Nakamichi DR3 No Playback shuts down

[@skochin]

I picked up this Nak at Arc, it was showing Err on the counter if any butoon was pressed. I opened it up and so capstan motor spinned just fine, but cam motor and pulley weren't. I followed your steps and cleaned up camshaft contacts, and gave pulley motor a bit of exercise and everything works now. Another DR3 is saved. Thanks!

[@quanchyplimp]

You have a very admirable set of skills sir, it's a pleasure to watch you work!

[@rubikcuber1492]

I've had one of these decks for a couple of years. Never had this issue but now I know the fix if I ever experience it. Thank you! I can't recommend the DR-3 enough. Since it's only a two-head it is often great value. Frequency response is great, w&f is so minimal you'd think it was dual capstan. It's great. Obviously a wee bit more fiddly to calibrate this, both internally and when you're using the bias tune knob, but well worth it.

[@montynorth3009]

I had a similar problem with my Yamaha KX-393, where the overhead leaf switches contacted by the top of the cassette needed cleaning. A good lesson.

[@marktuik1773]

You Sir....are the BEST!!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

[@Johnathan_Waters]

I have several Nakamichi decks. i just love them!

[@bobsoft]

I have several of them sitting in their factory boxes. I haven't used them in 25 years. Also have a couple of their car amps from the 90's that I want to get in my car this year.

[@Johnathan_Waters]

@@bobsoft Ive had the "mobile" equipment in my cars as well... its great stuff!

[@somebodyx]

Where the HF has gone?

[@taunusv4power]

Man your music selection is just perfect. I wish i had the same endless amount of great jazz instrumental music like you do

[@12voltvids]

You can too that library of musicbakery royalty free content cost about 2000 when i bought it in the early 2000s

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@@12voltvids 'endless amount' 😅

[@12voltvids]

@@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777 Endless amount? No purchase the tracks you want and use them forever. It's just that with my production company my business associate started buying tons of CDs at about 150 bucks a pop. I have 12 CDs. This was back in the day when we were doing a bunch of corporate videos and we got nailed once because the client brought their own music in wanting to use a specific song which we used. After the work was done and the production run was complete and hundreds of copies of this video were made someone in legal realize that there was no license for the music. We've done hundreds of videos just using regular off the shelf music nobody gave it a second thought. It wasn't until we had a large client that had their own legal department and when they heard it they asked to see the license. So my former business partner went shopping for music that could be used and found Jack waldemere's site and made an impulse buy. from that point forward we use music bakery content for all of our commercial productions. My business partner passed away in 2006 from cancer. Since I was the editor all of the music was on my computer at this point so naturally ended up in my possession. But a site license is still valid as my company still in existence even though I don't do much in corporate videos these days it's all archiving work and KZbin content creation.

[@DeePaignall]

@@12voltvids Fantastic story thank you (and for showing us stuff)

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@@12voltvids yeah I was humored by the original commenter saying they 'wish they had the endless amount like you do'. ;) I have stacks of royalty free music on CD, tape and Vinyl. I'm no stranger to it.. just found his comment funny.

[@jonfowler474]

I had this problem, I followed your guidance & it's now fixed - thanks so much as I was ready to replace the motor !

[@elektrokinesis4150]

I love how easy to work on that deck is

[@12voltvids]

It's a pretty basic design

[@TinkerbatTech]

Had a similar era Nac, (CR-5?) can't remember exactly. 3 head unit. Was doing much the same. Finally traced it down to the optical tape reel movement sensor. Used a black/silver alternating pattern and a reflective sensor. Let's just say that a previous owner seemed to have been a heavy smoker. The build-up on the disc was so bad that it was black/brown instead of black/silver. A bit of alcohol and a couple of (nasty!) Q-tips later, and it started working great! The kind of thing you'd never expect to fail...:) Those Nacs and my Akai 3-head decks sure made great tapes... That machine is pretty cherry, too. Enjoy the vids, keep on wrenching. Thanks.. Stu

[@12voltvids]

Just think of what a smokers lungs look like.

[@focus82grothm.84]

Excellent professional work done, a joy to see. Great video 😊👍

[@kutzaudiolive979]

Did the same procedure works like a charm......thank you sir 🙂

[@v12alpine]

FYI did A/B comparison and the recording sounded quite dull compared to the original especially the left channel.

[@12voltvids]

Comparison to what? The sound recorded with the microphone?

