Pioneer CT-8R Cassette Deck - Repairs (Ep. 129)

[@tannhauser4031]

In the analog era, the beautiful design and creative function of Japanese audio have entertained many audio enthusiasts. In particular, the design of various cassette tape recorders is admirable. We thank the Japanese for their great contribution to audio culture.

[@davedave5787]

that was high end audio in 1982!!

[@ftlbs11]

I wish I would have known how to fix these before I sold my original CT-9R for junk. I was always told they weren't repairable. Mine had a new transport as part of a warranty too. Thanks for a fantastic video. Great job. You have the patience of Jobe.

[@3dsmaxrocks699]

I'm a locksmith by trade (25 years) and work on tiny parts all the time. Amazed how you just put screws off to the side without keeping them separate or marked.

[@TrevorsBench]

It's all good as long as I don't have anything left over, lol Seriously, I do get the machine screws and the self tappers mixed up. Usually I get it sorted with a look at the hole for what thread it has or count how many screws i have left for what assembly. Otherwise I keep track in my head which, lately, is becoming less reliable. When I was much younger I would tear into a car cassette deck to change belts or something and remember where everything goes. Often I have to leave something torn apart if I'm waiting for parts. If that's the case, I'll bag everything up and put it aside. VCRs were another strenuous mental exercise all of their own

[@R.AudioElectronics]

I enjoy watching your videos not only are they educational but I find them very relaxing. I enjoy watching as you go through the paces both mechanically and electrically to resolve the issues. Your patience and persistence is commendable. I’m sure you don’t get paid proportionately but I hope the KZbin thing makes up for it

[@TrevorsBench]

I'm not here for the money but I would like to see the channel self supporting. I buy lots of gear for video content. The wife gets mad whenever boxes arrive at the door but I tell her it's all good plus she has her hobbies too. Thanks Mike

[@craigm.9070]

Thank you for sharing! This was all the voodoo that went on back in the repair area we didn't get to see when we had this equipment new. Patience, experience, all the right tools and equipment make for a good repair!

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks Craig.

[@RandyWBrown]

You can repair any deck if you can repair these mechanisms. I own the ct-6,7 and 9r and have successfully repaired them all and they are a pain for sure! Great video Trev

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks Randy

[@alexismethenitis]

Excellent work. Real pleasure to watch.

[@007fredh]

I’m a new sub since you posted the mend it Mark video thing. You have much knowledge in the component realm and schematic reading. But to take on these cassette decks is a whole Neither level , hats off to you. I’m gonna attempt my first recap of an old receiver here soon. I’ll be watching all your backlogged videos. I’m sure.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

I like how 80's cheesy it looks. Belts, heads, lube, broken white plastic, tires cleaned, oxidization removed, motors adjuted. But it just needs belts. As always Trev, you get it done nicely.

[@mikevincent6332]

I think that model looked fantastic

[@TrevorsBench]

@@mikevincent6332 It had the futuristic look for the 80's when everybody else did the shiny brushed aluminum.

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks. Goes to show there's always more if you dig deeper

[@Theoobovril]

Great work, Trev'...much enjoyed.

[@TrevorsBench]

Thank you

[@geoabraham6042]

I had a CT8 R for many years that had the same issue. Was in the shop for over a year and never got repaired. I ended selling it for change. When it worked...it was a giant killer.

[@jacutin5033]

I had the CT-9R model. The BLE system was a tape bias auto calibration system used priot to recording. Very clever stuff found only on the top end deck at the time.

[@brianwood5220]

Great job, Trevor. When I saw you taking that head mechanism apart, I was praying that you would be able to re-assemble it ok. Thanks for sharing this.

[@bslaws]

1982 or so, I was 16, living in Zurich Switzerland and remember seeing this Pioneer line at a high end shop. I fell in love with the system but as a kid could never afford it. Now some 40 years later I have acquired most of the components including a non-functional CT-8R. Will be diving in to hopefully get it running once again.

