PDA

View Full Version : Sticking cassette deck, advice please.


John Fryatt
July 21st 03, 05:38 PM
Hi,

I have got out my old Nakamichi 480Z cassette deck, and am testing it. It
generally works fine, and is in great condition, but there is one problem.
When I rewind a tape and then press play, it won't work. The machine seems
to attempt to start the tape moving but then just stops. If I try pressing
stop then start several times, occasionally it will go. Mostly though, I
need to open the cassette door then close it again. This causes the slack to
be taken up and the tape to be wound on just a fraction, and then the tape
will play with no problem.

Any ideas? Is this something I could attend to myself?

Thanks, John


P.S. The rewinding need not go right to the end of the tape to make this
problem happen.

Stevie Boy
July 21st 03, 08:46 PM
"John Fryatt" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> I have got out my old Nakamichi 480Z cassette deck, and am testing it. It
> generally works fine, and is in great condition, but there is one problem.
> When I rewind a tape and then press play, it won't work. The machine seems
> to attempt to start the tape moving but then just stops. If I try pressing
> stop then start several times, occasionally it will go. Mostly though, I
> need to open the cassette door then close it again. This causes the slack
to
> be taken up and the tape to be wound on just a fraction, and then the tape
> will play with no problem.
>
> Any ideas? Is this something I could attend to myself?
>
> Thanks, John

I have a similiar problem with my CR-5E. It has also been sitting around on
my rack for sometime without use and when I slapped a cassette in it the
other week or so I found the tape would not play and kept switching off
(stop mode). However persistance of pressing play or a little rewind/fast
fwd would spring it into life.

I have not yet bothered to look inside to see what could be causing this.
I've been expecting it's minor as the deck has been serviced not to long
ago. Possibly a slippery belt.. some contamination or such. The unit will go
in stop mode if the drive spool is not turning.

Steve

Alec
July 21st 03, 09:54 PM
Most problems on earlier Nakamichi decks are caused by a worn idler wheel on
the older 480Z there is a belt that drives the cam motor this might be
slipping and stopping it going into the correct mode, dead spots on the reel
motor might also cause this problem
Alec

John Fryatt
July 22nd 03, 12:43 PM
Hi,

Thanks people. Sounds like it might be a wear issue on a belt or something.
Any idea how easy this is to fix? Might I be able to do it myself? (I'm no
expert, but reasonably handy with tools).
If it needs a repair shop, is it likely to be a costly repair?
Nakamichis are nice, but I guess an old 480Z isn't worth all that much.

Thanks, John


"John Fryatt" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> I have got out my old Nakamichi 480Z cassette deck, and am testing it. It
> generally works fine, and is in great condition, but there is one problem.
> When I rewind a tape and then press play, it won't work. The machine seems
> to attempt to start the tape moving but then just stops. If I try pressing
> stop then start several times, occasionally it will go. Mostly though, I
> need to open the cassette door then close it again. This causes the slack
to
> be taken up and the tape to be wound on just a fraction, and then the tape
> will play with no problem.
>
> Any ideas? Is this something I could attend to myself?
>
> Thanks, John
>
>
> P.S. The rewinding need not go right to the end of the tape to make this
> problem happen.
>
>

Oddjob
July 22nd 03, 08:20 PM
"John Fryatt" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> Thanks people. Sounds like it might be a wear issue on a belt or
something.
> Any idea how easy this is to fix? Might I be able to do it myself? (I'm no
> expert, but reasonably handy with tools).
> If it needs a repair shop, is it likely to be a costly repair?
> Nakamichis are nice, but I guess an old 480Z isn't worth all that much.
>
Remove the belt and clean all drive surfaces with IPA.
Any lubrication must be done with absolute care!!

Stevie Boy
July 22nd 03, 08:49 PM
> If it needs a repair shop, is it likely to be a costly repair?
> Nakamichis are nice, but I guess an old 480Z isn't worth all that much.
>
> Thanks, John
>
>

Ask Nakamichi... the engineers are helpful friendly folk.

