Hello,

I brought a nice 1992 walkman - Panasonic RQ-S70, from my uncle. I changed the belt, beacuse it was loosy. I thought that will be enough to make it works, but it wasn't. It chews tape very hard. I found out what's the problem. One of the pinch rollers doesn't jump out from capstan. It's always raised up. Then I found out it's only part of the problem. Pinch rollers doesn't work at all - one is always raised up and the other one is down. When I press FF, REW or PLAY button the tape runs for a ~3 seconds and stop, what's more - pressing REW of FF doesn't make it faster - it runs with a normal speed. It doesn't matter what I press - the pinch roller I mentioned before is ALWAYS raised up!

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was the same before I disassemble the player, so I didn't broke it during the unsoldering.

I read that these Panasonics are very diffucult to repair, so maybe I'll never solve that problem, but it's a very good stuff in nice condiditon and it's worth a few tries.

Here I found service manual to this one: http://www.freeservicemanuals....Panasonic/rq-s70.pdf

I went through many threads about Panasonics similar to this one, but I haven't found anything instresting, so I decided to create my own.

Greetings from Poland,
Andy.

This could be a mechanical logic problem or solenoid problem.

In logic controlled walkmans the procedure is as follows: the solenoid (an electromagnet) activates the cam gear to move the head and the pinch rollers up and down.

Solenoid timing and/or motor direction (depending on model) changes the cam gear position, which dictates the mode the machine operates in.

If the solenoid or logic mechanism does not function properly your machine could be stuck in a play mode.

Another probable reason could be that the pinch roller assembly is stuck on something on the head assembly area, or fails to retract downward due to broken spring or poor lubrication.

The pinch roller should be able to move freely up and then snap back down into place.

Check if the pinch roller assembly is not stuck under the pinch roller lever that pushes the roller up when the door is closed- this is a small metal tab or rod on the reel table near the pinch roller assembly.

Thank You for your reply, it's very comprehensive. 

I checked it up and the pinch roller assembly doesn't seem to be stuck anywhere. I can move it up and down with my finger. The only thing which makes me suspicious is a spring, because it looks like it was squeezed, but I found a photo of a similar walkman here and it looks the same, so I guess it's not the reason. Here is that photo: http://i268.photobucket.com/al...vera680/DSCF0841.jpg (I took it from this thread: index.php?board_oid=193392314111653483&content_oid=193392314111862101). Look at the right pinch roller and its spring - I have the same picture in my walkman. 

So it seems to be more serious problem. Is there any way I can fix it?

Andy

Press down the tape detection switches with the lid open and press play repeatedly. Check if the pinch roller levers change direction on each direction change.

If the levers do not move it could be a solenoid issue, check your soldering for the solenoid.

Shame on me. Actually, one soldering was bad. I fixed it and it works great now. Thank you for your help

Dear Andy,

similar problem here, bought an RQ-S70 from the bay and it won't play properly and eat the tape. While I had no big problems removing the belt which is clearly worn out, I don't know where to get a new one. There is only one American reseller left who charges more than 30 EUR for shipping. Do you remember where you purchased your spare part?

Thanks a lot!
Joe

I can  send you one if you need help. The diameter is about 60 mm and thickness 0.5mm, right? The shipping cost is just 2.50 Eur from Slovakia to Europe. The price of belt  is almost free - cca. 2 Eur.

Marian

Dear Marián,

thank you, great offer. I think the one I have here might be 7cm in diameter but that is probably why it is not working any longer. Is yours the original RDV0016 from Panasonic?

Anyway, let's give it a try. Please let me know your BIC/IBAN account data, I will transfer instantly.

Regards,

Joe

Dear Joe,

I have several Panasonic walkmans (RQ-S series - 33, 60, 55, 80 and more) and almost all of them use the same belt. My one is not original, but it is new one and it is little smaller but it fits perfectly any of them without any noticable wow/flutter increase. My experience with them is very good. It is thin enough to stretch little more. Please, send me your address.

Marian