[@v12alpine]

@@12voltvids didn't realize the clip during recording was the microphone so not a fair comparison then, but the high end was much clearer. The recording seemed muffled.

[@12voltvids]

@@v12alpineTweeter in the right speaker is dead on the shop speakers. Also the trebble is cranked full on my test amp to compensate for the lack of a functioning tweeter on the right speaker. The recording from the tape is direct, and Dolby C was used, and we all know what dolby does to sound quality. It gets rid of noise but you definitely hear it working.

[@v12alpine]

@@12voltvids yea dolby C tends to kill the dynamics and high end for anything other than LOUD recordings e/g techno and hip hop.

[@12voltvids]

@@v12alpine i dislike Dolby. Dbx is what I used to use when i used cassettes. Even had a car stereo with dbx. Played it so much I wore the head out. Then I went DAT

[@vbathory3757]

I have a DR-10 that has the same symptoms. Now I know how to fix it 😊 Thank You Sir 👍🏻

[@robertdavis5714]

Appreciate the education on those switches. Build quality looks pretty good, even after the Dragon.

[@12voltvids]

Fragon was a joke. Hated those decks, especially when the little plastic gears that adjusted the head azimuth broke. I remember a guy walking away from one back in the 90's. The gears had broken and Nakamichi had gone tits up. No parts. The shop threw it out. It was trashed on a Saturday when I wasn't there. I found out about it Monday morning. Went to the dumpster looking for it but it was all smashed with a hammer. The shop employed high school kids to help out. Stuff that was dumped had normally just been left out back or put in the dumpster (this was before recycling became a thing) Anyway many TVs and things were just set out back when a customer didn't want to repair for whatever reason. One day a customer bought a new set and had the delivery guys bring back the old set. As it was a very old set the shop decided not to even look at it and put it out back (not my decision on trade in because I was paid only for customers repairs, not trade in sets) It went directly to the loading dock out back awaiting disposal. Well people used to pick up those sets. Many times they were sets that I had condemned due to bad CRT but I guess this one was just a fuse. Anyway some guy that was picking the old ones up came in bragging about this set he picked up that we "couldn't fix" and then barging about other old sets that he picked up and was able to make them work by putting a tube brighter or using a rejuvenation tester. Anyway from that day forward, every TV that was put out back had the CRT smashed so nobody could try to fix it. The kids decided that everything going out back would be totally smashed to pieced and they slayed a dragon. I just about cried. I would have taken it as just a display piece or glued the head in place and made it functional but not after it was in pieces.

[@lachlanlau]

@@12voltvids why not let people pick up broken stuff? Good for them if they find it right? After all reuse and repair is better than recycle..

[@12voltvids]

@@lachlanlau i didn't care but the owner did because he wanted to sell new. That was the main reason i left. People would being stuff in and they would bring it to the back on Saturday when i wasn't there. There would be a note saying do not fix. Monday mid morning a sales person would call the customer and tell them that the tech determined it was not worth fixing and sell them new. Meanwhile i am not making any money if I am not fixing stuff. The owner decided that is it was older than 5 years it was automatically condemned and they tried to sell new. That among other reasons is why i quit the business. The shop lasted another 9 years after i left and then went tits up. The guy that had owned it went to work at another stereo shop. Cancer got that sob in the end.

[@dorian-gray]

Great and very informative video. Thank you!

[@davidbutler8096]

Paper functioning as emory cloth. Of course, it still gets blown out and the tape path gets cleaned...right? Perhaps a speed check, as well...right? The DR3 was the beginning of the end of Nakamichi.

[@12voltvids]

I was never really a huge fan and when i became a warranty servicer i became even less of a fan because i had to do their warranty work. The good thing was they paid whatever i billed them though so i did allright with nakamichi repairs but i got to see how many were built. Cheap inside.

[@AzizYousefi]

Thank you for this demonstration to show very easy and simple fix. David, if you have a video to demonstrate how to fix auto‐stop, will be really appreciated it. I have seen you worked on some previously but somehow I can't find it now. Thanks again.

