I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

On Jan 18, 2:43*am, Phil Addison wrote:
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

If all else fails, cut sections from a car inner tube of the right
cross section.

Cpc used to stock a kind of selection of this sort of thing, but its very
hard to actually tell as often its the stretchability etc that is important.
I need a new set of belts for some classic Technics dbx tape decks but can't
seem to find the tiny thicround ones anywhere these days. its rather
important as these raise and lower the head slide!

Brian

--
Brian Gaff -
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Phil Addison" wrote in message
...
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:02:39 +0000, Brian Gaff wrote:

Cpc used to stock a kind of selection of this sort of thing, but its
very hard to actually tell as often its the stretchability etc that is
important. I need a new set of belts for some classic Technics dbx tape
decks but can't seem to find the tiny thicround ones anywhere these
days. its rather important as these raise and lower the head slide!

If you want microscopic belts, take a look at the various seals for watch
cases. There are even different cross-sections, although stretvhability
probably isn't great.



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 18/01/2012 02:43, Phil Addison wrote:
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)
Tried Ebay? I got a belt for a 1970s projector from there.

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:43:26 +0000
Phil Addison wrote:

I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has
turned to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and
very thin. Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the
other bands are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may
just last for this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if
they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

Yes.
http://www.vintage-electronics.cc/vabout.html

I bought a set of belts for an AIWA tape deck from Bob. Postage cost is
minimal.
--
Davey.

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:02:39 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

I need a new set of belts for some classic Technics dbx tape decks but can't
seem to find the tiny thicround ones anywhere these days. its rather
important as these raise and lower the head slide!

Ahh, that might explain, 15 years later, why mine, a RS-M275X, often
refused to play unless I cycled it via stop and play a few times.

I thought at the time it was a friction problem due to grease drying
up, bought a service manual and then never got round to fixing it.

It has to be a sign of old age when you can remember the exact model
number (with a slight help from google) but can't remember something
from 5 minutes ago.

http://www.vintagecassette.com/Technics/RS-M275X

"MSRP $600" 'kin hell, that is a lot of money. I don't think I paid
much more than a couple of hundred quid but I could be wrong.

--

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:08:15 +0000
The Other Mike wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:02:39 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

I need a new set of belts for some classic Technics dbx tape decks
but can't seem to find the tiny thicround ones anywhere these days.
its rather important as these raise and lower the head slide!

Ahh, that might explain, 15 years later, why mine, a RS-M275X, often
refused to play unless I cycled it via stop and play a few times.

I thought at the time it was a friction problem due to grease drying
up, bought a service manual and then never got round to fixing it.

It has to be a sign of old age when you can remember the exact model
number (with a slight help from google) but can't remember something
from 5 minutes ago.

http://www.vintagecassette.com/Technics/RS-M275X

"MSRP $600" 'kin hell, that is a lot of money. I don't think I paid
much more than a couple of hundred quid but I could be wrong.


I recently looked on ebay at the prices of what were common 'Hi'Fi'
units back in my day, things like Armstrong 2 x 8 watt amplifiers,
Goodmans Module 80/90/100 receivers, Sansui stuff, etc and was amazed to
see what people were asking for them. So I fixed my old Goodmans Module
80, and the cassette deck, mentioned earlier, is in the process of being
dissected right now. But if you have a Hacker or Roberts radio that
needs work, I can point you to The Man for them.
-
Davey.

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:29:43 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:43:26 +0000
Phil Addison wrote:

I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has
turned to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and
very thin. Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the
other bands are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may
just last for this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if
they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

Yes.
http://www.vintage-electronics.cc/vabout.html

I bought a set of belts for an AIWA tape deck from Bob. Postage cost is
minimal.

Wow, that's more than I hoped for even fron uk.d-i-y, someone selling
spares for the actual make and model number, and I didn't even think it
was worth googling for that...

"Pioneer CT-F650 Belt Kit $19.00 5 belts
Belt kit w/ Factory Service Manual (in PDF) Combo $23.00"

Just ordered them, many thanks Davey.

