Fix a $300 Sony Walkman With $2 Rubber Bands!

[@enzoperruccio]

I'm no tape expert, but after playing with broken tape players throughout the years I've come to the conclusion that replacement belts for any tape deck should always be the same if not as close to original as possible. That means getting the exact diameter (not too tight nor too loose), the exact widthness (so it doesn't fall off its path) , and the exact type (square, round or flat). Trust be, if you try to use anything different from what was originally on the deck you'll get varying types of shit results. For anyone who's just starting I recommend getting some of those bags wich include many belts of different sizes.

[@TheRetroFuture]

Definitely wouldnt use this as a permanent solution, but if you have a Walkman lying around which doesnt work, at least you can use this method to test it! Hope you enjoyed!

[@austinmercer1606]

The Retro Future the others might be longer because they might be made for a deck and not a walkman

[@chuheihkg]

It is believed the hack is for tempertory fix.

[@chuheihkg]

@Doogy Dog That's a good question.

[@chuheihkg]

@Doogy Dog Perhaps. But I use this because of space and feel.

[@retrodude6215]

I have this old 60s Sanyo M-28 cassette recorder that i cant find belts for. Maybe this is the only solution?

[@yorgle]

I put some regular rubber bands into a tape deck recently, because it's what i had on hand, and i knew i would have to order proper parts later. The bands generated a ton of flutter (the weird warbly sound)... even worse, after letting it sit over a few days, the bands took the shape they were in, and made it even worse. The wrong elastic tension also puts extra strain on the 30/40 year old motors in the things. It does more harm than good. my experience anyway...

[@TheRetroFuture]

I have ordered new belts for it! Its good just as a test method.

[@eggycat]

Retro audio alongside retro gaming sounds great to me. I love buying all this stuff from my childhood taking them apart and fixing them. Keep going with this idea!

[@TheKiddhazel]

Please keep doing these Walkman videos

[@Nyedav]

I fixed mine some weeks ago the same way. Neat and cheap!

[@TheRetroFuture]

It's also colourful!

[@missionpassed4584]

I remember i had a vcr back in the day that had a broken belt and thought well lets try a rubber band and it did actually work fine, no issues.

[@stoobeetube]

Thank you! I was able to fix my ancient Walkman for my daughter to use (she loves analog equipment). I searched on eBay for the correct band for that model #, got it, and it worked perfectly. To the people complaining -- be a little resourceful and you can find the exact band size. Again much thanks!

[@televisionandcheese]

"Techmoan's son confirmed????"

[@sjm4306]

I'm gonna start calling Elliot Mini-moan ...

[@sneff212]

O, and he should start his intro with The retro future inside of a cassette player instead of a reel to reel!

[@sjm4306]

Btw made this comment b4 I just found out that mini-me passed away ...

[@Washing95]

i don’t think techmoan would accept the speed irregularity.

[@slikyviky]

Nice

[@sjm4306]

Wahaha ... love the retro audio vids, keep em coming!

[@brianpatrickofficial]

I’m getting one soon! Mines a WM-F46 that I ordered, a 1983 model. Has AM/FM radio, tape player and recording feature. I am convinced it has everything I could need! Wish me luck and hope I’m satisfied :D cool video man keep it up, I subbed! PS. I would be terrified opening up a Walkman. I would fear that I wouldn’t get everything back how it was or I would break it even more. My father helped me open up my 1985 NES to replace the motherboard and even that was scary to me when that is MUCH simpler than this process you are doing. The motherboard comes right out in one piece, I am replacing the entire thing and keeping the NES console I originally had. Great job man, this is hard work ^

[@UnkleAL1962]

just unboxed my WM-3 Metal that I had stored away. I bought it in 1981 in England while stationed at RAF Alconbury. My favorite tapes at the time were Supertramp Breakfast in America, and Rush. I would walk around base at night to escape the world and my drama at the time. Great memories. I have the original WM-3 and the original headphones, but am unsure what happened to the battery pack. When I put batteries in I can hear the motor and slight hiss in the headphones, but no action on the spindles that turned the tape. Hoping to find new belts. Thank you your video was helpful to understand what I need to do!

[@yobelkcip]

I love how you and sjm4306 uploaded Walkman-related videos on the same day.

[@KevinArcade87]

I know that rubber bands will become leaky and liquid over time and leave stains and crusty remains. Don't use this method

[@TheRetroFuture]

Its just a testing method! It was for science!

[@92000]

@@TheRetroFuture For science!!! :p

[@nickstubbings]

Nope. They will work for a few months then they will turn into paste... if you are going to all the effort of opening it up you should use proper parts!

[@TheRetroFuture]

Yeah not a great permanent fix, as I said its more to test it works!

[@paulb4uk]

The cassette adaptors are also great if you just want to test the electronics are fine .

