Hiya!

I've recently purchased a vintage walkman, model WM-F18 (Circa 1985 I think). It's in fantastic cosmetic condition, but I need a little bit of advice about some problems that have arisen after awhile of using it. 

There is some very noticeable wow and flutter, and the tape seems to be playing slightly slow. In addition, the headphone jack seems to intermittently switch any head phones I'm using with it from one side to the other, not playing sound through the opposite side until I jiggle it a little. The jack issue seems greatly tied into the volume control, as it does it more on certain volume settings, and when changing the volume it goes in and out. 

This is by no means a heavily used unit, in fact I'm pretty sure it's sat idle in a case since the late 80's... which may have something to due with the problems. I'm pretty sure, based on reading, that what I need is a new belt and perhaps to reattach the headphone jack wire inside. 

My question is though, is it best (and or cheapest) to try and repair it myself (I'm pretty scared to do that due to inexperience), find someone to fix it for me, or to try and turn it around on eBay in favour of a better functioning unit?

Thanks for any help y'all can provide

Hi, as far as walkman go, this one is easy to work on. De-oxit on the volume pot. and a little in the headphone jack should take care of the sound issues. Four screws hold the back on, and I think a couple more hold the pcb on, and everything can be accessed with no soldering. The wow and flutter is more than likely caused by an old belt.

I have this same model. I bought it brand new back in 1982, and it's still going strong.