Anyone know about Tip Top Tuner in Cali?
 

Anyone use these people before? Or heard anything about them?

http://www.tiptoptuner.com/

I have used them for modern tuners with 100% satisfaction. I never used them for vintage gear.

I used them for about 10 years before I quit the TV repair business. Never had a problem with them. I think they repair the older tuners also, at least they used to.

Turns out they don't work on vintage tuners. :no: With a strong accent, he asked "Is this push-button tuner or turn-knob tuner?" After I answered his question, he said "Sorry we no fix turn-knob tuners."

Is there anybody left that fixes "turn-knob tuners"?
There was a guy in St Louis many decades ago who was a wiz at tuners but he's long gone. Come to think of it, the multitude of parts houses are also long gone.
Phil

You can do the work yourself, why bother sending it in? Contact cleaning and a frequency touch up is usually all they need, aside from the normal tube checking.

louis stange at 877 753-3204 did a couple for me 5 years ago. but request to talk to him, because the secretary will tell you that the tuner is not in their list. the last one they repaired for me was a ct11 tuner a broken one in pieces

sorry the phone number is 903 753-4204

united tuner in columbus ohio.martin will still rebuild a tuner

United tuner..... thanks.... i will check them out!

Louis is no longer at that phone number.... been trying that number for two years. Several months ago, I wrote a hand-written letter (wow... remember those?) and sent to the shop address on his web page. It was sent back as undeliverable. Later, I found an address for him in a nearby town and sent the letter there... never got a response back.

I do not want to work on it myself because I really dont want to take the thing apart. Also, I already clipped the leads on a tiny cap in there thinking it was the culprit causing the problems... and I was wrong. The cap is in such a tight place that I have not been able to get my soldering iron in there... so to avoid making a bad situation worse, I'd rather leave fixing it to someone that has that experience.

I had a couple done by Louis Stangle also but that was more than 10 years ago.

Success!!
 

After digging around trying to find contact info, I found a few phone numbers... none of them that worked anymore... and two different addresses. So, I sat down and wrote two letters and sent them to each address. A week later, I was sitting in the messhall eating lunch and my phone rang. It was Martin Tyo. He said he could help.

After returning home from the ship, I boxed up the tuner and sent to him. He called me earlier today and said he had my tuner ready. He's charging me 50 bucks plus ten dollars shipping. I hope to have it installed next week.

Mr. Tyo said he would be glad to repair vintage tuners. If anyone is looking for tuner repair, his contact info is below.

Martin Tyo
United Tuner Repair
520 E Starr
Columbus, Ohio 43201
Cel Phone: (614) 506-1909

martin is a great guy.has helped me many times through the years.top notch technician too.glad you made contact with him.he will never let you down

He should stop by the ETF convention with a bunch of business cards.

not sure if martin wants a lot of business.slightly reclusive these days.30 years ago,he was still a little reclusive.united tuner was central ohios best kept secret.i applaud charlie writing a letter.that got his attention.

I had mentioned to him that there might be others that could use his services from time to time (it's not as if tuners need work all the time). He said that was fine... as long as they were old vintage tuners. However, I cant see him hanging out at the ETF passing out cards... I suspect his work today keeps him quite busy already.

Tip top TV changed ownership several years ago, so likely whoever was doing their tuners in-house, is retired & gone. It's true that they've been there for 30 years or more, and they have a decent reputation in the Valley (I worked for two of their competitors over the years). I've never done business with them other than to refer clients back & forth, and I think I loaned them a schematic once or twice.

Charles

martin wouldnt advertise.he enjoys old tuners,radios,etc.quiet guy but a fine,fine person.we are not great friends but we have done business for over 40 years.he is always willing to help because he loves the hobby.someone we all should know