No.031 - Sharp GF-6060 Radio Cassette Player Repair with MP3 twist

To take me back to the 80's I purchased a faulty Sharp GF-6060 Radio Cassette Player from Ebay, the idea being to repair the faults and then to use it in the workshop in order to play my MP3 collection in a novel way!
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[@ForeverMods]

Love these repairs. Nothing beats old equippment

[@hristian]

One of best fix/repair videos out there. The extently explanation is supreme. Good job👍🏼

[@darrensmith6999]

Thank you really enjoyed this. i had the much smaller Sharp 1760 back in 1981 given to me for my 15th birthday, used it up untill the early 1990s when the cassette mec packed up , (probably a snapped belt ) so i gave it to my Dad to use as a radio at work and alas never saw it again! I still have cassettes mostly talking books but no machine to play them on so recently i have been looking out for a Sharp 1760 on E Bay and eventually found one (Not Working) for about £20. I bought it and it turned out that the problem was an oxidised mode switch .I also played slow so on investigation it proved to be a dodgy tape motor , those replaced i now have a great machine and the identical one to the one given to me for my 15th birthday. Back in the day i loved SHARP products and had a Tv Music centre and a walkman type player. They were always innovative and well made. What has happened to them now ?? looking at their products now they are Crap ! Very Sad!

[@fightersweep]

Found this really interesting. Thanks for posting. I renovated my GF-6060E a few years ago. Got it for my 13th birthday in 1982. Still going strong and still have the box and all the paperwork. I love it. No need for an MP3 player though...I've still got 500 cassettes to play on it. As already said, good, solid build quality and with maintenance in mind. Even this novice (ie: Me) found it a breeze to service. My volume control has started to make the same crackling noise. Hopefully switch cleaner will do the job. My only complaint with this unit: the speakers needed a bit more bass oomph!

[@IanScottJohnston]

I have a feeling I got mine for Xmas 1980. Good to hear there are others being used. PS. I was amazed how good the 'MP3 cassette' sounds.....like one of those old retro metal tapes on steroids.

[@WilliamEllison]

We had one of these when I was a kid. I think it was my dads. Brings back memories.

[@garethsmyth6593]

Hello. I am a blind person but have an interest in old vintage cassette recordeThe MP3 cassettte sounds very interesting.

[@lodragan]

I had the Sharp GF5656 - AM/FM version of this in the early 1980s. I loved that machine - the stereo was way better than the portable monaural systems that existed before then (the 'boombox' generation), but also I loved the human factors of this system - the simplicity of the design and displays, as well as it's input/output capabilities. I actually used it not only to listen to music while studying, creating mix tapes from the FM channels, but also I connected it to my first PC: a Texas Instruments TI 99/4A ( americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1064832 ) - to store programs in my nascent programmer days. I got mine when I was 16, and your breakdown of the machine validates my thoughts on it when I made the decision to buy from a stable of competitor machines - well engineered/designed on multiple levels, enough so to keep it running after nearly 40 years with only minor issues. Also, do you have a link to the cool cassette MP3 player you showcased?

[@milesbancroft]

Great one Ian. I still have my GF555E from 1980. It also came with a nice schematic.

[@Havanacuba1985]

I just bought a used GF 666 can’t wait for it to arrive

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

Beats any boring-looking Bluetooth speaker!

[@SHARPGFX-dc9gj]

I love boomboxes.

[@Motoralbi]

Thank you so much for this video! I just repaired an identical one i had in my garage with similar problems, i'm impressed by how well WD40 worked with potentiometers and even the power switch in my case. Now the only thing that does't work is fast forward and rewind but i bet it's because of the worn out main belt i should replace. I also replaced the other two belts with rubber bands and they seem to be working.

[@IanScottJohnston]

Yep, rubber bands will work.....just they might not last too long since they will harden. But good work anyways!

[@karlfell3768]

you can revitalise old rubber belts with a soak in brake fluid. Not a long term fix but gets things back sounding good. Karl

[@spooktasticaparanormal]

Hello Ian, so nice to see a fellow scotsman with a real appreciation for vintage gear. Great video, I just subscribed. Kind regards. Paul.

[@IanScottJohnston]

Aye, nae bother.......thanks!

[@badboy46528]

genius idea this cassettte

[@DoRC]

2:15 thats one way to avoid a copyright strike:)

[@jasejj]

Ah, for the days when 'nothing special' still meant decent Japanese engineering and good build quality :-)

[@jeffking4176]

Jason J ‼️

[@Steve3dot1416]

I think the extra power plug is for power coming from a cigarette lighter plug, to plug it in a car.

