Salvaging old drive belts
Here's a problem: my old (25 yrs.) Philips cassette deck recently
crapped out after working flawlessly since buying it new. The problem was apparently mechanical: it just couldn't move the tape anymore, especially trying to rewind or fast-forward near the end. Anyhow, I opened it up and took the transport out, thinking to lube it. Turns out the problem is simpler: the drive belt is stretched out enough to not grab the pulleys anymore. So since I'm pretty sure this will be hard to impossible to replace, I'm wondering if anyone has any techniques for shrinking or rejuvenating old belts. (It's still pretty supple and clean.) I tried heating it, carefully, and am letting it sit to see if that might have fixed it. (I guess another alternative is trying to harvest a belt, but I'd rather not go on that particular hunt.) -- The only reason corrupt Republicans rule the roost in Washington is because the corrupt Democrats can't muster any viable opposition. |
Salvaging old drive belts
David Nebenzahl wrote:
Here's a problem: my old (25 yrs.) Philips cassette deck recently crapped out after working flawlessly since buying it new. The problem was apparently mechanical: it just couldn't move the tape anymore, especially trying to rewind or fast-forward near the end. Anyhow, I opened it up and took the transport out, thinking to lube it. Turns out the problem is simpler: the drive belt is stretched out enough to not grab the pulleys anymore. So since I'm pretty sure this will be hard to impossible to replace, I'm wondering if anyone has any techniques for shrinking or rejuvenating old belts. (It's still pretty supple and clean.) I tried heating it, carefully, and am letting it sit to see if that might have fixed it. (I guess another alternative is trying to harvest a belt, but I'd rather not go on that particular hunt.) I doubt that they can be shrunk to an effective size, but here is something I did even after having be chastised for suggesting it befo I visited a hardware store and looked for "O" rings that were about the same diameter and thickness as a good belt. It may not be the proper tension and size, but when you have a machine that lacks only a belt and none are available, it is worth pursuing. |
Salvaging old drive belts
David Nebenzahl writes:
Here's a problem: my old (25 yrs.) Philips cassette deck recently crapped out after working flawlessly since buying it new. The problem was apparently mechanical: it just couldn't move the tape anymore, especially trying to rewind or fast-forward near the end. Anyhow, I opened it up and took the transport out, thinking to lube it. Turns out the problem is simpler: the drive belt is stretched out enough to not grab the pulleys anymore. So since I'm pretty sure this will be hard to impossible to replace, I'm wondering if anyone has any techniques for shrinking or rejuvenating old belts. (It's still pretty supple and clean.) I tried heating it, carefully, and am letting it sit to see if that might have fixed it. (I guess another alternative is trying to harvest a belt, but I'd rather not go on that particular hunt.) Generic belts are readily available from places like MCM Electronics. You should be able to find something close enough. --- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/ Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/ +Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm | Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs. |
Salvaging old drive belts
David:
I keep seeing postings about how to make do with old, stretched, worn belts because replacement belts are, according to the poster, "impossible to get" ...... not so. Aftermarket belts are READILY available from many suppliers. Why screw around with old, worn belts or trying to make do with unsatisfactory, makeshift substitutions? Do you google? Do a google search for "tape deck belts" .... In less than a second you will obtain hundreds of good hits and locations where you can purchase NEW proper replacement belts. It can be a lot of work to get to the belts in some equipment, so make the most of your effort and install a new belt that won't fail in the near future. -- Best Regards, Daniel Sofie Electronics Supply & Repair - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - snipped: "David Nebenzahl" wrote in message news:43da21ca$0$25066 So since I'm pretty sure this will be hard to impossible to replace, I'm wondering if anyone has any techniques for shrinking or rejuvenating old belts. (It's still pretty supple and clean.) I tried heating it, carefully, and am letting it sit to see if that might have fixed it. (I guess another alternative is trying to harvest a belt, but I'd rather not go on that particular hunt.) viable opposition. |
Salvaging old drive belts
sofie spake thus:
I keep seeing postings about how to make do with old, stretched, worn belts because replacement belts are, according to the poster, "impossible to get" ..... not so. Aftermarket belts are READILY available from many suppliers. Why screw around with old, worn belts or trying to make do with unsatisfactory, makeshift substitutions? Why, indeed? Do you google? Of course. Doesn't everyone? Even clueless AOLers do it. Do a google search for "tape deck belts" .... In less than a second you will obtain hundreds of good hits and locations where you can purchase NEW proper replacement belts. It can be a lot of work to get to the belts in some equipment, so make the most of your effort and install a new belt that won't fail in the near future. Well, of course, I did search for just that, but the links I got were less than useful; a lot of really badly-organized web sites with tons of stuff on them and no way to find anything. Someone else here mentioned a specific vendor (MCM Electronics), which I'll look up. Plus, the first thing I did was contact Philips themselves (why not at least try?); I'm going to call their customer service line right after this. -- The only reason corrupt Republicans rule the roost in Washington is because the corrupt Democrats can't muster any viable opposition. |
Salvaging old drive belts
Tritronics also has an assortment of belts by type and size.
