15 replies

Walkmans that are the Most Difficult to service

bubPro
Walkmans, as consumer products, are not designed for the end user to be able to service themselves. However, some models are even more so.

i['ll start off with what I feel are the hardest:

Aiwa S30

One of the first few machines. However, unlike the TPS-L2, this one is ridiculously overly complex mechanically. First, to access the belt, the whole thing needs to be completely disassembled. Then, to place in a new belt, you will have to do so while the mechanism is separated into two pieces, while ensuring that everything lines up. Not to mention the high number of screws. On the other hand, the TPS-L2's belt is easy to change and is easily accessible.


Walkman 7

First Auto reverse model. Not so bad until you rip the flex cable going to the secondary board.  Fixing it was incredibly difficult. while the dual azimuth is innovative, it is somewhat difficult to set up, even with the service manual. (And you cannot connect it to a PC soundcard to use Osci.)
Jams in the servo mechanism can be hard to pin down. Not to mention the shrinking gears problem I had.


Random Early 90s Logic controlled Aiwas

Aside from the capacitor problem, most of these require boards to be desoldered. Most of my Aiwa service manuals are pretty crap with barely any disassembly instructions. Boards have fragile traces. Boards corroded by leaky caps.



National/Panasonics with 2 rew/fwd buttons on the door

I only own one example in poor condition. Hey, a board that is completely made of the same stuff flexible cables are made with! Aiwa S-30 complexity! mine is beyond saving though (The flexible board has corroded beyond repair)


On the other hand, here is one of the easiest:

Sony EX/FX 1/equivalent machines based on same mechanism

Open the cover. Change the belt. No other adjustments required. done! One later model even uses pin based connection from the lower board to the top board- no desoldering!

What in your experience do you find are the most difficult?
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    • Original Post
    plop
    plopPro
    I most certainly agree the early 90s Aiwa models with the full logic are a real pain in the ass to repair. Especially are those which require desoldering before you can get access to the belt  I would also mention that for some of these Aiwa used solenoids at these solder points which were also heat sensitive and would disintegrate if too much heat is applied when attempting to desolder them.

    A few of these also have longevity issues over the flexible PCB joining the main PCB to the PCB in the door. Too much open and closure of the door causes the flexible PCB to crease up and ultimatelty split and fail. Repair here is very difficult.

    Such examples are HS-JX705, HS-JX707, HS-PX70, HS-PX710, HS-RX70, HS-RX727, HS-RX810, HS-JX828, HS-PX1000. Funny how they all use a similar tape mechanism as well.

    Then there are those that have suffered from capacitor plague. Usual symptoms are failing volume, crap bass response, deteriorated audio response, unexplained rusting and if full logic controlled unresponsive or erratic control. This seems especially apparent in late 80s /early 90s models such as HS-J101, HS-PX303, HS-PX505, HS-JX505, HS-JX707. Some are just unrepairable.
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    MEZENGA
    MEZENGAIntermediate
    Originally Posted by bub:GOOD DAY FRIEND: I AGREE WITH YOU AT ALL! THESE Walkmans are difficult to repair by someone who is not TECHNICAL SPECIALIST IN REPAIR - THE SONY'S STILL CAN CHANGE THE BELT WITHOUT HAVING TO BOARD DESOLDAR - Too bad!
    Walkmans, as consumer products, are not designed for the end user to be able to service themselves. However, some models are even more so.

    i['ll start off with what I feel are the hardest:

    Aiwa S30

    One of the first few machines. However, unlike the TPS-L2, this one is ridiculously overly complex mechanically. First, to access the belt, the whole thing needs to be completely disassembled. Then, to place in a new belt, you will have to do so while the mechanism is separated into two pieces, while ensuring that everything lines up. Not to mention the high number of screws. On the other hand, the TPS-L2's belt is easy to change and is easily accessible.


    Walkman 7

    First Auto reverse model. Not so bad until you rip the flex cable going to the secondary board.  Fixing it was incredibly difficult. while the dual azimuth is innovative, it is somewhat difficult to set up, even with the service manual. (And you cannot connect it to a PC soundcard to use Osci.)
    Jams in the servo mechanism can be hard to pin down. Not to mention the shrinking gears problem I had.


