Sony TCWE435 Cassette Deck makes a clunking sound. Lets find out why

A sony Double Cassette deck recent vintage. See why an older unit is a better investment when you see this mechanism.

[@CarySagady]

Great Video....just did the belts on my TC635s (china version) and the unit had the same solenoid actuations, gear grinding and locked door....your info on returning the gear mechanism to stop by rotating the flywheel is priceless! I thought I had to trash it.

[@nelsonkerr1119]

Thanks for the inspiration to tackle this job. I have a late 90's Sony WE 475...probably a little different from the one you're working on but I was able to change both belts on both sides w/o pulling the unit apart. Just pulled the motor back a little and slid the new belt past and hooked it on. Made sure to put the smaller band on first, which went on easily once the large belt was removed. It's working great - saved a couple bucks.

[@ken444444]

Thanks for putting this video together. I was able to successfully replace the belts on my TC-WE425 with your help. I cleaned the heads, capstans, and pinch rollers. The most time consuming part was removing the old belts, which had turned to black goo, from the rollers. I used isopropyl alcohol and small shreds of paper towel to remove the goo. Ultimately both transports in the deck work great. It was otherwise a great deck that someone had put on the curb with an old VCR and CD changer.

[@nailer65]

Thanks so much for posting this. I have the same model and both drives failed in the last few months. I thought it was an electrical fault until I saw this. I fixed mine over the weekend and it only cost me €15 for a new set of belts.

[@AK-gy8fj]

Many thanks for this video! It prevented a TC-WE435 from ending up in the e-waste electronic greetings from Vienna/Austria

[@ClausJesup]

This is just the video I was hoping to find. I have a Sony TC-WE525, bought in 93. I found a source for a belt set already even though the price is ridiculously high for some tiny pieces of plastic, EUR 15 incl. shipping. But who cares, there is some sentimental value involved in this deck and I want to salvage it. Now all I needed was a video that showed me how to get it done. Because when I opened up the deck, I didn't have a clue. I thought there must be some trick just as there is for other types of Sony decks from the early 90s. I watched a number of clips here on YT but these Sony decks seemed to be constructed quite differently. TC-WR590 and some other WR types are comparatively easy if you know the trick. Or the WE305 where you can remove the motor by just opening one screw and not having to take off anything else. Found your video now and the inside of that deck WE435 looks more or less the same as my WE525, finally. So the bad news is there is no trick or easy way, I will have to take it all apart. Good news is - it can be done even if it is not as easy as I hoped. I'll get to it on the weekend and keep you informed.

[@ClausJesup]

OK, it worked. Took me an hour or two because I'm clumsy and didn't want to break anything especially all that tiny electronic stuff here and there. It wasn't easy and I couldn't have done it without this most helpful video I guess. Thank you for your time sir. And thank you Sony for putting me through all this. On the other hand, I learned a lot about my tape unit now. Oh, and I liked one of your statements even more than anything else, around minute 8: 'Little more work than meets the eye to change the belts on these units' - Amen to that.

[@misterpunk]

Hi, thanks so much for this repair step-by-step guide - my similar deck had the same problem and I followed your guide and (after also cleaning the heads) it now plays perfectly - in fact it even looks and plays like it is new - I wouldn't have known how to take the motor parts off to fit the belts without your video, cheers!

[@WillEskridge]

Oh man, thank you so much. I just acquired this model (with the same issues) for free and your video helped me restore it. I ordered the belts of eBay. thanks so much for the video!

[@cornelbaluta]

Thanks for the video and for all hard work, I've bought a TC-WE 475 with the same problem on deck A. With the inspiration from your video I have changed the belts on both decks. Belts ordered from ebay fit perfect like genuine ones.

[@09danstart]

I just got my old pioneer CT-W650R out of my attic,, its been up there for about 10 years maybe 15.. its got dolby b and c noise reduction and hx pro,, and im happy to say its still working...but dont know how long for.. its never had belts replaced.. it used to get lots of use when I lived at my mums in the 90s

[@thepowerisinyou2886]

Well done, thanks for your great patience .... Cheers.

[@marktmdyorkshire7610]

I have this very same deck! It's been in my cupboard 3 years since the belts went, I looked at changing them but they look very complicated, since watching this video, I have an idea now, thank you. If it goes wrong it doesn't matter.

[@iridium130m]

Just restored two of these decks with your help, thank you!

