Aloha Everyone.

I am completely new to Outlaw Audio and the 990 I found at a thrift shop here on Kauai. The price was $25. They thought it worked fine, and knowing it was an expensive pre-amp, I didn't want to do anything besides pay and leave. (for reasons unknown, this particular thrift shop has the occasional rare high-end audio components for dirt cheap: I bought an Onkyo power amp for $5 and Klipsch speakers for $10/pr.)

It didn't come with its remote, manual, mic or power cord. I went back the next day and combed every bin for the remote or mic, but with no luck.

So...does it work? Well, not really.

It's done two different things: the power LED either switches from amber to blue with no display and none of the front panel buttons appear to work -

... or...twice it did something else - the display DID come on and the mute, surround mode, and several other front panel buttons worked, but after those 2 times, the display no longer comes on (which is odd for an electronic device, usually it either works or not). If I leave the blue light on, with no display, it does not switch back to amber...it stays blue for an hour or as long as I've tried it.

I did call Outlaw (Jim) and he was very helpful..mentioned that I needed to plug the 990 into a video monitor to see the menu and told me how to do a reset by pressing menu and center select button while in amber mode. It did seem to reset; turned blue for a sec, then back to amber...but no display.

Also, I plugged the video component output (a yellow RCA) into my TV's video component in but saw nothing, so not sure if that means it's not working or what.

Since I got this so cheaply, I don't want to bother the guys at Outlaw any more than I have to (though I guess once it's sold second hand, it shouldn't really matter...but still...).

I did find the manual online and have looked it over, but it's pretty detailed reading. I ordered up a new remote as well. It should be here in a few days. The power cord is the 3 prong IEC kind since I could not find a 'plain' 2-prong as of yet..I read a thread here saying that wasn't a big deal.

So any ideas on getting this amazing pre-amp working? I can easily imagine that I fundamentally am missing something...so please feel free to ask me questions.
At the moment, if the remote doesn't fix this, I'll be a bit stuck. Mailing this back to MA would cost over $100 each way in shipping alone, so sending it off is not something I want to do until there's no other options.
Thanks for any suggestions...

You could open it up and check for any obvious issues. Blow it out with some dry air to get rid of the dust. There are also products you can spray it with to clean contacts and such but I would be hesitant to just go whole hog on it.

Aloha Xenon,

Thanks for that reply. I did a pretty good cleaning the other day. The 990 itself is in near mint shape.

I got the remote in the mail yesterday and after a bit more mucking about, I got everything working! Seems like there was a poor connection to the display, or perhaps if it's not used for a long time it has issues.
But no matter as I got it up and running! I've got it hooked up to a $5 Onkyo M5160 Amp, a set of $200 Klipsch LaScallas (actually LSIs) and a $50 JBL 18" powered sub. It sounds a lot better than the crappy mixer I was using before. A LOT more upfront presence. This whole system cost me $325 and has an awesome old-school sound...stoked to having it working!

I used to be a (hack) music producer, but I went deaf in one ear from a diving accident a decade ago and so now I'm not much of an audiophile. Surround sound, Dolby Pro etc is pretty much wasted on a monaural guy like I am now. Still I can hear perfectly with my one remaining ear so I can still hear a huge boost to definition and clarity. The amp is not the best, but it's got a full 150W per channel and I might now elect to bi-amp the speakers.
I don't know much about optical inputs, etc. Might have to learn more about it. I've got a couple 55" LED TVs that have digital outputs, so I'll have to do some homework.
Probably leave the 990 out in the man cave just for music though.
Again thanks to Jim at Outlaw and this forum. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions. Mahalo nui!