    Random Early 90s Logic controlled Aiwas

    Aside from the capacitor problem, most of these require boards to be desoldered. Most of my Aiwa service manuals are pretty crap with barely any disassembly instructions. Boards have fragile traces. Boards corroded by leaky caps.



    National/Panasonics with 2 rew/fwd buttons on the door

    I only own one example in poor condition. Hey, a board that is completely made of the same stuff flexible cables are made with! Aiwa S-30 complexity! mine is beyond saving though (The flexible board has corroded beyond repair)


    On the other hand, here is one of the easiest:

    Sony EX/FX 1/equivalent machines based on same mechanism

    Open the cover. Change the belt. No other adjustments required. done! One later model even uses pin based connection from the lower board to the top board- no desoldering!

    What in your experience do you find are the most difficult?

     

    ()
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    MEZENGA
    MEZENGAIntermediate
    Originally Posted by bub:I HAVE HERE IN BRAZIL ALMOST ALL MODELS AIWA / PANASONIC and SONY'S .... BUT I HAVE A LOT OF DIFFICULTY TO FIND CABLES FLAT BELTS AND BRANDS ...... NOT PROVIDE MORE PARTS WHERE YOU CAN GET ..... PARTS? A STRONG HUG
    Walkmans, as consumer products, are not designed for the end user to be able to service themselves. However, some models are even more so.

    i['ll start off with what I feel are the hardest:

    Aiwa S30

    One of the first few machines. However, unlike the TPS-L2, this one is ridiculously overly complex mechanically. First, to access the belt, the whole thing needs to be completely disassembled. Then, to place in a new belt, you will have to do so while the mechanism is separated into two pieces, while ensuring that everything lines up. Not to mention the high number of screws. On the other hand, the TPS-L2's belt is easy to change and is easily accessible.


    Walkman 7

    First Auto reverse model. Not so bad until you rip the flex cable going to the secondary board.  Fixing it was incredibly difficult. while the dual azimuth is innovative, it is somewhat difficult to set up, even with the service manual. (And you cannot connect it to a PC soundcard to use Osci.)
    Jams in the servo mechanism can be hard to pin down. Not to mention the shrinking gears problem I had.


    Random Early 90s Logic controlled Aiwas

    Aside from the capacitor problem, most of these require boards to be desoldered. Most of my Aiwa service manuals are pretty crap with barely any disassembly instructions. Boards have fragile traces. Boards corroded by leaky caps.



    National/Panasonics with 2 rew/fwd buttons on the door

    I only own one example in poor condition. Hey, a board that is completely made of the same stuff flexible cables are made with! Aiwa S-30 complexity! mine is beyond saving though (The flexible board has corroded beyond repair)


    On the other hand, here is one of the easiest:

    Sony EX/FX 1/equivalent machines based on same mechanism

    Open the cover. Change the belt. No other adjustments required. done! One later model even uses pin based connection from the lower board to the top board- no desoldering!

    What in your experience do you find are the most difficult?

     

    ()
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    bubPro
    Originally Posted by MEZENGA:
    I HAVE HERE IN BRAZIL ALMOST ALL MODELS AIWA / PANASONIC and SONY'S .... BUT I HAVE A LOT OF DIFFICULTY TO FIND CABLES FLAT BELTS AND BRANDS ...... NOT PROVIDE MORE PARTS WHERE YOU CAN GET ..... PARTS? A STRONG HUG

     

    Usually for belts you can get them online. Ebay and some private sellers. DocP on this forum has belts.

     

    Over here there are local electronic stores that have random belts for sale. Assorted belts hanging on walls in a corner of the store. Mostly for larger machines like Boombox/VHS. They do have some belts that fit the most common Walkman mechanisms. (Some pinch rollers and idler tires too).

     

    They also have a belt measuring cone to measure the size of your old belt, then get a slightly smaller size as the replacement.

     

     

    For model specific parts I grab them from junk units.

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    MEZENGA
    MEZENGAIntermediate
     buddy, how do I buy in
    Taobao? Walkmans cost her the very cheap! and has the largest rare relics - thanks
     
     
    Walkmans, as consumer products, are not designed for the end user to be able to service themselves. However, some models are even more so.

    i['ll start off with what I feel are the hardest:

    Aiwa S30

    One of the first few machines. However, unlike the TPS-L2, this one is ridiculously overly complex mechanically. First, to access the belt, the whole thing needs to be completely disassembled. Then, to place in a new belt, you will have to do so while the mechanism is separated into two pieces, while ensuring that everything lines up. Not to mention the high number of screws. On the other hand, the TPS-L2's belt is easy to change and is easily accessible.


