Originally posted by: DOCP Wm 10 type walkmans are slightly difficult to mend because of their tiny size. You can download the service manual attached at the end of this post to give you a clear idea of technical details Here are some pointers/tips 1)OPENING UP: a)unscrew the 2 central hinge screws to remove the cassette door b)unscrew the 4 chasis screws on the four corners of the back c)unscrew the ornamental dial of the volume control (using tweezers in the 2 holes or a pair of pointed scissors) d)remove the battery cover and battery 2)'NON WORKING'???: If the unit doesn't power up there are 3 common things to look into before ripping things open & worsening things: a) plug in a pair of earphones to complete the 'power on' circuit/power saving feature b)If an old belt is jammed it prevents switching on/powering on...replace the belt c)simple corrosion: Corrosion is mainly seen towards the -ve terminal..scrape off with a sharp blade/emery paper or use commercial dissolving solutions d)BAAAAAD corrosion): The whole battery compartment and surrounding areas look swamped with the ooze...clean up and carefully unscrew the circuit board to check underneath....the wire from the -ve battery terminal to the pcb gets disconnected by the corrosion eating into the point of soldering. 3)SCRAPING/Scratching/Freewheeling NOISES: Sony provides felt spacer strips stuck onto the inner surface of the metal shell of the walkman and also on the surface of the pcb to maintain a certain distance to prevent scraping of moving parts with the shell. These spacers get powdery with age & can be replaced quite easily 4)Headphone sound problems. The supply to the headphone socket is via a flexible pcb which sometimes goes kaput in one of its lines.Either link a thin wire from start point to end point or if the break in connectivity is located bypass it by carefully scraping the protective varnish on either side and soldering a small wire segment
I won an unopened WM-20 on ebay a few years ago. It was a blue EU variant. It cost me a bit. I'm not the usual collector and opened it immediately, put a battery and a tape in it and away I went. It worked and sounded excellent. I even walked about town with it in its belt holster listening away. Anyway, only got it out now and again to show off it to friends and so forth and then recently I put a tape in it and it played as usual. The track playing sounded particularly impressive so I stopped it and took it to my partner so she could have a listen. When I pressed play again........nothing happened. No whirrs, clicks or anything. What could have happened????
Unresponsive wm10 checklist : 1. Is the power led switching on ? If not a) your battery might be dead or more interestingly loose as seen with some modern Duracell AA b)the headphone isn't plugged in - there is a 'switch' in the socket that saves the battery by powering off if unplugged 2. Switching on ( led on ) but no movement ? a)hold it close to your ear - you should be able to hear the motor spinning - if not ..most probably a snapped & jammed up belt - you may have to open up to confirm.
I received a WM-30 in the post today - original owner had cracked the positive terminal off of the plastic mounting, and had attempted to fix it with solder and another wire. It runs with it's loose belt; but I initially bought it for the shell and control mechanism as my WM-10ii has a bad shell and grindy central flywheel. (I wouldn't mind someone to merge the pair into one working machine.)
Good news, it seems Sony did in fact wire their negative terminal straight into the 1.5v DC input barrel. I made sure to use two cables, (and a AA battery, it seems to spool the motor fine - haven't tested it with a belt) one to touch the rear postive panel of the male barrel, and the AA negative terminal. I've ordered a Sony DCC-70; in it's original box - (The 12v car battery to cigarette socket adapter), from the US so I'll be able to get proper specs on that barrel - and then produce a external battery holder that goes straight into the DC socket - much like the WM-10x series. This is a stopgap solution currently, but a good idea, as the EBP-10 is extremely rare.
I have a question regarding the WM-W800. It was working relatively okay. Side B worked flawlessly and Side A had a slight hiccup every now and then (reel wouldn't spin when Play button is pressed). A couple days ago, Side A slowed down while having a buzzing noise coming from the motor. On top of that, more than often when I press Play, I can hear the motor buzzes as it struggles to turn the reel, but nothing usually happens I changed new belts for both sides. I also checked the tape adjustment screws, and it couldn't speed up to match the actual speed of the song, though it could slow down. I checked with multiple tapes, including brand new tapes, to see if it was caused by the tapes. My guess is maybe this is caused broken capacitor(s). However, I'm not very experienced with circuitry to fully understand this issue. If anyone could shed a light on this, I'd appreciate it!
It is rare to find a WM-W800 without capacitor issues. Check Ebay to see how many are available and guess how many are working?? zero (and if working not in ideal way) So your WM-W800 needs to be racapped. I don't think anybody collected WM-W800 more than me and I am telling this based on my experience. This model is very weak for capacitors.
