Repairing a Cavernous 50-Year-old Cassette Deck.

[@HifiJelly]

Song at the end of the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/parKgGRof8ZpeqM

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

Be careful using deoxit on black plastic switches. It degrades the plastic and makes it brittle. It you open the switch, metal polish makes it like new. Flush with ipa and add a ultra thin smear of dielectric.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

Mothers metal polish removes all corrosion. I learned that it was safe from the "vintage audio addict" channel. I used it on a Yamaha CA-1010 and CT-1010 separates face plates and the look brand new.

[@Ricecooker64]

Most repair videos make me click off, but these videos keep me watching. Keep it up!

[@HifiJelly]

Thanks Mr. Air Fryer!

[@davedave5787]

the build quality is long gone from 76. Your a great tech!!

[@error52]

Excellent work on that cassette deck! I really like your videos - they look so well put together. Here's an idea - as much as I love these old wooden boxes, I think the old Yamaha will look really awesome with a transparent plastic cover instead. That way all that beautiful craftsmanship inside will be on display.

[@heelan19]

I love the garage door like quality of that door

[@moontan91]

i saw one of those at the Museum of Civilization. i almost shed a tear. lol

[@gevowavemagnet]

I had that Yamaha model, bought it in 1976. Was the first Hi Fi deck I ever owned. Went to the local Hi Fi shop back then, looking for a reel to reel. The salesman told me "get a cassette deck, man. They've come a long way in the last couple of years, sound really good, and about a third of the price of a Reel to reel deck". I was sold. These decks really did sound good. The lighting looked so cool in a dark room, glad you left it intact.

[@Seahorn_]

Just bought this casette player as an extra for my 610 amplifier and tuner. What amazes me (besides the timeless looks) is the quality feel of these machines. Even the plastic front flap feels like a big chunk of bullit proof plastic.

[@eftalanquest]

i like how this deck would perfectly match one of yamaha's current high end hifi components

[@HifiJelly]

It’s truly a timeless design

[@andyfinlay9776]

I was given one of these back in 94 that needed a service, so belts and pinch roller. (Yes, you didn't change that, fairly standard size part too!) In about 96-97 I mixed down a studio recording that a band went on to mime/film a video to; I then took the machine with chrome tape to a cable TV editing suite where to the amazement of the crew there, I played in 4.5 mins of audio that synced perfectly, like frame perfect with the video on their Umatic machines! I still have this deck in my office and may well get round to servicing it again this year as it hasn't really been used for the last 10. The Yamaha 511S is a very well designed and built cassette deck!

[@JamesE707]

Super photography here. Really interesting video, thanks for the upload.

[@HifiJelly]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tomarnd8724]

The very first cassette decks were top loaders, this kind was actually the first improvement since you could now stack other components on top

[@catonawavewave]

I just started watching your videos over the past few days and they're great! Really motivating me to start upgrading my Hi-Fi rig.

[@HifiJelly]

Thanks! Glad you like ‘em!

[@kennixox262]

That was a very popular cassette configuration in the mid 1970's. What you have show, Marantz also had this. Earlier decks were more on a horizontal format making stacking components difficult. I only remember this type from my teen years and when I finally got my own system a Nakimichi, it was typical for the latter half of the 1980's.

[@aftertheendtimes]

You do it well with demagnitizer 😍💚 I am about to do same operation on a beautiful National Panasonic RS-612-US Fit new belts and fix a issue with the sound, hope that ill have same luck that you had with this beautiful Yamaha with contact cleaner 😜😄🥰

[@ingenfestbrems]

There’s many toploaders machines before this that was amazingly good.

[@rickspearman344]

What a great looking deck. So easy to work on too. Hope I can come across one like it soon

[@jayuno3009]

Are you coming back w/ new videos? I enjoy your channel.

[@averyzucco220]

The earliest decks were mostly top-load in design. Not sure what the reasoning was. Tape recorders had the same design so maybe it was just carrying over from that. All the controls and VU meters were arranged on the top. The thing is, I've never found a vintage top-loader that was ever easy to service. When they moved to front-loading so you could stack stereo components a lot of the internal layout was simplified too.

[@HifiJelly]

I’ll keep my eye out for a top loader type device, should be interesting to try and get working.

[@steelblue8]

Earliest top-loading decks were essentially just overgrown versions of the desktop voice recorders, which is indeed why they were toploading. The odd slanted loading in this Yamaha deck is because when they first started transitioning to the more stackable front-load layout, there were concerns that having cassettes vertically might cause performance issues by bad tape alignment or poor tape pack, given they were always intended for horizontal use. Turns out with a well designed deck this isn't actually an issue, but they thought it would be.

