Old skool tape decks

[samuelellis]

I posted a photo of the cassette deck i bought in the frivolous purchases thread and it seemed to get some attention so i thought i would make a thread in here about my tape decks

Yes i am fully aware that in 2016 audio tape is basically dead but something about tape is good

The first deck i got was a Sony TC-377 reel to reel tape-deck



I got this off e-bay as a untested machine so i was not sure if it would work at all - but when i put a reel on it luckily it did power up and playback/record

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIvCaHZJtOM

This did show that the deck needed a lot of work though, the heads were filthy, the belts and rubber pulleys were all worn and the switches were gummed up

So it got a new set of belts, the heads cleaned - rubber pulleys were rubbed with some sandpaper to rub off the smooth surface - this allowed them to grip better. Some of the rubber parts were cleaned with a rubber restorer as well to help it out as the more the takeup reel filledup the more the mech slipped, it was all re-greased, motor re-oiled and all spindles oiled as well to make sure it ran smooth

and it is working - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAMNPlgocrA

Part of the fun of this is buying 2nd hand reels from ebay just to see what is on them. This reel was part of a random collection from e-bay and was was recorded in 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0MN0crBWnI

through some e-bay hunting i managed to find the original metal takup reel that the machine came with from the factory as well



The union jack reel is one i custom made

I also managed to pick up another metal reel from e-bay, the recording on this i think dates to around the 60's as it has a bbc radio news recording about the Pirate radio act and radio boats





Now having played with it for a while i got an itch to buy another tape recorder, ebay strikes again and i get this

A 1978-1979 Sony TC-U5



it cost an entire £8 as it was listed as spares or repair. The issue it has is that it chews tapes, I had the cover off and found that the belts on the mech are all stretched and perished so i have a new set coming



The issue appears to be the mechanism is not powering the take up spindle correctly causing it to eat tapes - i am waiting for the service kit to arrive so i can start tearing it apart properly.

It is in good cosmetic condition by the looks of it - only real negatives are its dirty, the switch surrounds have dropped out but the switches all work and its missing a bit of trim at one side



However the inside is spotless so it was looked after

[samuelellis]

I found this place that still sells new tapes and you can still get them on ebay

https://tapeline.info/v2/blank-audio-cassettes.htm...

Heck i even found a place that sells brand new reel to reel tape

As you said this stuff is not really needed nowadays because like you i have most of my music on a NAS drive and use RaspberryPi's to stream it round the house but its just nice to have

[samuelellis]

Yep the prices of the equiptment can be painful

I lucked out with mine and picked it up from an electrical recyclers on ebay as a untested spares or repair machine for 40quid - luckily all it needed was belts and a good internal clean

I have a suspicion that the cassette deck may be more involving

[samuelellis]

Ive had a breakthrough tonight when stripping the unit down i think i found what the problem it had could be

Here is a video i took of it explaining the fault

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLfH_4eLUgI&li...

[samuelellis]

So ive done a bit more work on it but i have to put my hands up and admit i cocked something up

I spent some time cleaning the front panel and all the bits - these came out brilliantly........

.....Apart from the cassette deck front. The plastic was softer than i thought so i managed to scratch it quite badly



Yes i know that is a bit of a cockup. However the frosted effect looks reasonably OK so i have two options - polish it out with car polish as that is a mild abrasive so it should bring the plastic back clear

OR

Rough it up a bit more to make it fully frosted. This would make it hard to see into the cassette deck BUT i have found a light on the machine that is used to illuminate the window in the middle of the tape (as seen next to my finger below) so i could swap this for some LED's and use them to illuminate the front of the tape so you can see it through the frosted front

[samuelellis]

Just for those who may be interested ive had good and bad news with the cassette deck

the good news is the mech mostly works

The bad news is that bits of it still dont. Basically while it was being transported at some point in its life someone was rough with it - this has damaged some of the mounts that hold it inplace. This means that it keeps spitting off the new belt. This is not an issue as i can just re-glue the broken mounts. Getting to them is a pain as it looks like when someone did the belts in the past the rounded off some screws.

The other issue is playback is still iffy as it relies on friction between a spindle and a rubber ring around the takeup reel - this rubber is old now so does not grip properly - Considering it is over 35 years old its to be expected so i need to get the grip levels back up to sort this issue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boWHY5mFjHY

But at least ive had it playing and recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtMK2dyVQMY

[samuelellis]

So for those interested work on the Sony cassette deck has come to a halt as the rubber tyres around the takeup reel was just shot. I found something that i think is close so im waiting for that to get here but the sony will live again, im not giving up on it

Because of this i did what any sensible person would do

Buy another tape deck. This one from the other end of the tapes lifespan a technics RS-AZ6 from 1999. As you can see it is the total opposite of the sony, all touch buttons and displays - it even has a motor to open and close the cassette door for you

[samuelellis]

I will try to capture what i can from that reel and i will upload what i can get

[samuelellis]

yep the fact that they decided you get better SQ by flipping the actual tape instead of the heads so built a mech to unload the tape, flip it over and reload it strikes me as 1 part madness, 2 parts genius

[samuelellis]

cheers for the headsup, i have a pinchroller to go on it but its not that rubber part that has failed it is a rubbery tyre thing around the takeup reel

you can see it in this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boWHY5mFjHY

[samuelellis]

for those keeping up with me getting this old deck to run again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpRLGT1Jr_s

it plays back - when i hooked it to an amp it plays back too quickly but that is just the speed adjuster on the motor needs to be looked at

Its still not 100% fixed but atleast i have sorted the big issue it had - now just to work on repairing the broken mounts and getting everything lined up correctly

[samuelellis]

Cheers for the link fella, i will check it out

getting a tyre that fits will be better than my bodge definatly. I have a new pinch roller to fit - i just havent got round to it yet

In regards to the auto stop it is a very odd system - behind the takeup reel is a little plastic thing with some friction material - this clips into another plastic bar that moves it from left to right depending on if it is playing/ff/rewinding - this goes into a rotating wheel that has buildouts to shove the bar into the middle - if the transport is in forward or reverse the bar goes back to the side but if the bar stays in the middle (Ie the reel isnt turning) then it stays in the middle and a lump pushes it down turning the deck off - this is run from a pulley direct to the motor

It is an odd system, if i get chance i will record it as it is quite amazing to watch

[samuelellis]

yea i have to admit the fact that you can get a fair amount of service manuals online now makes life easier. I was a bit surprised that i could get a belt kit still for this cassette deck and for the reel to reel

Looking at some of these mechs they look overcomplicated just for the sake of it but they are fascinating to watch in action