Phil

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:52:15 +0000
Phil Addison wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:29:43 +0000, Davey
wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:43:26 +0000
Phil Addison wrote:

I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette
but when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better
reproduction I found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive
'rubber band' has turned to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt
5 or 6 mm wide and very thin. Any ideas where I might source a
replacemment? Some of the other bands are looking a bit fragile
too, but look as if they may just last for this task, but IO can
live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

Yes.
http://www.vintage-electronics.cc/vabout.html

I bought a set of belts for an AIWA tape deck from Bob. Postage
cost is minimal.

Wow, that's more than I hoped for even fron uk.d-i-y, someone selling
spares for the actual make and model number, and I didn't even think
it was worth googling for that...

"Pioneer CT-F650 Belt Kit $19.00 5 belts
Belt kit w/ Factory Service Manual (in PDF) Combo $23.00"

Just ordered them, many thanks Davey.

Phil

Glad it worked out!
--
Davey.

"Phil Addison" wrote in message
...
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

I have used a firm called Grandata for this kind of thing.

On Jan 18, 2:43*am, Phil Addison wrote:
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

For future reference, even the humble stationery rubber band lasts
many years, adequate for a percentage of repairs.


NT

In article ,
Phil Addison wrote:
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

Tried Ebay? If it's a common one you might just be lucky.

--
*No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver,purple

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message
,
harry writes
On Jan 18, 2:43*am, Phil Addison wrote:
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

If all else fails, cut sections from a car inner tube of the right
cross section.

"30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin"

note the last measurement dopey

--
geoff

In message , Phil Addison
writes
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

Have you tried a god old rubber band, less than perfect, but better than
nothing. Or, send it over here and I can convert it to some other medium
for you


--
geoff

"Phil Addison" wrote in message
...
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.



http://supaseal.co.uk/kits.htm

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:41:44 +0000, Phil Addison wrote:

Definitely a fall back option, but are you sure about longevity, I find
rubber bands going gooey very quickly these days.

And a rubber band isn't consistent enough in thickness and/or tension
to provide constant torque so wow and flutter figures rise. It'll
work but sound 'orrible.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:43:26 +0000
Phil Addison wrote:

I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has
turned to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and
very thin. Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the
other bands are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may
just last for this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if
they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

Phil,

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my AIWA
cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical problem, in
that the take-up spool doesn't rotate. It's not a belt problem, it's
gear driven, but there are all sorts of levers and strange ratchet
things underneath, and needless to say, the manual just sort of, kind of
shows them in exploded view, but gives absolutely zero idea of how they
are meant to work. The 'Adjustments' section is all about electronic
setup.
So although the deck gets generally good ratings from reviewers, even
now, I think I will put it back into its box, and maybe, one day, have
another go, but I will get something new(er) to replace it. Maybe see
if there is one on e-bay that works, and I can send back if it doesn't.
Then at least I have a stock of spare parts. Of course, it would cost
too much to get a pro. to repair it.

Just so you are aware of what someone in a similar position to yourself
found when the belts were changed. I wish you good luck.
--
Davey.

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my AIWA
cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical problem, in
that the take-up spool doesn't rotate. It's not a belt problem, it's
gear driven, but there are all sorts of levers and strange ratchet
things underneath, and needless to say, the manual just sort of, kind of
shows them in exploded view, but gives absolutely zero idea of how they
are meant to work. The 'Adjustments' section is all about electronic
setup.

Does it do this without a tape?

It might possibly have something similar to VCR's - a clutch below the
spools, or even a brake lever.


--

The Other Mike wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my AIWA
cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical problem, in
that the take-up spool doesn't rotate. It's not a belt problem, it's
gear driven, but there are all sorts of levers and strange ratchet
things underneath, and needless to say, the manual just sort of, kind of
shows them in exploded view, but gives absolutely zero idea of how they
are meant to work. The 'Adjustments' section is all about electronic
setup.

Does it do this without a tape?