[@pcallas66]

Excellent work!!! The deck probably is from 1976. That was a really popular mechanism back in that day. I have a friend that had a 1978 Panasonic deck with the basic same loading mechanism and it sounded beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Like you said, it's really well made.

[@HifiJelly]

Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed!

Superlative video. In Argentina no person do this, so we have to trash all electronic equipment unless one could repair by oneself sighs. Cheers from Patagonia,

[@precbass]

Nice job.Relaxing to watch.Thanx.

[@nhand42]

Hold down the e-clips with a piece of Rodico (fine clay) when removing them. Stops them from pinging across the room. That's a tip I picked up from one of the watch repair channels.

[@trevor245]

The record switch is quite often the reason these types of cassette decks have issues with playback. So good thing you do clean it.

[@theotherchannel2279]

Yamaha made some fantastic cassette decks, very underrated. Really good spec systems audiophile quality. I have a Yamaha KX-393 which was made in 1998. Considering yours was made in 1976 if you look at the specs from both machines. The 1976 deck is not that far off of mine. Just goes to show the quality that Yamaha has had over the years.

[@paulb4uk]

This really is a well made deck i do like yamaha products .i have an old yamaha amplifier ca v1 from 1979 .

[@DoesWhatItLikes]

Love the video and working on one now. What oil did you use to grease the parts?

[@Lit_Hot_takes]

Amazing Design, real Beauty! 'Glue it to together and call it a day'

[@jorgelbarral]

Great video, very soothing, although I laughed at the end when you eject the cassette tape!

[@HifiJelly]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@schweatty]

I use a wad of blue tack when removing and installing small E-clips. It keeps them from flying away. You can touch the plastic covered tip of the demagnitizer directly on the head (that's why it's got plastuc/rubber on it) you will feel a slight vibration when it's touching metal.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

Im 44 and my father had one before I was born. They are tanks.

[@yehor25]

Great work, beautiful machine, niece video. 👍 keep it up

[@HifiJelly]

Thank you very much!

[@ogee634]

He gave the credit to your niece.

[@robertbosson5223]

Great job! Love these old Yammys!

[@tomtrudgeon4105]

What cleaning stuff and oil and grease are u using? This video is THE BEST - my dad gave me his old stereo and this vid will save it!

[@HifiJelly]

Glad to hear it, I’m just using some grandfather clock oil and molybdenum grease. For cleaning I just use 409, but any light degreasers would probably work.

[@heelan19]

Man I am the guy gluing the belts together

[@АлександрЕвсеев-ц7й]

Really good work! I like that old deck! Try to repeat with Sony TC-K55II. Best wishes!

[@briangoldberg4439]

the first ones were all totally flat because it was the easiest way to keep the cassette steady while it was playing. the kind like you have there is an in-between step that multiple manufacturers made for a fairly short period of time in the mid to late 70s. once they all engineered methods for keeping things steady when upright they stopped making those the rewind issue is going to be the tires around the wheels. it's going to work better if you take off the tires, measure them with a micrometer and order new ones based on the size

[@HifiJelly]

Thanks for the info! I knew they couldn't have existed for very long as this is the first one I've seen with that type of mech.

[@JamesE707]

Solid build!

[@dandinhofer9240]

Excellent bit-o-restauration! So glad the lamps were left unmolested, the LED updated versions ALWAYS ruin the vintage effect. That deck was meant (engineering wise) to outlive most human lifetimes.

[@HifiJelly]

Thank you!

[@JamesE707]

Returning an e-clip can be a darn nuisance, I tend to get it ready 'in the grove', then use a small set of pliers, then compress etc. This seems to work for me. Mind it doesn't take flight though! ;o)

[@brianreynolds6303]

Thank you for this video. Planning on picking up a Panasonic RS -612 Cassette Deck. It's made very similar to this deck. Are you familiar with this deck?

[@HifiJelly]

I am not familiar with it, although their is another fellow in the comments taking about fixing up their RS-612 so you may be able to inquire him haha

[@nazcaplain]

Do you ever specify how you adjust tape head azimuth in any of your videos? This deck is interesting for the reasons you state: no plastic and very mechanical. All my decks over the years have been computer controlled and failure prone, now I'm considering getting one like this old Yamaha.

[@channelingextraterrestrial3623]

You made me buy contact cleaner, seems like a universal remedy for electronic stuff. I am a computer guy but these electro/mechanical videos are fun to watch. BTW I have an old Pioneer cassette deck which plays badly. It works but the tempo on the playback goes up and down, it sounds hillarious. Ive been fiddleing with it. I though contact cleaner could work...we will see.

