Hi

I've just bought this walkman in good cosmetic condition for 9 euros

I changed the belt and remade one solder on one microcontroler pin,

but the walkman won't start (play of ff or rew)

it does not even seem to try to start

lcd radio display is ok but no sound

Can anyone help?

does anyone has the service manual or a similar model ?

regards ...

I have similar model RQ-S55 - very rare and expensive model with dolby C. From your descriptin it is not possible to tell what is the source of problem. Is cassette detection switch board correctly  soldered? What about the switch itself? Why did you have to repare solder on microcontroller pin? It is very unusual - can you check if all pins are soldered correctly, now?

Marian

Hi Jmespe,

Before you even attempt to dismantle the walkman, have you tried power up the unit, can you hear the motor working, any output from the headphone jack, hissing sound when you turn up the volume pot?

hi to both of you !

I will check further the cassette switch but from my first view, it wasn't defective. Anyway, even inserting the battery makes no noise (at contrario with AIWA !!!)
but there is also the radio that do not work : the frequency displays on lcd but NO SOUND.

The motor never starts with the cassette
I did resolder one pin wich was natively NOT soldered (the pad was still copper colored)
but with absolutely NO EFFECT
I also tried the 2 solder test point
-one marked as "pow" makes le red led on
-the second near the motor makes the motor slightly vibrating

I could'nt find sm or even datasheet of the ic themselves ...
I measured the solenoid at 200U and each pin of the motor at 2U

To ken80s I had to opened it after all that diagnosis
anyway the belt itself had to be changed ...

regards

Hello, I acquired this service manual some time ago in Brazil. See attachment. It is a full Panasonic service manual for RQ-SX25V incluing mechanics, electronic diagrams and service mode test routines.

Maybe most of architecture is the same for all RQ-SX series. You can try activating service mode and follow the given fluxogram. Hope it helps somehow. Best wishes.

Hi and thanks you so much for that !

they seem pretty close ...

I can get my rq-s55 out of its (dusty) box now

regards

Thanks for the service manual Bruno! 

may I ask you where did you buy this SM

and how much did it cost ?

for my walkman things improves a bit

REW , FF and PLAY ok !!!

but no sound

even for the radio it stops on good reception frequencies but sound is muted .

with volume at maximum I can hear it a bit

I keep on searching ...

regards

 !!!!!

the walkman is working !!

-was it the battery ?(I tried this time with an other one from a minidisc)

-was it the gears that weren't in "good" position ?

(I had to relaunch the motor when it vibrated)

-for sure it was the volume pot whitin the remote that is SO SCRATCHY that  in 0% and 100% position, it CUT the sound; Somewhere in 50% there is not much scratch and you can hear the sound

It remains 2 problems

- this volume pot which makes the wohle walkman unusable

- the play button sounds dodgy (sometimes does not react, sometimes , the play function fails ...)

regards

HI !

I was wondering : do you think it worth removing the circuit (again) to oil the gears ?

Because with the play function that randomly fails, I assume the torke detection of the motor is responsible which could mean that the gear lacks lubrificant and "force" a bit too much.

Also , does anyone have the owner manual :

The remote is one button only; it is morse coded:

_ : reverse

. play / top

.. ff

... rew

but I don't know how to switch to radio with the remote

also, I don't konw how to erase some memories

I'll soon get the silicone oil

regards

Hi.

The motor in this walkman is strong enough, it can even handle much smaller, tighter belts than the original (which is 0.5 to 0.6 mm thick). That's why the consumption of RQ-S55 is so high.

It does not make sense to lubricate the gears from outside. I think they're made from silicone-based plastic and this kind of material doesn't need lubrication. It does only when it is in contact with metal. You can put little oil to the center of the gear, to the place where it contacts the axis. Use only very small amount of oil (do not put full drop).

Use only high grade watch oil (do not use the one for sewing machines as this dries quickly and after several years it will make things even worse). If you do not have such oil, just clean it with IPA and do not apply any oil. 

I see two possible reason for your problem

1. You need to clean mechanics from old dried oil - please read paragraph above

2. You use wrong belt, the most probably too loose. Please, measure the internal diamater. It should be 64 - 65 mm max. Any looser belt will cause the problem you describe

When you open your walkman again, be very careful. Frequent soldering/desoldering damages the PCB. Set temperature to max 300 Celsius. 

Marian

Hi !

I have lithium oil (white)
is it ok ?
what is IPA ?

the only second choice I have looks like ... sewing machine oil.

yes, I was planing to oil only the axis of the gear.
(putting oil in the circonference has no sense)

can't remember what belt I ordered ...(a year ago)
I remember using a thin cord (non elastic) to measure the diameter
then I substract 5 -10 %
but the thikness may be 0.8

I may reopen it (don't worry for the pcb: it is leaded solder)

regards

I'm not sure about white lithium oil (I've seen only white lithium grease) but I wouldn't use it. After the oil dries, it behaves like a glue. Some walkmans used originally inappropriate oil and now it is audible - wow/flutter increase. In one of my walkmans the gear was glued to the axis so strongly, that I couldn't remove it - I almost broke this gear. High-grade watch oils dry very slowly so I use these.

In your case, the problem can be caused by the combination of too thick belt (0.8 mm is too much) and increased resistance in mechanics.

If you want, I can send you the correct belt for the shipping cost only.

Marian

Hi

and thanks for the offer

1- the cost is not a problem, but we may encounter payment issues (I don't have paypal !)

2- I must first solve the volume problem on the remote otherwise the walkman will be only collectable

regards