I am starting this thread because I have hit a bit of a roadblock with my beloved DD9. I have owned this walkman since new and enjoyed it for many years, but for the last little while its performance has declined to the point where it is now, which is completely inoperable... I am fairly handy and mechanically minded so YES I did open it up to have a close look at it. This walkman has been babied its entire life so the insides are quite clean. The capstain (or is it capstan?) "tires" appear to be in good condition not showing heavy signs of wear, they are not sticky, and no cracks are apparent. For good measure I did replace the two smaller belts, the originals were still in good condition but I figured it wouldn't hurt to replace them. I have measured voltages with a multimeter, and everything seems to be in good shape, although I will be checking the ribbons for continuity soon to see if that's where my issues lie..... There are two videos showing the operation of the walkman present day. The battery is fresh as-well. The videos were taken a few minutes apart from each other, you can see how the walkman tends to have varying issues between removing and inserting the battery. Which leads me to believe the issues maybe electrical but then again I am no professional... Any input would be hugely appreciated!
I would agree it’s an electronic issue. When you put the battery in, it should operate the forward and reverse function. You should not be able to operate the buttons while the door is open. I notice while you was operating the buttons, the door was not closed properly. Sorry i don’t know what the problem can be.
I should note that the walkman does have the broken hinge issue, I have yet to replace it. It did operate well before even with the broken hinge and I have completely removed the hinge assembly from the walkman. That is why the door is very almost "floppy", the door does still lock properly as it should. It is a bit finicky though. Thank you for your input @TooCooL4 !
I'm not too aquainted with the DD9, but it seems to have a plethora of range switches that inform the mechanism controller about the current tape deck position. It's highly possible that after years of use the mechanism has slowly but surely gone out of whack and needs adjustment, because this erratic behavior is something I've experienced on full logic DAT recorders that had their timing set incorrectly (basically, the idle position of at least one of the switches in the mechanism was incorrect). What I would advise is: 1. Inspect vulnerable places for dry solder joints. 2. Make sure the mech is set correctly. 3. Check if both of the FG coils have continuity. If all above fails, check if the crystal oscillator is good. They often don't fail completely, but intermittently. One thing is certain - if it sometimes does work and isn't completely dead, it's nothing serious.
