I've been attempting a rebuild of the home cinema system which has been broken for a long time. All I want to do is to get the sound from the cable box into an amp and out through a set of speakers. How hard can it be?

It has been broken for so long I can't actually recall what the problem was. Anyway, unlike Alan Partridge I am not attempting to connect some rear speakers a propos achieving surround sound. I just want the telly to make sound out of the speakers. Sounds simple enough but there are complications. Firstly the TV has analogue outputs but they don't work, in fact they have never worked. It has two HDMI inputs, they used to work but don't any more.

Yes, getting a new telly would be simpler but I blew the cash for that buying the Krell.

To make matters worse the cable box only outputs USB, optical and SCART. I have an optical cable but the connector does not fit the receptacle on the cable box. You would think these things would be standard but no, that would make life too easy. No USB input on the amplifier, nor will it take SCART.

I recalled my previous solution was to connect via scart to a VCR then use the analogue outs on the VCR to connect to the amplifier. So let's try that. I also want to run the signal through the graphic equaliser, just for fun you understand, so will hook up the VCR into the graphic, then out to the amplifier.

Back of the cable box, one scart going to telly, the other going to the VCR



Back of the VCR. It's dusty behind there, not Springfield, the other dusty.




And hook up to the amp with these natty orange interconnects:




Does it work? Does it bugger. After swapping all the RCA phono cables out with still no joy I remembered that the reason this lash up failed before was one of the SCART leads went duff. Don't have a spare so will have to nip round to Maplin and buy another SCART. Hopefully they still sell them. What a pain in the ass.