[@TrevorsBench]

I know the feeling, back in the 70's we would drool over the new line of HK receivers, 330c 430 and 730 and wondered what it would be like owning one of those gems Now I have some of them and they are wonderful to listen to. I hope the video is helpful in getting your 8R back running again, thanks

[@bslaws]

@@TrevorsBench I appreciate the time it took for you to make this video. These are truly overly complicated. Thanks!

[@MWGGGS]

I'm now at the 1:13:00 mark in my repair / reassembly of my Pioneer CT-9R. Best video repair guide ever !!! Hopefully in a few days I will be able to post a pic of it up and running again. You Da Man Trevor !!!!

[@SergZak2023]

Great repair and info. Not too crazy about the visual design of the deck though…kinda reminds me of an inverse skunk stripe. Thanks, Trevor for taking the time to record and post👍

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks for watching Serg

[@steveoszman8746]

Great repair, auto reverse decks are definitely high maintenance. Would love to give that machine a listening too.

[@TrevorsBench]

Auto reverse 3-head decks are my favorite but they are a pain to keep them maintained

[@steveoszman8746]

@@TrevorsBench Trevor you should have seen the hoops I just jumped through getting a Tandberg tcd300 in working order. The interaction of each function depends on the other to be spot on.

[@ndodhy]

Good neat job . Just recently restore this pioneer but model no CT 880 🌹 Greetings from Sialkot Pakistan

[@nikossoursos7032]

During the head disassembly i was holding my breath....Graet job as always.

[@sirsuse]

I bought a CT-20 new back in the days when my local Radio Shack sold a limited amount of Pioneer gear. I still have it and it still work very well. The only repair I've done to it is the idler wheel.

[@Driss722]

Super! Very good operation!

[@TrevorsBench]

Thank you

[@mdzacharias]

The photo sensor at about 29:00 was for the quick reverse feature at the end of the tape side to reduce the time to when music resumes after the reverse operation.

[@TrevorsBench]

Yes, I think it was also for the automatic bias setup routine it did

[@valeriocuccu5960]

In 1:28:11 minute I see a small washer next to the screwdriver...Bravo great work.

[@musicstevecom]

Great Video! lots of good tips, I picked up a CT-7R and I'm working it, So the main binding was at the 1:21:38 , The head cylinder? did you mix the graphite w grease or oil? I did not take mine all the way apart because it looks too be risky for me , after it lock up again after my re-lubed as much as I could,,, But after that I also put oil around the cylinder seem to good now . I don't like how the tape head goes up to forward and reverses that seem like it would wear out the Tape Head and make it dirty?

[@mbwatson1000]

I remember owning a CT6R, which looks to have been a very similar model, but with 2 heads rather than 3. Sadly, it jammed after a few years of use, so I binned it in favour of an Aiwa 3 head machine, which was the top rated deck of the time, and definitely produced a more refined performance. The CT6R's sound was a bit rough and ready in comparison. I always liked the way its record/playback head turned around as part of the auto reverse. But, I think the complexity of the auto-reverse mechanism was the mechanical downfall of my deck.

[@DMTW]

I have a CT-6R and CT-7R, The three direct drives motors and motor controller gets really hot, this is why it consumes 50W and has a large transformer.

[@jubemarsh2202]

Excellent!

[@3dsmaxrocks699]

Just think, somebody had to sit down and engineer that mechanism transport. Yikes! Also, I've seen this series, especially the cheaper CT6R version, where the diode goes bad for the reverse/forward playback. I think because people kept hitting the button too much/too quick in between....and somehow it zaps it.

[@TrevorsBench]

I always marvel at some of the engineering I've seen in some of this gear. Some Sonys are epic for this. They must have had massive budgets for some of their project developments

[@3dsmaxrocks699]

@@TrevorsBench Ain't that the truth! The older Sony reel to reel machines still work in 2023! Built like tanks. Just usually need belts and cleaned/adjusted.

