I have an FS393 Sport that the Rewind doesn't release. All other buttons work and stop releases but not Rewind. It will release if I press Stop halfway then pull Rewind up manually. But it'll only go up about 80-90%. Trying to see the issue I have taken off the capstans and the centre gear (is that called a clutch? It has a spring on it, not sure where that connects) I still cant see what the problem is and no idea if other models I have are similar mechs I can compare with. Any hints or clues? Please help. Here's a photo hoping that shows something you experts can see. I can post more if you need.
From what I see in this picture, it seems the FF and REW buttons (the ones on the right according to service manual) are pulled back by a common spring. I marked the spring in the picture attached. If that is indeed the spring that pulls both buttons back up, it's likely that the tab of the REW button is broken. More pictures are needed with focus on that button as the service manual pics doesn't really show much in this regard. The gear with a spring is a clutch, if it has a spring that's a tell-tale sign it's a clutch. Out of my own curiosity, would like to see that part marked in green on the attached pic in more detail.
Pics of that part for you. CP1, manual says its a band pass filter. (BTW I click thumbnail but it still posts full size for me)
I was looking at that spring but I can't figure out how to pull it apart further to get to it. I assume that sliding top black bar thats over all buttons is removable but I don't know how (and a bit scared I will break it). I started to put it back together .. I will remove the capstans again and post more photos. Man, yesterday I was so close to just putting it in the rubbish bin, so peeved off with it. I really appreciate your help. Thanks.
https://streamable.com/ap8m7o https://streamable.com/qq11ks https://streamable.com/bey2sx Video expire in 2 days. Not sure if they are helpful.
Watched the videos, apart from the first one there's no useful information. In the first video I can see the spring is longer than I thought and it goes completely over the FF button when opearated. So there are 2 possibilities here: either the hook on the button that holds the spring is broken or the spring itself is broken. From the angle of the pictures and videos, it's not really clear as I can't see the other end of the spring on the REW side. And yes, that top sliding bar (the stop lever) has to be removed in order to see what's underneath and perform the fix. I see it's clipped on some plastic clips. I suggest being VERY careful in removing that slider, as you don't want to break any of those clips holding it. Will help once you figure out what is the problem exactly. EDIT: Saw in the picture attached as I edit it magnified that the spring is intact, it's just fallen off from the hook that should hold it. So either it has just fallen off or the hook itself is broken. Definetely no reason to throw it in the trash if you ask me. In regard to attached photos, if you want thumbnail, you need to simply upload them and that's it. No further action required. Press Upload a File, let it load and it's done.
You are a champion. What great eyes you must have! I didn’t see that end of the spring (not that I knew what to look for really). Tomorrow I will have a go at removing the bar and then I should see where that spring end goes … seems to be right under the bar and I can’t tell where. The fast forward one I can see when pressed but not the rewind.
And marked up pic.. I am guessing the spring should be where my red line is and not the red dotted line as it is at the moment . This is when the Rewind in pressed in.
I see that the plastic pin that holds the spring end works kind of. I think it is worn and the spring leg slips over. Not sure of the next step to fix it. Can you glue this type of plastic or melt a bit more plastic on top of the pin to build it up. What do you think? It's in a pretty tiny area to get to.
What I would do is take the spring out and, with a small pair of pliers, bend the end of it down so it comes more into contact with that plastic pin. Would do this on both ends of the spring just so I avoid any future need to disassemble again. The pin itself I would leave alone given it's on the edge and it's made of plastic. No glue will hold, the force of the spring is too high. Melting plastic on top, though stronger, will still not hold without a metallic insert: either a melted copper wire or a screw, but given it's right on the edge there's not enough support to do that. There's really not much you can do to the pin itself, hence why it's best to be left as is to prevent any further damage.
I cleaned any grease off the spring leg, in case that helped it slip off the peg, and pressed the leg down with a precision screwdriver to bend it a little lower. Doesn’t really look like I bent it much at all, but now the reverse button works, so it must have been enough. now the next part is soldering the wires that broke off with the dismantling I did over and over. Wires to be soldered on the motor and the headphone socket and (I think) a motor power switch. that’s tomorrow. really appreciate your help. This is the most I have ever dismantled a player so was a bit daunting taking a clutch gear and capstans off. So bloody small for my old eyes. I hope the close up photos help someone in the future but will comment back when it’s together and going.
It’s all together now and works well. Rewind now works as it should, Speed adjusted , tapes sounds good, radio sounds good. only issue is MegaBass , when it’s turned on the audio is only a kind of ticking/beat sound through the audio. I’m not too concerned as I never use MegaBass but would be nice to know what’s going on with the MegaBass circuit. MegaBass turned off and there is zero audio issues.
What headphones are you using ? At what volume are you listening ? Does the problem go away if you listen at a lower volume ? Depending on headphones, hearing distorsion with MegaBass on is normal. Even with good headphones, I find MegaBass to be pretty unusable and also unnecessary. Pretty much all dynamic driver headphones have high distorsion in the bass region to begin with, if you amplify the bass that distorsion will increase exponentially, so it will become audible (at much lower volumes that without bass amplification).
It's not volume levels or anything like that. Was plugged into an active speaker. Music sounds fine with MegaBass off, but as soon as MB isoswitched on the music disappears and is replaced with a pulsing audible electronic noise. i never turn MegaBass on, so i won't chase it further. Looked at the schematic and it pretty much the switch connected to a chip so not sure what to trace anyway. And here it is , all together. Thanks for the help.
Ok, now I understand what the problem really is. Indeed the MegaBass amp is integrated into the head preamp (LA4582) so really not much to check apart from the external passive components and traces. Glad you got the main problem solved and hope this thread will be useful for others having similar issues.
Here’s part of the circuit with MegaBass, in case it helps someone. now to choose the next player to repair…
