Sharp RT 1155 Cassette Deck Repair FAIL!

[@kevinh96]

I know this is a few months old now but the symptoms of that deck were exactly the same as mine, the lower RT-1144 model. The mechanism is identical in both machines they just have a slightly different design. The rubber goo you were looking at is what's left of the play idler tyre with the rubber having turned to goo and it's very common with these decks. If you were to have a look at the capstan shaft from the front you would see that it passes through a small metal cylinder with one side missing (the right side), inside this small cylinder is supposed to be a small rubber sheath. The capstan turns this small rubber sheath which makes contact with the play idler which in turn moves the take up reel when playing. It's likely the small rubber sheath is missing as well as the idler tyre turning to goo that you can see. You can actually buy the rubber pieces as well as a small gear that often gets broken as part of a kit. It's a complete and utter pain to fit these parts but doable with patience and, along with new belts, cleaning and lubrication I was able to get my deck up and running again. It involves removing the front fascia, including unscrewing the VU meters, APSS LED, disconnecting a couple of springs and taking out a myriad of screws. Time consuming, very fiddly and annoying and I was left with one extra screw that I never did find where it went. The deck works fine now though. Incidentally, fast forward and rewind are driven by the idler that makes contact with the flywheel at the back of the mechanism but play is driven by the idler at the front which is why the deck fast forwards and rewinds but does not play.

[@millervintagehifi3034]

Thanks for the info. Hopefully somebody comes along and finds it helpful.

[@Type99mg]

Hi Kevin, thank for for sharing those details. I have the same problem, could you please share the source of the needed rubber pieced?

[@castillopou]

I just got one with the same exact problem. I know I'm not capable of fixing this to save my life. It was sold to me online as fully functional. I'm bummed to say the least.

[@bluecent]

Had one of these as our family deck in the late 1970’s in Australia. Was bought in 1978. Proved a reliable deck that recorded well from vinyl, particularly with the TDK SA-90. APSS is a gimmick but worked.

[@millervintagehifi3034]

Cassette decks do not like long periods where they sit idle. Bad things happen and servicing/repair can be 50/50.