[@HifiJelly]

It’s amazed me how many times I’ve fixed things with just some contact cleaner. Good luck!

[@joeyjustin6895]

EXCELLENT VIDEO,, PEOPLE LIKE YOU.

[@HifiJelly]

THANKS ALL CAPS JOE I APPRECIATE IT

[@postoronniym2048]

Nice deck and very enjoyable video👍

[@measthis2411]

Another Banger bro. Keep on keepin on love the videos. Also cant believe there was a giant blob of that grease on that one piece.

[@HifiJelly]

🤙

[@stevengagnon4777]

Wouldn't use lithium grease when metal interface with a plastic (Teflon type bearing) . Ideally the grease should be formulated for it. As a bicycle mechanic I've found that to be very important. A dab of specially formulated Shimano cable grease would work great as it does in shift cables and brake cables. It also holds up alot longer. Lithium is for steel bearings and the white stuff isn't very good at that because it has titanium dioxide particals in it and are abrasive. That's why it is opaque white. The Shimano stuff has Teflon (PTFE) in it that's why it works with a Teflon (PTFE) bearing. It won't gum up either like the white lithium. Looks like the the light oil you used on the flywheel for the captan is right . Need to be careful with what you use on that bronze bushing because those are specifically formulated too usually with a lot of led which is the lubricant in the bearing so it can be run fairly dry. Or it's a bronze oil bushing that has oil infused in it for lubrication. Would use the plastic formulated grease for a metal pinion and plastic gear too or all plastic interfaces. Oil might mess with the plastic stuff if it's the wrong kind as it might soften plastic. That light oil is good for metal to metal gears and sliding surfaces. My main point is that lubricants are specifically formulated for their intended purposes and not universal and it matters. Less is more in this application. That expensive little tub of cable grease will go a long way. Shimano is the best I know of and used it in tape decks because it was handy and the results were excellent and long lived just as it performed with the cables with Teflon (PTFE) liners and Teflon( PTFE ) bearing surfaces. My Cat Trikes had a wonderful steering quality because of that application in the steering knuckles that wasn't there in the dry bearing from the factory. Nice video the cassette tape is an under rated format. Especially any thing with 3 heads and direct drive capstans. The 2 head ones were only good for playback because there is to much of compromise in the gap width to make a truly good recording . Also the factory recordings were very dependent on the quality of tape and equipment and speed of duplication so you got what you paid for and it wasn't necessarily up to you either . Some excellent most average to mediocre or poor. The excellent stuff could rival with vinyl and come out on top . Less noise, distortion, no rumble and didn't scratch or deteriorate from worn stylus and abrasive dust. And no bass feedback when the volume was cranked up to 11 😂 I like it loud and tape is the way to go . The CD format gave me ear fatigue before I got through one album. Could listen to tape for hours at a time and no problem with it. Thanks . My best tape deck is a JVC DD-7 I've put 15,000 hours on it since finding it in a thrift store 20$ it's a nice deck and makes excellent recording with the humble TDK D series cassette tape. The difference between a 600$ deck and 200$ deck back then was far apart for making a tape. A good turntable and cartridge was under 300$ at 300$ you could get a good direct drive turntable and excellent cartridge(yeah a Technics table and Stanton 681cart threres a good reason why DJs used that setup reliable, quiet and accurate). A decent belt drive and good cartridge for less than 150$ it would have sounded pretty good yet why vinyl was the mainstay.

[@HifiJelly]

Thanks for all the great info!

[@mr.capomusicstudios]

12:50 I just realized that the spindles are not spring loaded either. Normally they always have them on all decks when you try to take them out, but that doesn't happen here. Even cheap mechanisms (like the Tanashin) have a spring.

[@Asterisk3095]

great work! what oil were you using to lubricate the spindles?

[@HifiJelly]

Just a regular ole lightweight synthetic oil, I think it might be marketed as clockmakers oil.

[@Pazman1968]

Don't forget about steel wool as a tool in your box. For belt residue on brass or metal parts or even possibly to remove some of the corrosion on the front aluminum panel. It can do wonders if used correctly.

[@command8783]

Im not sure about steel wool, it can scratch the flywheel surface and affect wow and flutter ( generally the flywheels are sanded to tolerances hard to repeat without bringing out a lathe). I've had great results with scotch bright (the green side of a sponge) and dish soap like Dawn or Cif.

[@Pazman1968]

@@command8783 Yes, you need to be careful for sure. I was thinking like quad ought steel wool and very gentle pressure.