[@Curi0u50ne]

Nick Stubbings good way to test though I’ve done similar found my dead clicking wmx model actually started working all be it massive wabbling sound is it called wow and flutter, now I’ve as a result deemed it worthy of a proper belt and I’ve ordered OEM belt for my specification and fitment

[@livvy94]

@@TheRetroFuture It might be good to retitle the video in a way that doesn't sound like it's a permanent fix lol

[@jackaofdp]

Thank you for the video, I was messing around with some rubber bands, and got the same results. Wasn't sure if it was the bands or the tape head reader. Now I know :)

[@SiriusXAim]

I;ve used rubber bands on an 8 track player in the past, while it works, you don't get the same speed stability as you would with proper belts. Rubber bands are too elastic to provide a constant speed and low wow and flutter. Also, a drop of watchmaker oil on the bearings will greatly improve it's lifespan!

[@InertiaWasTaken]

Nice restoration idea

[@SixxRose22]

I have a Sony tcs-430 and use a blue rubber band to make it work till my replacements come in 😅

[@fanofretrotechnology3802]

Wth is that Walkman?? Never heard of it ever ever before actually.....

[@blackoverblueskies6221]

200 pound Walkman. That's so heavy dude, ah it's made of metal. LOL

[@SianaGearz]

Someone should make a tape handheld Walkman console. Maybe ZX Spectrum or C64 or MSX or whatever.

[@ВладимирСкворцов-щ4ц]

I turned on the rewind on my Wm-ex110 and the belt has moved away from the mechanism. After I adjusted the belt and closed the lid, the belt began to move away again during the rewind. Need to change Belt to a new one or something else could break?

[@Evan420]

Владимир Скворцов yeah, change the belt, it’s loose.

[@clovertube6811]

£2 to fix? My WM-EX180 only cost £2.50 in a charity shop! After many years the belt turned to black goo, so I replaced it with a blue rubber band from a bunch of spring onions, with similar (unacceptable) results to yours. From your experience, I wouldn't have much confidence in buying belts from abroad as they seem to be of variable quality.

[@MarkerPliyah]

5:17 LMAOOOO

[@jeremytravis360]

The original belt are precision ground to a very high tolerance. I know because I worked in the trade when walkman's came out. I did buy some good ones from a company in Germany some time ago.

[@fga1971-y7u]

Jeremy Travis do you have the contact information for the German company?

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

Do you have a link to the round belts? I actually need some of those and can’t find them.

[@Grannyfranny.4]

The way I had multiple mini heart attacks when you pulled the tape and it tried to snag to the wires 💀 (that was how I killed one of my casette players lol(

[@bestopinion9257]

I did this before to see this but works like a bad belt. It is somewhat slippery.

[@mr.skeltal8687]

Once I used hair ties to replace the belts on a vcr for testing. It went about as well as you would expect...

[@mochi8592]

When i push the play button it plays a sound that shows it works but the small Black thing that holds the cassete dont turn what do i do? It is a panasonic RQ-V52

[@Evan420]

whereare themangos bad belts, order replacements on ebay. search for your model number.

[@lencol583]

Quite new to your channel, really enjoying your content mate.

[@zipzopbeesopdro]

I wish you did more with retro handhelds

[@m692]

Nice Videos! Lovin' them :D

[@thetoythief8940]

Those big bands are for bigger electronic like a vhs player of so on

[@obliviousmode575]

Nice video! You should try to find a Brick Boy II! I used to have one of these. It’s a cassette player with a Tetris clone game built into it! It was the best of both worlds! Good music and Tetris!

[@TheRetroFuture]

I have seen them! Look very nice.

[@proto-guest4511]

If you're scrolling through the comments before watching the video, do not do this

[@paulb4uk]

Love the walkman video,s got a few got to get some for a wm4 and fix up my original wm31 that was my first ever walkman .

[@TheRetroFuture]

Thank's very much! I bought a WM-4 the other day! Looks pretty beat up but will be my main player if I can get it working. Do you have many?

[@pizzarat6145]

Any suggestions on where a replacement for personal cassette players...I have not been able to find belts to repair them? I can only find squares?

[@bamboozledwaterlemon1158]

Heyy nice video, can you please tell me the diameter of both rubber bands thankyou!

[@darrenwalmsley6299]

Could u show me how to repair a cassette player?

[@ARD105]

That is a Sony Wm-3 but what even is the difference between the Tps-L2 and the Wm-3

[@chaseedwardsedwards540]

Rubber bands are too stretchy and can cause warble in the sound and they also degrade faster. Even if you do get one with the correct size, it may not last long . The better option is to get the replacement belt.

[@Socrates...]

I live in London and have a Pioneer Pkr7aw which needs a new belt. Are you able to help?

[@Kupz2000]

I'm back haven't been here in a while if you don't remember me I was Potato1x

[@TheRetroFuture]

I do indeed! Welcome back!