[@codebeat4192]

Have the same one (as a gift), looks very servicable friendly inside. Mine has sticky tape controls (hard to push) and won't play any tape. I guess it is a belt issue. Very nice tut to take it apart. Don't use regular WD40 (unless it is contact spray from the same brand) on potentiometers, it is not meant for that. You can use WD40 on corroded metal parts however only when regular contact cleaner doesn't help. It is possible that WD40 dissolves plastic parts over time because of the oily nature. Be careful with this stuff.

[@santioriginal]

Enjoyed your video Thank you

[@PapasDino]

Well the construction looks the mechanical and electrical engineers actually talked to one another during the design phase to facilitate servicing! That extra coaxial power plug looked to be a 2.5mm vs. the DC in being a 2.1mm, probably done to preclude cross connecting sources. Nice fix, thanks for sharing...oh BTW, you'd really be old like me if you'd gotten a 8-track machine!

[@IanScottJohnston]

When I was a kid I had an 8-track player (from a car) hooked up to a 12V PSU in my bedroom. Loved the 4ch endless loop nature of those things.

[@kuro68000]

I wish there was an easy way to find replacement pots and switches for old kit like this. You always end up doing a visual search of shops with old stock and eBay.

[@professionalvr]

Your video will help me restore my father's Sharp GF-6363 Z radio cassette player. It seems that the GF-6363 Z has the same mechanism as the GF-6060 because when I opened it, it looked the same. I'll probably make a video on how to restore the GF-6363.

[@atbglenn]

You think you're old school, I'm still into Reel to Reel tape decks.

[@Havanacuba1985]

I have a Crosby stills and Nash first album and a moody blues album in the picture boxes 👍👍👍👍 No player though. My uncle passed away ,he had a lovely akai with built in 8 track and fold out speakers I asked if I could have it but my aunty said her and my mum threw it in a skip when clearing out. Thought it was junk 😢😢😢😢 Never trust women with electrical equipment 😂😂😂😂

[@paulb4uk]

I have 2 of these from my dad both worked fine but 1 was in a poor state broken plastics and missing a battery cover so i bought a faulty unit to use the case from and any parts that are in better condition .

[@IanScottJohnston]

Buy the kit for the specific player and you won't need to worry about lengths.

[@Aetila]

This is the first BB I had (here in Sweden) I gave it away when it started chewing tape. Now I got a nostalgic feeling, do I dare to pick up one for a simple restoration project? lol (I also love the minimalistic LED display)

[@jayh674]

Arrr bring back the 80s build quality .Do you have a link for the mp3 tape?great video very satisfying.

[@IanScottJohnston]

I bought it off Ebay long ago......try a search am sure somebody will be selling them.

[@jayh674]

@@IanScottJohnston Thanks 👍

[@Topnorth-london]

Hi loved the video, I've got a limited knowledge of electronics but I've got a sharp GF9191 (growing up in the late 70s early 80s) which has been in the loft for many years, the tape wasn't playing so I took it apart and the belts were snapped, I ordered a new set from Germany and installed these, all is working apart from the wheel that drives the cassette tape, its the one connected on the left of the 2 which the cassette reels sit in and it also runs the belt down to the counter, any ideas?

[@PlanYourLift]

Hi there, thanks so much for popping this video up. I'm attempting my first tinker with electronics as i found a rad looking Sharp GF-6000 on the side of the road. You mention at 17:05 "because i got the mains down to this corner here and it’s rather close to me, I’m gonna put some masking tape over this fuse because i think it’s the AC input". What does that mean? Thanks.

[@IanScottJohnston]

Just incase I accidentally touch the fuse holder which is live!

[@PlanYourLift]

wow really great video. and the mp3 cassette at the end was brilliant! I've never really fixed anything before but looking to get into it as it seems to give people a sense of agency that i too would like to possess. obviously being very new i have so many questions but i'll try to limit them...the schematic map....I understand the r159 and r160 were along the line that feed the signal, but how did you know not to test any within the volume control area such as the r177 or the vr103? Is that what you were testing when you mentioned "let's have a look downstream" at 24:40. Also, is the machine you used after called a 'scope meter'? Sorry, so many questions! Thanks.

[@InfinityNexusReviews]

I have an 8080 and an 8181, both have issues with the ff/rw speed which makes me strongly suspect that the bands need replacing but I'm not sure what to measure. Are they a universal size or does it change between manufacturers?

