Kevin, try looking at the Technics line of cassettes.
The build quality of the ones I've had the pleasure of servicing are really nice.
I myself have the RS-TR333 dual-well deck, and while it's considered more "mid grade", it's got great specs and hefty flywheels.
The single deck machines of "higher up the ladder" build are fantastic machines.
The build quality of the ones I've had the pleasure of servicing are really nice.
I myself have the RS-TR333 dual-well deck, and while it's considered more "mid grade", it's got great specs and hefty flywheels.
The single deck machines of "higher up the ladder" build are fantastic machines.
No one here ever tinker with or own one of these decks?Just curious to hear.
I just repaired one
What sort of repairs? I've done a lot of work on the transport with mixed success. (Play and FF work normally, RWD mostly doesn't - still not to the bottom of that)
I've recapped 5 of the boards including the logic, servo, PSU, and the first two tape replay boards.
It works OK except for RWD. Definitely needs more caps which are on the way.
Looking at longer term solution to transport issues.
I've recapped 5 of the boards including the logic, servo, PSU, and the first two tape replay boards.
It works OK except for RWD. Definitely needs more caps which are on the way.
Looking at longer term solution to transport issues.
only did a repair, not a restoration project so left caps alone etc
Tape transport repair, used idler kit and belts from this vendor
WJOE Radio
Also replaced both pinch rollers with aftermarket types but had to modify them to fit...came up good all day job though
Tape transport repair, used idler kit and belts from this vendor
WJOE Radio
Also replaced both pinch rollers with aftermarket types but had to modify them to fit...came up good
all day job though
Part way through the recap at this point, 8 boards done and a whole bunch to still to go.. LOL I've stopped counting capacitors replaced, last I knew I was up around 80..
The sound quality has improved considerably - I guess that's not a surprise given this machine was manufactured 41+ years ago, and there were capacitors dating from 1976 in it.
I did identify the problem with rewind, the problem is between the clutch tire and the supply hub assembly. I guess over the years it's gotten a bit slick. The clutch tire is new, the clutch was repaired by markthefixer over at audiolarma, and the hub drive pulley is brand new. I was able to see what was going in rewind as it stalled. I expect further disassembly is required and some more cleaning and lubrication.
The sound quality has improved considerably - I guess that's not a surprise given this machine was manufactured 41+ years ago, and there were capacitors dating from 1976 in it.
I did identify the problem with rewind, the problem is between the clutch tire and the supply hub assembly. I guess over the years it's gotten a bit slick. The clutch tire is new, the clutch was repaired by markthefixer over at audiolarma, and the hub drive pulley is brand new. I was able to see what was going in rewind as it stalled. I expect further disassembly is required and some more cleaning and lubrication.
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More work tonight, replaced caps in Dolby encoder boards, the board with all of the input and output level controls, the peak indicator driver board and some circuitry scattered on the mother board.
So far so good, I've managed to not break anything, got it all back together.
I still have 3 boards to go; the 19kHz pilot filter board and both recording amplifiers. There are a smaller number of stragglers on the mother board that will be accessible when I take out the other board to work on them.
I've lost count of the number of capacitors replaced by I believe it's in the vicinity of 120, the bulk of the remainder are on the recording amps.
So far so good, I've managed to not break anything, got it all back together.
I still have 3 boards to go; the 19kHz pilot filter board and both recording amplifiers. There are a smaller number of stragglers on the mother board that will be accessible when I take out the other board to work on them.
I've lost count of the number of capacitors replaced by I believe it's in the vicinity of 120, the bulk of the remainder are on the recording amps.
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I have a Sony Casette Deck which is part of a stereo system I got handed down to me. I always thought of getting it repaired, however this seems a very complicated task.
Sony TCU-30
I recently listened to a 20 year old portable stereo casette player - just needed batteries, and a 30 year old casette tape. I was surprised at the lack of detectable wow and flutter and the dynamics of the bass. The voice (Steve Winwood) sounded a little distorted, and thought the crash cymbals came through, the high hat track was virtually non-existent, a problem I experienced throughout by cassette - listening days. With a good tape deck, however, even a Type 1 cassette can sound great, I think.
