Greeting, Has this happened to anyone who has a walkman of any sort.In my double AA battery compartment, the top battery that is mostly hidden, the battery is stuck, THe batteries goes one on top of the other like a portable torch. This occured on my brand new Mulann (mystik) B-1000, I have been using it from time to time for one month. is it stuck because of bad design or is the battery melted? I can only see the 1/4 of the battery and I cant see anything that would be rusted.
For the moment I removed the three screws on the back, but it seems there might be some tab holding it. It is a metter of finding a way to open it without breaking I suppose
It could be one of three things, bad mold design so it's too tight for the battery. The battery has swelled, this happens with old batteries. Or the body of the unit got heated up over 120 degrees and it warped in the battery compartment. Personally I'd say bad mold design, they probably got the cheapest molds they could find and the cutter was off a hair.
Thank you mister X. I am now stuck, I have blemished a good part of the walkman s body and still have failed to take it appart, the tabs are so stuck. I suppose paying 300-400 for a walkman of a good brand is better
I'd even say getting a Sanyo Sportster or Sony Sports model for $20 would be better. I use a small pocket knife to get stuck batteries out, just be careful you don't slip.
I suppose I am a all or nothing. For me the design and looks of the items matters as much as if it plays well. And I also want to avoid having to do any repairs. It seems that a WM-EX is about 150-200$ refurb on ebay. I also like Aiwa PX347. I have a Sanyo but I do not like it. The design is not very good and it is dirty from wear but it was cheap, 5=10$. Nevertheless I hope I can repair the B-1000
At that point I gave up. The battery is stuck and I have no way of opening up the cassette player, and I have ruined it with my screwdrivers. if someone have had experience tearing up this player let me know.
Get a new one for $12 (if you order 500): https://m.alibaba.com/product/1600114176178/DC-with-headphone-jack-built-in.html ;-)
@CDV Is the Panda exactly the same thing? I was under the impression that Recording the master has greatly improved the cassette mechanism to make it worth it? eapecially since that was 80-100$
@godfrey, where are they improving it? At their factory in France? I don't know is it exactly the same, but it looks the same and has the same features. Do you think the Chinese stole French design?
Unlikely stolen I suppose. It would be risky. If it is the same then i am sad to have lost this much money. for thosewho can help here is a photograph of the situation. I suppose my last hope is to pry with a screwdriver or knife eithou puncturing the battery. I failed to teardowntge body. Even without screw the body is quite stuck. The corner looks damage because I tried hard to open it. https://imgur.com/a/WVFXmYQ
I can't tell if that is a black rubber foot, if it is, pull that off, there's a screw under it or check inside the cassette door, some of these will slide up and off for better access. I'm with you on the design of the item, these new players are what we used to call entry-level back in the 80's, most people avoided them but they were fine for little kids. There's nothing special about, nobody is making the complicated internals the better players used to have, they have the most basic mechanicals and now they're considered top-of-the-line. When I mention Sanyo Sportster or Sony Sports, these models can be bought for fairly cheap, most need just a belt, and they are fairly robust players, a lot of them aren't bad looking either, I have a handful up on the shelfs and my background is in design. Unfortunately now-a-days part of the hobby includes changing belts, some are super easy and some require de-soldering circuit boards and a few hours labor. Starting with a decent beginner's unit, you can learn the fundamentals and move up the ladder once your confident. I understand the desire for a turn-key unit but you either put faith in a "refurbished" unit or you buy new where we know the quality is low.
Hooray I dislodged the battery. I had to hit the personal player really hard and frequently from the top of the battery. And there is no corrosion, so indeed it is bad design, it is too tight or option 2 battery expended. The battery is partly damaged because my screwdriver did nick it a bit when I was trying to open the body. is it hard to open because they wanted to make it solid or is it that they did not want me to know or mess about with the inside ^_^.
Mister X, are you saying that when they say refurbished, it might not really be? I dont have experience buying old electronics on ebay, I usually buy new. I can thinker but I do not know how to solder unfortunately.
Is it a recharcheable battery? They are slightly thicker that the regular elements. I have to wash my hands to make sure the friction is enough to pull the battery from my Sony walkman. I cannot solder as well, not with the quality needed for small parts. I replaced belts in five or six walkmans, this was enough. The one that needed soldering I sold, and the buyer fixed it.
@CDV , yes good observation, it is a rechargeable battery. So they are thicker? Is it a bad idea to buy walkmen listed as junk or Parts only not working. I suppose to be safe i should remain with Used
I buy in any condition, what I don't like to see in photos is crack or broken corners or grayish residue around the bottom or battery area. Cracked cases can mean they unit was dropped, the inside circuit boards might also be broken. The hazy residue is battery corrosion, this also might extend onto circuit boards requiring a lot of repair work. 90% of used equipment, without these conditions will work fine with a new belt and contact cleaner on the switches and dials, at least in my experience. We are getting to a point where some really roached-out units are showing up for sale more often, when the owner sees nicer units going for silly money, they try to cash in. I have a lot of units so I don't care if the tape decks don't work, I keep a handful running at any time because I do like playing tapes and once in while I'll do more major work to get another one running. I like doing it I just don't have the time. Without a full written breakdown, refurbished can mean anything. I've never bought from Oak Tree Vintage but they write down exactly what they've done to the tape decks. These guys have been on the internet since the beginning. https://www.oaktreevintage.com/Stereo_Cassette_Tape_Decks.htm