[@emilygilberto6242]

I have a broken walkman do you think you could fix it

[@kanesmith8271]

That Walkman is 200 ponds? Why is it so heavy?

[@tgapcharlie]

just in case this isnt a joke, British money is called the Pound. I believe it comes from the value of a pound of gold when Britain changed its money

[@Daniel-dl6fp]

Your so awesome keep up the good work

[@TheRetroFuture]

Thank you!

[@franfernandez7838]

this works for tps l2?

[@rebelredshirt_2188]

Does anyone know hiw to adjust the speed on a tcm-600. It doesnt have the potentiometer because of the speaker and dictation button

[@Evan420]

RebelRedShirt _ you probably can’t without some modification. is it too slow or too fast?

[@rebelredshirt_2188]

+EvanPlayzGames too fast

[@damian9303]

Will it blend? That is the question.

[@MrJ0mmy]

i also have that same game master only have 2 games for it

[@TheRetroFuture]

Oh nice man! They are really cool.

[@gabrielhuhu5989]

lmao i need the round ones

[@Nick-ef8tu]

Instead of calling it Sony Walkmen it should be Sony bandmen since you use rubber bands

[@TheRetroFuture]

Indeed!

[@erhardschreck2192]

sorry but that is only a temporary solution - not a good idea for permanent fix especially for a more valuable player for a bunch of obvious reasons. 1. ban exerts higher off axial torque on all spindles, rubber band will add wow/flutter, rubber could be too thick and touches case or other items in small walkmans. just a bad idea IMO

[@NateRainXD]

Does anyone knows the song he’s playing in his Walkman? :c

[@TheRetroFuture]

George Ezra!

[@NateRainXD]

The Retro Future that’s the artist :c the name of the song haha please I loved the song of the cassette

[@NateRainXD]

The Corn thank you so much I just found the song 2 days ago cause I wanted it XD I used Shazam but anyways thanks

[@Thatguy-cf9qj]

LOL just get a belt multi pack on ebay/amazon for 2 bucks . Or measure your old belt and do it correctly for 2 bucks

[@dwindeyer]

I wouldn't really call the result "fixed" haha

[@calambres6614]

Why is it so much? Explain I love these videos

[@WH250398]

The Game Gear huh... Let me guess, the capacitors are blown?

[@theanalogguy1988]

You can’t change it to rubber band lol, it’s different, you can tell from the sound quality, it’s not steady

[@davejones5745]

Plenty of wow and flutter there.

[@sonofpinbot346]

The wow & flutter is way too high to be a good Alternative to real belts

[@CallanChristensen]

That Slovakian seller now has his own web page for selling belts and I believe the prices are a bit lower due to the lack of eBay fees. Cheers! fixyouraudio.com/

[@TheRetroFuture]

Seems like a different seller, but I'm sure they will work too!

[@CallanChristensen]

In the "Contact" area of the aforementioned site it says: "We are located in Kosice, Slovakia, EU. I am also known under nickname “mihokm” on eBay, tapeheads.net or stereo2go.com". I have purchased many belts from him as well so I recognized the bag labeling in your video. He is the Walkman Savior. His work in R/D and re-manufacturing the drive gear for the Walkman DD series is the stuff of legends.

[@miketerbrake7358]

They are not Bands but they called Belts

[@Daniel-dl6fp]

I found a working one of these for €30

[@TheRetroFuture]

No way! Did you buy it?

[@Daniel-dl6fp]

The Retro Future I was going to but when I checked it again it was gone😣😣 I was so disappointed it was on adverts

[@thespacepikmin8347]

A rip off of a rip off of a rip off. Sounds cool

[@TheRetroFuture]

Sounds cool indeed!

[@Evan420]

never ever use this as a permanent solution! the rubber is not good on the mechanisms and the band eventually turns into paste or gets crusty.

[@FelinoAnticomunista]

hello flutter fx

[@tonypowers123]

Sir! 🙏❤️😊 You are a life saver! Soul saver! Walkman saver! Goodness. Without you- I/we’d be lost. The greatest idea, video, post! May you be blessed! ❤❤❤

[@djshumon]

Wow and flutter .

[@haggy38]

What a poor repair just to save few bucks, It sounds horrible and it will, till you buy the original ones...

[@qandaking778]

Com. Bou

[@sassymonkey]

lol, rubber bands are the “fix” that keeps needing fixing! Plus the host here takes an entire video to demonstrate that it doesn’t work. Could have come to the obvious conclusion within 10 secs.

[@emmaheslop7753]

Rubber bands are not a real fan of the song that you have not seen

[@emmaheslop7753]

Hello 👋

[@NMM3TVEntertainment2015]

ugly sound rubber cassette the tools😂

[@FrezzyYT]

First

[@neilspector9221]

Wasted my time watching this.

[@Carlos-tw9hc]

FIRST