It might possibly have something similar to VCR's - a clutch below the
spools, or even a brake lever.


takeup spools are variable speed devices and tend to achieve this by
some sort of clutch that slips - from memory anyway.


And were extremely prone to fail to do this judging by the huge number
of cassette tapes unspooled at the roadside one used to find.

surely if all you want to do is transcribe, a car cassette player can be
had from any second hand junk store.

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:38:31 +0000
The Other Mike wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate. It's not a belt
problem, it's gear driven, but there are all sorts of levers and
strange ratchet things underneath, and needless to say, the manual
just sort of, kind of shows them in exploded view, but gives
absolutely zero idea of how they are meant to work. The
'Adjustments' section is all about electronic setup.

Does it do this without a tape?

With or without

It might possibly have something similar to VCR's - a clutch below the
spools, or even a brake lever.


Quite probably, there are 'things' under there. But I have spent a fair
amount of time looking and prodding, but without knowing better what I
am looking for, I'm lost. And I can't help feeling that, if it has one
such problem, there are more waiting in the wings. Also, there was a
lot of gunk inside from the disintegrated belts, and although I have
removed and cleaned up everything I can find, more seems to be hiding
whenever I put a finger anywhere inside. Part of the mechanism under
the spool was covered in the stuff.
The belts were so disintegrated that it was hard to tell which new one
went where.
--
Davey.

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:59:22 +0000
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

The Other Mike wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate. It's not a belt
problem, it's gear driven, but there are all sorts of levers and
strange ratchet things underneath, and needless to say, the manual
just sort of, kind of shows them in exploded view, but gives
absolutely zero idea of how they are meant to work. The
'Adjustments' section is all about electronic setup.

Does it do this without a tape?

It might possibly have something similar to VCR's - a clutch below
the spools, or even a brake lever.


takeup spools are variable speed devices and tend to achieve this by
some sort of clutch that slips - from memory anyway.


And were extremely prone to fail to do this judging by the huge
number of cassette tapes unspooled at the roadside one used to find.

surely if all you want to do is transcribe, a car cassette player can
be had from any second hand junk store.



Plan A was to resurrect the deck, as it had served me faithfully 30
years ago. The ultimate aim is to transfer my old tapes to digital
format, where they are safer than as old magnetic tapes, so at least
a stereo output is required. I had wondered about one of those Ion
Tape2MP3 things, but they look cheap and nasty, for 60 quid yet, my boy.
--
Davey.

Davey wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:38:31 +0000
The Other Mike wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate. It's not a belt
problem, it's gear driven, but there are all sorts of levers and
strange ratchet things underneath, and needless to say, the manual
just sort of, kind of shows them in exploded view, but gives
absolutely zero idea of how they are meant to work. The
'Adjustments' section is all about electronic setup.
Does it do this without a tape?

With or without

It might possibly have something similar to VCR's - a clutch below the
spools, or even a brake lever.


Quite probably, there are 'things' under there. But I have spent a fair
amount of time looking and prodding, but without knowing better what I
am looking for, I'm lost. And I can't help feeling that, if it has one
such problem, there are more waiting in the wings. Also, there was a
lot of gunk inside from the disintegrated belts, and although I have
removed and cleaned up everything I can find, more seems to be hiding
whenever I put a finger anywhere inside. Part of the mechanism under
the spool was covered in the stuff.
The belts were so disintegrated that it was hard to tell which new one
went where.

Take up spools on cassette decks are normally driven by a slipping
clutch made up of a felt ring and a weak spring. Sometimes the clutch is
part of the spool assembly, sometimes it's seperate and drives the rim
of the takeup spool. The felt goes hard and/ or gets contaminated. The
clutches are repairable by dismantling them, and cleaning or replacing
the felt. The unit is normally together by a tiny ping****it embedded in
the top, round the metal spindle. The reel assembly also often sticks to
the spindle and needs freeing off. They're normally not hard to sort out
with a magnifying glass, some meths or IPA and some small tweezers and
screwdrivers.

