length and I have no idea anymore how much I paid for it.

https://www.amazon.com/TENMA-72-8150-CA ... aky8dplYIi

Bill

[electra225]

I have the eye tube for the AM band "somewhat" working. It will at least twitch when I hit a strong station. My thinking at this point is that an alignment may be in order. I run the two 6BA6's and the one 6BE6 on the tube tester to make sure they are good, then try an alignment.

[electra225]

The tubes I mentioned above tested good. The audio tubes are another story. One of the original 12AU7's tests pretty weak. One of the 6V6's didn't test well, either. The codes on tubes are from the 35th week of 1959 thru the 49th week of 1959. Quite a spread. Some of the HK-branded, Amperex-sourced tubes are made in Germany, some say made in USA. I reckon this would make the receiver a 1960 model.

[Doug]

Wonder if the sx 1050 is oscillating above the hearing range killing the tweeters. Scope check would tell
Doug