[@steveoszman8746]

Used a 475 for over 10 years before belts died; changed them an sold it to a fella needing a play back machine. Now have 3 machines form that era including a Nakamichi. They are all lackluster dust collectors compared to even bottom of the line 70s and 80s decks. Guys like you got me back in the groove man.

[@wileyfamilyfromauburn4045]

Fantastic Video (and test music). I'm getting ready to replace the belts on a Sony TC-WA9es. Your video has shown me the path. Thanks!

[@jewel79]

Thank you so much! I have exactly this cassette recorder! After not using it for 10-20 years it has the same error.. now I know what to do. ❤ greetings from Germany

[@letterpress_outlier]

Brilliant, best video, helped me fix my TCWE635 which has the same design

[@unixistehbest]

Great video! You saved my butt on nearly the same model!

[@musicofstephenkirwin-mphstudio]

holly this is the exact repair I need to do.there goes my weekend thanks for this

[@dvddale111]

I enjoyed watching this, but you had more success than I did when I stripped out my Hitachi TRK762 boom box, I fitted two new belts and was looking forward to simply screwing it back together when I noticed a rubber wheel that had perished on fast forward or reverse and knew I could never finish it. A broken piece of black plastic on a piano key I also fixed, by swapping the keys parts around with the pause one which I hardly ever used. Back together now, but I use it as an amplifier for my old Panasonic deck, by having to keep0 the record key down all the time.

[@usererror8208]

I have this exact unit. It had the same problem. I wish I had seen this before breaking open the tape door to open it. great video

[@mrnmrn1]

Yep, that was a user error ;-)

[@tdirunner4832]

Thanks for the great video. I have the exact same deck and it was making the exact same noise. Managed to replace all 4 belts with this video. Funny that both of my belts failed at the same time. Also funny that they lasted as long as they did considering that I'm pretty sure all four were original.

[@zackcacciapalle6405]

Very informative video! This would have been helpful a week and 2 days ago because I had to service the exact same mechanism inside my Denon DRW-585 deck. It is a real pain to get the belts out! Also, mine didn't seem to have a "full" head/pinch roller down fast forward mode, only the "search" fast forward mode with the heads and pinch rollers up.

[@whitneystrus7171]

Thanks to this video, I was able to successfully repair one of my two WE-435s. The second one is half-fixed. The play side plays fine, but the play/record side has one pinch roller up, and one pinch roller down. I cannot open the door; I think it's stuck in "play" mode even though there is no tape in it.

[@albertocabezas282]

Maybe this can help. Try to gently push the "button" located under the solenoid or if this doesn't work make the flywheel to turn counterclockwise. Doing this you will be able to unlock the play mode. I tried successfully the second way on my WE605 model. : )

[@ClausJesup]

I had exacly the same problem and thought I had broken something.But it's just a safety which prevents you from opening the door while it is in Play or Search mode. You have to set a little switch to 'Stop' mode. It's shown handsomely in the video at 12:00 You don't really have to take off anything to reach that switch, just the cover of the whole unit of course. I played around a little with it and eventually got it into 'Stop' mode and the little safety was released and the door could be opened again. Everything worked just fine then. This video really covers a lot of issues along the way and that is just great.

[@glenngoodale1709]

Great video 👍

[@mallorca6297]

Thanks for making the video! I was looking for a tutorial for this exact model......cos all the sony tape decks are slightly different

@12voltvids Hi there. I got the same cassette deck. Even though I raplaced the belts it is still the same. When I turn on the unit one motor spins but the other doesn't. I know the motor is ok because I've tested it with 12volts it is spinning smootthly. I really need your advice .Thank you so much.

[@djblackarrow]

I have the TC-WE505. It has two motors per Deck, 5 more buttons under the display for the Random Music Sensor-function (it can search for all recorded tracks and plays them random), 40-pin ribbon cable between the Display and the Mainboard, the Decks are directly but detachable connected with PCB connectors at the bottom and 7-pin ribbon cable at the top. At the Back of my Decks are large PCB's - so have to dismount a lot more stuff before i can change the belts. My Deck can also search for the highest recorded level on Deck A, so it can set the Rec-Level for dubbing at the maximum (Auto-calibration). My Tape-Deck is also able to record on chrome and metal cassettes. It detects the inserted type and the write-protect with the switches at the top of DeckB (my one has one more switch) When i was younger i really used all of the TC-WE505 functions. Now I use it only to digitize old audio tapes (e.g. audio books) of friends and acquaintances on the PC so they can hear it again.