[@abdurrahman4714]

Thanks a lot, solve the same problem after watching this video. I am really thankful to you❤

[@12voltvids]

Happy to help

[@richw.9746]

I've got a Sony ES deck that apparently runs at 4.75cm/s, exactly. Technics "quartz" decks run at 1 7/8inch/s exactly, as the 'compact cassette' specifies :)

[@cassette_decks_and_turntables]

Common problem with sankyo transports Nice video as always ✌️

[@janchristensen9858]

Dave! Speed calibration should be with 3000Hz or 3150Hz. 440Hz is not good enough. Azimuth you should also use 10KHz... This is also written in all service manual for tape decks... And yes it make a huge difference! No mater what you say or not.

[@12voltvids]

440 is fine. when using a tuner it will detect even the slightest mistuning. I use 440 as a guitar tuner is cheap and accurate and to demonstrate that this is all anyone needs. Not everyone has access to a frequency counter. I could put my 3khz or 7khz tapes on and they would be dead on. 7khz is a good test tape for azimuth, but you shouldn't be fuxing around with the azimuth screw anyway once it is factory sealed. Te only time I have seen azimuth off is when people have messed with it. Pinch rollers worn on one side can use the tape to be pulled through at an angle and mimic an azimuth error, but it isn't. Only when heads are replaced doies it ever need to be done, unless physical damage has occurred.

[@crashbandicoot4everr]

@@12voltvids You can use the WFGUI program to measure the speed and wow & flutter. Works just fine.

[@Jammerk40]

Nice clean deck! It's always nice when you get one that has no scratches on it meaning someone was careful and treated it with care! Boy I've seen some that looked like they went through a sand blasting machine! LOL

[@12voltvids]

It's all that sent me this deck just picked it up in a second hand store. I would say that he found himself a nice machine in good condition. I have no idea what he paid for it but it certainly was one that was worthy of a repair. There are many things that aren't worth fixing but some of these nice tape decks are certainly worth it.

[@EastAngliaUK]

has good play back audio

[@botelhda]

You should always clean and align the cassette detection switch. In my experience the detection switch can get bent over time and when you have a tape in there, the switch that is normally open may become closed and cause the mechanism to go into stop mode. An easy way to test is by putting in a tape and engaging the play mode. Try pushing on the cassette deck holder or pulling on it slightly. If the deck stops, it's because the switch made contact.

[@12voltvids]

Yup did it.You can see the cleaner on the contacts. Didn't show the cleaning as it was hard to get on camera.

[@botelhda]

@@12voltvids Got it! I was listening to the video and it seemed that you were not too worried about it. :D I've had it trip me more than once...as that leaf switch does tend to get deformed over time. :)

[@agushariyanto8372]

Thank you for the info because I have the same problem on Nakamichi DR3 😃

[@MrChrisRP]

In physics, the sound produced from different pitches simultaneously, is called "beats." The waverings. Not to be confused with Dr. Dre. heh

[@12voltvids]

That right the tones beat with each other but I this case I had them on 2 speakers so it was causing phase shifts between the channels.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@6:00 - it was a bit off frame..but you put it 'under' or between the leaf switch...correct? Do most Tape decks have those switches.. or is that just Nak? I know of the common ones that indicate tape type ect along the top. Nice dental pick.. it's more 'fine' than the one I have. Mine is like two ends of a hockey stick but angled into little blades .. one end a different vector blade than the other.. Yours rolls off into a point.. maybe my 'pick' is more of a scraper for teeth. It's a very often used tool though in the workbench. I use it to rough up the rubber parts / wheels in the mechanism.. removes that shiny plaque off rubber idlers / rollers.. just like plaque off teeth LOL

[@12voltvids]

Yes between the contacts. I don't have a camera operator and can't see the monitor well as the camera obstructs it's view depending on where the jib arm is.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@@12voltvids it's all good my friend.. was just verifying and not baggin on your camera work. I'm usually a one man band as well.

[@AndriesHough-z4x]

Thank you very much for this excellent Video. Just a few days ago I also got the DR-3 and after listening for a while this happened. Not as frequently but did not like it. I saw some workshop photos of another guy in the UK who shared a photo of cleaning the ‘switches’. Being in healthcare I’m not so technically inclined but your video showed me how it’s done. Mine were not as dirty as the ones in your video but there was some gunk to be removed. Testing it now to see if it worked. What are you using to clean it? I just had 70% alcohol on hand so used that.

[@12voltvids]

I used contact cleaner

[@chakravarthiamithraghav8008]

Superbly done. I have this lovely machine too. Off late good cassettes played on it it is sounding muddy and dull. I presume it needs a head change. What head does it accept? Please help me out with this information.

