Hi!

The CD player worked just fine (still does), and the amp worked
OK, but had a noisy cooling fan. I put a much quieter
fan in it, and redesigned the air cooling flow, and modified the
circuitry to give it proportional control of the fan. Works great....

I have thought about doing something like that with this unit, as it
does get hot. I don't know if the circuit used is the "new class A" or
not. The receiver itself makes no mention of this feature, so I'd
guess not. There's not much room to add anything, at least not at a
point where I feel it would be close enough to help cool the power
supply as well. The last thing I would want to do is add a hum or
other annoying problem by way of design "improvements".

On the other hand, it has lasted over 20 years just the way it is. I
just don't like it when stuff runs that hot.

I find it depressing to see the stuff that gets tossed out.

As do I. Most recently I had to work hard to force myself not to pick
up a microwave oven. I didn't want or need it as a microwave--instead
I was hoping to harvest magnets, motors, control board and maybe the
case metal. Very little goes to waste around here.

Around here (Nova Scotia) you can't throw electronics stuff out,
it has to go to a special recycler. Now you can't get your hands
on old electronic throw-aways, the recycler refuses to let anyone
have any of the stuff so you can repair it (and do the ultimate
recycling where you bring it back to life).

I think they're afraid of liability or something along those lines. I
used to know a few recyclers, including one who would let me wander
all over the place, pick out what I wanted and pay him some small
price for it. Most of the others were at least somewhat receptive to
my rambling around when I told them that I knew to be careful and that
anything I took home with me was my problem--and the last that they
would hear of it. Most of what I picked up was computer equipment, and
the education I received was worth far more than the price I paid.

The same with junkyards...although I did not take anything home from
there because I certainly didn't have the space or time. I spent a lot
of time walking through those, looking at the things people had (for
whatever reason) cast away as junk. At least some of those cars would
have needed nothing more than a battery and some cleaning to be fine
once again. Heh...try doing that now. Most junkyards won't let you
anywhere nearby and the "old country junkyard" is a thing of the past
for the most part, taken away by tightening environmental regulations.

*I have had electronic equipment that I've tried to preserve and
gone to extraordinary lengths to keep them running, even
though I KNOW it's not worth the effort. It's like you want to cheat
the grim reaper of electronics.

Exactly. (Of course, there are also the devices that just seem to run
and run forever, with little to no maintenance whatsoever.)

You kinda wish someone would do the same for you..

Longevity does run in my family, so I might do alright there. The most
ready example is that of my grandfather, who at 96 does exactly as he
pleases.

William