johnedward - 2009-05-16 16:59
From fellow members fantastic Sony reference site on Walkmans, CD,players and TV walkmans .
www.walkmancentral.com WM-2 The WM-2, or “Walkman II” as it was known, took the mantle from the TPS-L2 as the smallest stereo cassette player in the world. It could hardly be smaller, being only just larger than the cassette it played.
The main change that made this miniaturization possible was mounting the tape heads in the lid and arranging for the cassette to be inserted the other way round. Because of this, the heads did not have to retract into the casing for the cassette to be removed, saving a very worthwhile amount of space. The engineering precision required to make this complex arrangement work properly was not inconsiderable, though there were few problems in practice. Not content with simply making the machine smaller, the designers went a step further by making the engagement of the heads power-operated. This allowed the control keys to have a short travel and to be placed on the front of the machine rather than along one edge, reducing the size yet further. To protect the delicate parts, all keys were automatically released if the door was opened.
The small size of the machine made stability even more critical than it had been before, so the counter rotating flywheel was beefed up somewhat, and the parts were now large and heavy enough to make a real difference. As with the TPS-L2, the play key was released mechanically at the end of the tape, and in later versions of the machine, the motor was stopped electronically in the winding modes, using an optical sensor and a reflective disc driven from the supply spool. These later models can be positively identified by putting the mechanism into rewind with no tape inserted, after a few seconds the red “battery” light should go out and the spindle should stop rotating. Later models can also be identified by the writing on the controls, early sets have “fwd” engraved on them, later ones say “play”. The excellent core-less servo motor was carried over unaltered from the TPS-L2, though little else was.
In comparison with the mechanics, miniaturizing the electronics to the required degree must have been fairly straightforward, with new and smaller components becoming available all the time. There were three distinct designs used for the electronics, such was the pace of development at this time. Most of the features of the TPS-L2 survived, except for the separate left and right volume controls (a miniature stereo volume control was now available) and the “hot line” microphone. In place of this, the original headphones had a large orange push button where the two leads separated that muted the sound, a similar but less interesting arrangement. The WM-2 retained dual headphone sockets however. The tone switch was also retained, but it was marked for normal and chrome/metal type tapes.
The sleek appearance of the WM-2 was made possible in part by it having no “front” or “back” as such. All faces were styled with equal attention to detail, and unless the cassette-viewing window was visible it did not look obviously like a tape player at all. A battery door would have spoiled the lines, to this was placed inside the cassette compartment. This also made the machine more robust, reducing the chance of the door falling open by accident and the batteries spilling out. So sleek was the basic design that there was no real way of attaching a handle, clip or strap, so a strong plastic holder with a belt clip and attachment points for a shoulder strap was included that it could be clipped into. This too was beautifully designed and made the WM-2 no less attractive.
The WM-2 was the best selling cassette Walkman model of all to date, selling around one and a half million units. Originally, it was available only in metallic grey, though later black and red versions were offered too. Text copyright © Walkman Central. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.
john, i think you can get a good usable belt at the turntableneedles.com. it is a square cut, 1mm,,5.7 in. that is the same size i use for the tps-l2 bottom belt. i got it for an old wm2 and it seemed to turn perfectly. for some reason i messed up the electronics and got the motor running in reverse. i tried moving a couple of wires around to reverse the direction but fried something in the process. anyway it did turn the motor great in reverse till i messed up. all was not lost though as i swapped the front doors. at least now i have one with a much nicer front door. to swap that door there was just one soldier connection to change.
Rerooted thank you much for detailed information to get belt. Anyone have a service manual link for the WM-2 ? Hate to go into it without one. The one reference under search here the link is no good, I did try contacting that member maybe he still has scan ? or if someone can post here be great for all.
JohnEdward-I have the service manual for the WM-2 as a PDF file (I downloaded it via a link on this forum that doesn't work anymre).
Might upload to Mediafire when I get time
Very nice red WM-2 been looking for one for a long time.
Here's a few of my WM-2's with headphones.
Strangely 2 sets of headphones are marked as MDR-4L1S and one pair as MDR-4
Thank you MRP for adding your great condition WM-2's in Black and Pewter and matching headphones to the topic. Yes think I got lucky to find such nice condition Red one.
AA definitely let me know by PM when you get service manual up on Mediafire thank you
My WM-2 with original user manual!
Oh, my favourite subject. The purest walkman if there ever was one. This is the puppy that got me into this mess.
Well AO Fantastic photo addition to the post. Can see you have the perfect TRIO all in fantastic condition.. Bravo.. yes the walkman model that firmly established the portable music Sony Walkman and downsized to up the ease of use carrying with you.
isn't there a rare blue one of these?
This guy is the reason why I have close to 200 plus walkmans now.
john,,i,will let you know what i,ve been doing lately. if i pick up a real nice model i put it on hold. i then start looking for a parts player and it is of tremendous help. i slowly dissemble it till i get down to where i need to be to replace the belt. then i repeat the process with alot more confidence and more money too. i did it with the wm-2. i bought a junker for 6.00 and then put the best back together. i think the belt is the same as the bottom belt on a tps-l2. don't hold me to this but i think it was a 5.7 in belt and .8mm wide. will some one on here back me on this but i think it is correct. i have a big pile of belts now and i just dig in till i find one that is close. it is tuff getting the correct size belt so that's why i don't mind having a large portion from doc p and another guy that was cleaning house. my wm-100.s are running okay now but 2 don't want to flip with the button. all of them will flip sides if i set it to do that.
what a good condition. everything is like first release day.u must be very care of your walkmans..
Great, I'm a partner of prod owners of a WM-2 club.... Late, but this is my Walkman. First WM-2 editions.
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/8358/s6300549q.jpgMy WM-2 1981 & 1982
Doc P has belts
Reopening topic (and what a topic!!!) as it was closed for some odd reason.
New boy in town! (center)
Another new boy in town - with PLAY button (right)
