Hi all, trying to get some advice please, I have a lovely JJ-P101 which 'works' as far as the controls go etc, but it constantly flip flops forward and reverse every few seconds. While its playing it sounds great and the tape transport is working, it's not chewing up the tape. It's the same story with FF and RW, it runs for a few seconds then stops. The clutch seems fine. I can't see anything obviously wrong, any pointers?
I'm not an expert and have never seen this model and don't know what your skill level is. I would start by cracking it open, checking the belt, if it's hard and slipping that could be an issue. I'd also take a magnifying glass and see if there were any black globs from an old belt causing excess friction. I don't know how the FF/REW switches are constructed but they might need some cleaning, if they are membrane, one of the "bubbles" might have popped and the contacts are always letting juice through. And always check with a "good" tape, if the tape has too much friction while turning it could also have the same issue. Unfortunately this could be several different issues but I'd go through anything that might put tension on the tape and make it switch sides. Post photos if you get a chance, it looks like a neat unit.
