Hi ! I need your advice before buying a WM-10. What do you think about the noise while Fast Forward and Fast reverse of this very nice WM-20 here ? (at time 2,36) Also, the FF and REW does not stop directy but gradually when pressing stop as you can notice in this video. Are these things serious problems or just minor ? Thank you again for your help !!
The device looks good overall, seems like the takeup reel ring gear is not cracked I cannot hear the typical tac-tac sound. The fact that motor doesn't stop immediately is normal on these devices. The FF and REW noise is caused by the intermediate pulley gear not making perfect contact with the reel ring gears. The metal on metal noise when unit is stopped is caused by the same pulley making contact with the back cover. This pulley has play in its shaft and the tension in the belt makes it sit at an angle not straight. It's a common problem on these models and fixing it is very involved, not exactly what I would call a DIY job. Fixing this issue implies removing the flywheel/capstan assy and the buttons mechanism which also contains the pulley. Then the bracket on which the pulley is mounted will need to be bent in the opposite direction the belt is tensioning it. It's pretty tricky to get it perfect and something I wouldn't recommend doing unless you are confident you can do it. The capstan retainer can be lost very easily if not careful and it will also wear if taken apart too many times. The service manual states it should be replaced every time it's removed, but that's impossible nowadays. In time, using the device like this may create wear on the gear teeth, so ideally you should minimize using FF and REW. The walkman works nice overall and I would go for it if the price is good.
Thank you very much !! I think that I will not try to repair it if I buy it. if I may ask : what do you think would be a good price for it ?
It's hard to say what the price is given it's a relatively rare unit and there are always people out there which will speculate just because they can. At the end of day you should keep in mind the fact that even a single sell at a higher price will disrupt the market and make all future sellers adopt that price as standard. In my opinion it's not worth a lot, I got mine (also gold, but with red plastic lines instead of blue) at 130USD in non-working condition. This being in working condition it's definetely worth more, but not 5 or 10 times more that's the point. I have to assume the device has never been serviced apart from a belt replacement. A belt replacement alone is not worth that much, as it's relatively simple to do on this device: you just need to remove the door (4 screws) and the back cover (4 screws + potentiometer wheel). You can also take a look on ebay there are quite a few listed (including some working ones) and from what I see prices aren't high.
I’ve been on the hunt for one of these too, they are so beautiful to use and look at. My problem is cosmetic condition. I rarely see one relatively cheap that is free from one major defect. I’ve never seen a model that attracts abuse so much… dents, yellowing, broken battery door, big scratches…
