I finally have got a good condition DC2. It is funny that I got rid of my original one in 1996 because the centre gear broke and now I am here again with the same problem.

I have the service manual and the picture guide of the DDII repair on the japanese web site 'another walkman collection'.

Unfortunately when I took it a part it was more complex than it appeared and I could not get the gear out. I did however manage to fix it using the 'putty fix method' with the gear still in place. This appeared to be ok and worked first time.

When I tried it again it stopped. So I took it apart and undid the repair, however it keeps auto stopping when I push play.

I have seen reference to this on this site but I can't work out what to do. Can anyone give me some advice.

I would love this to be my everyday walkman.

Can you share the link to the other site with the DDII repair?

http://www.geocities.jp/wm_fun/wm-dc2step5.htm

Thanks, walkgirl.

Do I get chocolate now? 

I am out of chocolate, but how about a cupcake?

Well I have a totally destroyed my wm-dc2 but I have learnt a lot. My first mistake was to use a product called 'fix it putty'. My method of repair would have been ok but it never cured. What happened is that when I switched it on after 24 hrs it ran but as the putty was still soft it has gone everywhere in the walkman.

I have bought another putty product from uni bond and have fixed the wheel and it runs without a click. The only problem is that there is so much damage from the first failed repair I am not sure I can fix it. However I have proved that it is possible to repair the cracked main gear just by taking the dc2 apart removing the motor then there is enough access to do a fix without having to totally dismantle it.

I shall now be looking for another dc2 so I can use the experience of this one to repair another.

woa woa woa stop Riiiiight there. It seems i'm too late to help, but your DC2 may still be salvaged.

First of all: It's not hard to fix. You do not even need to take the gear out to fix it. Others have done it without removing anything but the motor before, myself included. There's still hope left.

I'll addess the Auto-stop first. There are 3 T-shaped plastic extrusions on the top of the gear that activate the auto-stop when the reels stop turning- check if there are any other material that causes this along your repaired crack.

Second: You should NEVER have used any type of putty, especially if it is irreversible. It may have solvents that can destroy plastic. Which is why many of us use other methods like adding teeth- it does not change the speed of playback and is reliable.

You should read my older topic (as well as others) as to how you could have easily fixed the gear problem: index.php?board_oid=193392314111653483&content_oid=193392314111973364

This once crap condition (definitely worse than how your started out) is now my daily walkman. I'd suggest you take a few good photos of your current DC2's mechanicals, so I can help you with that. The first step is to remove all of the putty that has gone everywhere- this may actually require you to remove the capstan flywheel to clean the gear underneath.

 On the other hand, I won't mind buying a broken DC2 off anybody- Mine could use a new case ( as seen in my thread) and i would love a spare board as well.

Good luck finding another DC2 : they are rare and sometimes expensive.

The story continues.

Well I can't believe it I had it working. The auto stop problems was caused by the main drive gear being put back in upside down. I was able to detect this as when pushing play it was running too fast.

Now for the bad bit. When I put the case back on it stopped working. I have taken it apart again and there is no power on, from either power source. I have more work to do (get the volt meter out).

Bub - thanks for all the advice. I have a promise for you. If I can't fix this and buy another one and use this for parts you can have the case. It is in very good condition apart from a small crack in the tape window. The front case is in a very good condition and has the original 'its a sony sticker'. Although this is not the outcome I wanted it does mean that I now have extremely good knowledge of the internal mechanics of a DC2 (i think I have now uninstalled and installed every micro spring in there). This has given me the confidence to fix others if I have to buy a more expensive one that is not working.

Thanks for all the guidance.

I don't really think that there is much that could have went wrong with the board except for loose wires and the flexible cable leading to the board with the motor controller. Might want to check that. Unless something else is fried.

Also thanks for the offer.

I have cleaned all the old putty out and got power back and have replaced the case. It works but the centre gear is still cracked. It does however sound amazing.

I still need to acquire a spare centre gear so that I can do a proper repair. Does anyone have a few teeth to sell?

That's great to hear! One of the best sounding portables.

I got my teeth from sacrificing a gear from my crappy wm-2097. As long as it looks somewhat similar (especially in thickness), I believe any teeth can work. If it does not mesh perfectly, heat a pen knife up and use it to alter the added teeth.

Another alternative is to use sheet styrene from model shops and cut it to fit. I tried that at first but it's much more difficult to get right, so I gave up on that.

I have recently bought a wm-f5 as donor parts for the cracked gear in my DC2. I have now managed to insert some new teeth from the wm-f5s cracked gear and stuck them into the DC2. It is now running quietly and appears to be in a good work condition.

hi guys,

today i found a real treasure on the fleamarket - a WM-DDII in perfect optical condition including manual and additional plastic case for unbelievable 2 Euros!!!!

very happy i added two batteries at home and turned it on - but it has a problem: when pushing PLAY it runs much too fast. Does anyone know how to fix this problem or provide me with links?

i also own a beautiful WM-D3 which works almost perfectly besides a few annoyances: often the playback is nor really in steady speed and the sound starts to sound "whiny" - also the sound of the gears is quite loud with clicking and screeching sounds. any hints concerning these issue are highly appreciated too.

thanks a lot!!

I don't have a DD2, but if it does not use quartz-lock speed control, you can turn the RV601 pot to adjust speed. However, I will check to see if anything else is causing problems first. Check stuff like head wear and pinch rollers.

Your D3 sounds like the usual broken center gear. Lots of guides and techniques for fixing them. Here's how I did mine. index.php?board_oid=193392314111653483&content_oid=193392314111973364

Hopefully somebody can find a way to redesign and manufacture replacement DD gears.

thanks bub. i opened a new thread about my DDII problem:

index.php?board_oid=193392314111653483&content_oid=217881933590357308

the WM-D3 i will not try to repair myself but bring it to an expert and ask if he can fix it.