[@MrBrymstond]

RANT! Great job by the way. They should have been gear driven from the start using all metal gears. I had people tell me we didn't have the technology, yes we did and we could have done the same with reel to reel. Refer to a wind up watch, how many belts did they have? I remember taking the cover off of a stereo receiver back in the 70's and it had a large lead block bolted in the center so you could feel the heavy vs quality ratio. Throughout the years we've been deceived to a insane amount. Like our new smartphones, we can't pop the back off anymore and managed to sell the people on the idea of have double the trouble glass front and back that looks beautiful not knowing the battery goes bad and now they glue them to the back of the screens on a lot of models and you can't find a replacement so you have to match it and use the old wires with the small molex connector and if you were smart enough, you purchased insurance in which you never get the same phone back, instead you get a refurbished piece of crap back where the touchscreen doesn't want to work and other fine glitches. I'm not talking about some cheap knock off or off brand we never heard of, I'm talking about Samsung. I want to have the ability to replace the battery on the run if needed. I seriously wonder how many years in advance they have before they roll out the old model as the cutting edge, I'd bet they have a stable Snap Dragon 1000 CPU with a Mali 1000 8K GPU with a graphene battery that last a week with heavy use that the elite have.

[@12voltvids]

There were a few direct drive and disk drive cassette decks made.

[@GustoTheGamer]

Nice job 👍

[@HDXFH]

Remember to be kind and rewind the tape before returning it

[@darinb.3273]

Funny LOL only applies to tapes that play in only one direction VHS for example still funny though 😃👍😄

[@ACBMemphis]

I had this exact model new in the box. It sat around and the belts just failed, with no use..! Wonder if it would be worth it to plug all my unused tape decks in the closet into some type of home automation timer, so they would come on and 'exercise the belts' for a few minutes every month... Anyway, thanks for uploading, always enjoy your videos. (I uploaded one of this same deck last week, but I took some shortcuts so compared to this video it is amateur hour!)

[@danielgumm421]

I found this exact same deck at a Goodwill, $13 US. Both rubber belts were melted, I didn't have access to new belts so I found 2 rubber bands that were very close to the original belt length and tried those. Despite everything I did (), the unit still would not play in any direction on either deck and kept activating auto-reverse with no movement on reels. Would rw/ff just fine. Solenoids were engaging (it appeared). I was baffled and figured it was something in the mech and just returned it as you stated, it's not a high quality deck.

[@graay]

Went to use my Sony TCWE435 recently and it just did the cluncking sound as described in your video. Watched the video and tackled the tear down. Found my belts intact, just very stretched. Located the two small square belts but the larger flat belt I only had one, and it was too wide. I got out the scissors and cut the belt length wise to give me two! Fitted belts. Reassembled and was briefly stumped by how the door spring should sit against the plastic, but worked it out in a few tries. The doors reset themselves after power on. I briefly lost one of the eject plastic levers but realised it had slipped under the mainboard! Keep your videos coming - I have watched a lot of them over the years. Pleasantly surprised to find this one to help guide me thru the repair of the exact same equipment.

[@Oldgamingfart]

Sounds just like the mechanism in an Aiwa midi system that my brother used to own in the late nineties (which would make sense given the Aiwa-Sony relationship). Somehow, one of the dual tape decks became misaligned and wouldn't eject or respond to any of the function buttons. Never did attempt a fix..I recall saying 'Nope!' after seeing how much work would've been involved in simply disassembling the infernal contraption! He decided to sell it 'as is' and upgrade to Hi-Fi separates. Good move imo! :)

[@protehiskra5083]

Š

[@wxdfg]

I have got this tape deck it does good recording on it. I heard that the 435 is better then the 475 in built wise plus it has got better tape window then the 475. I record my tapes in dolby b and playback with dolby off it sounds good. Thanks for the video

[@joshuachilds7226]

Thank you sir

[@jasejj]

I find it very difficult to believe that Sony would release any deck with W&F as bad as that, even in 1999. Either something is knackered (and that's doubtful given they both exhibit the same problem) or the belts fitted are unsuitable or poor quality. Even a cheap shoebox recorder from the time would perform better.

[@12voltvids]

All these cheap ones with no heavy flywheel on the capstan have substantially higher W&F. The only deck I own that I can tolerate is my Technics RSM275. It is a direct drive quartz lock servo capstan, and the flywheel weighs in at about 1 lb. My Pioneer elite deck is also pretty good. My Teac 850 is also a bit of a pig with respect to W&F

[@PaulJCost1]

@@12voltvids Direct Drive Decks are the best! I got 2 Technics Decks that have Direct Driven flywheels and the tape spinners have a direct motor attached... nothing can beat that i think.

