Tape Speed and Replacement Belt??

[chuck]

I am trying to use an old, old Toshiba cassette deck
to save some tapes onto CDs. The drive belt is gone, shot,
mush, gooey masses of crud, and I have been unable to find
a replacement belt. Even the local audio repair shop will
not take my dinero. I have found a rubber O ring that fits
tightly, but with very little flex. Seems to drive without
slipping, but the tapes sound just a tad slow, kinda
draggy (played thru the sound card). Probably it's because
I don't have the Official Replacement Belt, but is there a chance
it's something else? Is there an adjustment, like a potentiometer
on the board, that helps fine-tune the speed? Or is it just a matter
of the mechanical aspects of the drive?

thanks for any help,

chuck

[Laurence Payne]

>I am trying to use an old, old Toshiba cassette deck
>to save some tapes onto CDs. The drive belt is gone, shot,
>mush, gooey masses of crud, and I have been unable to find
>a replacement belt. Even the local audio repair shop will
>not take my dinero. I have found a rubber O ring that fits
>tightly, but with very little flex. Seems to drive without
>slipping, but the tapes sound just a tad slow, kinda
>draggy (played thru the sound card). Probably it's because
>I don't have the Official Replacement Belt, but is there a chance
>it's something else? Is there an adjustment, like a potentiometer
>on the board, that helps fine-tune the speed? Or is it just a matter
>of the mechanical aspects of the drive?
>

If you run a belt too tight, you're in danger of stressing bearings
etc. into very early failure.

There are places which stock drive belts. Near me, Direct
Electronics in Manor Park (E. London) have a box of belts in a large
range of lengths (1mm increments). There'll be somewhere near you,
I'm sure. Where are you?

[Robert Gault]

Any good electronics parts supplier in your area should have replacement
belts. Sometimes these places get listed in phone books under Parts, or
Repair, or Radio equipment, etc. Finding them may be harder than finding
the belt.

Measuring the maximum length of the belt is trivial. Cut a strip of
paper to the width of the belt as determined by the bearings in your
unit. Thread the paper through the machine following the required path.
Pull the paper tight and mark it. You now need a belt slightly shorter
so that installation will place the belt under tension. When you find a
supplier of belts, ask for a belt just shorter than your paper strip.

I did the same thing for a cassette deck of mine when the belt lost all
tension and sagged off the capstans. Be careful when guessing what the
correct belt path should be. Without a repair manual on hand, you may
guess at an incorrect path which will indicate a belt of the wrong
length. You should be able to pick the correct path by making sure that
the belt does not rub against any stationary part or itself and that all
take-up wheel capstans move in the correct directions with respect to
the main tape drive capstan.

Be patient, fixing a deck for one or two dollars is always better than
buying a new one for hundreds.

chuck wrote:
>
> I'm in Durham North Carolina USA. I've queried several of
> the "national" belt suppliers and come up dry. I do not have the
> original belt to measure -- it's a gooey puddle now. I
> suppose I can remove and measure the O ring that sorts works?
> But most of the belt suppliers want me to buy in quantities
> significantly larger than my needs. At their rate, it will
> be far smarter just to buy a new deck for a hundred bucks.
>

[chuck]

Hmmm. Geez. I must apologize. I guess we have NO "good" electronic
parts suppliers in our area. They all tell me thay have "No Lit"
on older Toshiba decks. Guess they are substandard. We'll try better
next time.

None the less, still looking for USEABLE suggestions.

thanx,

chuck


Robert Gault wrote:
> Any good electronics parts supplier in your area should have replacement
> belts. Sometimes these places get listed in phone books under Parts, or
> Repair, or Radio equipment, etc. Finding them may be harder than finding
> the belt.
>
> Measuring the maximum length of the belt is trivial. Cut a strip of
> paper to the width of the belt as determined by the bearings in your
> unit. Thread the paper through the machine following the required path.
> Pull the paper tight and mark it. You now need a belt slightly shorter
> so that installation will place the belt under tension. When you find a
> supplier of belts, ask for a belt just shorter than your paper strip.
>
> I did the same thing for a cassette deck of mine when the belt lost all
> tension and sagged off the capstans. Be careful when guessing what the
> correct belt path should be. Without a repair manual on hand, you may
> guess at an incorrect path which will indicate a belt of the wrong
> length. You should be able to pick the correct path by making sure that
> the belt does not rub against any stationary part or itself and that all
> take-up wheel capstans move in the correct directions with respect to
> the main tape drive capstan.
>
> Be patient, fixing a deck for one or two dollars is always better than
> buying a new one for hundreds.
>
> chuck wrote:
>
>>I'm in Durham North Carolina USA. I've queried several of
>>the "national" belt suppliers and come up dry. I do not have the
>>original belt to measure -- it's a gooey puddle now. I
>>suppose I can remove and measure the O ring that sorts works?
>>But most of the belt suppliers want me to buy in quantities
>>significantly larger than my needs. At their rate, it will
>>be far smarter just to buy a new deck for a hundred bucks.
>>

[magus kent]

chuck > wrote in news:3F29A845.70409
@earthlinNOSPAMk.net:

> Hmmm. Geez. I must apologize. I guess we have NO "good" electronic
> parts suppliers in our area. They all tell me thay have "No Lit"
> on older Toshiba decks. Guess they are substandard. We'll try better
> next time.
>
> None the less, still looking for USEABLE suggestions.
>
> thanx,
>
> chuck

I've had real good luck with Bob at
www.vintage-electronics.net
email would be

just remove the obvious in his address(g)...
he's fixed me up with belts for cassette players and reel-to-reels...m
m