I bought mum a Sony TC-FX211 a few years ago. The belts are all gummed up so is due for a service... I was thinking I might do a recap while I'm at it. Worth the trouble or not really?
In the meantime, I jumped on ebay to source some belts, but I'm not sure which suppliers are any good? I'm not so sure I can trust dodgy ebay sellers that are just proxies for alibaba and the like... And only to find the new belts stretch and melt after a single summer...
I also had a look at picking up a blank chrome and metal tape just testing purposes... and needless to say my jaw hit the floor! I never knew they were so expensive! LOL
Anyone know where I can buy just one that's affordable? Or even if I could just borrow one as it's only for testing? (I'm in Sydney Australia btw)
Also, it's probably a good idea I pick up one of those wow/flutter test tapes, though I'm not sure what ones are good value for money these days...
Thanks all, in advance.
In the meantime, I jumped on ebay to source some belts, but I'm not sure which suppliers are any good? I'm not so sure I can trust dodgy ebay sellers that are just proxies for alibaba and the like... And only to find the new belts stretch and melt after a single summer...
I also had a look at picking up a blank chrome and metal tape just testing purposes... and needless to say my jaw hit the floor! I never knew they were so expensive! LOL
Anyone know where I can buy just one that's affordable? Or even if I could just borrow one as it's only for testing? (I'm in Sydney Australia btw)
Also, it's probably a good idea I pick up one of those wow/flutter test tapes, though I'm not sure what ones are good value for money these days...
Thanks all, in advance.
Scrap it and buy her a pen drive / FM unit.
It mostly has a remote, so convenient for old people.
Most of the recordings are available for download.
Find a way to salvage personal recordings.
Last cassette production was in 2006 here in India, MP3 CD-R killed the old formats.
Belts, pinch rollers, heads, all are seriously difficult to find here, the old stock is being used up, production tools have been scrapped long back.
Motors, leaf switches, other parts are also in the cannibal stage, using old worn machines as donors.
This in a country where old stuff is maintained far longer than in other countries.
Aussie, no idea...
It mostly has a remote, so convenient for old people.
Most of the recordings are available for download.
Find a way to salvage personal recordings.
Last cassette production was in 2006 here in India, MP3 CD-R killed the old formats.
Belts, pinch rollers, heads, all are seriously difficult to find here, the old stock is being used up, production tools have been scrapped long back.
Motors, leaf switches, other parts are also in the cannibal stage, using old worn machines as donors.
This in a country where old stuff is maintained far longer than in other countries.
Aussie, no idea...
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She's 61 so a pen drive / FM unit will be of little use to her. Plus she already has access to the radio on her receiver.
Not to mention she has draws and draws of her old favourite tapes, and I wouldn't be surprised if half of them weren't available online. Nor is she going to want to spend hundreds or thousands on music she already owns... So a pen drive isn't a very good solution, sorry.
This is the current setup that i put together for her in 2011.
I already have the tape deck apart, i just didn't have the correct sized belts immediately on hand right now.
Not to mention she has draws and draws of her old favourite tapes, and I wouldn't be surprised if half of them weren't available online. Nor is she going to want to spend hundreds or thousands on music she already owns... So a pen drive isn't a very good solution, sorry.
This is the current setup that i put together for her in 2011.
I already have the tape deck apart, i just didn't have the correct sized belts immediately on hand right now.
Attachments
As Davor D says Thakker is a reliable source and covers most makes.
Why recap? There is little in a cassette deck that puts a strain on caps. Check those across the power rails otherwise I would leave it alone. Likewise what are you going to do with a wow and flutter tape? If it shows a problem it will either be worn mechanics or the original spec of the machine. Clean the capsten, pinch roller and replace belts (which you plan to do) is about as far as you can go.
For tapes scout around the op shops I often find tapes that someone has recorded or use one of your mum's and line it up for those. That is your planned use for the machine.
Why recap? There is little in a cassette deck that puts a strain on caps. Check those across the power rails otherwise I would leave it alone. Likewise what are you going to do with a wow and flutter tape? If it shows a problem it will either be worn mechanics or the original spec of the machine. Clean the capsten, pinch roller and replace belts (which you plan to do) is about as far as you can go.
For tapes scout around the op shops I often find tapes that someone has recorded or use one of your mum's and line it up for those. That is your planned use for the machine.
Thanks guys, some good advice here... I totally forgot about op shops!
When tested, it sounded absolutely awful, but i'll put that down to the belts and old grease for now.
With the caps, I was just wondering if that's the normal servicing you guys do. Though I assume that if I were to touch them, it would require a proper adjustment using an oscilloscope (which i can do if need be)... Then again, it may be expected to do this anyway? (due to aging caps)
My thoughts were, considering the machine was from the early 90s, I had a suspicion it may be from the plague era. Plus age could be a factor? And not sure if brand name is much to go off, but most small caps are 75% Rubycon and 25% Elna, and a few power caps are Nichicon. I don't see any signs of leaking or corrosion around them, so perhaps I'm safe.
But you're likely right, caps are probably a waste of time for now. All of my issues are probably mechanical for the most part.
When tested, it sounded absolutely awful, but i'll put that down to the belts and old grease for now.
With the caps, I was just wondering if that's the normal servicing you guys do. Though I assume that if I were to touch them, it would require a proper adjustment using an oscilloscope (which i can do if need be)... Then again, it may be expected to do this anyway? (due to aging caps)
My thoughts were, considering the machine was from the early 90s, I had a suspicion it may be from the plague era. Plus age could be a factor? And not sure if brand name is much to go off, but most small caps are 75% Rubycon and 25% Elna, and a few power caps are Nichicon. I don't see any signs of leaking or corrosion around them, so perhaps I'm safe.