[@12voltvids]

@@PaulJCost1 Yes my technics is one of the best ones I own.

[@Bluethunderboom]

I remember that where VWestlife had the same mechanisms of the deck, as he claims that anytime whenever you play the tape in the deck, sooner it gets or later, the mechanisms including the audio head, might break up and failed, and might trap the tapes and can't get the deck door open. There's a way for to, is to do a procedure like yours, and then afterwards, get the tape out from the deck, and see it's serviceable.

[@12voltvids]

If the belt falls off when in play, with the head raised it can't lower it because it uses the flywheel to drive the mechanism up and down. So you have to activate the plunger by hand and turn the flywheel to release the head so you can open the cassette compartment, which has to be open to remove the deck to service it.

[@chamni63]

I always watch your videos, but this time I stuck with a Sony TC WE405. It's a cheap double deck and I've changed the belts. The problem are the cam gears now, seems they're stucked. How can I find out the right position (stop, FF, FR, play). Usually turn the wheel around and see if the head is going up or down, but it looks they in a wrong position so the transport won't work. Thank you for any help.

[@richardsmejkal798]

Wow . sounds like 1% wow and flutter. I have found some new belts that the dimensions and thickness were not consistent so every revolution around the motor pulley the speed dropped a bit. Good video.

[@12voltvids]

I suspect that the belts I ordered off eBay are rejects because every single deck I have used them on experiences high w&f. This is why it is a good idea to stay away from eBay parts. Sure I could ship em back but at my cost. It was nice when I could just call the manufacture and get the exact belt but these days that is not an option and when you order online it is a crap shoot at best.

[@richardsmejkal798]

@@12voltvids Right. I miss the good old days I could go downtown and pick up a belt.

[@tookitogo]

Yeah, I’m certain the wow and flutter with a (healthy) factory belt is far better. On tapeheads.net there are discussions of belt vendors, since there do seem to be some that are reliable. (I think there’s a guy in the Czech Republic or something.)

[@musicnerd72]

westcoastbelts.com is one I recently discovered. Only spoke to the guy once but haven't ordered from him yet. They claim they can MAKE belts upon request if needed. Other than that, I don't know much about them.

[@jeffm2787]

Hmm, I have one of these that I purchased and never used. Wondering now if it'll work.

[@Musicradio77Network]

I used to have the Sony TC-WE305 cassette deck from 1996 and it was decent, but it plays well. So I ended up with the Technics cassette deck from 1985, but it works fine, but it has problems with the speed which was recording too fast, so I had to tap it to get it running, because of a loose connection.

[@djblackarrow]

Small tip: The drive motors on tape decks often have potentiometers to adjust the speed ... These are often located on the motor itself. Usually there is a small round opening in the motor housing where the potentiometer is located.

[@kcrose8607]

so what if you cant get the door open, and the flywheel wont turn very far without making a plastic on plastic gear grinding noise?

[@markanderson350]

Damn, the old reel to reels had huge flywheels that weighed several pounds. Nobody into classical music should buy this one!

[@djkal2002]

Great vid. I have the same deck. Where do I get the belts?

[@leeBoB4257]

Ebay.

[@markianclark9645]

well...i'm years late to this video...most owners seem to have the TC-WE435 or other WE auto reverse twin decks...mine has to be the more basic version TC-W435 no auto reverse...easily changed the belts on it and my Kenwood KX-W4020 twin deck...one deck is not good on my Sony...so it sits on shelf as my backup...i had really sticky goo belts to clean off the pulleys...it was similar to melted black Liquorice...took ages to remove with Isopropyl Alcohol...maybe i didn't get it all from the drive that's faulty?

[@tookitogo]

I have a TC-WE835, a contemporary model to the one in the video, but with dual 2-motor record decks, Dolby S, and minutes-and-seconds counters - but a similar cheap feel. I think it needs an azimuth adjustment, though, since playback on the reverse side is horrible. :/ I also have a TC-KB920S, a much nicer single, non-auto-reverse deck that feels better in every way, but alas is in need of repair. (I slipped while diagnosing another problem and shorted something out, which is going to take a bit more work to diagnose... At least I have a donor deck with the same unobtanium parts in case the main IC or something is fried.)

[@michaelturner4457]

Besides azimuth, could also be the mechanism that flips the head over has a problem or is worn out. That can be a problem with some of those auto reverse decks.

