Hi everyone, I purchased this unit a couple of weeks ago on eBay. Was after a project, and wanted something to listen to my cassettes on. The radio works (one speaker only), and the cassette player did not. I ordered some replacement belts for this specific unit, however, I can’t work out where they go! I only had one belt that was still connected, so I replaced that. It’s in the bottom right-hand corner as you can see from the images. I now have a long and a short belt to install. The long belt is too long from the furthest two pulleys(?) and the short one is too short without being extra tight... maybe they sent the wrong belts, I’m not sure. Is it possible to mark up the locations? Also, what could be causing only one speaker to work? Here are some photos and a diagram from the manual. pics inside the unit Any help would be greatly appreciated. I did see another user, Jorge, had repaired a similar unit, but couldn't find a way to contact them directly.
Welcome, and well done in finding the diagrams although they aren't very helpful. This looks as if it might be similar Have a look at around 8:00 for the belt routing. Funnily I was repairing a Bush with a similar looking deck this afternoon. If you have two belts the smaller thin one is probably for the tape counter. If it is like the Bush you will have to remove the deck to get to it. You don't need that belt for the deck to work. Switch cleaner is always a good start for electronic problems on old equipment like this. Don't forget there is a large internal switch to go between play and record.
Thanks, Longman! Much appreciated. The diagrams were of no help! I was really hoping the manual would cover the placement. The video is helpful. The tape counter belt was the only belt that was still intact. I replaced that one no problem. I suspect there other two belts might be incorrect, based on that video. One is still too long and the shorter belt doesn't reach anywhere... Bit of a shame, as they were 4x of the cost of a whole packet, and only contained 3 belts. I was thinking it would be worth it as they'd be specific for this unit. My next challenge is going to be putting it back together. Are there any London based specialists anyone could recommend? I might have to put this one aside and just buy new in future, as it seems I have bitten off more than I can chew.
All original belts were intact on mine, here are some restoration photos, hopefully they are self-explanatory: Pinchroller rejuvenated beautifully with Naphta: Rubber tyre for pickup reel gave me some troubles, it went rock-hard but without it you get a lot of bearded cassettes: I tried to fix it, but in the end I might have used tyre from WM-D6C kit from @mihokm, or maybe from Nakamichi LX-5 or ZX-7 kits ... all my notes got burned and looking at the photos I am not quite sure what was used for the Happy Ending: I had some other minor issues like a burned speaker and motor running a tad too fast, but compared to the problem of dried-out rubber tyres those are pleasurable problems to fix BTW, it was me who bought TRK-5190H Service Manual, scanned it and uploaded two years ago (05/25/2018) at HiFiEngine.com
The packs of 50 belts for £3 might not be the highest quality but are useful for trying things out. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50pcs-Mi...987808?hash=item2d0a290160:g:IL0AAOSwxv1eqn83 They aren't suitable for later Walkmans which tended to use thinner belts which are best bought from Fixyouraudio One worked fine in my early 1980s Sanyo though
I have a few of those packs from our Chinese Comrads... as you say: of real iffy quality! Good for a quick fix’n’sell, But!!!!! for your personal use consider better sources! My personal experience with belts comes from a belt for a legendary LP-12 Sondek which I had (and miss dearly!) the only belts actually working were from legit Linn dealers, with belts from eBay it was impossible to set up correct speed
That is incredibly helpful, Jorge. Thank you soo much. I was thinking who would have gone to the effort of uploading the manual! Got to love helpful people and communities like this. Thanks, Longman. I was going to purchase that exact item but then I found a seller in Germany with the belts for this model. Based on Jorge's photos, they might actually be the correct bands. I'll have a fiddle with it later tonight and see if I can make it work. Looking at the routing, I figured that was the only arrangement for the longer belt, but didn't match any other images from similar units I'd seen online. I'm excited to put it together and see if it works! I'll also need to look into the pickup reel. Based on the condition of my unit, I suspect it will need all most things addressed. It's soo dusty and grimey in there. Could you recommend any speakers that would fit this unit? Also, any recommendations for how to clean the exterior without stripping the white highlights and polishing the clear plastic? Many thanks!
