Yeah I think we all stumbled upon something really important... who knew that Panasonic updated these mechanisms to make them better right before the end of the line for the SX series. As mentioned before, these are also cheaper on the used market and more plentiful than the older models covered in earlier posts in this thread... which is more good news. I believe my only gripe with this player (and this era of Panasonic's cassette players) is that they lack the construction and build quality of previous models. Sure, I'm super glad everything works as intended and it sounds stable, but the older models I've tried to fix and couldn't get running right had full metal cases, cool spring loaded doors, and that heavy solid feel in the hand. The SX46 I have now plays well and has the track search/blank skip abilities that previous models don't have, but only half of the shell is metal, and it has a Y2K look that while I'm into that aesthetic, isn't as timeless to look at or use. Finally, I would say that while I was able to quickly bring my SX46 back up to spec, it was also basically brand new and had little mileage on the capstans or pinch rollers. I would love it if someone else could pick a player up of this vintage and post their findings on this thread. Since it was brought to my attention that this is one of the top results on Google for Panasonic SX, I feel we are positioned well to have our findings heard.
Hi All, Recently I got my hands on an RQ-SX59, Panasonic's last logic control model released in 2005, with the AR21 Mechanism. With this model, Panasonic improved battery life to 66 hours (gumstick + AA battery), about 6 hours more than its older brothers with the same mechanism, the RQ-SX46 and RQ-SX47. Pictures of the AR21 Mechanism after disassembly. Residual belt goop was cleaned up, and capstan and motor bushings were lubricated with Chinese watch oil 702. This unit had some dust in it, so I just used a small hand pump blower to clean the insides. Here's the cassette compartment with everything re-assembled. The pinch rollers looked fine, so no replacement was necessary. It's apparent that Panasonic reduced manufacturing costs by using more plastic. Compared to AR10 mechanisms, the size of the metal frame holding the tape transport mechanism has been reduced, with the plastic body now housing the gumstick battery compartment. With the re-assembly done, below are the wow and flutter results for both FWD and REV sides in wfgui, using a 3000 Hz test tape from FixYourAudio. Tape speed was a little off, so I adjusted it via the potentiometer. WRMS was well within factory spec of 0.28%, something that's nearly impossible to achieve on AR10 mechs (which had a looser tolerance of <0.3% WRMS)! Belt replacement used was from FixYourAudio. With calibration out of the way, what about the sound quality? I tested it using a Type I Maxell UR90 tape, and when comparing it to my Sony WM-EX677, in normal mode I feel that it lacks some bass and sounds a little thin. Turning on S-XBS compensates for it, but sometimes it feels a little fatiguing to my ears. Also tried a Type II tape (Sony CDix II), plays fine but I had to turn on S-XBS to get more bass. I also noticed in the user manual it's indicated that Type II and IV tapes can also be played in this unit, but their benefits wouldn't be fully utilized. That's why there's no tape type detection switch and only a tape detection switch. Overall, I feel that the sound quality is pretty average. Nothing fancy or mind-blowing, but it's alright. In conclusion, the RQ-SX59 was a relatively okay repair job compared to nightmares the AR10 mechs gave me, and I only needed to clean the pulleys, lubricate the capstan and motor bushings and get rid of some dust to get decent wow and flutter results. With the AR10 mech, I'd probably have to replace broken gears, swap out any rubber-banded capstans, lubricate gears and still end up with terrible wow and flutter. Not to mention the lack of anti-roll because of its 2 belt system and more points of failure (solenoid). As @Recaptcha mentioned, these AR21 models aren't as flashy or fancy as their AR10 predecessors, and they even lack proper Type II and IV tape support. But if you're looking for a basic slimline player with a reliable mechanism, the Panasonic AR21 series may be the way to go.
One interesting thing is how Panasonic gave the model numbers on these walkmans. This AR21 mecahnism is typical of RQ-X series (which all use AR20), but also some RQ-SX walkmans (seems especially later ones). This thing was also happening on RQ-S series, which typically featured the AR90 mechanism, but some of them had the AR10. One example is RQ-XV30 (1995, RQ-X series, AR20 mech) and RQ-SX60 (1998, SX series, AR10 mech). This to me suggests these 2 mechanisms existed at the same time for different models, rather that AR21 being the succesor of AR10 as some are suggesting in this thread. https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/panasonic/rq-xv30.shtml https://walkman.land/panasonic/rq-sx60 Interesting these have W&F specs, didn't notice that. I't relatively unusual for belt walkmans to have any W&F specs. Also the <0.30% WRMS vs 0.28% WRMS are very close, much closer than I expected.
The AR20 mech used in the RQ-XV30 was probably AR21's predecessor. It also didn't use a solenoid to operate, according to the service manual it uses a rotary switch to switch modes. Panasonic must have built on AR20's design, and then released the RQ-SX46 in 2003 with the AR21 mech.
Yes I forgot there were 2 versions of this mech: AR20 and AR21. Thanks for pointing that out ! Corrected the previous statement. To me the AR21 looks like a cost optimized version of AR20, but they are extermely similar. The only 2 sinificant differences are: 1. the motor (which seems to be similar or idenitcal to AR10); 2. the lack of a mechanical mode switch, this being replaced with an optical encoder which is cheaper and more reliable;
Really loving all of this new data. Great work @Cazerion ! Loving how this thread was dead until recently and it was revived with some great findings that should help many others who want one of these!
As I mentioned earlier, I had several RQ-XF50s on order. I've since received them, repaired them, and they're in full use. I can confirm that this model is identical to the RQ-XV30, except that it can also record. It uses the standard AR-20 mechanism.
Thanks to this thread, I recently purchased an rq-sx46, rq-sx59, and a Sony wm-ex77. All have remotes, all have rotten belts, and varying levels of battery compartment corrosion. The rq-sx59 had a dead gumstick still in it, which I didn't know until it arrived. Much to my disappointment, it looks like fixyouraudio won't be an option for me for the time being. I may take a chance on some belts on eBay
Wow, those shipping prices are insane for fixyouraudio. I had a feeling sooner or later all of the craziness with current events would catch up to us and impact even these small hobbies we enjoy. If it’s any consolation to you, I’ve found that eBay Walkman belts have gotten much better in the last few years. I don’t think I used mihokim to get my last SX up and running… Anyways, congrats on the lot there! I personally love the WM-EX77. It is one of the more solid mid range Walkmans of that time, and one of the ones I have trouble with the least. I love the spring loaded shutter for the transport buttons… very smooth and clean. Only issue is that special headphone jack on it… but you’ve got a remote so that should help… Good luck on the repairs, feel free to post any findings or discoveries here… for a technical problem (like it not working after repair), you should also make a new thread to get the best exposure.