[@MyBrilliantChannel]

Changed mine without removing the motor or the mechanisms, just broke off the tiny plastic post blocking it and replaced the belt :)

[@12voltvids]

That sounds like a hack job to me. Considering that the plastic post is supporting the motor.

[@MyBrilliantChannel]

@@12voltvidsIt's had no adverse effects, it was extremely brittle and just broke when i tried to bend it to slip a belt past it. Wish i'd seen your video first though! it doesn't seem to have caused an issue with the motor being loose or anything and there was actually a tiny gap between the post and the motor so it wasn't doing anything?! I would of glued it back in place otherwise. Not a bad deck really. I found the bias needed adjusting on mine to clear up the recordings slightly, but otherwise it's been fine. I bought belts the correct size and it doesn't exhibit the wow and flutter of this one.

[@12voltvids]

@@MyBrilliantChannel The belts I used were the correct size, but I suspect that all the belts in the lot of 50 I bought off ebay are factory rejects. That seems to be what they do, package up a bunch of belts and then sell a pack of 50 for 20.00 but by the time they get here with freight and broker charges it is closer to 50 for 50 sub standard shit belts.

[@musicnerd72]

@@12voltvids Lol! I actually did a similar thing, but I ever so carefully pushed the post over and slid the belt in through the gap. I sure as hell didn't want to break it off. Worked for me on the exact model you have here. My problem was I didn't have the patience to figure out how to loosen the front panel. Wish I'd seen this first. It worked though, and nothing broke.

[@jastervoid]

I heard a lot more treble in the B deck. Was it just microphone placement or something else?

[@12voltvids]

I have no idea, I didn't listen that close. Could have been a dirty head, I cleaned it after I did the recordings.

[@kennethbracken5610]

Wow I’m impressed, do you live close to Ohio?

[@paulmccolgan8462]

i have this deck and it works fine and sounds good but now i see whats in store for belt replacement my feelings have somewhat changed

[@Nolan3RD3RD3RD]

Hello, I've replaced the belts and it worked fine and stopped and it doesn't want to play... plz help...

[@michaelturner4457]

Did this Sony have that much audible wow & flutter when it was new? Are the transports made by Tanashin or something?

[@pliedtka]

All Sony double decks from this period have the crappy mechanisms with high w&f - indeed a magic flute. They used to be decent and through the progress of using more plastic got to the point that a really good boom box from late 80s played better. The one I have has different mechanism - no solenoid if I remember correctly and much harder to get the belt on. Only a few decks could record on both decks - top of the line Aiwa, Akai, Yamaha, Pioneer , but that was a very long time ago... in another galaxy

[@joenatoliUX]

Fantastic tutorial, but left with an issue I'd love help with: for some reason I can't get the door back on one of the two decks; one roller is engaged on one side (play only side, on the left if you're facing the unit) and the metal plate won't slide down; a floating piece of metal on a spring is in the way of the door closing. I can't figure out how that engagement works, why the roller is in that position or how to release it. SO close to having this fixed...really stuck. Anyone?

[@ClausJesup]

I can only guess but perhaps it's something like the problem that I had. The deck is in Play mode or Search mode but you need to get it into Stop mode so that the door can be opened and closed. Watch the little section from 12:00 on. There's a little switch that goes through all modes if you click it.

[@adriangaspar8209]

Hey guys there! I saw this and helped me to replace the FFWD and REW belts, because genuine ones were aged. The normal playback worked fine on both decks so I did not change them (I bought my brand new TCWE475 around 2000 and used it for few years, then it just sat there for years). Now, the rewind and fast forward works at the right speed, but when tape reaches the end of cassette, it tries to make the auto-stop sequence, but somehow it fails... It repeats trying for few times, and eventually the display shows E (I presume error! message) on both decks and none of the buttons are operational anymore. I press ON/OFF to reset and it is back on operational, until next attempt. In playback mode, when reaching the end of cassette, both decks and both sides, auto-stop works fine. Please give me a hint! Should the playback belts be changed as well? Could they be elongated and slippery even they are operational?

[@adriangaspar8209]

Fixed: it comes from the belts. A set of belts, 2 of for play and 2 of for fast fwd./rew. can be found online for about 20 Euro. There is no need to dismantle more than the top cover, the flat belts can be extracted and inserted from/on the motor pulley by using the small gap near the plastic guide. Changed belts set and everything works fine, no more E error.

[@cornelbaluta]

Hi Adrian, I have the same cassette deck with the same problem. From where did you ordered the belts? Thank you in advance for you answer.