I got a Santana Greatest hits cassette recorded new by a professional studio and it sounded almost as good as CD as I remember, will have to listen to it again to check.
The bottom line is that with a good tape deck, tapes can sound great, too bad that they are so complicated.
Sony TCU-30
I recently listened to a 20 year old portable stereo casette player - just needed batteries, and a 30 year old casette tape. I was surprised at the lack of detectable wow and flutter and the dynamics of the bass. The voice (Steve Winwood) sounded a little distorted, and thought the crash cymbals came through, the high hat track was virtually non-existent, a problem I experienced throughout by cassette - listening days. With a good tape deck, however, even a Type 1 cassette can sound great, I think.
I got a Santana Greatest hits cassette recorded new by a professional studio and it sounded almost as good as CD as I remember, will have to listen to it again to check.
The bottom line is that with a good tape deck, tapes can sound great, too bad that they are so complicated.
Yes they are terribly complicated particularly ones like this scattered across 16 boards.. This not a project I can recommend given the likely longevity vs effort.. LOL
Allen, that cartoon is hilarious, I don't think I have seen that particular one before.
Yesterday I suffered a bit of a setback after completing the recap, the unit absolutely would not record. I thought I had a bum bias oscillator module. It turned out to be much simpler but not too easy to find. After a series of logic level measurements that made 0 sense I came to the conclusion that I had an open ground. It took me about 10 minutes to find the broken wire - once restored all of the voltages finally made sense and record mode worked as expected.
Recording quality is OK, but I suspect I probably need to adjust the bias and do a few other adjustments on record side.
No threat to either of my Otari MX-50s or the MKIII, and the loss of quality dubbing from one of my digital sources is pretty noticeable - this is why I abandoned cassette tape as a medium in the first place 21 years ago. This deck is likely a bit better even now than the last one I owned, but I sure wouldn't want it as my only source.
Will be fun to collect old pre-recorded cassette tapes though.
I'm going to rest a bit and then decide how I feel about machining some replacement bits for it.
Allen, that cartoon is hilarious, I don't think I have seen that particular one before.
Yesterday I suffered a bit of a setback after completing the recap, the unit absolutely would not record. I thought I had a bum bias oscillator module. It turned out to be much simpler but not too easy to find. After a series of logic level measurements that made 0 sense I came to the conclusion that I had an open ground. It took me about 10 minutes to find the broken wire - once restored all of the voltages finally made sense and record mode worked as expected.
Recording quality is OK, but I suspect I probably need to adjust the bias and do a few other adjustments on record side.
No threat to either of my Otari MX-50s or the MKIII, and the loss of quality dubbing from one of my digital sources is pretty noticeable - this is why I abandoned cassette tape as a medium in the first place 21 years ago. This deck is likely a bit better even now than the last one I owned, but I sure wouldn't want it as my only source.
Will be fun to collect old pre-recorded cassette tapes though.
I'm going to rest a bit and then decide how I feel about machining some replacement bits for it.
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The ferrite heads on these and related machines are not noted for their longevity unfortunately. They do appear on eBay from time to time, but it is pretty hard to know just how good they are.
Mine appear to have some wear, but not too bad. I would estimate they are about half way to end of life. I think other components are likely to fail first.
Mine appear to have some wear, but not too bad. I would estimate they are about half way to end of life. I think other components are likely to fail first.
I made a permanent spot for it on one of my equipment racks.
Pre-recorded cassettes are often quite inexpensive and collectible, it's sort of amusing to grab and play one once in a while. Some of them actually sound surprisingly OK, mass production of cassettes must have improved a lot between the 1970s and late 1990s which is when most of the 10 I currently own are from.
I was gifted a sealed 3 pack of TDK SA-X 100 a few days ago and I guess I will calibrate the record electronics to record on it.
