After fixing it back up (index.php?board_oid=193392314111653483&content_oid=273898760257565698)

I thought I would show some images of how good nic its in, apart from the cracked plastic at the bottom of the device Otherwise it would of been mint.

Happily I still have the plastic for it so some superglue should make light work of that.

Cheers

Does this one need to be expanded to play a cassette, like the WM-F10?

4th pic should answer your question

NO

The F15 was the last throw of the dice for the WM-10 mechanism.  An interesting unit but hardly one befitting the engineering marvel that was this glorious transport.

Welcome Alex, definitely a fine example of that model.  That's great you are able to repair the Walkman.  Very handy.  And very nice clear focus many angle view pictures.  WE LOVE great pictures on this site

Odd that Sony made two totally different players using the same model numbers except F for FM and R for recording yet mechanically and exterior body they are not alike in any way.   The Sony WM-R15  head is opposite the mechanical push buttons where the F15 has head and buttons on same side (WM-10,20,30,40 series).   The WM-R15 came in black and much more rare RED which I am blessed to own.   There is a Japanese release only version of the R15 that uses the CTP-1 FM tuner module for the radio feature, a very hard beasty to own today which is the Red Japanese version I have.   Fellow member David refurbished it some time ago with new belt etc. and works great.  Nice early player.  My thanks to David for selling this great collectable.

Do other members know of any other Sony models that had same model number but a different letter prefix and that the mechanical/exterior are totally different?

WM-R15  JAPANESE Version with CTP-1 FM/AM/TV Tuner

How do these things sound? Any good?

Thanks for the pictures! I like photography as a hobby and this walkman deserved some lovely pictures

It is very strange with the completely different exterior and interior design but yet similar model numbers. Yeah the FM tuner on mine can be a bit temperamental. But the AM band works surprisingly well.

Sadly, I haven't really used my Walkman a lot lately. Mostly due to of its age the plastic has turned brittle and cracked in several places . I have done repairs where needed, also Its not far off from needing a belt replacement as during rewinding and fast forwarding it seems a bit poor in speed. Happily with the cracks its all on the rear panel, which if I ever see another one of these (quite rare). I can replace the back panel as everything else is mint.

I have always loved my walkman though, its nice and unique, got it really cheap for a tenner off Ebay (Seller has listed it wrong).

Im on the lookout actually for a decent cassette recorder, so I can convert some of my mp3s BACK to cassettes

Cheers

From my experience with my walkman I can say they sound decent, nothing specular. Like more expensive Walkmans with direct drive quartz etc. But I would just get one for the looks, some of the nicest Walkmans in my opinion. Bar the (WM-150).

Just as long as you look after the mechanicals and go easy with the old plastic. There a bundle of fun

Just an update for everyone:

This happened about 18 months ago, so my memory is weak at best.

Having pulled out the walk man to play with the old belt had given up completely. However I realised I had another walk man at the time (model number which I cant remember) which suffered bad caps syndrome, I decided to check the belt in it to see if it was in any reasonable condition.

Happily it was, so I did my usual task of dismantling and changing the belt, they were similar, but not identical, I decided to give it a go anyway.

Having tested the unit with it in pieces all seemed well, I resembled the unit and boom. It wouldn't operate at all. I took it apart I believe a few more times, checking to see if I hadn't done anything silly. Everything seemed to be in good order.

Eventually it was getting late so I decided to call it in for the night and have another crack at it the next morning. 5 minutes later, I could smell that of melting plastic, I could not understand where it was coming from. I pick up the walkman and it burns my hand. As a natural reaction I let go, falling to its doom on the laminate flooring. In a panic to save it,trying to remove the battery cover, but it had all melted and the whole rear cover split into about 7 different pieces

I managed to remove the battery and dissemble what was left of the unit, what I believe that happened is that the thin wires broke that were located near the headphone jack and caused a dead short on the main board,killing the main board in the process. With its already weak and brittle plastic finally dropping the unit finished off all salvageable bits for good

It was a very sad day indeed, I'd love another. But prices for them are silly (one I think remember selling for £45).