[@mikevincent6332]

I had this model and a die cast lever in the tape mechanism ended up breaking after using it for maybe 3 years so I threw the whole deck out and bought a denon. The Pioneer was not cheap either it was around $700 NZD that's 80's dollars, so maybe the equivalent of $2500-$3000 of todays money

[@TrevorsBench]

Wow, pricey!

[@hifismiffy]

Auto BLE - Bias, Level, Equalisation. Auto tuning the deck to the tape formulation.

[@TrevorsBench]

Nice feature, I didn't have a chance to see how well it works

[@locutiss100]

I will give you credit for your PATIENCE. But I can't imagine how much this cost to repair.

[@tferr9]

What type of line do you use? I have the CT-7R and I am having the exact same issues. I am contemplating trying this. I was able to replace the belts but I don’t know if I can do the rest

[@michaelclayton9065]

Hi. I have a Sony KA3ES Cassette deck. Can you repair this deck, everything works but it won't record. How much do charge to repair?

[@ndodhy]

Hi Trevor Could you send link to download full service manual of CT 8R ? On net i found only 23 psge incomplete. Appreciate your reply Nauman Dodhy

[@CoryHuber]

never trust 'it just needs a belt'

[@TrevorsBench]

When I opened it up, the belt was missing???

[@preston963]

I can remember working on those CT-3R to CT-9R piles of garbage under warranty & they were at best an overly complicated, unreliable, disaster of a mech & a real pain in the arse to setup timing on as most problems with them were stripe/chewed gears (usually the head & cam gears)!... What a pile of crap they were!

[@TrevorsBench]

Come on, tell us how you really feel about them, lol. I have to agree, the rotating head mech is a joke. It's prone to wear, slop, sticking and poor adjustment. Not one of Pioneers finest moments

[@preston963]

@@TrevorsBench Pioneer didn't really have any fine moments here in OZ, there heyday was the 70's then things just went down hill just like their sales being killed by Sony.

[@Riker46060]

What a mechanical nightmare…

[@ryanjofre]

Pioneer made some of the finest gear in History and like all the HUGE companies they made plenty of mediocrity. I'd like to hear this one.

[@sirsuse]

Nakamichi Dragon killer?

[@TrevorsBench]

No but they tried

[@locutiss100]

These crummy auto reverse mechanisms are nothing but a pain. They always end like this. I would never buy one for this reason and the fact that they offer poor quality sound, I mean the heads physically rotate leading to azimuth alignment issues. I have recently picked up my AKAI again and am enjoying cassettes once again. I wouldn't ever buy an auto reverse deck even if were a NAKAMICHI. Just too much to go wrong. I'll flip my tapes myself.

[@mohindersembi7647]

Wow very interesting video...you are the master and very professional engineer 👏 😊I have question please on my VINTAGE SHARP VZ 3510 VERTICAL LINEAR TRACKING RECORD PLAYER when I plug in the power and switch on and select radio or cassette player and there is no sound coming out from the speakers only loud humming / buzzing sound? But if I plug my headphones in the stereo I can hear sound on the headphones radio and cassette player as I was looking at the power supply and found the Bridge rectifier getting hot?and I have cleaned all the switches and pots with contact cleaner Hosa Caig Deoxit Contact Cleaner and still the same problem humming noise coming from speakers? This is the link for the service manual download elektrotanya.com/sharp_vz-3500h_vz3500hb_vz3500e_sm.pdf/download.html Please can please kindly help me on this issue 🙏 🙂 waiting for your kind reply Thankyou 🙏

[@TrevorsBench]

Typically, I cannot diagnose your broken gear through the KZbin's comments section but I can give you a few ideas what to look for. The hot bridge rectifier is the first red flag. With the unit at idle, the bridge rectifier shouldn't be hot. Something is hogging current from the power supply. My first suspect would be the STK power amplifier module, it may be defective. That loud humming could be the amplifier dumping raw DC onto the speakers. Remove the STK and see if the heavy current draw goes away.