salvage operation.....

[Babybearjs]

its kind os sad, but it was bought As-Is for $12.00 from another collector... a beige magicall autodialer. When I got it today, I saw that the cover had been left off the unit for a good 30 plus years.... the unit was just fealthy! one of the capacitors was broken and a wire was off of its soldier point.... was hoping to be able to clean it up and try to get it working, but alas... it was just too old. I had my cousin wanting me to try to resurrect a 1950's console radio.... so we took it to a repair store and the tech gave us the bad news.... ALL of the capacitors were bad.... it wasn't worth fixing.... and thus, this was in the same condition... close to the same age, and the same technology... it was sad to have to junk it.... so, here are some pictures of what I had... I salvaged the cord sets, and the hardware shown...  well, maybe next time...

[Jim Stettler]

Capacitors are replaceable. Youtune how to do it and practice on this item. If it works, you are ahead.
If it doesn't then you are still ahead because you learned new skills.
Just my opinion,
JIm

[twocvbloke]

Indeed, capacitors, or condensers in old money, are often the most commonly replaced part in old electronics, to the point that there's even a running joke on some youtube channels where people in the comments say "Have you tried replacing the caps?" on various videos featuring electronics that for one reason or another are a bit rubbish... 

[Babybearjs]

yeh, but when ALL the caps test bad.... thats  a lot of work to replace.... as for this unit, because of the overall condition and the fact that part were bad from the beginning, it was just easier to let it go. I've had to do the same with computer main boards, if something was bad, it was easier to get rid of it and find a replacement. Time=Money.... how much time does it take to repair old technology... and is it worth it....

[countryman]

Replacing the capacitors isn't too hard, just time consuming, also for an experienced tech.
For a professional repair service this means to charge a noticeable amount of money to the customer with no guarantee for a success. The transistors (or even early integrated circuits?) on that board will be hard to obtain for example. And then the mechanical part. Brittle friction wheels or torn drive cords can be a huge challenge also on vintage radios. It is very comprehensible that the repairman kindly declined.

This might be a parts donor for a better kept unit.

[rdelius]

I doubt all the capacators were bad.I had one of these sets that was stored in a barn, the chassis was rusty and it still worked. I would have rebuilt the power supply first before condemming the unit.

[FABphones]

I would have just put the meter on each cap myself at home to see what state they were in. I hope the guy that said they were all bad did the same.

[Dan/Panther]

You should have inquired here before tearing it apart. It may have been an easy fix. Dirt does not mean hopeless. That just tells me no one else has messed with it.
D/P

[Babybearjs]

yeh, but the time and money to have it repaired... I would have to have a guy who knows his stuff be able to repair it, and that doesn't come cheap!

[andre_janew]

It is sad that we live in an era when it is cheaper to replace something than to repair it.

[Babybearjs]

exactly.... it would have been great had I been able to power it up... the technology of the time is magnetic tape... I still don't understand the dialing process... was it touchtone, or pulse?  all I understand from it is that the back side of the directory was all magnetic tape... so, it would read and record the number... and then play it back when called for. I've never seen anything like it outside of reel-to-reel... basically the same idea... and the same age!

[Key2871]

While its true caps go bad over time, i doubt they were all bad. Sounds like it was over his head so he just tapped out.
Not to mention components WE used were coded so getting an exact value may be hard unless you can get your hands on the sifer sheet. Its not hard to replace capacitors, except electrolitc, you have to get the polarity right.
Granted something like that would have a Lot of components, it would be an interesting project to do, especially if it actually worked when done.
I came across a white one years ago, but the bottom of the dialer and machine both said for demo use only.
So that would have been a blank slate.

[rdelius]

These were pulse. When programming with the plug in dial, you can hear a relay pulse. You also hear it in  dialing a stored number. These were built by  Dasa so they used standard parts.

[Key2871]

Oh, well they say you learn something new everyday.. I did.

[Babybearjs]

and so did I... does anyone know whatever happened to DASA? did they change hands? or just go out of business Like Ampex.... what else did they make back in the 60's?