I think I identified a set of replacement pinch rollers that will work in this deck, if not I am out less than $15 including shipping. Worst case eventually I will send them to Terry's Rubber Rollers for new rubber.
Pre-recorded cassettes are often quite inexpensive and collectible, it's sort of amusing to grab and play one once in a while. Some of them actually sound surprisingly OK, mass production of cassettes must have improved a lot between the 1970s and late 1990s which is when most of the 10 I currently own are from.
I was gifted a sealed 3 pack of TDK SA-X 100 a few days ago and I guess I will calibrate the record electronics to record on it.
I think I identified a set of replacement pinch rollers that will work in this deck, if not I am out less than $15 including shipping. Worst case eventually I will send them to Terry's Rubber Rollers for new rubber.
Attachments
I did a bit more investigation last night and got a good look at both the supply and take up reel assemblies. I cleaned them up a bit, also doing the same to the play mode take up reel drive.
Seems like there is a bit more FF/RWD torque than before, but fundamentally it hasn't made a meaningful difference - I'm still not getting good performance on rewind, and it appears that the intermediate clutch assembly is slipping in rewind between the tire and supply side hub.
The mechanism seems totally dependent on reel motor direction of rotation and torque to force it against the individual hub assembly.
I installed an aftermarket drive pulley replacement on the reel motor and it is significantly wider diameter than the original. I am starting to suspect this might be somehow involved. I may try swapping it at some point to see.
I don't have a lot in this machine money wise, but I have invested a lot of my very limited spare time in it. (I would guess at least 25 - 30 hours so far) It has fairly high entertainment value so there is that, and having recapped it the audio performance seems well above average for cassette and beyond what I would have expected of the medium when new.
It does record quite well.
As an aside I think it is a good idea to avoid anything over a C-90 in one of these machines due to limited torque unless you use an external cassette rewinder.. I'm probably going to get a rewinder while not yet conceding defeat.
For good measure I used regrip on the pinch rollers last night, did no harm, can't tell any discernible difference - they seem very hard compared to the rollers on my R2R machines even allowing for the vast difference in size.
I have purchased some 10mm x 7.00mm pinch rollers with 2 mm holes and oilite bearings. They should be here middle of next month and I will replace them then if they fit properly. (Hole diameter concern.) My measurements last night reconfirmed the dimensions I think... My plan is to send the originals out to Terry's Rubber Rollers to be retired..
I meant to take a lot more pictures of the disassembly and reassembly process, but basically didn't..
Seems like there is a bit more FF/RWD torque than before, but fundamentally it hasn't made a meaningful difference - I'm still not getting good performance on rewind, and it appears that the intermediate clutch assembly is slipping in rewind between the tire and supply side hub.
The mechanism seems totally dependent on reel motor direction of rotation and torque to force it against the individual hub assembly.
I installed an aftermarket drive pulley replacement on the reel motor and it is significantly wider diameter than the original. I am starting to suspect this might be somehow involved. I may try swapping it at some point to see.
I don't have a lot in this machine money wise, but I have invested a lot of my very limited spare time in it. (I would guess at least 25 - 30 hours so far) It has fairly high entertainment value so there is that, and having recapped it the audio performance seems well above average for cassette and beyond what I would have expected of the medium when new.
It does record quite well.
As an aside I think it is a good idea to avoid anything over a C-90 in one of these machines due to limited torque unless you use an external cassette rewinder.. I'm probably going to get a rewinder while not yet conceding defeat.
For good measure I used regrip on the pinch rollers last night, did no harm, can't tell any discernible difference - they seem very hard compared to the rollers on my R2R machines even allowing for the vast difference in size.
I have purchased some 10mm x 7.00mm pinch rollers with 2 mm holes and oilite bearings. They should be here middle of next month and I will replace them then if they fit properly. (Hole diameter concern.) My measurements last night reconfirmed the dimensions I think... My plan is to send the originals out to Terry's Rubber Rollers to be retired..
I meant to take a lot more pictures of the disassembly and reassembly process, but basically didn't..
