1980's Kenwood Tape Deck - Auto-reverse fix

Mark repairs a 1988 Kenwood KX-66CW twin tape deck, with a broken auto-reverse mechanism. As usual, not the quickest of jobs. Pfft.

[@griffog2001]

Whilst I'm always in awe of the diagnosing and repair, I'm more amazed at how you can put that jigsaw back together again!

[@stephenyoud6125]

And with no bits leftover!!

[@TimothyKing1]

I'm sure the fact that there's video of the disassembly helps tremendously. Sometimes I take pictures to reference for reassembly.

[@jamesbelmont3603]

I admire your tenacity and skill. Many would show their frustration. I love the way you just smile and joke. What a personality!

[@waynegriffiths5143]

Amazing technician Mark. Tape decks are truly terrifyingly complicated mechanisms.

[@jeffhansman2829]

If anyone has the temperament for this kind of work, Mark does! He's a model for us all.

[@joshlegg8896]

I have a tape deck from 1982 and it's still working perfectly today

[@russtill403]

we need more marks in this world,what a fantastic personality he has.thanks for your vids mark ive watched them all.

[@Plons0Nard]

Inspired by your good nature, tomorrow I will put new belts on a Sony TCK711S. I will do my best to be as cheery as you and not swear. Love your video's. Cheers from the Netherlands 👍🇳🇱

[@kevinjekyll1521]

I think tape decks would be one of the hardest audio components to fix, a bizzare mix of electronics and mechanical, only a brave person would even begin to take one on, especially the high end ones, but your approach has given me some new ideas on my failed ones... I just wish had all your tools to go into battle. Great stuff as always.

[@DaXande135]

I think CD players will get even more tricky, when thinking about DACs and all the other decades old digital components that will eventually fail at some point...

[@DerekHundik]

VCR , DAT are difficult too

[@cmonkey63]

I've got a little jar that I use to store the leftover screws after a repair job. The difference between a good job and great job is if the jar is empty when I'm done.

[@keithneal5369]

I'm amazed that only 1 piece plastic is broken considering the age of the deck. Your patience is amazing also. Tape decks are a nightmare to work on . I have a technics deck that is u.s . Because of 1 broken plastic cog. Such a shame to chuck it out because of a part that costs pence to make.

[@markmiwurdz202]

@keith neal. You may have already thought of this. Would it be possible to have the broken plastic cog/gear 3D printed? Obviously it depends if you have the gear parts complete. Stay safe and well.

[@keithneal5369]

@@markmiwurdz202 that might work, depending on the cost.

[@soosaisteven3984]

This is a ultimate super messy design. Probably the design of this deck had promised to himself to come up most cranky design. Nightmare for repairman. But Mark had anyway has successfully done it. Great job Mark.

[@tcpnetworks]

In your intro - A big-trax and a Beeb. That's my childhood, right there...

[@1975Loeven]

Great video, always cheers me up to watch your work. I have a couple of decks myself that needs belts and attention. Gotta love that wall of instruments as well. Oh, and nice cat btw.

[@elsaarmstrong-zp6ng]

Manufacturers said don’t allow any hydrocarbon oils near it! Nylon/plastics silocon oil/grease only! Iso pro only for rubber tires, capstone, heads etc. Mark has remarkable patience! Excuse the pun !😅😅

[@Aaron-iz3hk]

I have a Sony WA7ES that has a similar problem with the head not rotating properly when switching directions. Plays great once you manually move the head to its intended position! I was just using it and not changing the direction until I felt more confident to take it on. Thank you for this video! I now have more courage to tackle it more thoroughly.

[@jans2166]

Mark its all so inspiring ( I’m Dutch sorry for the Language failures) I’m a Building technician and have no knowlegde of the complexe scemes . Never the less I Look Hours and Hours Tour Videos . I learned from it Never give up. But the skills you have! Looks like a sort of churgery! You always are so optimistic. I hope to See a lot of your video’s!

[@glumpy6079]

I'm addicted to these videos! Thank you 😉

[@desnick2316]

The part where he start taking cams and gears out gave me anxiety. Especially with old brittle plastic, springs, washers all over the place. I hope people appreciate the skill needed to not just find a problem, but to fix it and put everything back together without stuff snapping or breaking.

[@gizfpv]

My god, Kenwood engineers in the 80's had no concept of minimalist design or simplification did they?! The guts of that thing is a overcomplicated mess. If I didn't know any better I would have thought it had been built by a drunk in his shed using a schematic drawn by a 5 year old

[@RollingLiving]

Between the positive joviality and the technical skills, I'm surprised you don't have a MUCH larger subscriber base already. Love your channel, Mark.

[@Edmilho]

I'm enjoying the video here of Mend It Mark, fixing the tape deck since our friend Jonas from the Dr. Cassette channel is away for a while. Hugs from Brazil!

[@ToddSauve]

I am so glad the days of cassette decks and 8 track decks are gone! Those auto reverse decks never worked properly. The playback head never aligned properly with the tape and you only got high fidelity in usually the forward direction. What a pain! Nakamichi were the only ones to solve that problem and those decks were _so_ expensive it made you question why you loved your stereo and music so much! 🤔🤨🙄

[@patrickjmorgan]

Love the mechanical fix. Just done same to a model car- I used a sewing-pin.