[@valmonta3647]

Lovely, thanks for sharing :)

[@HifiJelly]

Thanks for watching!

[@jocool7370]

I seem to remember that there were demagnetizing tapes back in the day. Does that make sense?

[@miketerbrake7358]

I don't want to criticize too much, but what contact cleaner did you use??? you know you have to rinse it well with IPA? because normal contact cleaner destroys in the long term (not after rinsing with IPA) your potentiometers and switches .... and it is also not very convenient to spray it right above the deck because that contact spray comes over between .... good job for the rest 👍🏼

[@josereinolds7428]

Yes you do the demagnetisation perfect 👌

[@kennethrossfeld5532]

Do you clean or treat the rubber tires and if so what do you use ?

[@HifiJelly]

I didn’t do anything to these since they felt pretty good still, but I do have something ‘rubber wheel restorer’ that you wipe on the rubber to somewhat dissolve the top layer of the rubber to expose a grippier layer underneath.

[@upsox-tk7zw]

Hi, I also enjoy your content specially the verbal commentary. Do you take on outside work????

[@Watcher3223]

23:35 Playing a Maxell XLII-S hi-bias cassette, but you have the tape EQ set for LH instead of CrO2.

[@Lumineers_]

How much would you charge to refresh mine. I have the same model.

[@fabricehaesendonck196]

good job buddy!

[@trevor245]

Would be interesting to see what the flutter performance is like now.

[@ogee634]

Why would that have Molybdenum grease in there? That stuff is for high pressure/high temperature use, like airplanes. A silicone grease would make more sense due to rubber/ plastic components.

[@AGNE55A]

Great job

[@LogiForce86]

Next time for the belt residue try to get a glasfiber pen. 😉

[@barryjackson2351]

look at the size of that flywheel?? low wow and flutter, when quality counted

[@joeyjustin6895]

HI BUD ALL CAPS JOE HERE. YOU KNOW YOUR A REALLY COOL GUYN AND IVE MADE THE DECISION TO FILLY 100% PROMOTE YOUR CHANNEL AS YOUB HAVE A GREAT ATTITUDE AND YOU KEEP THIS UP AND I GUARANTEE THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY JOB. GO OUT GET YOURSELF A PATREON ACCOUNT NOW.

[@EarslimeRecords619]

Hi man! I have a Nakamichi 1000 I’d love for you to repair for this channel, and for my use 😅. Let me know if you do work for others ! I’d love to hear back Paul

[@tilmanluther1887]

Bar keepers friend will get the corrosion out

[@Bob.martens]

When engineers ruled...

[@tommorrow1931]

I just saw one today at salvation army for $15.

[@HifiJelly]

Depending on its condition it’s certainly worth it at that price

[@finntjomstol9364]

New sub! These vids r great!!

[@HifiJelly]

Thank you!

[@frankiechristians7813]

10:38 f = 396.460 hz

[@HifiJelly]

Wow is it actually that simple haha

[@ytsejam1138]

I have a piece I'd like to send you. It's a Realistic Chronosette 237. I think it would make a great video. How can I get in contact with you?

[@mmichaelnowell1512]

Don't forget the playback speed

[@godfreyberry1599]

It's scary how many of these wonderfully engineered casette decks simply get turfed and replaced with shockingly awful new technologies when their lifespan is far from over.

[@dashriprock9014]

Field day

[@robertdavis5714]

Don't even remove that green corrosion from those screws, what would that take.....................seconds.

[@joeyjustin6895]

ALWAYS. ALEAYS. HI ALL CAPS JOE HERE. WHEN THE VU METER MAXES OUT ITS ALWSYS THE RECORD PLAY SWITCH ON THE BOARD IS DIRTY. AND IF YOU HOLD DOWN STOP BUTYON AND PRESD RECORD AND LET RECORD COME UP AND PUSH RECORD UP AND DOWN REALLY FAST IT WILL WIPE THAT SWITCHB AND PROBLEM FIXED

[@davidkornblatt851]

It probably needs belts and a head cleaning/ demagnetization and probably new caps and resistors to prevent problems down the road!

[@trevor245]

He does the first three things in the video.... And a full recap is probably not worth the effort seeing how it's a budget cassette deck even today.

[@ollyharris9438]

@@trevor245 absolutely, if it ain't broke. Plus it seems like a pretty simple deck to deconstruct and access the boards should they need addressing in the future

[@alancamilleri]

Those were reusable cable ties the ones you cut. Uou cannot replace those. Lost forever mate!!!!