Panasonic cassette recorder RQ-309S repair

[@philipmartin708]

I want to thank you for the info that fixed my problem. I googled "Panasonic cassette tape recorder amplifier stopped working", and found this video. Turned out my recorder had the exact same problem. Fuzzy contacts on the record-play switch. Without the batteries in, I pushed play, held the record prong back, and pressed and released the record button about 10 times. That did the trick. Thanks again for your help.

[@jrs0007]

I fixed a lot of these as a HS kid working P/T for an AV dealer in the late 70s. I don't ever recall having a problem with the electronics in any Panasonic cassette recorder, only dirty/magnetized tape heads or a dirty play/record switch. They were fine machines. Thanks for the memories!

[@BenM39435]

Thats normal for the "FF" button, it should not stay down. I have one myself, but i am really suprised that the condensor mic works very wel on these sytems.

[@imfrcd]

That puppy gotta have some age on it, I got one for my 13th birthday. I'm over 60 now.

[@angelsvintagetreasures]

Thanks for the walkthrough on this machine. I just purchased one today, but the DS model. The batteries were blown but the springs aren't rotten like yours. Unfortunatly, I don't think I want to venture down the road of doing a more major repair. I have an AC plug but the piano buttons stick. Time to offer it for sale. Cute cat. Snickers sure has something to say! Reminds me of our now deceased kitty. He was a howler!

[@totallyfrozen]

My mother had one of those decks when I was a kid. Thanks for reminding me! Very cool!

[@davidluther3408]

I BOUGHT THAT SAME MODEL BACK IN THE LATE 1970S,IT WAS MADE OF EXCELLENT QUALITY,NOT LIKE THE JUNK MADE TODAY.

[@epilpstd1]

Had that exact model as a child.

[@daveschmarder-1950]

The FF button is momentary. I had one of these Panasonic machines in the early 70's. It always worked well and I used it a lot. I'm surprised the belt is still good. I worked in an electronics parts store and I sold a lot of replacement belts, GC Electronics.

[@JohnAudioTech]

Thanks for confirming the momentary FF function.

[@dmj-ju9zx]

@@JohnAudioTech In the late 80's my local Goodwill store had a steady supply of these for $5 and I bought a few. The RQ-309S and RQ309AS were very much the same except that the S had a combined record/play head and the AS had separate heads. The RQ-309DS had a few changes: locking FF, a relocated DC input jack, relocated volume control, addition of a tone control, and an updated motor with one governor weight , not 2. My 309DS also had a bit better bass than the older models I had. That may have been typical, or not. It was the only one with a tone control, so they may have tweaked the frequency response to allow the tone control to really work.

[@sayantanmaiti2513]

I've one of this cassette player. It was from BPL..still works :)

[@bobtherocker4598]

I love these old tape recorders. They make a really cool guitar pedal alternative because their IC's or transistor circuits have so much gain. Wire the guitar cable to the tape reader mic or 1/4 jack is it has one and I use a 10 8ohm Peavey speaker out of an old bass amp and CRANK the volume and jam. I remember you mention guitar amps in a past video and their not your thing. I find overdrive and distortion pedals the most interesting. 👍🤘🎸‼️

[@MooreBass]

White vinegar works great for cleaning up battery corrosion!

[@TheTrueVoiceOfReason]

That exact model was the best cassette recorder I ever had. Beat the pants off the GE model after it. Would hang it off the headboard and listen while I drifted off to sleep. got to know Kansas Leftoverture quite well through this machine. I think this was the one that got me into building speakers. Used to drive the old speakers pretty well.

[@gozzyfranco1490]

Hi nice !.

[@krishnaprasadlama9432]

I still have the same model from 1974 and it still works although the power transformer had to be changed a long time ago after it got shorted

[@totallyfrozen]

I keep telling my coworkers and they keep looking at me funny, but the Japanese simply make very high quality goods. Their electronics and gasoline engines are remarkable.

[@xaenon]

I had one of these. I discovered that by wiring a larger speaker to 1/8" plug and plugging it into the earphone jack, you could get some pretty darned good sound quality out of these things.

[@joinedupjon]

Love the look of the old PCB's - we had a sanyo one of a similar vintage when I was a kid, there was a circuit diagram in the owners manual... times have changed.

[@audiotechlabs4650]

I had one that was a little different. Mine had an AM-FM radio built in. These were gold! Plug in the wall, batteries or a wall wart. Mine could record off the radio or the mic. I use to record a song I could catch on the radio so I could work it up on guitar. It was a bunch of fun! Great project! Thanxz

[@JohnAudioTech]

In '79 or 80, I got one of the AM/FM recorders (mono). It was my music system for a time.