I used these: 2x4'' silver car speaker, since magnets are bigger than original you have to cut some plastic to make the Right speaker fit. These HERE look the same but in fancy yellow. Also you will need a spacer to make them flush with the front panel, I will upload my photos on how I did it later today For cleaning I use Windex, to get rid of dust from insides and to clean the mainboard nothing beats blasts of air from an air compressor, at 30psi Installation of new speakers, plastic holder for the mainboard had to be shaved a bit You do not see much through the plastic grille, next time I will choose yellow cones
Hey everyone, I replaced the belts and used some contact cleaner on all the switches and controls. I’ve put it together and it’s playing out of both speakers now! However, when I play a tape I have the following issues: - Plays at like 1.5x speed - Plays clearer when I manually depress the play button harder; and - Cassette reels spin, but will only play audio when the “Mixing” button is pressed. Any thoughts?
Too fast could mean the pinch roller is exerting less force than the tape up reel so the tape is being pulled past the capstan. I had a car cassette that started doing that but after attempting to repair it I gave up and replaced it.
Thanks, Longman. I wasn’t sure if there was an adjustment on the motor to slow things down. I’ve located a few pinch roller wheels(?) on eBay. Is it worth just replacing? Anything to look out for? cheers
When you say pressing the play button harder it plays clearer do you mean speed wise or loudness wise ? Either way I am wondering if the head / capstan assembly is going down as far as it should. If you play with the tape door open and without a tape in, does the pinch roller revolve and have good torque. I usually test by applying finger pressure to the side of the roller and feeling if it has enough torque to keep turning.
Here are some pics of the bastard in question https://imgur.com/gallery/BMZLh5T Looks like it’s about 12.5mm x 7.5mm wide. I’m not sure if it’s worn down from 13x8. Is it possible to tell if it’s defective from the photos? I’ve found a couple on eBay and some are £40/$50usd each! Not sure if they are the same size but they look similar.
It plays louder when I press the play button. I’m thinking I’ll just try and replace the roller first and see if that resolves any issues. Unless you can think of another fix?
Even from this angle I can see that capstan itself is not completely clean, layer of ferrite off the tapes should be removed completely!!. Pinchroller itself should be cleaned with Naphta (aka Ronson Lighter Fluid) and Q-Tips until you do not have any blackness on the cotton after wiping. How-To: 1) Clean capstan, usually done in PLAY + Pause mode (use Q-Tips and IPO) 2) Press PLAY and work on the pinch-roller. In tough cases you might have to remove pinchroller hardware (see my photo above) and scrub it with all your might ... If no dents and rubber is not rock-hard then there is no need to buy new pinchroller. Actually, Willy Hermann advised me against buying New or NOS pinchrollers unless you Absolutely sure that yours is damaged. From what you said it looks like the whole mech does not "snap" into Play mode: play head is above the tape and pinch-roller does not quite "pinch" the tape against capstan And NO, this Hitachi does NOT have motor speed adjustment, but in yours something is wrong at a basic level. Pretty often it is because of a hardened grease and the mechanism does not 'snap' into play when you disengage PAUSE button. Easy to check: when you depress PAUSE it should get to Play position pretty quick Follow @Longman advise when playing the tape.
Thanks, Jorge. Apologies, but what is a capstan? I’ve removed the rubber wheel, which I’ve assumed is called the pinch roller, and will give it a good scrub tomorrow. Is it normal for the tape to only play when the mixing button is depressed?
Not normal, but something like this happens to practically all bboxes: switches get oxidized and should be treated with DexIt or something similar. Long REC bar switch should be pushed a few dozen times while deoxit-ing, as suggested many times here and at boomboxery.com: maybe there was no need to remove pinchroller: it is much easier to let bbox do most of the hard work by rotating it, all you have to do is to press Q-tip against capstan or rubber
Gotcha. I used deoxit on all the switches, but didn't hit this long bar. I was hitting the individual switch sections just above it. I'll give that a go and see if it clears things up. Cheers for your help with everything else also.
Ok, I’ve tried your suggestions. I cleaned the pinch roller and the capstan whilst I had the unit open. I reassembled and then did a final clean with the door open. My results: - The capstan continues to play even with a bit of force against it. - Still plays fast. - Plays when not in mixing mode; although it slowly gets quieter and quieter until you can’t hear it. I filmed it but the site doesn’t like my iPhone video extension. I’m not sure what else I can try.
What was your result on this one? as it should, but does it transfer this torque to the pinchroller? because if not then tape is not 'pinched' tight enough between capstan and pinchroller
