Hello, I recently repaired a WM-DD33, and managed to loose the washer for the capstan (didn't realize when re-assembling and couldn't find it afterwards) I've desperately tried to source the genuine replacement part over the net, but couldn't find any in stock anywhere. I have 2 questions here: - Ideal case: would anyone have an original spare part (ref. Sony 3-701-438-01) and willing to sell/ship it to Switzerland? (dreaming I know - Fallback plan: I am considering creating one myself, out of some PTFE sheet (https://www.ebay.fr/itm/225760602435) in with some leather hole punchers (https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08KW41SSM/ref=pe_27091401_487024491_TE_item) Would the fallback plan be a viable option? Thanks for your advice! Greetings, Dominique
I think the second option is the one to go for. A replacement one you won't find, I have not seen anyone selling these unfortunately. Have searched for similar ones in the past without luck. The thickness of the washer is not critical as the thrust play and motor position are adjustable, but I think something between 0.05mm and 0.1mm will be close to the original.
dom69 i am sure I have many of this things around, I'll have a look for you. I will also be in Geneva from Sunday afternoon. PM me your details, I am sure I can put one in the post for you when I get to Geneva.
I have heard people using small plastic sequins . you know ..the type used on dresses. Small and thin.
Interesting indeed, thanks for the idea. Is there a long-term real life experience feedback on this type of solution? I'm wondering whether this type of material will not wear out or cause issues with friction.
Hi everyone, am about to put back the washer, but I do have a question regarding lubrication: In Marian's tutorial (https://fixyouraudio.com/tutorials/sony-dd-series-step-by-step-repair-guide-for-dummies/5/) it is said to oil the capstan on top of the washer - but wouldn't that lead to oil leaking along the capstan and potentially harming the tapes? Shouldn't the washer be put back AFTER the bottom of the capstan is oiled (just under the casptan wheel)?
It will only if you don't clean the capstan after re-installing it. In the original tutorial there is one step that is missing, although it's pretty obvious it should be done. Which is: after reinstalling put the unit in play and clean the pinch roller. Then put it in REW/FF and clean the capstan. There are traces of oil in the bushing anyway, so even if let's suppose you don't put any oil, the capstan should still be cleaned after re-installing. No, because you want the entire surface of the capstan (the part that sits in the bushing) to be oiled, not just the bottom part where the washer is. See attached picture. These 2 surfaces are metal on metal contact, so you want to have some lubrication between them. I also recommend cleaning the capstan ring itself after re-installing the flywheel and before re-installing the motor. It can get contaminated with oil from your fingers or oil from the mechanism which you got on your fingers. In fact I had a DD that came in for service (was serviced before by someone else) where the unit wouldn't start (motor spindle was slipping on the rubber) exactly because of this. For cleaning use IPA and cotton swab.
Hello again - sorry for the stupid questions, I'm a newbie here I've made my own washer from 0.1mm PTFE film, but it appears to be slightly thicker than the original one, thereby creating audible wow and flutter. I've tried to follow instructions to adjust thrust play (from https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/wm-dd-series-mech-adjustments-applies-to-d6c-tc-d5m.7377/) but I'm afraid I don't really understand them. I'm trying to position my 0.05 mm feeler gauge between the flywheel cover and the back of the adjustment screw, but it can never go under the screw so I'm confused. I would also have to tighten the screw too much/too hard to feel some drag while moving the feeler gauge between the cover and the flywheel. What am I doing wrong?
The question is not stupid at all, thanks for pointing it out. It is, in fact, my mistake as I never used the feeler gauge method to adjust these and I do realise the capstan on DD units is recessed and a feeler gauge may not fit in there. Will edit the original thread accordingly, making it more clear. To be honest, the way I adjust these is by eye/feel. The tolerance of this adjustment is pretty large, so you don't need a very exact adjustemnt, but you need to have it within a certain interval: - if it's too loose (like >0.2mm) the flywheel will move up/down when shaking the unit creating wow&flutter; - if it's too tight (like <0.05mm) the motor current will increase and there also won't be enough room to make the motor position adjustment correct even with screw at one end; On these DD units where the motor spindle is always in contact with the rubber ring, there's a relationship between the 2 adjustments. And because of this, you need to have a larger thrust play than on a D6C let's say, otherwise motor will never be able to sit perpendicular to the flywheel. On a D6C for example, you can set the play to be very small as long as there's no friction, because the motor position is independent of this. Also, the new FixYourAudio capstan rings are thicker than the original ones (they don't have conical surface, but flat) which means in some situations (where the original play is very small) you may need to actually increase it. Usually it's too much play, but it can also be too little at times. Another aspect I realise now by looking at your pictures is this: you need to remove the tension which the motor is putting on the flywheel. To achieve this you need to either press on the motor down so the spindle doesn't touch the rubber ring anymore. But it's better to just remove the motor entirely for the adjustment. I usually do this adjustment before fitting the motor. Given all these, first remove motor then try the feeler gauge again. If it doesn't work try a 500g/m2 piece of paper (it has 0.1mm thickness) as that's more flexible. Alternatively you can simply adjust by feel: it needs to move up/down a bit, but not much at all.
