RX-5050 just arrived from eBay. Overall, clean and in great shape. Everything works except “play”. When I press the soft touch play button nothing happens. Head assembly does not raise up and engage. Right cassette play spindle does not move either. FF works fine. RW works fine. Before I disassemble I was hoping for a heads up as to what’s wrong. I know nothing about this models soft touch cassette controls. They feel less mechanical than a traditional cassette mechanism.
I think I have one of those around here but I have to figure out where I put it, it kind of disappeared. It was an add-on when I got my rare Conion and I asked if he had more, yep, he had a couple cool smaller ones. I only have a handful that are soft-touch and haven't cracked one open in a long time.
Soft touch buttons means a solenoid does the work for your lazy finger. So there is a lot to go wrong. Get a can of DeOxit if you don't already have one. Start with thorough DeOxit of all electrical contacts. And then the fun starts. The disassembly. Then more DeOxit of internal switches. Then scrutiny for broken wires and corroded contacts. Examination of the solenoid and cleaning of the electrical contact points. Testing to see if it moves. Patience. It is such a virtue. Along with persistence and practice. Sometimes I am in short supply of them however. Hence my vow not to mess around with any more boomboxes. Don't get me wrong, it is fantastic to repair and get boxes working again, what a rush, the thrill, the "irrational exuberance" is contagious and one feels like taking on the whole world. Yeah it was fun. I got lucky every time... and promptly quit while I was ahead (for now anyway... queue the sinister suspense music....)
On high end equipment yes. However, there were mid range cassette mechanisms in which the soft touch was completely mechanical. Operation was similar to autochanger record decks where the platter motor also did various arm movements when you flicked a lever on the deck. So the problem could be as simple as a slipping belt or clutch.