[@gozzyfranco1490]

Hi.Jhon Fantastic.Iam very glad and 1st time at your channel.Iam have same tape recorder..& a panasonic rq340..none working do you fix then..that will be wonderfull I can tell you know alot about electronics & thats what I need.have tons of stuff that needs to be repair.& you dont find people like you anywhere..congrats &let me know..🤟🏻

[@benwhitaker6755]

I just bought one of these but the speed is crazy fast. Is this a problem with the calibration or the band?

[@bassblaster505]

The RQ-309S was seen in ads in 1973. Shes vintage alright

[@Dazzwidd]

nearly 50 years old

[@cassvirgillo3395]

Hello John, Panasonic did make some good stuff back in the early day's. I'm even partial to Emerson, affordable and pretty good products. Glad your doing well. Good fix on the deck. Say hey to Snickers. All the best, C.

[@Budro4764]

My mom used to record on one like that in the early to mid 70's from LP's . I don't remember if my Uncle sold those Panasonic's or not but she did use the ext. mic to record.... She had it down pat.... Until we got off the school bus and came in the door hollering , what;'s on stove ??? LOL... That cap you took out , looks a lot like those old resistive caps, A resistor inside of a cap , it saved space on the board, maybe that's why you had a super high ESR ???? Check it out Mon Ami .....

[@Dazzwidd]

Good call on the cap. I wondered if it was an early tantalum or bipolar cap of some kind but I'm now wondering about your theory

[@mdh-zt8xu]

I have the same model, but the play button doesn't stay down and the record button won't press at all. Can this be sent to you for a repair? I am getting sound.

[@jrs0007]

Probably a dirty mechanism. A sliding bar locks the play button down. If it gets dirty or corroded, it no longer slides correctly and the play button won't stay down. It requires removing the chassis from the case to repair. For recording, there is a mechanical switch that is actuated by the cassette itself. Look at the rear of the cassette opposite where the tape opening is. If you see a small square hole in the case, the record button won't work. Cassettes had two removable plastic "nubs" (one per side) that kept people from accidentally recording over something they wanted to keep. The way to defeat the protection is to cover the hole with a piece of tape. Good luck.

[@zx8401ztv]

That cat has you trained well he he :-D Never buy an old phillips tape recorder, black goo belts :-( Horrible to clean up.

[@ToddEAD]

Hi John, Thanks for this video, I have this exact model, and all is well except when I press play, the pinch roller doesn't come up to meet the capstan. I can see that the "tab" on the roller is out of the slot on the frame mechanism. Is there an easy way to get to this outside of removing the frame from the chassis?

[@HillsWorkbench]

I have two or three of these, at least two that work. They look identical but are latter vintage, pretty sure with Si transistors. My brother would save them from the trash from the church he worked at.

[@JohnAudioTech]

Panasonic seemed to use the same model number for newer versions.

[@migalito1955]

I was surprised that the recorder took a dynamic Mic as input for the external Mic. I, until now, thought that external Mics for portable recorders such as your Panasonic were electret/condenser Mics. Is there an easy way other than try and fail to determine what the input expects as a microphone? I ask partly because I like the analog method of producing recordings and have several recorders including two component cassette decks and one reel to reel player. My LX1 made for Sears by Sanyo in the early 70's only accepts condenser microphones as well as my shoebox Optimus recorder from the eighties.

[@JohnAudioTech]

In my experience, most will take both as long as the condenser version has its own battery. As a kid, I remember most of the recorders including a cheap dynamic mic before they all included an internal condenser one.

[@Asriazh]

Aren't those plastic case ones capacitors with resistors in parallel? I might be wrong though. But that would explain the higher ESR.

[@paulb4uk]

Decent unit now its fixed

[@OSD07]

Hi JohnTech could your good self suggest me a good preamplifier or circuit for preamplifier please

[@sayantanmaiti2513]

Whats the music at 14:00???

[@HillsWorkbench]

The group called "Botany Bay", Some great music, most of it can be downloaded for free off Jamendo.

[@sayantanmaiti2513]

@@HillsWorkbench thanks for that. I will listen to them

[@DIYBill]

Hi John 👋

[@White_Recluse]

You skipped over the most important part, I need to see how the too part comes off so I don’t break it!

[@natecontarino1748]

Concert Ape was a good tape

[@richarddean9468]

If you want to sell the leather case please message me

[@captainjim1010]

Made in Japan. Enough said.

[@Dazzwidd]

They had their time where that should have been just about the only place to buy your electronics. Unrivalled on price verses quality and functionality/performance