[@sebastiansekinger5070]

Lovely Cat! Another great repair job too!

[@fulwell1]

What a fantastic repair - even included a CAT-scan! 😁

[@grantm902]

I sorta knew that motor wire was gonna break. From many a traumatising experience as a younger builder!

[@fluke196c]

As a kid I stepped on one of those shafts with a large belt wheel, went straight through my foot. Hurts to even find the right words to describe it. I remember pulling it out, and the resistance of my shoe was more than my body provided. OOF!

[@IfanJones1968]

Yay!!!! Thank you so much, I had two decks with what I thought was terminal deck failures, turns out was just like this, gummed up rotating heads!!

[@Edisson.]

Hi, I've never had Kenwood machines, but Belinda made me very happy 😁 Otherwise good work 👍 Nice day 🙂 Tom

[@markdjdeenix6846]

I just discovered your channel Your content is amazing

[@mr.nobody5422]

Outstanding job. Excellent work

[@nealsturges5879]

AMAZING VIDEO '' A REAL WIZZARD YOU ARE '' WITH A HUGE SET OF SKILLS

[@radio-ged4626]

We always used the joke about Kenwood blenders when we did their tape decks in the workshop. Not sure they deserve that rep really.

[@paullane5297]

Need a can of activator for your super glue,then it goes off instantly,you got the patience of a saint,top work

[@brianhoskins1979]

I thought there wasn't a hope in hell's chance of that glued on pip holding up. Good repair - I hope it was successful for the long term!

[@kendom33]

Goodness what a complex mechanism Well. done

[@williamsarver2491]

Amazing you never get lost

[@Alchemetica]

Passed the final inspection by the boss cat.

[@chrisbartram3034]

Lovely cat and nice job!

[@andylamont8111]

These mechanisms rely on the capstan motor running at the proper speed. When a function is selected from the buttons on the deck, the microprocessor pulses the solenoids for specific periods of time. That allows the cams in the mechanism to rotate specific distances, engaging different functions in the mechanism. The whole works can be thrown out of whack if the capstan motor is not running on speed.

[@kthwkr]

I had almost the same deck. The problem I had in 2010 was the capstan rubber wheel had gotten hard and the tape slipped.

[@summerforever6736]

Nice work!!

[@705johnnyboy]

the tape counter lol,noticed it not working earlier on ,ive fixed a number of decks it doesn't ever feel better when you've put it all together and missed something ahhhhhh....

[@Jack-Fleming]

Tip. Use CA glue combined with baking soda, strong like iron. Keep up the great work.

[@paulb4uk]

My dad got a kenwood twin deck for £5 i did the belts on it a right pain as it was not easy as this one to get the belts out as the one deck the circuit board made it hard to come out as it was in the way and was not easy to get the front panel to remove ,i try to avoid twin decks now as decent belts can cost nearly as much as some are worth .i still have my aiwa twin deck i bought new in the 90s no doubt will need belts doing it never had much use as i mainly used it to copy cd,s to tape for car use .The decks i use now are an aiwa 3 hed and a pioneer ct 656 3 head and a basic 1985 sony tc fx 220 .Great idea with the bit of wire to add strength .Might be an idea to record some music from the youtube audio library just in case you get a copyright strike youtube can be a bit funny at times with using audio .

[@glenpitts6813]

You are such a patient man.

[@technicaltrialsandtribulat4574]

Great Vid! Also the Belinda Carlisle tape was from the late 80s I think. :-D Anyway keep up the good work and top notch content.

[@aakangadi_lampay]

Thank you from Indonesia

[@cseresznyessandor237]

amazing video!

[@ProfSimonHolland]

well done Mark

[@alisepehrjavan4239]

tank for shareing

[@jameslaidler2152]

I wanna pat the kitty! Also, not my favourite Kenwood tape deck. Clever repair though.

[@22763344]

Señores, tengo una grabadora Sankyo de 1976, que en la parte de mecanismo tiene mejores materiales y piezas de metal que este aparato Kenwood, que a la legua es más caro que cualquier otra cosa. Pero, así es la vida. Le felicito señor.

[@worldbadminton9852]

bravo, grat

[@Happyland_Motel_Gamer_Cat]

" I hope the owner isn't watching" LOL

[@davedrew9328]

Great job loved the cat.

[@elsaarmstrong-zp6ng]

He is a real repair man! Many companies would just say it’s uneconomical to repair! Bin it! So much for the EU recycle policy! Fraser

[@annierenard5954]

very good video, thank you

[@danielmarierock3095]

you are a genius man your video are very amazing

[@tejtrambharatt5182]

Brilliant work.

[@misterbonzoid5623]

I laugh every time I see you getting shocked in the intro. Sorry. Love your videos; you truly are the Bob Ross of electronic repairers.

