"New" RCA TRK-12

[Penthode]

I have earlier advocated caution when digging in to restore equipment. I have been at it 50 years and my adage is if it ain't broke don't fix it.

I have left resistors which have drifted so long as they do not affect performance. Even then, I replace only with period components. I go to the trouble of restuffing capacitors but I will leave leaky paper capacitors if the parallel bridged resistance is less than on tenth the leak. In any case it should not affect performance and keeping it maintains originality.

I observe the same philosophy with electrolytic capacitors. I would have first tested and reformed the electrolytics in the TK12 before applying power. I would reject an electrolytic if it shows more than 1ma at full rated voltage. If the capacitor fails, I carefully cut open the can and insert new capacitors and refit such that the repair is almost impossible to see.

As Phil said, the equipment is only original once. I would refrain from using it unless it has had a thorough vetting. I feel the leaky paper capacitors are the biggest threat followed by the electrolytics. Please take time and be patient when tackling this machine.