Thanks for the detailed answer Valentin! So, if I understand you correctly, I should: - remove the motor - try fitting my 0.05 mm feeler gauge the same way I've tried - with the motor removed, the capstan wheel will be lower than what it is now - I should be able to fit the gauge under the adjustment screw and adjust until I feel a bit of drag when moving it around Is that what you mean? What about the 0.1 mm paper sheet (I have have 0.1 mm feeler gauge)? When I tried yesterday evening the space between the flywheel cover and the flywheel was definitely more that 0.1mm... Alternatively, I should do it by feeling, ensuring I just have a barely noticeable play when I move the capstan up/down (which seems much easier indeed).
You should remove the motor and try to set the play by using the feeler gauge. Howver, given the capstan is a bit recessed inside the brass flywheel, the gauge might need to bend a little to get in there. If this is the case, you won't be able to properly feel the drag. Hence why I gave another 2 options: paper (which is much more elastic than metal) or by feel. In regard to adjustment by feel, "barely noticeable play" will be 0.05mm or lower. At 0.1mm it will be noticeable but still won't move much. Main idea here is this adjustment is nowhere near as important as the other one (the motor position to be perpendicular). So do this adjustment in order to achieve 2 things at the same time: 1. Leave as little play as possible. 2. Leave as much room as possible for the other adjustment. Note that the adjustment screw on the motor can only be unscrewed so much before the adjustment part pops out of its hole. Hence why this adjustment is a compromise. On some units you can have very low thrust play and a perfect motor adjustment. On others you need to increase the thrust play (in some rare cases even higher than 0.1mm) in order to have room for the motor position adjustment. Wow&flutter is mostly affected by the motor position because if the angle is different than 90 degrees you will induce a lot of drag between the motor spindle and the rubber ring.
Thanks Valentin for the clear and detailed explanations! Really appreciate the help. I have adjusted by feel, ensuring that the motor is perfectly perpendicular to the flywheel - and then played a speed calibration tape to WFGUI to verify the wow & flutter while twisting the walkman in all directions - seems good to me now, I have a peak around 0.08-0-09 I must admit I was a bit lazy to unsolder the PCB board to remove the motor Fingers crossed now it will stay as is - I can't remove the PTFE washer anymore so I hope it doesn't degrade over time... It was really back luck I lost the original one in the first place, since it seems to be fairly difficult to remove from the capstan (at least I can't remove it either on my WM-D3 currently under repair).
That is a very good value ! Anything between 0.06% WRMS and 0.1% WRMS can be considered to be within specification on these units. For reference you don't need to desolder anything to remove the motor. There is a cutout on the PCB to allow removal of second motor screw. But of course pressing on it is enough, no need to actually remove it.
FYI, I recall that Marian is now selling split washer kits but I am not sure if they are the larger size for capstans.
Yes he is indeed selling split washers but those have a smaller inner diameter as they go into the recess of the capstan not over the capstan. Apart from that, the capstans that are usually held by such a washer are much smaller in diameter than what it is on the WM-DD series. Tried those washers myself on this application and they do need to the hole to be enlarged which I find pretty hard to do as a drillbit tends to rotate the entire washers hard to keep it steady. You can of course modify such washers to fit, but I think it's not a good solution given it's split. Do hope full washers will be available for sale at some point in the future, as I've had a few situations (not on WM-DD series) where I needed such washers.
Thanks for the hint! If you're mentioning this ones (https://fixyouraudio.com/product/washer-set/) indeed I was them and asked Marian a while back, he confirmed they would not fit this use. I've been using my walkman for the past couple of weeks without any issue with my PTFE home-made washer, very happy with my solution so far.