[@jessejaurretche3851]

Love the cat

[@juhaerijuhaeri9216]

thanks sir I have tapedeck like this at home,iam from indonesia.. 👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏

[@elsaarmstrong-zp6ng]

Reminds me of fixing dictating machines way back in 1970’s, over engineering on Philips, Grundig etc! Solenoids, relays, electrical clutches etc ! Simple Bowden cables would do the same job instead of switches/relays nightmare system! Fraser😅

[@edwinvp]

For a moment I was affaid the cat would cause a short circuit at the end

[@तपोभूमिःश्रेष्ठम]

Mark!!! I've X91 modal of Kenwood deck

[@Digital-Vortex]

Only recently found your channel, love the way you just machine a part or rewind a coil when needed, but just wondering with this one, when you fixed the little plastic piece, I was expecting you to grease the cam wheel with a bit of lithium grease maybe.

[@R0n8urgundy]

25:39 might be the most passive aggressive thing ever😂

[@radarmusen]

One motor and 2 solenoids and a hell of weird gears of plastic and a turning head. I’m surprised it cold hold the warranty at that time.

[@TexTom1981]

I have ALWAYS had better luck pulling things apart than getting them back into place. This would be a nightmare for me. 31:11 Kitty just wants to make sure there's fresh hair on the cams and gears.

[@Blitterbug]

Moar cat pls! Oh, and brilliant repair too!

[@branhicks]

Rip Black Sunday 😢

[@MrLefthooker]

Oh how I can relate :-) I praise my Technics decks, each tape unit comes out after the removal of 4 (easily accessable) screws. Any work needed doesn't end up being like open heart surgery. Nice video, as always. Really like your format Mark, and look forward to more fun stuff ... we're out here ,, watching 🙂

[@Oerg866]

YOUR CAT IS SO CUTE ♥♥♥

[@nt004b9392]

Another great informative video Mark ,thanks for posting ...nagging question if I may? Did you used to work with Mr R Whale back in the early noughties ?

[@MendItMark]

I did! What a legend. He taught me to solder, and take the piss out of everything. A top mentor!

[@nt004b9392]

@@MendItMark if it's any consolation he got worse as he got older Mark 😉

[@Ronnie01964]

Man, you're really a funny guy, very excellent video's i may say :-)

[@ferraridinoman]

Love this guy!! Great stuff!!

[@WayniKlaru14344]

Thanks Mate ! Great job. A little of patience and knowledge to do it. Another piece of electronic was saved that can to be thrown in the landfill if no one dare to fix. Another vintage audio equipment that can be enjoyed in the years to come.

[@gribbler1695]

Why am I not surprised he has a cat?

[@bugsyjonesband]

wasn't there another belt? 18:35 and 23.30

[@jeffmcnulty6589]

Have you ever tried the Baking Soda and Superglue method of bonding plastic? It turns into a hard plastic like fix. We use it in the Copier industry.

[@2112user]

Looking around for parts and your video poped up. Wonder if you might knw where to get a new had for a KENWOOD KX-W8050, all I'm finding is belts, but not in the electronic industy either, so not sure where to look other than Google, or what parts might cross-over.

[@andrewscott1253]

I want to know what those hidden buttons do. Was it just cheaper to hide the buttons of a more expensive model, than to revise the electronics. Do they work?

[@uxwbill]

The hidden buttons are almost certainly a cost cutting measure and used on a higher end model. One of them had a pause symbol on it and another looked to have a recording symbol on it. There didn't appear to be any circuit board behind them.

[@zbaby82]

Wow.

[@megkalapnemadom]

23:10 and 29:14 why the play button is lit even when it is not playing? only to indicate the head's direction or what?

[@m1stertim]

more kitty footage please 🥰🥰

[@quanchyplimp]

Wow!, your patience and dexterity are something else Mark, my head and eyes were hurting looking at the rats nest of wires/pulleys/wheels/brackets/springs/etc. I assume you fixed this for a customer, if so, what did you charge if you don't mind me asking?

[@emy1111]

Track 1: 'Don;t chew me baby!'

[@NicksStuff]

31:24 It's ESD testing

[@octavianraducanu4048]

Îmi place.

[@Sera69FI]

It must be great to be a genious.

[@peteschreiber9517]

Love your videos. I bet you had few screws left over. lol I always do.

[@babakkhalaji8572]

👌👌 Sehr gut.... 👏👏👏👏

[@wheatonna]

Is it true that cam parts must be reinstalled in their original position in order to work again? I would not have had the temerity to disassemble that cam assembly!

[@brad9529]

I'd have swapped the left side buttons with the right side. They were still attached and had spare buttons.

[@kristiandawe85]

I like the theme music, where can I find it

[@that_thing_I_do]

Can someone please identify the rag music that's playing at the beginning of his intro? It's driving me crazy and I can't find it anywhere.

[@aliahmad-uf6vw]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@yeahright9014]

I'm curious as to what those 3 hidden buttons did...

[@bobsbits5357]

hi have a cat as well she doe's the same the bad buttons on cassette decks is a right pain i have a list i never buy from ebay same with reel to reel decks price of cassette decks is going up alot now adat is the new thing whs audio