Tivoli One Variable capacitor Repair

crwdns2936071:01crwdne2936071:0 — Unscrew the Rear Panel

Turn off the Tivoli One and disconnect the power cord.

crwdns2936071:02crwdne2936071:0 — Dismantle Front and Rear panel

Mark the connectors on the tuner board with colored felt-tip pen so that you can plug them back in correctly later. Then pull them off

crwdns2936071:03crwdne2936071:0 — Remove the Tuner

Remove tuner

crwdns2936071:04crwdne2936071:0 — Remove AM antenna

Detach the medium wave antenna -the black wire frame- from the back, it is no longer needed.

crwdns2936071:05crwdne2936071:0 — Unsoldering the shields

This step is a bit tricky and tedious. Work very carefully and slowly. Mark the setting of the coupling with a felt pen.

crwdns2936071:06crwdne2936071:0 — Remove the coupling

Inside the black coupling piece there is a Phillips screw. Unscrew it. Remove the circlip, it is loose.

crwdns2936071:07crwdne2936071:0 — Cap removal

Pull the cap off the variable capacitor.

crwdns2936071:08crwdne2936071:0 — Cutting through the bars

Cut through the two bars connecting the upper and lower parts of the capacitor using side cutters.

crwdns2936071:09crwdne2936071:0 — Unscrew the upper part

Unscrew the four very small nuts that hold the capacitor together.

crwdns2936071:010crwdne2936071:0 — Lifting off the upper part

Lift the upper part very carefully upwards.

crwdns2936071:011crwdne2936071:0 — Unscrew the shaft

On the bottom of the top cover directly on the shaft is a small brass washer. Do not lose it!

crwdns2936071:012crwdne2936071:0 — Disassemble the Variable Capacitor

Here you can see the cause of the malfunction: the white separating agent between the plates of the capacitor has dried out. It must be removed. The lower plates are for FM, the upper ones for medium wave. The upper ones will not be needed later.

crwdns2936071:013crwdne2936071:0 — Necessary stators

There are four different types of stators. The two shown here are still needed. They can be recognized by the long indentation at the "back" (marked red):

crwdns2936071:014crwdne2936071:0 — Unnecessary stators

The two shown here are for AM and will be omitted in the future:

crwdns2936071:015crwdne2936071:0 — Washers

Here are the various washers:

crwdns2936071:016crwdne2936071:0 — Necessary rotors

And here are the rotors. Only the type of which there are six is needed, the others are omitted.

crwdns2936071:017crwdne2936071:0 — Cleaning

Now comes the cleaning work:

crwdns2936071:018crwdne2936071:0 — Assembly block 1

The assembly follows, work very carefully with toothpick and tweezers, do not damage the parts!

crwdns2936071:019crwdne2936071:0 — Assembly block 2

And again:

crwdns2936071:020crwdne2936071:0 — Assembly block 3 and 4

Next is the next rotor, this one and the two remaining are twisted 180° against the first three rotors.

crwdns2936071:021crwdne2936071:0 — Install spacers

Press the shaft down again.

crwdns2936071:022crwdne2936071:0 — Install the upper part

Put the small washer that was between the top of the condenser and the axle (see step 5) back on the axle. Oil it very lightly.

crwdns2936071:023crwdne2936071:0 — Function test

Now you have to test and adjust. Caution: the mains cable is well insulated, but always remember!

crwdns2936071:024crwdne2936071:0 — Soldering the shields

Solder the two shields again, a few solder points are sufficient.

crwdns2936071:025crwdne2936071:0 — Settings and assembly

The dial marked F controls the frequency. Set the dial to the frequency of a known station at about 100 MHz, use a second radio and adjust until the desired station can be heard clearly on both radios.