Plenty of torque. Same with the pinch roller. I did find that one wheel had some dented rubber. See photo. Not sure if this is an issue?
I spoke with an audio repair shop earlier today, they think it could be an issue with the motor. The cost to repair/replace the motor was almost 5x what I paid for the unit. I might try and hunt down a motor on eBay. See if I am capable of replacing one. If not, I have a cool looking expensive radio.
Did you check DC voltage to the motor? It should be 9V. Motor running too fast does not sound like a burned motor to me, but who knows... Do you have any working cassette player to compare with TRK5190? What you described does sound like a simple mechanical problem. Switches - you have to DeoxIt them again, and again,... and again... until sound stays solid, maybe even desolder and take apart for thorough cleaning. Pay attention to Switch No.3 (tape-radio-sleep) and check that R454 next to it is not shorted
If there’s any residue on the belts, could that cause an issue? I’ll check the voltage of the motor, not entirely sure how though? I have a Marantz 5000 cassette deck that I used to compare the speed. That and streaming. Side note - I've been using WD-40 contact cleaner, as I was struggling to find cans of deoxit for under £25 a can! Is that going to be an issue?
- Multimeter, even the cheapest one should do. Although once you fix this Hitachi you will look for more of the same and then feel sorry that did not shell big $$$ for Fluke (as I regret now!: to reliably measure a fraction of an Ohm you need a good one. But thats years down the road, if ever ) - What I meant was to have one working cassette mechanism to watch what happens when it works properly. Another option: you need a 'sacrificial cassette' (select carefully, because it Will Be damaged and do not blame me afterwards!). Disengage pickup reel, the one with dented rubber... how you do it is your choice. Play 'sacrificial cassette': before it gets all bearded and jams the mechanism you will have a chance to listen if capstan/pinchroller do their job without extra pull from the pickup reel. If you are quick enough (say 5-10 sec) then cassette won't get chewed too badly - NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WD-40 is NOT a substitute for DeoxIt. WD-40 is a quick'n'dirty trick used by some (including my younger self), but in a few months you will have the same problem plus a bigger one of cleaning WD-40 residues from inside the switched/sliders. Spray and wash them with 100% IPO or 96% (200 Proof) Ethanol as soon as you read this.
I feel deceived by this product! "use on electrical equipment, contacts...". I don't have any of those products. I only have 70% iso in liquid form. Hopefully I haven't damaged the switches/pots. Is Deoxit the only product worth using? Is there a UK/Euro equivalent that doesn't cost over 30usd a bottle? Can I just use Deoxit ontop of the WD40?
The UK equivalent is Servisol https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Servisol...702344&hash=item2f390516e6:g:8ccAAOSwJ4hY9ehG A shame that Maplin is no longer around. I think the last thing I bought from them was contact cleaner for quite a bit less than this.
