Hello guys!
I have this WM-550C that needs a new center gear assembly. The walkman looks as good as new and it comes with the original box and all the accessories. It is something of a rarity but it drives me crazy because I can't find the part I need. I wouldn't even try it if it wasn't a dolby C player with an amorphous head and very unique design. I already know i will not find the part all by itself but I am ready to buy the whole player if that will help me. I need the model numbers that use this same mechanism. I already know Sony WM-150, 170, 171 and 190 have the same one. Possibly the WM-EX48 and 49 as well. If anyone knows more, please let me know as it will increase my chances of finding one on ebay. Here are some pics:
This is my first really vintage player I have in box and at this point I am desparate. It is obviously not as the seller, or rather a trader, described it to be and it cost me some of the best stuff I had. So please help me out if you can.
Thanks everyone!
Tuna
Hi Im a fellow walkman collector from singapore.
I happen to have a few models with similar mechanisms.
Namely: WM-2091, F2095 and GX50. I get them cheap for a couple dollars each from flea markets.
Unfortunately I think these mechanisms are poorly designed, all 3 with gears splitting, and motor cores that literally split apart, explode or crack into pieces. And to top it off, the caps leak and fall off when you touch them.
Since the 2095 and 2091 are beyond repair i cannibalized parts off them to fix the gx50.
The forward reel gears were all broken, so i ground down a reverse reel gear to fit and now it works well.
Thankfully sony made quite a few models based upon this cruddy design. At least it's easy to service.
Oh great! Thanks a lot! 3 more added to the list. If WM-GX50 jas the same mechanism, then maybe the EX50 has the same one as well.
yup also the GX-51 I believe.
But I believe lots of them out there may have the same issues lurking underneath.
Which gear is broken? the reel ones or the black and white center?
The center one keeps jumping out of it's place. I soldered and desoldered the board several times before I figured out what's going on. pressing play will engage the capstans but the reels don't move at all. Then after a second or two, the power cust of. I figured it was a gear problem because the player probably "thinks" the tape has reached the end. I changed the belt and assembled the whole thing. It worked until I press the DIR button. Then the gear jumped out and iit was the same old story. A real shame because the player is so small and nice but i agree that the mechanism is 2nd grade.
Check if the C-clip on the center gear is missing.
Also the deck automatically switches to reverse mode if the supply reel is not turning within a second or two.
No the C-clip is right here where it should be but it keeps jumping out. It's deformed I think and probably spread too much over time I think. The player doesn't go into reverse mode at all, the power jus cuts out.
When my forward reel gear had a slight crack it won't go into forward mode and only worked in reverse until it was fixed. maybe check the reverse gears.
Buy you may be right though- the center gear seems to be the clutch and seems to be a point of failure although all of my center gears are ok. Which gear does it jump over? The grey direction switch gear or the white gear underneath? Or does the whole thing just pop out?
It's a shame, because these can sound rather nice if they were more reliable.
@Tuna
I have the WM-F550C and it too had a similar problem of not turning the reels, the capstans would turn - result tape jam.
I put it down to a split gear due to the age old Sony problem of shrinking plastic parts. There are two pieces of the mechanism with one passing over the over the other. The former has shrunk and therefore split. The split cog prevents the reels from rotating. I have fixed this by gently sanding the inner plastic part and then regluing the outer plastic part at the split. This has fixed it, but my next issue is that I require a new belt to make it fully operational. Therefore I am awaiting parts from turntable needle until I can claim a successful repair.
Btw the c-clips used in this model are very fragile, and once they are removed from the tape mechanism have a tendency to pop the cogs out.
Hi guys!
Yes, I see. The entire thing just pops out yes. The player was "repaired" by the previous owner and I suspected that once, the C-clip is removed, it no longer stays in it's place.
The problem is age related agree. So that would mean even if I get another player for that part, it would still have the same problem. That's just terrible.
Well, my center gears are ok still. You can try to find a cheap parts player, it comes in handy.
I find that the tolerances for the gears (and the DD ones too perhaps) are very low, causing it to crack easily when it shrinks.
The C-clip should be quite common.
I have to look for a replacement player to make sure. But to be honest, owning something like this isn't fun at all. I like something that can be useful and not kept under a glass bell.
I am not thinking about the belt yet as I need to sort this out first. I see no end to these troubles with this player.
Hi,
I just got a WM-F550C, which seems to have the same problem. After a new belt the capstans are turning, but the tape reels not. I looked on the gear mechanism (without to disassemble it) and did not see any cracked gears.
Could someone perhaps take some pictures to show, which part could be broken and makes the trouble? What is the center gear - the big white one? When I rotate the gear mechanism manually I can see, that the white gear is turning some time and moves the tape gear, but after some turns it jumps back and is no more in contact with tape gear.
The WM-550C/F550C does suffer from Sony shrinking plastic syndrome. It will most likely be an issue with the slip disc/clutch plate assembly and one component of that shrinking and splitting apart.
Or you could get lucky and find that it is just the felt slip disc on the clutch plate that has worn down or gotten greasy and needs cleaning or replacing.
Either way you will need to disassemble the tape transport to find out exactly what is wrong.
It's been a while since I took one apart, and TBH I don't really want to get inside the guts of it again.
Thank you for your assistance everyone!
I think it is not worth the effort. The player looks beautiful but has no substance and considering it came from DrMR2000, I think I don't want to have anything to do with it. If the honorable self-proclaimed doctor was really honorable, I'd have a fully functional 550C displayed.
