Nice cosy Sunday in the warm with Big Tits so I decided to rotate & blast some of my favourites Plugged in my Brandt/M-9996K & tape deck seized solid - No function just the sound of the motor really struggling So straight off again & opened her up................Now after the titanic struggle of the rebelt last year, I now know how to get to the deck quickly without disturbing anything except the cassette deck electronics board! I was amazed to see that a small remnant of dead rubber had been hiding in the mechanism somewhere invisible to anyone looking into the deck - It had managed to attack the drive belt that powers the 2 reels (Rew/FF & take up) which in turn had began to dissolve the small belt that powers the full auto stop!! So a right f**king mess & I was really despondent as most of you know this one really is my baby - I love this machine & use it more than any of the others!! So, out with the bags of belts & cleaning bits, got straight on with it - I do have a good memory of deck mechanisms meaning it was so easy to replace the 2 damaged belts, the main flat belt was fine thank god as I got it on special order from the states & it was just a perfect fit Again it took the two of us to keep the board lifted so I could get in & replace the belts..............Space is SO limited & I did stress a little trying to hook the belts over the drive wheels & then around the huge flywheel, the belts are 3 layers, flat for main flywheel, above that the reel drive belt & on the top the auto stop drive All that in a very tight space is no picnic let me tell you!! Time to re-assemble which is still complex - these decks are above excellent when they work but there are a myriad of electronics to put back even though I kept dismantling to a minimum!! Finished re-assembly, powered up with no tape to start with.............Head block shot up, take up reel had good torque so I kind of knew I had her back Chrome tape put in & music blasted out once again I was SOOOO happy, it made my day to have it working even better than before - the search system & auto stop were a bit flaky before but now it stops instantly in all modes when it should & the music search is now faultless Reflecting on the day, I was musing over how happy this hobby makes me - the 'Prize' of a fully working top quality boombox is ridiculously overwhelming & I have been blasting her & a few others for hours today Time to take a few days just playing my beloved 9996 Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the inside but our hands were full so it would have been difficult I was so pissed when it didn't work - I never get tired of making these things work again, such a buzz...... & I am an addict
Nice one Nick, this is exactly what happened to my big ben, now with new owner, not that keen on sanyo decks after that love you'rs in silver tho, much nicer than the black one ehh, drinks all round
Glad you got it sorted , I hate it when that happens you go to use one of your favourite boxes, which was fine last time you used it.
Phew. I read the title and thought oh no, Nicks going to have a fit if his Brandt is all messed up, i know its your fave. Glad the story had a happy ending mate
Good to hear that you managed to work out what the problem was and then fix it. It is very satisfying when you get something that was broken working again. Did the job that you used to do involve that sort of thing ?
Glad it left a smile on your face Nick. I agree with you feeling euphoric at the end of a quick repair, that you dreaded would be a lengthy (read, expensive) repair!
Longman I have been repairing audio/video products since 1982 when I qualified at college as an AV engineer at 16 years old It was a hobby really until the early 90's when I had a repair/sales shop with a friend then it was full on & I learnt so much more especially about audio stuff even though my fascination was really video recorders, amazing machines that everyone took for granted!! We would scour boot sales picking up often minty stuff like Sharp GF8585's for example for a tenner or less then clean & service them & put them in the shop window where they never remained for long!! I returned to the motor trade when the shop became too expensive to run but carried on VCR servicing from home & still buying up boomers from the boot sales to re-sell Ignorance is bliss....................If only I had known I would fall back in love with early 80's boomers in the 2000's!! I lurked here many years before I had the fateful stroke, in fact just 2 years before that awful day, I had started collecting again but only a few!! By 2014 I had gone crazy buying & I joined here of course It still amazes me that you lot are there & like something that the rest of the world has largely forgotten: the stereo radio recorder, I am often humbled by the kind words on here as well as the genuine interest & knowledge to be found here!! Made me smile when Rudey & Lee dropped in with the Panasonic RX-60LE for repair, Rudey asked big tits what she made of it all She just goes along with it she knows how happy I am whenever a new parcel arrives Stay tuned for more coming very soon!!
Thanks for the interesting reply Nick. I guessed that you worked in Electronics repair. When I was at college (starting 1978) the classroom next to ours was where a different class learnt TV repairs. I remember they had one of the very first commercial Teletext decoders which was a large box filled with about 100 SSI logic ICs. I have known a couple of people who used to work doing TV and Audio repairs, while a colleague did all the training then qualified just as the bottom dropped out of the market. Even back in the 1990s it was quite profitable to repair equipment as it was so expensive new. I spent at least 5 years wanting a Hi-Fi VCR before buying the first one I saw new for under £300 (it was actually an ex display one at Comet). I wonder if you have seen this site. http://www.rewindmuseum.com/home.htm If not it is well worth a look. p.s. I think the recent James May re-assembler programmes show that lots of people are still interested in the days when you could fix things with screwdrivers and spanners.
I LOVED Hi-Fi VCR's - took me forever to buy a high end JVC HRS 5800EK (I think) & what a machine it was!! Full broadcast quality recording with glorious Hi-Fi sound & it even captured & reproduced the teletext data at to top of the picture normally you don't see the text lines data of course!! I picked up a Ferguson VCR teletext adapter at a junk sale for peanuts (JVC made) so I also had timed recordings using data like today's machines Couple to that VCR was a Pace MSS-508s, an analogue sat receiver with built in positioner cabled up to a 1.5 metre motorised dish that scanned the horizon & gave me access to tons of stuff like live news feeds, dozens of music channels (I loved the 90's) they played music 24/7 not like the shit I refuse to pay for or watch nowadays & of course I bought A D2MAC decoder & pirate card for the 'Ahem' Scandinavian channels like Filmnet, TV1000 etc - They would broadcast hardcore porn every night at 11pm & I mean hardcore!! I made a fortune selling video cassettes in Bognor Regis back then Add a Technics high end separates system to the audio out of the VCR & music channels came alive God I miss those years..........the 1990's were just amazing in every way for me I love the digital age & all one can do with a decent home PC but miss the happiest decade of my life - All the equipment soon became obsolete & pretty much worthless but analogue satellite & a Hi-Fi VCR was the peak of my good times in life