Some cassette decks (Philips ones come to mind here) also electrically
sense the rotation of the spools, and if nothing is turning, they stop
the motor. Some sense the tape by pressing a finger against where the
tape should be, and if there's no tape there or the finger doesn't move
far enough, that engages the auto stop and puts on the brakes.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

Davey wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:59:22 +0000
The Natural Philosopher wrote:

The Other Mike wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate. It's not a belt
problem, it's gear driven, but there are all sorts of levers and
strange ratchet things underneath, and needless to say, the manual
just sort of, kind of shows them in exploded view, but gives
absolutely zero idea of how they are meant to work. The
'Adjustments' section is all about electronic setup.
Does it do this without a tape?

It might possibly have something similar to VCR's - a clutch below
the spools, or even a brake lever.


takeup spools are variable speed devices and tend to achieve this by
some sort of clutch that slips - from memory anyway.


And were extremely prone to fail to do this judging by the huge
number of cassette tapes unspooled at the roadside one used to find.

surely if all you want to do is transcribe, a car cassette player can
be had from any second hand junk store.



Plan A was to resurrect the deck, as it had served me faithfully 30
years ago. The ultimate aim is to transfer my old tapes to digital
format, where they are safer than as old magnetic tapes, so at least
a stereo output is required. I had wondered about one of those Ion
Tape2MP3 things, but they look cheap and nasty, for 60 quid yet, my boy.

For the ultimate quality, buy a Nakamichi Dragon for a grand or so, have
it serviced, do the job and sell it again for a profit. If you can ainfd
one, the Sony Walkman pro is a very good machine, but they're a bit like
hen's teeth to find.

The ION tape2MP3 unit I have ( a twindeck unit) is adequate for
transferring most prerecorded and home made tapes, and is of similar
quality playback to most reasonable home decks, and unless you had a
better deck than most people when you made the recordings, it'll match
most home recording quality.

The worst thing about it is the ION software, which won't work without
iTunes. I use Audacity for the audio capture with the built in Dolby
turned off, and there's a plugin for Winamp which can correct for phase
problems caused by azimuth errors and has an adjustable Dolby simulation
to allow for incorrect levels on the tape. Get it sounding good, then
use Winamp to write a corrected file at many times real speed.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On Jan 19, 8:42*am, "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:41:44 +0000, Phil Addison wrote:
Definitely a fall back option, but are you sure about longevity, I find
rubber bands going gooey very quickly these days.

And a rubber band isn't consistent enough in thickness and/or tension
to provide constant torque so wow and flutter figures rise. It'll
work but sound 'orrible.

In answer to both points, rubber bands vary. I wouldnt pick horribly
uneven ones. Just pull the band and see that it stretches out evenly.

Wow and flutter is only an issue when driving a tape deck capstan, and
the huge flywheel combined with a smooth even rubber band means
there's no issue. When trivial issues can happen is if you greatly
overstretch a band to fit, but again in the real world problems arent
caused, as long as you dont do that for a capstan. I only did this
once, with a tape counter, the result was simply that it didnt move as
smoothly.

Re life expectancy, I've used them a fair few times, and only had one
break later, so now I tend to use them rather than muck about getting
3rd party black bands. I'd avoid stationery bands where fitting the
thing is a pain - a certain technics cassette deck comes to mind - in
such case you may as well stretch the job out and get a nice black
band. I'd also advise caution with some pioneer tape decks, where to
work properly its essential that each belt have a certain tension
compared to other belts in the system, upset that ratio and it just
wont work.