Hi, I just picked up a WM-F10 off ebay that is in great cosmetic condition, but doesn't work. This was the first Walkman I purchased back when I was 16, so I'm excited to get it working. I've opened it up and found the belt has turned to goo so needs a cleanup and replacement. But the other problem is the headphone jack. It won't power on with a headphone plugged in but I was able to turn it on by jumping the switch with a wire. Is there anyplace to get a replacement jack? I've checked Mouser and Digikey but couldn't find anything that would work. I'm wondering if maybe the problem could be contacts needing to be cleaned. Anyone here try using contact cleaner to get the internal switch working again? Another question. While I have it open, I was thinking of recapping it. I see 8 electrolytic caps but they look like they will be a pain to replace. Have the caps in these early 80's WM's been reliable? I'm thinking of putting it back together and addressing the caps only if they end up failing. Thanks Perry
Hi TEP392, I recently did some basic maintenance in two WM-10 - the radio-less version of your F10 - basic meaning belt replacement, cleaned, de-oxit on the switches and lubrication. Did you try to de-oxit inside the headphone jack? The switch inside might not be making the contact it should when you insert the headphone. You could use a toothpick or needle with cotton (making it into a pointy cotton swab) embedded in contact cleaner. Another common issue is that you could have a cold solder joint on the headphone jack pins. With a lot of plug/unplug the solder could break. You could try to re-solder them to see if gets fixed. As for the recapping question, I would only do it if is really affecting the way the unit works. One of my units have some motor noise leak through the headphones that is possibly coming from a capacitor that needs replacement. However, the motor noise is minor so I personally won't bother until it gets worse. As you well described, replacing these caps are not the easiest task and somewhat risky (to me at least!).
Hello, I have recently found my grandfathers old Sony WM-F10 Walkman. When I first pulled it out I tested the radio and that works fine, I proceeded to test he tape function and i could hear the motor running, So I took it apart and have just last week gotten the replacement belt. Now the tape function works but each time the left spindle spins once it makes a loud audible click sound. I’ve also come to notice that after a while the left spindle just stops. Meanwhile making a constant clicking noise I’ve almost lost 1 tape to the pinch roller as the pinch roller doesn’t stop, only the spindle. Any ideas what I can do to get it working? Thanks Much, Liamrocksla0
Maybe a cracked/missing tooth/teeth on one of the cog wheels...? You'd have to check to see if one of the cogs are not engaging/turning smoothly (without any sudden jumps) when it's playing.
These walkmans share the same gear WM-W800, WM-10/20/30, WM-F10.... The gear is prone to crack and clicking. I have many of these walkmans and seen this issue frequently.
Yep it's always the left spindle gear. Only thing you can do is replace it and it's an awkward thing to remove.
An in situ spot repair of the split zone is sometimes feasible with epoxy putty. As the plastic shrinks & splits there is now space for an extra ‘tooth’ or two Add in the epoxy putty and shape it by rotating - the opposing wheel will create the required shape Happy Mending
this is what the internals of mine looks like running, i realize that the small white gear on the left isn't spinning at all. how would i gain access to the gear i'd need to change out? can i do it from the front or do i have to take off the main circuit board? https://photos.app.goo.gl/yyqXis63cr3ftQuA3
One of my F10s has been a nightmare. I sold it and had it working well for quite some time prior to selling it however it was returned to me because it ate the buyer's tape and stopped playing. Every time you hit play the button would engage but almost instantly retract. There is a mechanism under the pinch roller and this plastic piece that floats over this gear with a bump on it. The plastic piece should hover behind the radius of the bump but every now and then or when you hold it so gravity pulls it, the plastic piece goes forward hitting the bump and triggering the stop. Not sure what it is but I need to try and open the unit further. If anyone is knowledgeable of the mech any advice would be great!
Sony wm-20...restored | Stereo2Go forums Hello Try to see this and a Wm-20 should be similar... look at photos 015..016
Thanks so much! I think I have an idea of what to fix. I guess I will have to disassemble a lot of it. Wish me luck!
Well yes if the problem and that ... you will have to disassemble the whole part of the head... calmly you can do it ... before disassembling something of the mechanics.. I recommend you take pictures.. Good luck
Well I was able to take it apart semi successfully and moved that spring part back into place. It is an incredibly flimsy part and am surprised that it was causing such a problem. I am still glad to have opened it up and got to clean out parts I didn't have previous access to. Unfortunately one of the button collars was heavily oxidized and didn't want to be removed. I ended up snapping it but I wasn't sure if there was any other way ... I will just do my best to reassemble it. Thanks a ton for the help!
