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AIWA HS-J35 repair

Discussion in 'Tech talk' started by DutchNick, Nov 4, 2017.

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  1. DutchNick

    DutchNick Member

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    Hi everyone,
    I just acquired one of these in good cosmetic condition for NZ$15 including postage, about 9 Euro. With fresh batteries, the radio is working, but the tape has no sign of any movement or any noise.
    So, I have disassembled to the point where I have the whole insides in one piece without the outsides. I can see the belt is broken but I don't know where to look / what to listen for, regarding whether or not the motor is running at all.
    I'm unsure about how to make further progress with disassembly, so looking for some help, maybe hoping to find the service manual (not listed on HiFi Engine), also I'm not seeing belts on Marrs or eBay so wondering if anyone has ideas for that or is it just a matter of measuring and ordering a particular size.
    This is my first belt job on a walkman. I have successfully replaced the belts on a delightful Aiwa L22 mini component and on a full-size Pioneer CT93 and I'm keen to extend to the smaller world! I have recently bought a Sony TCD-D3 DAT portable and 'boomboxes' Panasonic RX-CT800 and Sony CFS-W500S, all are still in sender's bubble wrap until I clear some bench space by fixing or deep-sixing the little Aiwa.
    Thanks in advance!
    Nick
     
  2. A O

    A O Active Member

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    Hi Nick,

    Firstly, I hate to say it but these can be very tough to work on due to the way Aiwa packed everything so tightly. That said, it's far from impossible. I recall that you will need to lift the main circuit board to access the belt.

    I guess it's worth establishing whether the motor is working before venturing deeper. Is there a way you can get power to the unit with the casing removed. A simple thing I do is selotape the batteries together then solder temporary wires to the battery tips. Or can you use a DC adapter?

    There's always service manuals around. A quic search on Google unearthed this but I'm sure there's more....

    http://www.manualscenter.com/manuals/aiwa/hsj35-service-manual.html#.Wf67noZx2gQ

    Also, the HS-J35 shares it's internals with many other units so it wouldn't be hard to find related info.

    If you can establish that the motor is running then you'll need to get info on the exact belt route. I'm sure one of us has a similar unit to reference, in fact, I'm pretty sure I have.

    Goid luck and don't forget to take pictures.
     
  3. DutchNick

    DutchNick Member

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    Hi A O,
    I agree it's packed tight! And thanks for the link; I was hoping to avoid buying anything but maybe 4.99 is worth it. They have some preview images which include disassembly notes so perhaps helpful as-is. Anyway per your other notes, as I didn't have the manual, I seem to have been able to get the casing off without breaking anything and without disconnecting the battery holder (but main board still in-situ). Main concern is there's no obvious noise or mechanical feel to indicate the motor's running (unless it has quieter and smoother bearings than I have ever seen) so I guess I will need to detach the battery holder and proceed with lifting the main board. I'll post updates asap. Thanks again.
     
  4. DutchNick

    DutchNick Member

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    I used the preview image from that site to guide the rest of the disassembly, lifted the main board then reconnected the battery holder with a long lead back to the main board. Good news, the motor is working; it was predictably gummed up by decomposed belt fragments which had wrapped around the pulley. Bad news is, I can just about figure the tape path from the remnants but I'm not 100% confident so if anyone watching has an image of the tape path, it will be much appreciated. Thanks, Nick.
     
  5. DutchNick

    DutchNick Member

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    Good news in case anyone is following this :) and thanks for encouragement... the wee machine is back in one piece; everything is working just fine; nothing left over (woo-hoo!). Thanks to eBay trader
    michael-19960829 for the belt. Now I'm carefully resurrecting its damaged original box. I wonder if those original headsets are still kicking around? This just leaves two Sony and one Panasonic twin-deck portables to go.
     

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