The tel no is: 01903-695695 now under the guise of Bowers & Wilkins

Steve

TCS
July 22nd 03, 09:54 PM
On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:49:41 +0100, Stevie Boy > wrote:
>
>> If it needs a repair shop, is it likely to be a costly repair?
>> Nakamichis are nice, but I guess an old 480Z isn't worth all that much.
>>
>> Thanks, John
>>
>>
>
> Ask Nakamichi... the engineers are helpful friendly folk.
Unfortuneately, the only way to get a response is to break into their
workplace and wave a machine gun.

Trevor Wilson
July 23rd 03, 06:30 AM
"John Fryatt" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> I have got out my old Nakamichi 480Z cassette deck, and am testing it. It
> generally works fine, and is in great condition, but there is one problem.
> When I rewind a tape and then press play, it won't work. The machine seems
> to attempt to start the tape moving but then just stops. If I try pressing
> stop then start several times, occasionally it will go. Mostly though, I
> need to open the cassette door then close it again. This causes the slack
to
> be taken up and the tape to be wound on just a fraction, and then the tape
> will play with no problem.

**Most likely cause is the assist belt. When you lift the lid, you will see
a large gear. The belt which drives the gear is probably worn and requires
replacement. The mechanism should be correctly aligned, after this service,
but it will probably work without the alignment. The T/U idler may also
require replacement, but this problem usually manifests itself during play.

>
> Any ideas? Is this something I could attend to myself?

**I have no idea if you can attend to it yourself.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

Pusillanimous Mcgillitude
July 23rd 03, 09:45 AM
"Stevie Boy" > wrote in message >...


>
> I have not yet bothered to look inside to see what could be causing this.
> I've been expecting it's minor as the deck has been serviced not to long
> ago. Possibly a slippery belt..

Please try to learn how to use the word 'to' (it should have been
'too' in your sentence). Most people seem to be able to manage it.
Your illiteracy makes you seem like an idiot.

Barry Mann
July 23rd 03, 02:59 PM
In >, on 07/23/03
at 05:30 AM, "Trevor Wilson" > said:


>"John Fryatt" > wrote in message
...
>> Hi,
>>
>> I have got out my old Nakamichi 480Z cassette deck, and am testing it. It
>> generally works fine, and is in great condition, but there is one problem.
>> When I rewind a tape and then press play, it won't work. The machine seems
>> to attempt to start the tape moving but then just stops. If I try pressing
>> stop then start several times, occasionally it will go. Mostly though, I
>> need to open the cassette door then close it again. This causes the slack
>to
>> be taken up and the tape to be wound on just a fraction, and then the tape
>> will play with no problem.

>**Most likely cause is the assist belt. When you lift the lid, you
>will see a large gear. The belt which drives the gear is probably worn
>and requires replacement. The mechanism should be correctly aligned,
>after this service, but it will probably work without the alignment.
>The T/U idler may also require replacement, but this problem usually
>manifests itself during play.

>>
>> Any ideas? Is this something I could attend to myself?

>**I have no idea if you can attend to it yourself.

At this point, replace *ALL* of the belts and thoroughly clean the reel
drive idler wheel using a rubber "restorer". If you have a torque
gauge, I think you'll find that the reel take-up torque in one or both
directions is too low.

Unless you are a complete clutz, the above procedures will not
significantly shift the alignment.

Note that this series of transport is quite different from
run-of-the-mill cassette decks. While minimally equipped, bright people
can often accomplish a reasonable alignment on a run-of-the-mill deck,
those seat-of-the-pants techniques will not work on this series. Unless
you or your expert friends or professional server can trace their
training back to Nakamichi *AND* they have the factory jigs, don't
touch the alignment. These decks are very stable and don't ususlly need
alignment unless you replace something on the head bridge or some
backyard "expert" has been messing with it. If one is careful, the
belts and pressure rollers can be replace without changing the
alignment (but I always check the alignment anyway).