[@teletronikoforever]

I have the same exact deck, from 2001 and yes, it is quite a low end cassette deck, never liked it very much because of all the klunking noises it does when changing modes. Tape transports feels flimsy.

[@shaun9107]

these later cheaper ones all sound like that , Identical

[@jerryspann8713]

For it being so cheaply built, why does one website I just looked at want $528.00 for it?

[@musicnerd72]

@@jerryspann8713 They're sniffing glue apparently.

[@68pishta68]

There is a shortcut on these transports. Cut the 1 plastic pin that the belt straddles and you can change the belt without even turning a screw. They are cheap, could you increase the mass of the flywheel to help wow and flutter? One of my old decks has "tar resin" packed into the back of the flywheel, described like that right in the service manual!

[@markmarkofkane8167]

I don't call it bootlegging. I call it making a copy in case one gets tangled up in the machine. But yeah, like VHS with macro vision, if the tape got ate up, you'd just have to buy another . I always thought tape player manufacturers should have had to replace any tapes ate up in their machines. But my opinion doesn't count.

[@750kv8]

Every time a deck lacks a mechanism, to stop playing (or to switch to the other side) immediatelly once the take up spindle stops spinning (because it gets stuck). That's when the tape chewing starts.

[@zx8401ztv]

Smashing repair dave :-) It did look like a bloody nuisance but there are worse (I know you have been there). i've had ones to repair that have bunches of cables soldered direct to the deck and tied to other harnesses everywhere so it's a pig to even move the deck at all. Some multi layer decks seem to be designed by someone that loves mental pain, it makes a simple job a bloody nightmare. i also noticed the crappy flywheel, shame on sony :-(. My old pioneer CT200 single deck has a solid metal heavy flywheel for energy storage. Not a high quality machine but not cheap as crap eather.

[@davidcross701]

Just bought this at Amazon. Said it was in good condition and Sony discontinued manufacturing this back in 2001. Hope everything works well. But, from bad experience, I will no longer fast forward or rewind my tapes. Just play them as is.

[@JasonHalversonjaydog]

you'd think back then they'd make things like belts that would need to be replaced eventually, easier to get out. but i suppose they want you to replace it and not fix it if something breaks

[@DavidAmmerlaan]

i like the watch

[@12voltvids]

Yes so do I. Thats why I hang on to it. It is a relatively rare Casio model, possibly their rarest model because it was quite expensive when new. It is fully solar powered and picks up the time signal from WWVB the time signal out of Colorado broadcast on long wave radio on 60KHz. Have had it for at least 15 years and battery has never needed to be changed as it is recharged by the solar cells that surround the display. It also has electrolumanescent lighting for viewing in the dark. Here is a link to an old amazon listing of this watch as it shows unavailable. www.amazon.com/Casio-WV300DA-7AC-Waveceptor-Atomic-Silver-Tone/dp/B00134JO4U/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

[@leeBoB4257]

Question so what was the clunking sound? You never said.

[@bottletree33]

Hey how about taking a LBT-D307 apart to change the belts. By far the most difficult and complex of all cassettes to maintain.

[@12voltvids]

Piece of cake. The technics rsm275 is more work to change loading belt.

[@bottletree33]

@@12voltvids hahaha. Try telling my hair that.

[@mrnmrn1]

I wonder if it has the same wow&flutter level on both directions. Since it has a steel plate embedded to one pulley (I can't call it a flywheel...), and no steel plate in the other, and the one without the steel plate has a very small contact area with the belt, I guess the direction which uses this pulley have higher wow&flutter. Don't you have a wow&flutter meter? This one is so horrible, it might be out of spec. I think there are software wow&flutter meters, which you can run on your PC (or maybe even on your smart phone).

[@12voltvids]

No I don't have a wow and flutter meter or a distortion meter or anything else. Just my digital meter, esr meter and scope.Remember I don't do this for a living, but even when I did we didn't have all kinds of fancy test gear at the shop. The owner was too cheap to buy anything and I certainly wasn't about to buy equipment so the owner could profit from it.

[@mrnmrn1]

@@12voltvids I know, I understand, and I don't have either (OK, I have an ancient tube THD meter, and a VTVM on top of my old CRO), but nowadays these measurements can be done in software (freeware!) with a few clicks, so it costs nothing, and consumes no bench space. I've done a quick search, and found one promising piece of software, it's not free, but just 39 Euros, and you can try it for free for 1 month. But I'm quite sure, with a more thorough search, you can find a freeware with similar capabilities (or a standalone wow&flutter meter program). www.audiotester.de/mainE.htm www.audiotester.de/ordereng.htm I'm pretty sure it would be possible to integrate wow&flutter measurement into modern digital scopes, but I don't know any which has that function. Maybe someone hacked it into some scopes (if not yet, let's do it, software gurus!)

