I have a TPS-L2 which I have replaced the 2 belts, 2 idler tires and pinch roller. It's running and sounding great but after some times it starts to chewing up the tapes??? I have tried to clean the tape path, pitch roller with ipa but the chewing is always coming back. Any suggestions what I can do to solve this annoying problem? Cheers, Math
It may be similar to the issues I had with DC2 & DD33’s, from time to time they will eat tapes and the DC2 will only eat TDK MA-XG’s it has expensive taste. They had been serviced many times and know issues found. Anyway the problem turned out to be when I thought the tape path was perfectly clean, well I had clean them again. Now I clean till no more dirt comes off. Since I have been doing this, my DC2’s no longer eats tapes.
Thanks! So proper cleaning should be enough? Mine is not really time to time, it's almost every tape I play, it starts after maybe 30 min of listening after cleaning? I suspected it could be a problem that something wasn't pulling or pushing enough causing the problem? But maybe it has no effect on chewed bands?
My guess is that there's some issue with the play spindle idler assembly (the smaller one). Maybe it's not gripping properly. Initially it is strong enough to spool the cassette, but as the cassette is played and the tape increases at the take-up side, it's getting heavier to turn that and there's not enough grip anymore, so it slips and stops turning. Does the walkman auto-stop engage soon after it starts chewing or does it continue to play regardless and end with the tape getting tangled? If it's the latter, maybe there's also an issue with the spindle belt (the smaller one too). The TPS-L2 uses a mechanical auto-stop that detects movement of the take-up spindle. If the belt's too loose, it's possible that the mechanism can detect the spindle stopping but doesn't have enough grip to activate the auto stop.
That sounds totally like my problem, it starts chewing when the take-up side getting heavier and the play spindle idler assembly seem not to have enough torque. It does not stop playing when the tape gets tangled, or it does after a while when there is a bitt mess of tape stucked ♂️ So I should focus on the play spindle idler assembly + belt? I ordered the 2 belts, 2 idler tires and pinch roller from fixyourradio so i guess they should be in good condition? What should I try to do in this case? Thanks a lot
Those should be good quality parts. Yes, definitely look at the play spindle assembly when it's playing & getting stuck. Then you can identify where the issue originates from. For the play spindle, the movement goes like this: Motor -> Main belt -> Capstan flywheel -> Spindle belt -> Pulley -> Small idler -> Spindle clutch wheel -> Friction clutch -> Spindle The latter 3 are sandwiched together with the clutch wheel at the top. Also try playing it and stopping the spindle with your hand. If the rubber parts are fine, the clutch wheel should continue spinning.
Hello. What's your tape length ? Does it chew a 100 or 120 minutes tapes? If so , that's normal. The TPS-L2 is 1979 model and it's good for thick tape only. 60 minutes tape is exactly what it needs . Try it. If it keeps chew 60 min tape , than you need to fix it. P.S. Back in 1987 I was a happy owner of my first brand new SHARP WQ 561 and I've found a warning in its manual that 100 or 120 min cassettes are highly not recommended for it because of chewing . High length cassettes are for home decks only , because those are way more precious . Probably you use tapes produced in 90s or after 2000 and those have thinner base than old school tapes from 80s and your TPS-L2 just can't handle them properly. Regards .
Thanks for all input. I have tried with different tape length and the problem starts at the end of the tape when the tape increases at the take-up side no matter which tape length. After a few super proper cleaning it can play the whole tape, but in the end, the take up spindle starts to show sign of stopping, even though it doesn't fully stop. Just realised that I did not replace the pinch roller, how big impact could that have in this case? But it looks like the pinch roller pulling the tape perfectly while the take up reel does not. Thanks again.
The pinch roller is very important . Also I would check if the driving belt of take up spindle is tight enough . Looks like the spindle slower than it should be . regards
The pinch roller is very important to sound quality, but problems with it would not usually result in the described symptoms. The problem appearing near the end of tape points to the spindle slipping due to lack of torque, so it's most likely an issue with the internal mechanism. You must check to see where things in the mechanism start to slip where/when it shouldn't.
After checking the internal mechanism while playing the last part of an cassette I could see that the problem was between the idler tire and plastic part it connects to. There must have been som oil/grease there after the repair because after a proper cleaning the machine works like a charm. Many many thanks for all your help, so happy to have this piece working perfect again.
