Basically I recently purchased and received a WM-3 from eBay but when I press play the operational button works fine and the motor hums fine but sometimes it randomly makes a screeching noise kinda like a woman screaming because of sexual harassment or something. So how do I shut it up and make it hum like normal I want to experience the sweet orgasmic sound of analogue cassette. Like just sniffing it when it first arrived felt like such a thrill the packaged metal smell ahh it's like my cocaine. Sorry I digress can anyone help with the motor noise problem or talk me through a solution?
You're a quirky fella arent ya? The noise you mention does it happen on start up then go away? Does it happen more/less when you switch dolby on or off?
Yeah more often or than not it happens on start up I think (it happens when I press the play button or fast forward button but not rewind or stop buttons it happens for like a long period of time them stops and repeats usually, I'm a bit retarded as I've just discovered the world of Walkman's and audio so do you mean explaining what you mean by Dolby?) Also sometimes it will him like normal when I start it but soon make that screeching wailing banshee noise unpredictably. The best way I can describe it is when your letting air out of a balloon and it's making that squeaky noise
Sounds a lot like failing capacitors inside the walkman. By Dolby i meant there is a switch to activate/deactivate dolby on the side of most walkmans but i dont believe the WM3 has dolby so ignore that.
No its certainly fixable. It may need capacitors replacemed, this is doable but requires some good soldering skill and the components (which are cheap ish). Do you have enough skills to do this? If not it may be worth finding someone to do it. It have never opened a WM-3 so unsure how easy the recap is but i did a WM-5094 last week and it wasnt too difficult if you take your time.
Well I just had to google what soldering was so I'm guessing I'm already at a disadvantage but I'm a quick learner so I can probably learn how to do it well. And as for cheapish I hope it's in the low double digits cheap. I'll try giving it a go myself....will I kill my Walkman if I mess up? Also is there any soldering tutorials?
The components are a pound or two each so thats no biggie. Dont make your first ever soldering job your lovely walkman tho eh? Practice on something first, watch some youtube vids such as this:
Ok thanks I also think I need new belts because the two black spinners won't spin when I press play. Out of curiosity what would happen if someone damaged the circuit board would it be beyond repair then? Or does eBay happen to stock replace circuit boards for walkmans too?
No too much damage will be no good and may require a donor unit. If the spools arent turning then belts will need doing to but on equipment this old doing the belts is a given.
funniest thing i ever heard about a walkman It is a fixable condition so if you wanna compare it to a medical condition it is more likely a pneumonia
Ok so I've been practicing opening up and closing my Walkman screws for when I actually do that soldering thing and replace belts does anyone else have a circuit board phobia it feels like if just one piece of my mortal flesh touches it I'll break it and there's so many layers. I Only took off the back cover and door It feels like I'm playing a game of Operation! I'm half expecting a red nose to light up because I touch my Walkman's private parts my accident. Also the video I watched about replacing the TPS-L2 belts says I need to use alcohol to clean the pulleys . Can I just use hand soap practically the same thing like brothers from another mother ?
I don't think you should use hand soap because it doesn't dry off without leaving residue like alcohol. You can use methylated spirits or buy pure alcohol from the pharmacy.
Guys I have a crime to confess. I killed my Walkman one of the last of its kind never to be manufactured by the Japanese again. I replaced the belts using a tutorial video but when I tried texting it it wouldn't power on the operation colour was blank and I accidentally severed a wire in two it's on a little square board next to the batteries so I'm guessing that carried the power ugh like no shit Sherlock. Anyway Can I revie it is a possible to repair it honestly I'll do whatever it takes If...I sellotape the wire back to whole again would that resolve the issue would that soldering thing help I invent tried it yet since I don't have the tools but I could pick it up. I honestly wanna put myself on death row after this. Would Sony do me a solid and repair OT even if they don't make it anymore if I send it to them? I have pictures of the crime scene if you need to see it ugh I can't believe I miss that wailing screech now.
I don't think Sony can help with this issue. Why dont you take some pictures to show where this wire is. I am sure somebody can help
I'm very interested in this model and have alot of knowledge on it, and based on what you are saying, I have a feeling that if you want it repaired you may want to send it to a professional or at least someone with a bit better expertise. I would gladly help because I have repaired 2 walkman and almost finished with my 3rd, but currently I'm lacking a sodering iron for this kind of repair. If you live in the US, there is a Local repair service on eBay for Tps-L2 and Wm-3 Walkman I can send you the link to the seller. I hope they could help with your repair
Sorry for the shot picture quality in advance I took them with a potato. In the first image that's the wire that broke off and in the second that's it's solder pad(that's what it's called I think) with a bit of red wire sticking up from it. And I had to zoom in because these wires are super small how would one even solder such small wires?