[@ivanigorpollick6690]

Sony packed a lot of features in this deck,not bad at all

[@ivanigorpollick6690]

and easy to repaire

[@dwoodog]

Never a fan of double decks. This one looks good enough to play back your tapes, wouldnt do any serious recording on it.

[@mrnmrn1]

The level of wow&flutter is horrible even for playback.

[@jimmyjames1908]

Where do you reccomend i buy the belts.

[@12voltvids]

Try kpcomponents.co You will need the size. They do not have model number to size look up.

[@jimmyjames1908]

. thanks for the help the only problem i have with that is i have a sony tc-we425 and two of the belts literally melted. Thanks for

[@12voltvids]

@@jimmyjames1908 you will have to measure. I showed how to do that years ago by threading a piece of string around and measuring it. I don't know the size.

[@user-yk8sq9wn5x]

you don't need reseal cassettes and motor to change belt. I just did it on my WE635, it should be same.

[@user-yk8sq9wn5x]

sorry: "release", no "reseal"

[@musicwiz40]

man, is there anything this guy can't fix?

[@wyokaiju992]

Me, if i had to guess, lol

[@darinb.3273]

He does encounter some that 1. Aren't worth fixing 2. Can't get parts. Neither of which has anything to do with his abilities to repair, but yes he is AMAZING in the items he can effectively repair ABSOLUTELY AMAZING repairs. Even on stuff the most repair shops turn down, he'll attempt to fix/ repair.

[@bugsyjonesband]

I’m always wondering how he remembers what screw goes back where. I have to take copious notes and take pictures of each step.

[@shaun9107]

Its worth going though HELL to fix em , or else it will never work . When the belts go on these standerd Technics latest decks , they could become a Museum peace , if anyone hs seen them ? Buried right in .

[@OkrutnyCzarownik]

Hello Guys :-) Any chance someone could help me out with establishing the factory name/part number of the head units for this model? PS. The repair... Well done! Amazing :-):-):-)

[@revel8or]

So, you should have taken the main board out, removed the plastic cassette carrier from the front, then taken the drive unit out from the rear. It's in the service manual. Using magnetic screwdrivers around a device that is based in reading and writing on magnetic surfaces, as well as around any chips/diodes/semiconductors is foolhardy.

[@12voltvids]

Don't have the service manual. Magnetic screwdrivers not an issue around magnetic heads because they need to be demagnetized anyway and just putting in record dies that for you. 3 head decks need manual demagnetizing if okay head. The fact that you mentioned this just provrs you are an idiot. When i worked for Sony the factory supplied screwdrivers were all magnetic.

[@kokotajebka]

Y should touch the belt with glowes

[@samgabor100]

Toronto area

[@sobolanul96]

That board looks empty as hell. You would think that someone clipped off all the electronic components.

[@samgabor100]

Please refer me to a shop who can repair a double deck cassette

[@12voltvids]

I wouldn't know. I am not in that business anymore. Haven't been since 2003. Have zero knowledge of any repair business.

[@samgabor100]

@@12voltvids thanks a lot

[@HDXFH]

Bad belts, classic symptom

[@EddieJazzFan]

If it's not enough that this deck is full of plastic, they have to make it service unfriendly to boot.

[@12voltvids]

There are worse decks than this from a service standpoint. Try changing the mechanism control belt in a technics rsm275. I gave up on mine and deal with a slipping load belt that I found that if I tap the cassette holder when I press play, it works or press pause before play it will work. To change that belt it takes at least an hour to take apart and reassemble. I did it once, never again and I would refuse one if it came in.

[@dorinhurmuz1142]

Can you help with this symptom? kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnishaWMhJp7i7c. If I stop the tape I can't start it because the left reel make a short counterclockwise rotation and autostop system feel the left reel not rotating and react. The solution I have is to take out the cassete and manually tense the tape.

[@toddt6730]

Sounds like hell, recording will be even worse, not the right belts ,I've delt with plenty of those in there time

[@12voltvids]

The belts are the correct size, but I suspect that the ebay purchased belts are substandard. That is what you get when you buy parts from ebay. Factory rejects or recycled parts. Not much choice these days. I actually contacted the seller, because the last deck I used them on also sounded like crap, and the seller wanted me to return them for refund. The cost of shipping was higher than the refund. So I use them for demonstrations on how to change the belts.