    Walkman 7

    First Auto reverse model. Not so bad until you rip the flex cable going to the secondary board.  Fixing it was incredibly difficult. while the dual azimuth is innovative, it is somewhat difficult to set up, even with the service manual. (And you cannot connect it to a PC soundcard to use Osci.)
    Jams in the servo mechanism can be hard to pin down. Not to mention the shrinking gears problem I had.


    Random Early 90s Logic controlled Aiwas

    Aside from the capacitor problem, most of these require boards to be desoldered. Most of my Aiwa service manuals are pretty crap with barely any disassembly instructions. Boards have fragile traces. Boards corroded by leaky caps.



    National/Panasonics with 2 rew/fwd buttons on the door

    I only own one example in poor condition. Hey, a board that is completely made of the same stuff flexible cables are made with! Aiwa S-30 complexity! mine is beyond saving though (The flexible board has corroded beyond repair)


    On the other hand, here is one of the easiest:

    Sony EX/FX 1/equivalent machines based on same mechanism

    Open the cover. Change the belt. No other adjustments required. done! One later model even uses pin based connection from the lower board to the top board- no desoldering!

    What in your experience do you find are the most difficult?

     

    ()
    Take Action
    MEZENGA
    MEZENGAIntermediate
    Originally Posted by MEZENGA:
     
    buddy, how do I buy in
    Taobao? Walkmans cost her the very cheap! and has the largest rare relics .....because all the purchases I made this site a friend of mine lived in China, but no longer lives ... unfortunate ...- thanks
    Originally Posted by bub:I HAVE HERE IN BRAZIL ALMOST ALL MODELS AIWA / PANASONIC and SONY'S ....

     

    Oh wow, we look forward to seeing some pics...

     

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    type2tapeheadAdvanced

    I would have to agree with retrodos the Aiwa cs-j1 a mega difficult unit to repair, to change the belt requires the patience of a saint especially as this unit has 3 chassis to remove, I think there was 23+ screws. I was very unlucky my unit came with melted drive belts, In total it took me 3 day's to completely a half decent restoration of this unit. On a positive note the unit is a thing of beauty mine is in mint condition.

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    Lapis
    LapisAdvanced

    The dual azimuth is very interesting and very strange on the WM-7. First, how did they install this system on a walkman where the heads are mounted in the deck as opposed to latch them on the door (with the pinch rollers)? The latter is visible because there should be some more screws under the head assembly.

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    davisneil
    davisneilIntermediate

    there's a little trick im gonna impart here it might help. I learned to do it when i was fixing old walkmans as a teenager when i had no access to spare bits...

     

    If the ribbon connector is broken and theres no chance of a new one bein found, theres still something you can do. It wont look pretty and it wont be authentic but itll get the thing working again.

     

    Find an old pair of sony headphones and strip back about 20 cm of the lacquered copper. Youll have 3 colurs to use, red, green and copper colour.

     

    Because the individual strands of copper are insulated, it can be used to solder one point to another and, being very thin, will fit in the space previously occupied by the ribbon pcb. I used tape to protect the thin copper from metal parts, etc. It wont matter if the copper strands touch, because they are insulated by a varnish that disappears when heated by a soldering iron.

     

    It works, its abit of a bodge job, but if it gets a dead walkman singing, try it

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    DocP
    DocPPro
    Originally Posted by davisneil:

     

     

    If the ribbon connector is broken and theres no chance of a new one bein found, theres still something you can do

     Find an old pair of sony headphones and strip back about 20 cm of the lacquered copper. Youll have 3 colurs to use, red, green and copper colour.

     

    Because the individual strands of copper are insulated, it can be used to solder one point to another and, being very thin, will fit in the space previously occupied by the ribbon pcb. I used tape to protect the thin copper from metal parts, etc. It wont matter if the copper strands touch, because they are insulated by a varnish that disappears when heated by a soldering iron.

     

     

    works perfect and works even better when sandwiched between two lengths of wide cellotape/packing tape and then cut to shape like the flex connector....added insulation and protection and sits as intended like the wmF10 homemade flex connector below

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