phillybhatesme Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 (edited) Apologies for the long post I just picked up a used Cassette deck and need to fix a few things. So far, this is what I've noticed that needs fixin: Audio only coming out of left channel. Left VU meter working properly. I did some brief research on this found that cleaning the record/play switch might help - small thread I also found this thread, which has a comment I believe to be relatable, but I do not think I fully understand. "You can eliminate the head as the source of your problem by interchanging the L & R wires in the connector. If the problem migrates to the other channel, then the head or cable is the culprit, otherwise there is a problem on the board." I did this, I think. I took my red and white connectors on the back of the tape deck and reversed them, but I'm still only getting movement on the left VU meter, the right VU meter isn't moving. I am getting audio through right speaker of course. So I do not believe my problem migrated to the other channel, right? Slow or nonexistent rewind Rewind seems to work just fine when the tape is in the middle of its playback (hope that makes sense), but when the tape is near the beginning, rewind either doesn't work or is super slow. For example, if I start playing a tape from the beginning, wait about 30 seconds, then try to rewind, it's really slow or gets stuck. Counter isn't working - Belt doesn't appear to be spinning Tape Playing lights I think they're on, there's definitely light back there, but I can't see it from the front. Deck light bulb is out I think this is one of those bulbs that has two wires coming out of it that I just need to wrap around the connecting wires, but I can't really tell. I have the cover off and am willing to dive in, but I'm new to working on electronics and tape decks in general, so I have a whole lot of terms to learn. For anyone who is willing to help, you'll probably have to explain things like I'm 5, sorry in advance. Here's a video of my unit - Imgur Link - same video, but on YouTube. And in the meantime, I'm going to do some more research and learning. Any help is appreciated, thanks! Edited January 22, 2022 by phillybhatesme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchard Posted January 27, 2022 Share Posted January 27, 2022 You may have found these already, but these forums will probably be able to provide more specific help. http://www.tapeheads.net/forumdisplay.php?s=9896ddb6ff61b5e4d359a4a69c54d325&f=6 https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?forums/tape.157/ I got a lot of great advice when I was troubleshooting a rad Technics RS-676US that I found for like $10. Sadly the capstan motor was dead and I can't find a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillybhatesme Posted January 27, 2022 Author Share Posted January 27, 2022 Thank you! I should have updated OP. The only issue I'm running into is audio on the right channel is super faint, but it has worked for about 5 seconds at a time, then goes super faint. I've been posting about it on IG and audiokarma, thanks for the other links! mitchard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillybhatesme Posted January 31, 2022 Author Share Posted January 31, 2022 (edited) For posterity's sake, I'll give another update on this in case anyone ever finds this thread in their own research about this unit or issues. I feel like a fuckin' pro at this point hahaha. Disassembly was pretty easy, just remember where your screws go. But seriously, all but 2 little screws (I hate calling these properly threaded fasteners screws, but calling them little bolts seems so wrong) were the same, just different colored. Audio coming out of only one channel was the biggest issue for me. It's still a bit finicky so if I ever get proper belts for this unit, I'll attack the switches/pots again with Deoxit, which seemed to do the trick, I think. I initially described my issue as no audio out of the right channel, but after a bit of troubleshooting, I found that the signal was super faint. To deduce this, I turned the balance all the way to the right and turned up the volume; I was indeed able to hear a faint signal. I cleaned the recording switch on the board (red rectangle: there are two long metal pieces), as well as all electrical connectors. In addition, cleaning the switch pots seemed to do the most for me regarding this issue. In order to get audio to play out of both channels, I sometimes have to press down on the play button a few times. Slow or nonexistent rewind, counter not working, tape-playing lights: I cleaned the heads, capstan, pinch roller, and belts with isopropyl. I got a tip to use windex on the pinch roller, but didn't find that I needed it. The rewind issue is still there, but it's much better than before. The counter works just fine and the tape-playing lights were on, but were not visible from the outside of the unit when I originally described this issue. It turns out that the counter and piece that makes the lights visible (blue circle) to the outside of the unit all run on two belts. I cleaned both, but one still slips a little bit and they should both eventually be replaced. The light bulb still doesn't work, but that's only because I do not know what watt bulb to get. Overall, this was really fun to work on and with a little bit more Deoxit and new belts, this thing will be brand new. This also gave me the confidence to get something else and work on it...I found a Nakamichi BX-1 on craigslist for 50 bucks that needs its belts replaced. I ordered those and the idler tire and I trust that I'll have an amazing player for a relatively low cost. Video of unit playing Edited February 1, 2022 by phillybhatesme mitchard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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