[@pliedtka]

Disposable Sony piece of .... Seems like the older the deck the better they are - 80s, very early 90s still ruled the cassette world and the new child was born: Windows 3.1 and everything went downhill from there. I think the videos are better - new hi-res camera?

[@12voltvids]

No same camera, just set to 60p as opposed to 60i. I upgraded my internet plan so I can afford to make videos of higher bandwidth. That camera will actually shoot even higher quality, it is a 4K camera so I could shoot in 4k if I wanted. Just my overhead monitor will not display a picture if shooting in 4K as the camera turns the HDMI out off as soon as the recording starts. I use the overhead screen to see things up close.

[@pliedtka]

@@12voltvids So that much of a difference between 60p and 60i, wow, really it's like double the resolution. How much of a difference in file size and bandwidth, say in % and $ spent.

[@12voltvids]

@@pliedtka Its closer to 3X the bandwidth. Most of the 1080i stuff is rendered out at 10mbits. In 60fps it is more like 30-40mbits and that is if I bring it back. Premiere wants to render 50 megs.

[@nihilist4184]

ffs if you have to pull the thing apart like that to get the belts it's not worth it for the layman wtf do they make it so hard for people with cheap faulty belts that break down and warp sound etc.

[@12voltvids]

They don't design things to be easy to repair. Commercial gear is different, but consumer stuff nope.

[@Pico_Farad]

I've repaired HiFi stuff for over 25 years, mostly cassette decks. Sony is one of the worst brands to work on.

[@ford1546]

You can't expect anything else from such a cheap cassette player. you buy cheap so you get cheap made cassette player!

[@12voltvids]

I don't expect much with electronics these days. Why do you think I got out of the repair business? My colleges at the time thought I was crazy to leave when I did, which was just before the big price drop in the shift to HD but I called it a day in 2003. I often wonder what happened to many that I knew in the industry that I lost touch with. I know a few have passed away since then, including my parts supplier a few years ago. Well they said it was a dying industry, and the guys that knew their stuff are slowly disappearing.

[@PaulJCost1]

@@12voltvids Sad true story...

[@toddt6730]

I left the shop in June of 95, almost regret it, until I saw the sharp drop of in stuff coming in , I still worked part time doing the small office equipment that started coming in ,I suppose that was a sign as well, tv shop servicing office equipment

[@toddt6730]

@@PaulJCost1 I loved it ,still talk about it with friends, I loved my bench with all the meters and my scope and soldering station, those were the days

[@12voltvids]

@@toddt6730 We were very busy with 3 full time techs till about 98 when I had to let go one of the techs, the other guy retired shortly after that after a fight with the owner, and then came back a few months later because he was bored. He finally left again permanently in 2001 I think. I was then by myself in the shop until I was fed up with the bullshit I had to deal with with the owner that couldn't make up his mine. One day I am managing the service dept making decisions on what fast moving parts to stock, and the next day the owner is all over my ass for stocking parts that we needed daily, and wanted to order them only as needed. Then all over my ass because there were back orders of parts and people waited several weeks for the back orders to come in, and now I am catching shit for not having the stock to look after customers. That was ultimately the straw that broke the camels back in my case.A fast moving part, in this case a flyback transformer for 36" sony TV that were popping like fuses. On average I did 5 a month, and had been keeping 1 spare. I ordered a spare when I used the last one, and when it arrived the boss shit all over me, and shipped it back, deducting the restocking and shipping charges from my paycheque. A week later a TV comes in with a blown horizontal output. I knew it would probably need a flyback, but the prior week I got penalized for ordering an extra part that would have been needed shortly so I didn't order it. Just the transistor, and bingo this one needed a transformer that had just been shipped back. So I ordered it again only to find it was now on back order for 5 weeks. I loved it because the TV owner was all over the shop about the delay, and there was nothing I could do about it. When the part finally did arrive I though that was the end of it, but because I had to make 2 orders there was 2 shipment charges and I only passed one on to the customer so the boss was right there to collect the second shipment charge from me. I walked. I left in June 2003. The shop closed their doors in 2012

[@johnnybegood2002]

One of the worse deck Sony made! There is a tiny gear behind each head that spins the head round that keeps on breaking, they are so flimsy and the capstan is so cheap !

[@12voltvids]

Like the dragon. Breaks little plastic gears.

[@Oufg103f]

Great video 👍