My Working Sony Collection

Here are some of the units in my collection I’ve got up and running in the last year. Some were very easy fixes, some downright ugly. I’m sure by looking at the pic, you can guess which Walkman was the culprit of needing complete disassembly…lol

The WM-D6C has been with me for over 20 years and the RX707, while nothing particularly special about it, has a special place in my heart for ‘reasons’ and is my daily Walkman.

Still working on restoring my Toshibas and Panasonic units. The Sonys were the priority as each one of those Sony Walkmans in the pic has a story attached to it.

Still working on a couple of Sonys, a WM-FX43 and a WM-701C.

 

Nice

 

Well now, I own about a dozen Walkmans, but just a handful are fully working. I would love to hear the story on your WM-10/20 since mine won’t stay in the play mode- it keeps ejecting.

 

The lady that owned it took very good care of it and used it very little. All it needed was a belt to get running...but I know it's gonna need more down the road. The supply reel has the infamous cracked gear. I don't use it much because of that. It's a very delicate and finicky little thing.

Currently working on a WM-701C which is just as small, but hopefully a more solid build. lol

 

I have a Wm-701C that I destroyed while opening the case. The wow and flutter is horrible but might be due to the broken latch. I also own a WM-F701C. I was luckier there, but I still get an odd rumble every so often as if the belt is slipping on one of the cogs. I’m afraid to open it up again. I probably left some old melted belt tar someplace. I guess Dolby C is not in the Walkman cards for me.

 

Damn. Now you got me scared to open the thing! Lol I just received it last week and it's up next on the bench after I wrap up this WM-FX43 that refuses to switch heads when the auto-reverse is switched. So one side plays backwards unless you physically flip the tape...and of course, it only plays correctly in the reverse tape direction. So I've got that in pieces atm.

With regards to the excessive wow and flutter, did you check the pinch rollers? Almost always the culprit in these things.

Any sage advice before I go tearing into the WM701C? I've just been watching repair videos for it and the WM-R707 a few times to get a feel of what I'm up against.

I too, must have Dolby C in my back pocket.

 

One of the pinch rollers on my F701C has an indent which has to be replaced (wow & flutter only on one side). I'll probably just swap it over from my broken 701C.

My best suggestion for opening the 701C would be:

1. Move all switches to the right. Put a small tape covering the stop button because that will fall off when opening.
2. Remove the 2 bottom screws. Note: not all screws may be the same size.
3. Remove the 2 side back screws.
4. Remove the center side screw. This releases the latch lid. Carefully release the latch from its body and fold unto itself to the lid. The lid will now flop.
5. With the lid wide open, you should have plenty of room to remove the spring with some tweezers. Don't lose this!
6. Finally, remove the latch screw (left side screw). There's a small nut on the other side. So once removed, the nut should fall off. Don't lose this! The latch will also fall off.
7. Use a plastic blade to pry the unit apart to avoid scratching the unit. If you look at the Walkman from the top, start from the bottom left and work your way around clockwise.
8. The plastic silver rim should separate from the body. I broke mine because the latch screw was stripped and I tried separating the unit with the latch still attached (like in some YouTube videos). Don't make my mistake- it really should be removed before prying.
9. Once opened, a little black square washer my fall out- maybe two. They simply go on the external battery holes on the case.
10. Screw the latch back on with the nut on the body case. When reassembling- you don't have to remove this anymore.
11. Also when reassembling- make sure the stop button is properly secure, the square washers in place, and switches are all to the right.
12. Finally, when reassembling- when looking from the top, start from the bottom right and work your way around counter-clockwise.
13. When you put that spring back on- good luck! Yes, luck really has something to do with that.

There's a couple good YouTube videos on its teardown, and the service manual is pretty good too. Let us know how everything turns out.

 

Can't wait to play 'find the spring' like I did with the WM-D3.

Thanks for the tips. They will help tremendously I'm sure. Yes, I'll let you know how it goes. I got the same issue with one of the pinch rollers. I'll need to find a donor from a similar type of transport. Or perhaps that guy in Slovakia has a pinch roller for this model.

Also, do you have the original remote? Mine only seems to power up with a remote connected, but it's one from a different model so the functions don't match.

 

I have the original remote (with permanent ear buds) for the F701C. There’s 2 additional buttons for band and channels.

Both units, 701C and F701C, power on without anything connected to the 9 pin connector.

You can find a 9 pin adapter to mini plug on eBay as well.

 

Ok. Thanks! Good to know. I have a couple of those adapters. So...it seems that my troubleshooting just got more complex. Cause this thing only shows signs of life with the/a remote connected. The adapter, nada.

So much for slapping a belt in 'er and calling it a Dolby C-filled day. But no. It's never that easy.

 

Thanks Mister X. Ordered a belt and a couple of pinch rollers for the 701C as well.

 

I had around 55 walkmans I had restored over the last 4 years and scaled that back to just these 3

 

You'd have to sell off your collection just to pay for that DD Walkman!

But, seriously, I love all three of those. Thanks for sharing!

 

No I just had too many and they would never get used which is the worst thing for a walkman

Thanks yes the DD9 is amazing and handles my TDK SAX90 chrome tapes fantastic.

No wow or flutter

Both AIWA's play all my other tapes great but the TDK SAX 90 chrome they struggle with wow flutter but only certain tracks like Bohemian Rhapsody

 

Well, finally… I now have Dolby C in my back pocket. Sure glad to get it running. Came from Japan as Junk. It’s anything but imo.

 

Nice I had the F701C

Very nice sounding Sony

 

Thanks! It sure does sound pretty decent. Got new pinch rollers and main drive belt. It came as a non working unit that wouldn't power up. The unit itself is in excellent condition so I'm glad I was able to save it from staying in a junk pile.

It's also nice to finally be able to play back my tapes using the correct Dolby C they're encoded with. I always record in Dolby C, but portablely without my WM-D6C, I've always just settled with playing my Dolby C tapes using Dolby B with somewhat satisfactory results but far from ideal.

 

Magneto. Beautiful Walkman. Always wanted one of those. Enjoy.