Garage Stereo Gear

[MT_bassbone]

My garage with no heat in the winter and no cooling in the summer. I have always had tunes in the garage as I like to listen to the radio while I am out there. I have a vintage Nikko STA-2020 receiver now, but the controls are starting to crackle. I have a feeling it will cost more than it's worth to fix. I am not sure how to fix it myself so I may be on something new when it craps out. My post is not what gear to get but rather whether electronics are safe to store in temperature extremes. I live in Maryland so it does get below freezing in the winter months and stifling hot/humid in the summers. With doors and windows closed I am guessing the temperature can rise to above 140 degrees in the summer. Can audio gear live in that type of environment?

 

[Chrispy]

Sounds like not the best environment for audio gear, the manual probably provides for a lesser temperature range. I do have a converted garage (attached to house) I use as my workshop and have av gear in there (7.3 system with small tv ). Below freezing only happens a few days a year, and height of summer generally outside temps of 100F, but inside I don't think gets higher than that. The crackling may not be anything more than some corrosion/crap in the controls so maybe some de-oxit type cleaning might be in order. Do you use the tunes in the garage in the winter? Maybe just remove the receiver for the winter.....

 

[Devnull]

Don't forget they probably see those extremes when they're being shipped. Baked in a sea can for days as they cross the ocean or an Arizona summer on a train to frozen in a truck during delivery.

 

[DVDdoug]

There are different DeoxIT products so make sure you get one that's for potentiometers. Other manufactures also make 'control cleaners".

With the unit powered-off, open it up, spray some cleaner into the holes in the pot and operate the control several times quickly. That usually fixes-up a "scratchy pot".


It's probably best if you don't expose it to temperature extremes...

I'd be more concerned with cold. You can get condensation which can cause corrosion and it if freezes the ice expands and things could get damaged.. Or "bad things" can happen if you power-on a wet circuit board.

The heat can be bad if the unit is turned-on, especially amplifier circuits that generate heat. You get a heat-rise so the internal electronics are getting hotter on a "hot day". If it's not powered-on, heat probably won't hurt it. But at 140F, some plastics might deform!

 

[Chrispy]

Don't forget they probably see those extremes when they're being shipped. Baked in a sea can for days as they cross the ocean or an Arizona summer on a train to frozen in a truck during delivery.

Yep, having spent my life in logistics, true enough. OTOH they're usually in not just an outer steel shipping container (hopefully without leaks ) but also well designed boxes with suspension as well as humidity control.... I'd guess temps aren't as big an issue I think as poor packing can yield for vibration/water when not powered up.....