NT

In message , Phil Addison
writes
On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:50:42 +0000, geoff wrote:

In message , Phil Addison
writes
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

Have you tried a god old rubber band, less than perfect, but better than
nothing. Or, send it over here and I can convert it to some other medium
for you

Send what over, geoff? I don't think this pile of jelly is convertible

The cassette - couple of decent tape decks here

or is it personal stuff



But anyway I have ordered the USA kit now, and recieved the full pdf
manual already from him, and excellent scan quality it is too, with full
servicing circuit and mechanical details. The rubber bands will take a
little longer to arrive tho

Phil

--
geoff

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:20:27 +0000
John Williamson wrote:

Davey wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:38:31 +0000
The Other Mike wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate. It's not a belt
problem, it's gear driven, but there are all sorts of levers and
strange ratchet things underneath, and needless to say, the manual
just sort of, kind of shows them in exploded view, but gives
absolutely zero idea of how they are meant to work. The
'Adjustments' section is all about electronic setup.
Does it do this without a tape?

With or without

It might possibly have something similar to VCR's - a clutch below
the spools, or even a brake lever.


Quite probably, there are 'things' under there. But I have spent a
fair amount of time looking and prodding, but without knowing
better what I am looking for, I'm lost. And I can't help feeling
that, if it has one such problem, there are more waiting in the
wings. Also, there was a lot of gunk inside from the disintegrated
belts, and although I have removed and cleaned up everything I can
find, more seems to be hiding whenever I put a finger anywhere
inside. Part of the mechanism under the spool was covered in the
stuff. The belts were so disintegrated that it was hard to tell
which new one went where.

Take up spools on cassette decks are normally driven by a slipping
clutch made up of a felt ring and a weak spring. Sometimes the clutch
is part of the spool assembly, sometimes it's seperate and drives the
rim of the takeup spool. The felt goes hard and/ or gets
contaminated. The clutches are repairable by dismantling them, and
cleaning or replacing the felt. The unit is normally together by a
tiny ping****it embedded in the top, round the metal spindle. The
reel assembly also often sticks to the spindle and needs freeing off.
They're normally not hard to sort out with a magnifying glass, some
meths or IPA and some small tweezers and screwdrivers.

It would probably help if I could watch someone do one first, though!
But thanks for the help. I am in new territory here.
There is a rubber-tyred wheel that sits near the take-up spool, but it
never seems to do anything much. Maybe it's jammed somewhere.

Some cassette decks (Philips ones come to mind here) also
electrically sense the rotation of the spools, and if nothing is
turning, they stop the motor. Some sense the tape by pressing a
finger against where the tape should be, and if there's no tape there
or the finger doesn't move far enough, that engages the auto stop and
puts on the brakes.

That works as described if there is no tape, and if there is a tape, it
seems to let it go on unspooling as long as it wants. So that part is
working.
I'll take another look tomorrow, but I have put a bid on a different
AIWA deck on e-bay, and then at the local auction house tonight, I saw a
complete sound system, record deck, double tape deck, receiver,
'speakers and a piece of furniture to house it all (except the
'speakers). All components are Technics, matched in appearance. IF it
all works (no guarantees), then it must be worth a few bob. Trouble is,
there is nowhere to put all that stuff, and I can only imagine the
noise from SWMBO.
--
Davey.

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:34:53 +0000, geoff wrote:

In message , Phil Addison
writes
On Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:50:42 +0000, geoff wrote:

In message , Phil Addison
writes
I've been given an old audio cassette with some interesting family
recollections on it. I can play it ok in my crappy radio/cassette but
when I resurected my old hi-fi to try to get a better reproduction I
found - not unexpectedly - that the main drive 'rubber band' has turned
to jelly. Its abour 30cm total length bt 5 or 6 mm wide and very thin.
Any ideas where I might source a replacemment? Some of the other bands
are looking a bit fragile too, but look as if they may just last for
this task, but IO can live without a counter etc if they fail.

Phil (stirring from d-i-y slumber)

Have you tried a god old rubber band, less than perfect, but better than
nothing. Or, send it over here and I can convert it to some other medium
for you

Send what over, geoff? I don't think this pile of jelly is convertible

The cassette - couple of decent tape decks here

OIC, that's a kind offer thank you, but I've ordered a kit now allegedly
for this actual Pioneer model so I should be ok when it arrives. Its
also an appalling quality recording that I want to drag the best out of,
so will need a lot of nursing.

or is it personal stuff



But anyway I have ordered the USA kit now, and recieved the full pdf
manual already from him, and excellent scan quality it is too, with full
servicing circuit and mechanical details. The rubber bands will take a
little longer to arrive tho

Phil

--

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my AIWA
cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical problem, in
that the take-up spool doesn't rotate

Many of them used a felt pad underneath the take-up spool, which gets
shiny and flat - worth checking.