[@Millay2006]

You want some servisol super 10 switch cleaner... honestly worth every penny and available easily at maplin etc

[@PIXscotland]

WD40 and 3in1 oil left me horrified. Switch cleaner is cheap and reliable as you say. With Ian's experience I would have expected the right stuff to be on hand.

[@IanScottJohnston]

Ok ok......I DO have a can of Silver Hook Electrical Contact Cleaner (500mL) to hand......um, bought a long time ago but have only used it a couple times.....but I promise to use it next time! :-) i.ebayimg.com/images/g/x1QAAOSwDNdV6EVv/s-l300.jpg

[@PIXscotland]

Saved me driving over there and giving you a can! :-)

[@Havanacuba1985]

I have a can of servisol it’s awesome stuff especially on crackly pots

[@ChrisATV301]

I've got one exactly the same model & the tape heads have worn but the radio works fine. The tape only works on one speaker but the radio both. I'd like to add bluetooth to it & convert the tape to an android dock. How do I do it?

[@kevinsong712]

You can play audio through a aux cable through the mix mic port on the side. My machine won't play audio unless I manually turn the boombox on by lightly pressing on the play button.( It should start playing when you plug in the aux cable) Audio will play through the aux cable but the motor is spinning as well. The motor wouldn't stop spinning even if unplug the power and plug it in again. Anyone know what's wrong?

[@drdolby1585]

How did you got these knobs off without breaking them? The black ones on the top and the tuner on mine behave like they're glued on.

[@ParallelSyntax]

I’ve just got one of these and I’m trying to fix it up. The volume is very crackly and loud. Only one channel works and even when fully turned down, it’s at a medium volume. Soon as I turn it up a little the other channel activates. I’m also having issues getting stereo on FM. Very rarely I can get it to activate, despite a strong signal. I’ve tried contact cleaner to no avail. Can you suggest what else I could try? Have you experienced any of these issue?

[@INFEKTO440]

Hello, yesterday buy this boombox. Need repair and clean, but low frequency bass need just a little more. Can sugest something, add caps or what else?

[@willford8475]

When you put 3in1 into the pot was it the bog standard oil or something special? Interesting video.

[@IanScottJohnston]

"3in1 electrical"......just a drop into the pot through the small hole followed up by a bit of wd40 again to help spread it around. There's probably something better but not in my workshop.

[@pradolover]

looks like the ir receiver is on the side to match the way car radios used to load the tape

[@IanScottJohnston]

Yes, and luckily the remote control still works for me when the MP3 cassette is loaded albeit I have to get it quite close.

[@pradolover]

thats good 😊 thanks for the great vids Ian

[@jesselara1575]

What is the brand and name and where can I find this tape adapter with memory and remote control? I am sorry my english skills are bad, i from the Brazil. Thanks

[@IanScottJohnston]

No brand, they are cheap off ebay.

[@alexshepherd1558]

So many people r selling ghetto blasters on eBay saying case deck just needs new belts like it's cheap and easy to fix .its not.how do u know what size of belts it needs .do they all have same size belts?

[@IanScottJohnston]

Buy a belt set made for the particular unit.

[@foba4747]

hey,, please what size of the belts sharp gf 6161 thx!

[@IanScottJohnston]

I bought mine from Ebay.....specific for the 6060.

[@ChrisATV301]

Can you add a bluetooth module?

[@IanScottJohnston]

Great idea.....video coming soon!

[@rogerwilco5187]

Why would you go to all the trouble of circuit diagrams and scoping signals before fixing the obvious dodgy volume pot? I watched it through expecting you to diagnose and fix a real fault.

[@unlokia]

Two words: contact cleaner. A small squirt in all the pots, problem solved.

[@TKomoski]

ian

[@drdolby1585]

Sorry. But to treat the pully and the flywheel with sandpaper is not the smartest way. Even on a low level unit like this.

[@IanScottJohnston]

An uneven, hard, rusty, corroded surface, not just dirt. I think I did the right thing.

[@claudiaalejandrapradinesfa7388]

Aa

[@claudiaalejandrapradinesfa7388]

Ypaak

[@jasejj]

Seems a bit of a waste of time to fix the tape deck if you're going to use one of those horrible adaptors in it.

[@user-nf8np1zq9h]

Why do you speak so much? We love to learn to maintain the process, not the theory.

[@IanScottJohnston]

It's my style, I am not a professional broadcaster. If you don't like it please don't watch my videos.