[@12voltvids]

No idea sorry

[@VintageAudioTech]

Most likely needs a good cleaning and head alignment

[@gregkendall2019]

Thanks @12voltvids great video, can you please tell me the name of the cool track you recorded for testing? Cheers.

[@Mister-Salieri]

Sankyo mechanism. With a little work on it can get back to life easily.

[@ksrele]

I still love listen to the tapes I recorder long time ago. I have Yamaha KX-390 and speed is not correct :( How to calibrate it without tone tape? Do you have any advice? That would be a good video you explaining how to set correct speed without tone tape.

[@12voltvids]

Well if you have good pitch you can do it by ear. Another way would be to play the same song on a streaming service to note the key the music is in and then match the speed using your ears. Being a musician I have very good pitch. I wouldn't say perfect pitch but it is close. I need a reference and the. I can tell if something is sharp or flat. People with perfect pitch don't need a reference.

[@Monitoring_Everything]

Wow sounds nice!

[@sincerogasparino3713]

Is recommendable the Nakamichi B 100??

[@sand0077]

Good info to know, I've a few Nakamichi decks that need looking at 👍

[@deputy3690]

Great video. Do you repair Nakamichi decks? I have a cassette deck 2 that does the same thing. Someone told me the oxidized motors need to be replaced. Any thoughts on that?

[@12voltvids]

I fixed a few nakamichi problem is finding parts for them these days because they've been out of business for 30 odd years

[@bryans8895]

Great video as always, ‘gotta love those heritage scissors, as long as a finger accidentally doesn’t come off. They cut through anything! What’ll it take to have you go over a HK TD4200?

[@12voltvids]

Yes I know. I have felt the pain.

[@tacofortgens3471]

High frequency is totally gone?

[@12voltvids]

Dolby c at work. Also it's a very old very worn out tape. That's why it says FUBAR on it.

[@salwilk558]

What a cool video , always enjoy tape videos 👍

[@GadgetUK164]

Great job =D

[@zulumax1]

On a Nakamichi Dragon, what is the trick to removing those retaining clips to get the direct drive motor servo feedback coils off? What a pain those are to remove and keep them from flying across the room. Worse than a Jesus clip. Special tool? Doing a Pioneer CT-F1250 next, should be much easier, we will see.

[@lachlanlau]

Yessss tapeeeeee

[@koprcord5338]

Off topic but I have a nakamichi 580 which sounded fantastic but wasn't used for about 6 months and when I used it again the right channel sounds normal but the left is missing the highs and mids. Connections are good and my onkyo deck sounds fine. Curious since you were an authorized servicer of naks back in the day if you have any tips or pointers to investigate.

[@darinb.3273]

I'd say insure the head(s) are clean if it is a 3 head deck insure the playback head isn't magnetized. If it has a record playback switch try giving it a few shots of contact cleaner and cycling it several times. Insure it isn't a bad audio cable by using the headphone jack and see if the levels are normal. If it is still missing full audio then it is possible that you've got a problem in the electronics somewhere, possibly some bad capacitor(s) or perhaps one or more transistors. The best place to start is basic cleaning and simple checks of possible causes it appears the head(s) has some build up on it, it doesn't take much at all to cause a loss of the highs and reduce the mids.

[@koprcord5338]

@@darinb.3273 Thank you for the providing some ideas. It is a 2 head deck with the notorious crystalloy nakamichi superhead. For sure the output on headphone jack has same issue. I've heard that these can have caps go bad so will open up and visually inspect and locate and clean the record/playback switch which I believe sits under the circuit board. I did clean the head first thing. Thank you.

[@darinb.3273]

@@koprcord5338 Your welcome best of luck and perhaps you'll get lucky and it is just a dirty rec/play switch. It would be a simple fix for sure 👌👍😄. I seem to remember some of the Naks had orange cap disease, which of course means the orange epoxy caps went bad. Hopefully this was overcome in your model but I don't know which models had the orange cap failures, simple enough to do a quick search to find out. Anyway best of luck to you. I forgot to mention about tape tracking issues. That's quick easy check too, crinkling or other signs of damage? If the tape head adjustment screw is still sealed don't mess with it check the tape path it may be a dirty pinch roller causing the tape to off track just enough to cause the loss. Does the same tape sound good in another deck? All of these are trouble shooting steps so forgive me if you've checked or done these already. Check the entire tape path for something that could cause a loss of contact or a loss of proper tracking. Many times a dirty rec/play switch will cause either the left or right channel to peg the level meter (digital, LED or vacuum florescent) or analog, (sweeping needle).

