WM-10II: Is Loud Mechanical Operation Normal?

Greetings!

I have a WM-10II that is working very well. I recently replaced the belt, and cleaned the leaf switches. FF and RW work well, the playspeed is dead-on, and I think I have the azimuth as good as it can be. The unit, however, does not have a battery cover at present.

My question is this: Is playback operation typically really noisy? Here is a video of what playback sounds like:



Should I expect it to quiet down, once I have a battery cover (a parts machine is in the mail, on its way to me now)? Is this just a byproduct of such a tiny machine?

Your insight is appreciated!

 

This sound has nothing to do with a battery cover. I hear the clicking noise which is common for this player and all Sony walkman that share same gear (WM-10/20/30/800 ....).
The clicking usually doesn't affect the sound if you are listening music with a headphone (you can hear it if it is connected to mini speakers). Other than clicking noise there are some background noise that comes from movement parts and I think your restoration was not perfect.
The clicking sound can be resolved by changing that gear that can be taken from another walkman ( a broken one that is sold for parts) and the harsh background noise can be resolved.

 

Thank you, Boodokhan!

I just came across this post: http://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/sony-wm-10.2862/

As I recall, mine sounded exactly like the video that Sköll posted (the wobbly smaller wheel looked very familiar). I guess my question now is:

Where should the 'felt pads' be placed? It's pretty tiny, so I imagine that the felt needs to be super thin and in very specific places. I don't recall seeing any kind of felt pad in there, when I replaced the belt.

 

I am not sure about the "felt pads".
I like the idea of being creative and do modification/ changes to equipment to make them work better BUT I don't think placing felt pads in WM-10 will improve the sound. Something is wrong that causing that noise. Hopefully other members can help/ direct you to the problem.
It is always better to record a video before placing the back plate

 

I don't know anything about the pads, either, but I saw mention of them in Sköll's post (the post linked above) and here:

http://boomboxery.com/forum/index.php/topic/13145-wm-wm-f-1010ii2030-w800-troubleshooting/

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Here's a video of the unit outside of the shell. Without a tape, it seems pretty quiet. With a tape, it's a little louder with the clicking/knocking sound. I tried a couple of different cassettes, so it's definitely coming from the unit. I should note that this Walkman appears to have never been dissembled. The only work I did to it was replacing the belt (carefully), cleaning the tape path, and demagging.

 

When you placed the cassette I was able to hear the clicking. which i am sure due to the broken gear.

I wish I knew what exactly causing the noise coming from your walkman but i think good cleaning and lubricating it might resolve the issue.
This model walkman overall is not one of the super quite walkman units. They all have a very mild noise that can be improved by good cleaning and lubrication.

 

Thanks for your input! The parts unit arrived, and I thought it’d be a good opportunity for practice in dissembly. Is there a trick to removing the screw circled in the following picture? I can’t seem to loosen it on either unit, without fear of completely stripping it. I am assuming that this has to be removed to get the main board separated.

 

You can unscrew it, no need for any trick

 

Except it’s stuck on both units, about to strip. I’m about to give up on this one. The ex102 from my youth may not be as detailed, but at least it’s servicable.

 

ive used small handheld saw and dremel in the past to turn stripped screws into phillips flatheads.

 

Thank you for the recommendation. I have a set that includes those bits. I'll try again soon. In the meantime, I picked up a restored DD33...so I've kind of lost motivation for the time being.