On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:14:29 +0000
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate

Many of them used a felt pad underneath the take-up spool, which gets
shiny and flat - worth checking.

Thanks, but I have found the problem. The OP's mention of 'jelly' in
relation to the old belts matched what I saw. Unfortunately, it also
describes what is called a 'drive rubber', which was (note tense) on
the drive spindle. I was wondering why, every time I inserted and
removed the spindle, it came out covered in belt jelly, but now I know
why. And I don't know if I can find a replacement drive rubber. As far
as I can see, everything else appears to be in working order, but it's
one of those: 'fix this, find that' deals.
Also, looking at the location of the drive rubber, I wonder how the
hell it's installed, it's tight around the spindle, in a tiny gap in a
bearing housing thing, and surrounded by lots of other stuff. Yikes.
--
Davey.

On 20/01/2012 16:45, Davey wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:14:29 +0000
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000,
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate

Many of them used a felt pad underneath the take-up spool, which gets
shiny and flat - worth checking.

Thanks, but I have found the problem. The OP's mention of 'jelly' in
relation to the old belts matched what I saw. Unfortunately, it also
describes what is called a 'drive rubber', which was (note tense) on
the drive spindle. I was wondering why, every time I inserted and
removed the spindle, it came out covered in belt jelly, but now I know
why. And I don't know if I can find a replacement drive rubber. As far
as I can see, everything else appears to be in working order, but it's
one of those: 'fix this, find that' deals.
Also, looking at the location of the drive rubber, I wonder how the
hell it's installed, it's tight around the spindle, in a tiny gap in a
bearing housing thing, and surrounded by lots of other stuff. Yikes.

I was stuck for a new belt for my Vibraphone. Eventually I found
www.budgetbearings.co.uk who had something close. Worked a treat.

Rob

On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:22:48 +0000
Rob wrote:

On 20/01/2012 16:45, Davey wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:14:29 +0000
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000,
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate

Many of them used a felt pad underneath the take-up spool, which
gets shiny and flat - worth checking.

Thanks, but I have found the problem. The OP's mention of 'jelly' in
relation to the old belts matched what I saw. Unfortunately, it also
describes what is called a 'drive rubber', which was (note tense) on
the drive spindle. I was wondering why, every time I inserted and
removed the spindle, it came out covered in belt jelly, but now I
know why. And I don't know if I can find a replacement drive
rubber. As far as I can see, everything else appears to be in
working order, but it's one of those: 'fix this, find that' deals.
Also, looking at the location of the drive rubber, I wonder how the
hell it's installed, it's tight around the spindle, in a tiny gap
in a bearing housing thing, and surrounded by lots of other stuff.
Yikes.

I was stuck for a new belt for my Vibraphone. Eventually I found
www.budgetbearings.co.uk who had something close. Worked a treat.

Rob


Thanks, I have sent them an enquiry. Due to the lack of any of the old
part, except a black smear, I am unable to provide a detailed pattern!
I am going to try the place that I got the belts from.

--
Davey.

On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:22:48 +0000
Rob wrote:

On 20/01/2012 16:45, Davey wrote:
On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:14:29 +0000
wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000,
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on my
AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other mechanical
problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate

Many of them used a felt pad underneath the take-up spool, which
gets shiny and flat - worth checking.

