Parrot BT-1 "Bookcorder" Spy Tape Recorder Repair

When I saw a transistor tape recorder deliberately styled as a book I had to buy it. There's something ultra cool about 1960s spy (or spy style) gadgets. On a shelf, It looks exactly like a book except it's betrayed by the not-so-innocent title on the spine ("Parrot Tape Recorder").
If you were actually going to spy on someone in the 1960s, there were better machines to use. Nevertheless, as limited as this machine is, it's still cool.
The FaceBook Marketplace seller from whom I bought this unit swore up & down that it worked. Of course it didn't. There were both mechanical and electrical defects that required a complete disassembly and a few hours of work. In this video I repair the "Bookcorder" so I can put it with my briefcase disguised tape recorder.
Supplies:
Q-Tips
LubriPlate 105 grease (Amazon)
Oatley Fix-It Stick Epoxy Putty (Home Depot)
Capacitors 10µF, 33µF, 100µF @ 16v radial (DigiKey)
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:49 Examination & Disassembly
3:00 Diagnosis & Plan of Attack
5:09 Mechanism Repair 1
6:01 Mechanism Repair 2
6:40 Electrical Repair
8:12 Testing
9:05 Conclusion

[@m.k.8158]

You may want to switch the 2 reel tables around-it does not matter quite as much if the rewind is uneven, but it matters a lot on record and playback.

[@Mr.BrownsBasement]

That is a brilliant idea!!!

[@danielgarcia-ct5fm]

great!! week last i bought one, but only listen a rare noise in the little speaker, i hope will found a solution

[@Mr.BrownsBasement]

I bet you are also the first in your neighborhood to have one! Replace the electrolytic capacitors, particularly the two 10μF units and the performance will be greatly improved.

[@Ann-ly5lk]

Hi, just wondering if these are worth anything? Mine has damaged box.

[@Mr.BrownsBasement]

It’s not worth a lot. As tape recorders go, frankly it’s not very good. It’s rim drive instead of capstan drive so the tape speed varies a lot and reduces sound quality. Someone would buy it for the novel design and not as a machine they would ever use. I paid $40 (CAD) for mine with the box & instructions working order. Though the seller claimed it was working, the seller lied. I think that’s fair for a working machine. For one that needs work… less. The fact that yours has a damaged box shouldn’t detract much from the value. After all, a person would be buying it for the machine and not the box. There are many tape machines from the 1960s which are more desirable.

[@Ann-ly5lk]

@@Mr.BrownsBasement thanks for the reply. I thought it may have been worth something as a novelty item being so old. I have never even tried it to see if it works just something I came across in parents house decades ago and has been stored for years. I will get it out to show the grandkids when they visit. Blow their minds.

[@Mr.BrownsBasement]

@Ann-ly5lk I bet they never will have seen one before!