"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
On 2/18/2010 12:50 PM Puddin' Man spake thus:

There are a series of contacts just above the cassette. I cleaned
them as best I could with alcohol and Q-tip: made no difference.

I don't think those are contacts; those sound like the springs to hold the
cassette in.


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

There usually are several sets of contacts, one of which is the cassette
sense switch, the others being for sensing the record prevention tab (at
left side), and auto tape-type detection (right centre). Are you sure that
you actually got to the contacts ? These leaf switches normally have a clear
plastic cover over them, and it is necessary to remove this to clean them
successfully. This often involves withdrawing the pcb that they are soldered
to. When you can genuinely get to the contacts, they are best cleaned by
drawing a piece of paper soaked in switch cleaner through them, whilst
keeping some tension squeezed on them.

Another place that you might look is on the main body of the deck. I can't
remember if Technics decks have this additional switch or not, but many
decks do. It is another leaf switch, but usually an open type, and somewhat
smaller than the cassette sense switches. It is operated by the top edge of
the head plate pressing on it as the heads go fully in, to inform the system
control micro that the loading sequence has completed. These switches often
go intermittent like the sense switches, and again give the same symptom of
the deck going through the loading sequence, then dropping back to neutral
before the tape starts to transport.

Arfa