
After fixing two duff amps for a friend in a scenario similar to how I ended up fixing Zel's Activa, I rediscovered my love just as I have now with cars

I then turned to a load of my own 'projects' that had been waiting a long time to be looked at... A couple had been bought simply for spares with no intention of ever fixing them...
First up was a very scruffy Leak Stereo 30 Amp that had been bodged and 'modified' badly... It was filthy, had odd knobs and blew fuses. After a lot of work to put it back to standard and lots of replacement bits - many elecrolytic capacitors, several resistors and transistors - it is now working beautifully and is in use every day as the amp for both my vintage iPod and a Leak FM tuner. This amp often now in use for 14 or 15 hours a day! I did a small mod of my own to it to make it more suitable for iPod use...
Next up was an equally scruffy Leakl Troughline FM Tuner. Again, just bought for spares as it had several valves missing and a missing knob.
Several valves, a few resistors and capacitors later and it's as good as gold

The problem with the Troughline is it's a mono tuner so wanting a stereo version I acquired, via the 'bay, a non-working Leak Stereofetic. It's called that because it's a stereo tuner and was a very early adopter of FETs (Field Effect Transistors) instead of valves in the front-end. It was always known as the 'Stereopathetic'

All it needed to make it good was a full RF alignment and a couple of capacitors...
It's now the main signal source into the Stereo 30 amp

Interestingly, I have another Stereofetic but it's called a Leak Delta 30 and looks much more modern in a nice wood case. That one is partnered with my big amp and speakers in the lounge...
A reel to reel tape recorder was next up. A Sony TC-255... This one needed no electronic work but needed lots of mechanical TLC on the deck due to worn belts and dried-out grease. It needed a new VU meter and I was able to source one from the 'bay...
This Trio Tuner/Amp was given to me by a friend for therapeutic purposes. It was incredibly filthy after being rescued from a skip! It needed a good bit of TLC including an IF Transformer and an IC... It's good now

And the current project ongoing is this early Philips CD player... It mostly works but is a bit edgy and fussy about what discs it will play... I'm getting there with it and investigating a problem with the spin motor speed regulation. The spin motor does exactly what it says and spins the CD around at high speed

As winter encroaches, more projects will find themselves on the bench in my little electronics workshop

I also have a gorgeous high-end MiniDisc (MD) player/recorder too. Given to me as not wanted. It needed no work and is superb. I've archived much of my treasured vinyl to MiniDisc. MD was a format that missed the boat somewhat... The best of both CD and Compact Cassette.. Shame it never really caught on. MP3 and streaming saw it off...