Thanks, but I have found the problem. The OP's mention of 'jelly' in
relation to the old belts matched what I saw. Unfortunately, it also
describes what is called a 'drive rubber', which was (note tense) on
the drive spindle. I was wondering why, every time I inserted and
removed the spindle, it came out covered in belt jelly, but now I
know why. And I don't know if I can find a replacement drive
rubber. As far as I can see, everything else appears to be in
working order, but it's one of those: 'fix this, find that' deals.
Also, looking at the location of the drive rubber, I wonder how the
hell it's installed, it's tight around the spindle, in a tiny gap
in a bearing housing thing, and surrounded by lots of other stuff.
Yikes.

I was stuck for a new belt for my Vibraphone. Eventually I found
www.budgetbearings.co.uk who had something close. Worked a treat.

Rob


I have sent them a message, asking for help. I was also wondering
whether a piece of heat-shrink tubing would work? It would probably not
be as wide as the original item, and it would be a bitch to install,
but I can't think of any alternative.
Any ideas welcome.
--
Davey.

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:50:59 +0000
Davey wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:20:27 +0000
John Williamson wrote:

Davey wrote:
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:38:31 +0000
The Other Mike wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:27:10 +0000, Davey
wrote:

I finished replacing the 30-year old and disintegrated belts on
my AIWA cassette machine today, but there is some other
mechanical problem, in that the take-up spool doesn't rotate.
It's not a belt problem, it's gear driven, but there are all
sorts of levers and strange ratchet things underneath, and
needless to say, the manual just sort of, kind of shows them in
exploded view, but gives absolutely zero idea of how they are
meant to work. The 'Adjustments' section is all about
electronic setup.
Does it do this without a tape?

With or without

It might possibly have something similar to VCR's - a clutch
below the spools, or even a brake lever.


Quite probably, there are 'things' under there. But I have spent a
fair amount of time looking and prodding, but without knowing
better what I am looking for, I'm lost. And I can't help feeling
that, if it has one such problem, there are more waiting in the
wings. Also, there was a lot of gunk inside from the disintegrated
belts, and although I have removed and cleaned up everything I can
find, more seems to be hiding whenever I put a finger anywhere
inside. Part of the mechanism under the spool was covered in the
stuff. The belts were so disintegrated that it was hard to tell
which new one went where.

Take up spools on cassette decks are normally driven by a slipping
clutch made up of a felt ring and a weak spring. Sometimes the
clutch is part of the spool assembly, sometimes it's seperate and
drives the rim of the takeup spool. The felt goes hard and/ or gets
contaminated. The clutches are repairable by dismantling them, and
cleaning or replacing the felt. The unit is normally together by a
tiny ping****it embedded in the top, round the metal spindle. The
reel assembly also often sticks to the spindle and needs freeing
off. They're normally not hard to sort out with a magnifying glass,
some meths or IPA and some small tweezers and screwdrivers.

It would probably help if I could watch someone do one first, though!
But thanks for the help. I am in new territory here.
There is a rubber-tyred wheel that sits near the take-up spool, but it
never seems to do anything much. Maybe it's jammed somewhere.

Some cassette decks (Philips ones come to mind here) also
electrically sense the rotation of the spools, and if nothing is
turning, they stop the motor. Some sense the tape by pressing a
finger against where the tape should be, and if there's no tape
there or the finger doesn't move far enough, that engages the auto
stop and puts on the brakes.

That works as described if there is no tape, and if there is a tape,
it seems to let it go on unspooling as long as it wants. So that part
is working.
I'll take another look tomorrow, but I have put a bid on a different
AIWA deck on e-bay, and then at the local auction house tonight, I
saw a complete sound system, record deck, double tape deck, receiver,
'speakers and a piece of furniture to house it all (except the
'speakers). All components are Technics, matched in appearance. IF it
all works (no guarantees), then it must be worth a few bob. Trouble
is, there is nowhere to put all that stuff, and I can only imagine the
noise from SWMBO.

Update:
The missing part is a drive wheel, and I cannot find a true spare, so I
have concluded that it's not worth bothering any more with this unit.
It might be possible to find a substitute for it, but why spend the time
and effort? RIP.
I can get a replacement deck on e-bay, anyway.

I didn't bother with the system at auction, I have nowhere to put all
that stuff.
--
Davey