[@koprcord5338]

@@darinb.3273 first off no issues with tape damage, but I will re clean the whole tape path again. I'll need to open this deck up and see if it has the orange caps or not but I had heard of that issue. I know the seals have been broken as it was serviced before I bought it about a year ago from a local shop. Of course it was only guaranteed for two weeks and worked flawlessly until it sat idle for those 6 months. Really do appreciate you taking your time as to a degree I like to try and fix things on my own with advice and tips from individuals such as youself as repair cost have become so expensive. Thank you again.

[@darinb.3273]

@@koprcord5338 Of course I hope I was able to guide you well enough that you can fix the issue(s). The seal I was referring to was the azimuth adjustment screw on the rec/play head itself. As far as security seal(s) for the cabinet I don't know of many companies that used something like that on a cassette deck, not saying that no company ever did, just saying I'm not aware of any LOL. I haven't ever seen a cassette machine shoe box to expensive professional cassette deck that didn't put a dab of glue on the azimuth screw to keep it from shifting/turning after it's alignment done at the factory. That typically don't need to be adjusted provided the machine hasn't been dropped or the head replaced.

[@rooseveltmcmillan7257]

I love jazz and there's some nice sounding music. and music i like learning to while i'm driving can i pleasure have the name of the song and the artist. And i like tape decks to record my music on. I have a technics RS TR170 Pioneer CT-W 770 and Jvc TD-W330 Sanyo RD S25 I like watching your videos.

[@12voltvids]

The track is Tasty Jazz composer Jack waldenmaier website musicbakery.com.

[@MrElectrowhiz]

What about the mode motor problems on the BX series decks that uses the Sankyo transport?

[@12voltvids]

Yes have taken the motor apart to fix those.

[@edwilldaames9869]

Would like to have/own one

[@kawmic7]

sadly the recording is missing a lot of topend!!

[@12voltvids]

Nakamichi quality! Seriously though I did not set the bias for that tape, and that is a very old tape that I was using for testing. You notice that it says fubar on the tape. As for a reason because the tape is fubar. That tapes not going to sound good in anything that is put in.

[@michaelfreiberg8057]

Had the same problem with a Sony

[@MrMotownjoe]

just fixed one stopping... not switches, not motors, turns out reel sensor bad

[@christophermarshall5765]

Nice fix.

[@vintagecassettetapescollec5258]

What title this music

[@12voltvids]

Tasty Jazz by Musicbakery.com

[@ThejasonJaw5442]

No question contacts were dirty, this deck is direct drive

[@12voltvids]

You sure about that.

[@zx8401ztv]

I'm surprised that someone at the thrift store didn't scoop it up for themselves. Mucky contacts lol. In its day it would not have been cheap. They are known to be good machines but there is always a weak spot.

[@12voltvids]

Well not everyone that works in thrift stores know what things are worth. I picked up a TC-D5 professional portable cassette recorder for 10.00

[@evilash570]

Nice fix!!!

[@MrMotownjoe]

reel motor common stop problem

[@technixbul]

Tape should move with 4.75cm per second

[@anastasiaserwaczek204]

Glad you're not calling this deck a piece of crap-a-ruski..

[@12voltvids]

Not everything is crap but allot is. Lol

[@anastasiaserwaczek204]

@12voltvids Thank you for replying. Like your sense of humour. from 🇨🇦

[@ryanjofre]

Tapehead here The DR3 is nothing special for Nakamichi for my tastes, it’s descent. Some people would call it awesome. I’d definitely take my BX-150 or 480z over DR3. The peak level meters are nice on the DR3.

[@12voltvids]

Personally I would take my v850 teac, rsm275 Technics and tdv1010 JVC over any nakamichi but that's just me.

[@bertjetolberg103]

Nice video Now fix your mic.

[@Synthematix]

Dont know why people go crazy for nak decks, theyre not that good, Jvc made better decks

[@12voltvids]

I agree. High end JVC blow the doors off nak. I have such a deck. TD V1010

[@sexytasmin]

I don’t think so. The Nakamichi ZX-9 is a hundred times better than any JVC cassette deck!

[@Synthematix]

@@sexytasmin Lol no chance, as dave would agree

[@toddcrookham515]

​@@12voltvidsdude what have you been smoking!