-----------------------------------------------------------
SPAM:
wordgame:123(abc):<14 9 20 5 2 9 18 4 at 22 15 9 3 5 14 5 20 dot 3 15
13> (Barry Mann)
[sorry about the puzzle, SPAMers are ruining my mailbox]
-----------------------------------------------------------

Trevor Wilson
July 23rd 03, 11:48 PM
"Barry Mann" > wrote in message
om...
> In >, on 07/23/03
> at 05:30 AM, "Trevor Wilson" > said:
>
>
> >"John Fryatt" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >> I have got out my old Nakamichi 480Z cassette deck, and am testing it.
It
> >> generally works fine, and is in great condition, but there is one
problem.
> >> When I rewind a tape and then press play, it won't work. The machine
seems
> >> to attempt to start the tape moving but then just stops. If I try
pressing
> >> stop then start several times, occasionally it will go. Mostly though,
I
> >> need to open the cassette door then close it again. This causes the
slack
> >to
> >> be taken up and the tape to be wound on just a fraction, and then the
tape
> >> will play with no problem.
>
> >**Most likely cause is the assist belt. When you lift the lid, you
> >will see a large gear. The belt which drives the gear is probably worn
> >and requires replacement. The mechanism should be correctly aligned,
> >after this service, but it will probably work without the alignment.
> >The T/U idler may also require replacement, but this problem usually
> >manifests itself during play.
>
> >>
> >> Any ideas? Is this something I could attend to myself?
>
> >**I have no idea if you can attend to it yourself.
>
> At this point, replace *ALL* of the belts and thoroughly clean the reel
> drive idler wheel using a rubber "restorer". If you have a torque
> gauge, I think you'll find that the reel take-up torque in one or both
> directions is too low.
>
> Unless you are a complete clutz, the above procedures will not
> significantly shift the alignment.

**Of course they will not alter head alignment. They will almost certainly
shift the gear alignment. This will need to be adjusted using the two preset
pots on the assist board.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com

Barry Mann
July 24th 03, 04:06 AM
In >, on 07/23/03
at 10:48 PM, "Trevor Wilson" > said:

[ ... ]

>> Unless you are a complete clutz, the above procedures will not
>> significantly shift the alignment.

>**Of course they will not alter head alignment. They will almost
>certainly shift the gear alignment. This will need to be adjusted
>using the two preset pots on the assist board.

Evidently, your experience with the decks has been different from mine.
Other than a minor touch-up of the azimuth, which is probably more of a
difference between alignment tapes than an actual shift of the machine
(more decks tend to need a touch-up after I change azimuth tapes), I
don't find that the decks need any mechanical alignments unless some
poorly equipped "expert" has been inside trying to second guess the
factory. (Yes, I did find an occasional machine that had a bad hair day
at the factory, but that was rare.)

I had one deck come in that had been adjusted so many times that the
adjusting screws were worn to the point that I replaced them.

-----------------------------------------------------------
SPAM:
wordgame:123(abc):<14 9 20 5 2 9 18 4 at 22 15 9 3 5 14 5 20 dot 3 15
13> (Barry Mann)
[sorry about the puzzle, SPAMers are ruining my mailbox]
-----------------------------------------------------------

Stimpy
August 22nd 03, 01:48 PM
"John Fryatt" > wrote in message
m...
> "John Fryatt" > wrote in message
>...
> > Hmmm... I think the result is that it's probably a fairly easy
fix IF you
> > know what you are doing. Basically, I don't, so I'll have to see
what
> > estimates I get from repair shops. I have e-mailed B&W (who repair
older
> > Nakamchis) so I'll see what they say.
> > I would have a go at a low-end thing, as an alternative to
chucking it away,
> > but for a decent deck I don't think I will. If it doesn't end up
A1, there's
> > not much point.
> >
> > Thanks everyone for your advice.
> >
> > John
>
> Just to wind up this thread, Classic Nakamichi (alias B&W) advised
me
> that a full service on a 480Z runs out at £140-£220 depending on
what
> needs doing.
> An old 480Z just ain't worth that kind of dosh, so sadly it's now on
a
> shelf waiting for me to decide what to do with it. :-(

I've got exactly the peoblem with a Naka CR3 - I was quoted 'about
£200' for a service by my local Nakamichi dealer and, to be honest, it
just wouldn't get the use to warrant it. I can't remember the last
time I even saw a cassette let alone recorded or played one :-( It's
sad becuase it was a nice bit of kit and served me well