Leonard "David Nebenzahl" wrote in message s.com... sofie spake thus: I keep seeing postings about how to make do with old, stretched, worn belts because replacement belts are, according to the poster, "impossible to get" ..... not so. Aftermarket belts are READILY available from many suppliers. Why screw around with old, worn belts or trying to make do with unsatisfactory, makeshift substitutions? Why, indeed? Do you google? Of course. Doesn't everyone? Even clueless AOLers do it. Do a google search for "tape deck belts" .... In less than a second you will obtain hundreds of good hits and locations where you can purchase NEW proper replacement belts. It can be a lot of work to get to the belts in some equipment, so make the most of your effort and install a new belt that won't fail in the near future. Well, of course, I did search for just that, but the links I got were less than useful; a lot of really badly-organized web sites with tons of stuff on them and no way to find anything. Someone else here mentioned a specific vendor (MCM Electronics), which I'll look up. Plus, the first thing I did was contact Philips themselves (why not at least try?); I'm going to call their customer service line right after this. -- The only reason corrupt Republicans rule the roost in Washington is because the corrupt Democrats can't muster any viable opposition. |
Salvaging old drive belts
David Nebenzahl spake thus:
Here's a problem: my old (25 yrs.) Philips cassette deck recently crapped out after working flawlessly since buying it new. The problem was apparently mechanical: it just couldn't move the tape anymore, especially trying to rewind or fast-forward near the end. Anyhow, I opened it up and took the transport out, thinking to lube it. Turns out the problem is simpler: the drive belt is stretched out enough to not grab the pulleys anymore. So since I'm pretty sure this will be hard to impossible to replace, I'm wondering if anyone has any techniques for shrinking or rejuvenating old belts. (It's still pretty supple and clean.) I tried heating it, carefully, and am letting it sit to see if that might have fixed it. (I guess another alternative is trying to harvest a belt, but I'd rather not go on that particular hunt.) I may have found a source for replacements. Should have thought of this in the first place: *rely on local places FIRST*. I called Philips, who of course don't have any parts for this, but they referred me to a local authorized service center nearby. I called them, and the guy kind of laughed when I told him what I wanted. But he said he could try to find a matching belt from what he had, so I dropped the old one off there. Should know by tomorrow if he found a match. The moral of the story: before assuming that everything can (and should) be found on the Almighty Internet, check local shops first. By the way, a small piece of information I picked up from Philips: while waiting, I asked the customer service woman how long they support products after they're no longer made. She said that they generally keep spares on hand for at least 5 years after something is discontinued, up to a maximum of about 8 years. -- The only reason corrupt Republicans rule the roost in Washington is because the corrupt Democrats can't muster any viable opposition. |
Salvaging old drive belts
|
Salvaging old drive belts
"Doug" writes:
http://www.turntablebelts.com/ http://www.srdpc.com/witt/ http://www.iglou.com/studiosound/belts.htm#TURN www.russellind.com http://www.kenselectronics.com/lists/belts.htm And keep in mind that you probably won't find a match to your make and model. You'll have to estimate the circumfrance and diameter from the path the belt takes and reduce that by 5-10 percent. You might want to order a few belts of slightly different dimensions to be sure of getting one that is acceptable. --- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/ Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/ +Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm | Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs. |
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:05 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2014 DIYbanter