But you're likely right, caps are probably a waste of time for now. All of my issues are probably mechanical for the most part.
The plague as you described it was the mid 2000s when the fake caps flooded the market. The brand's you mention should be fine. You mention old grease. Sony had a liking for graphite grease which dries rock hard and gums up small moving parts. Worth washing it off with isopropyl alcohol and greasing with something modern. Keep it away from belts a pulleys though.
Some good points. Thanks all.
Lubrication: After cleaning, I have some dry PTFE lube spray that i can use, or would i need to use something more specific like ceramic grease or something? That would be easy to apply to the gears, but would be pretty much impossible to apply to bearings and spindles without a full disassembly... which I'd hope to avoid if possible.
Cleaning: I was thinking about just putting the whole mechanism assembly into my ultrasonic cleaner for a proper degreasing in alcohol. Or is this a bad idea? Perhaps this would dry out any sintered oil bushings? Though it's actually pretty grubby.... There's quite a bit of an oily residue throughout, including on the capstan and pinch roller. Though I'll need to keep in mind that any harsh solvents would likely destroy any rubber parts like pinch rollers etc, so maybe it'd be best to restrict used to water based degreasers only?
Further Disassembly: Or just remove those delicate parts? Besides the pinch roller, door eject dampening gear, read/record/erase heads, and ofcourse the motor, would there be any other hidden delicate parts that I should remove first before giving it a bath? I get the feeling there's a hidden o-ring in there somewhere...
Disassembly/Reassembly Risks: It feels like there's an element of risk vs reward when working around brittle old plastics. Unclipping the pinch roller looks like there could be a risk of cracking the plastic clips. Ii seems like these are pretty much one of the most complicated mechanical assemblies i've ever pulled apart besides mechanical watches... and from my experience they almost never go back together the same and is guaranteed to lose a couple 1.5mm E-clips that ping across the living room into the abyss under the sofa. Though luckily I haven't snapped anything yet touch wood... Would you guys feel confident with mid 90s plastics? Or is it a walk in the park compared to machines from the 70s and 80s? Experience is valuable i suppose.
Lubrication: After cleaning, I have some dry PTFE lube spray that i can use, or would i need to use something more specific like ceramic grease or something? That would be easy to apply to the gears, but would be pretty much impossible to apply to bearings and spindles without a full disassembly... which I'd hope to avoid if possible.
Cleaning: I was thinking about just putting the whole mechanism assembly into my ultrasonic cleaner for a proper degreasing in alcohol. Or is this a bad idea? Perhaps this would dry out any sintered oil bushings? Though it's actually pretty grubby.... There's quite a bit of an oily residue throughout, including on the capstan and pinch roller. Though I'll need to keep in mind that any harsh solvents would likely destroy any rubber parts like pinch rollers etc, so maybe it'd be best to restrict used to water based degreasers only?
Further Disassembly: Or just remove those delicate parts? Besides the pinch roller, door eject dampening gear, read/record/erase heads, and ofcourse the motor, would there be any other hidden delicate parts that I should remove first before giving it a bath? I get the feeling there's a hidden o-ring in there somewhere...
Disassembly/Reassembly Risks: It feels like there's an element of risk vs reward when working around brittle old plastics. Unclipping the pinch roller looks like there could be a risk of cracking the plastic clips. Ii seems like these are pretty much one of the most complicated mechanical assemblies i've ever pulled apart besides mechanical watches... and from my experience they almost never go back together the same and is guaranteed to lose a couple 1.5mm E-clips that ping across the living room into the abyss under the sofa. Though luckily I haven't snapped anything yet touch wood... Would you guys feel confident with mid 90s plastics? Or is it a walk in the park compared to machines from the 70s and 80s? Experience is valuable i suppose.
should be no need to adjust Azimuth as your suggesting...in fact you can introduce more problems..there is a reason those screws are covered in loctite
Correct, mine is also covered in loctite... So I assume removing the heads just to deep clean the entire mechanism would make this impractical and ultimately creating more unnecessary work for nothing? Perhaps using the ultrasonic cleaner isn't a good idea after all...
just clean the tape path and heads with ISO alcohol really nothing much more required after changing the belts etc
Ultrasonic would shatter most plastics if combined with solvent.
Aged plastics may break with water in the ultrasonic bath.
That means trouble.
Just see all the moving parts are clean and moving freely.
It is a slow speed mechanism, no need really to dismantle and lube.
If need be, use sewing machine on sintered bearings.
The azimuth adjustment is for technicians, and the thread locker is to keep it in place during use. To be done only during maintenance or head replacement.
Sendust, Super Sendust, Glass Crystal, Ferrite....remember?
Aged plastics may break with water in the ultrasonic bath.
That means trouble.
Just see all the moving parts are clean and moving freely.
It is a slow speed mechanism, no need really to dismantle and lube.
If need be, use sewing machine on sintered bearings.
The azimuth adjustment is for technicians, and the thread locker is to keep it in place during use. To be done only during maintenance or head replacement.
Sendust, Super Sendust, Glass Crystal, Ferrite....remember?
Don't sink it under water or alcohol, it is a bad idea. No need to overthinking it. Clean what needs to be cleaned, but nothing else. Replace the belts, clean the tape guides and capstan with a cotton bud using alcohol, clean the pinch roller with water, that's it.
Those old machines might have issues with the take-up friction: if too much there is wow, too little causes jamming. Don't apply any oil there (and in general it is unlikely that any part needs oiling, including the bearings).
Those old machines might have issues with the take-up friction: if too much there is wow, too little causes jamming. Don't apply any oil there (and in general it is unlikely that any part needs oiling, including the bearings).