Sony DTC59ES DAT out of hell

What does the ES stand for on Sony Products?
Originally Esprit Series, then Elevated Standard, but in the end it just meant "Expensive Sh1t"

[@al5152001]

I purchased the unit when it first came out….I saved a lot of pennies for this back in the day…..2024 and it still works fine 😂

[@MichaelYates]

Very interesting, shame about the end result

[@chipmadinger7276]

I bought a DTC59ES new in summer 1993 and it had transport issues six months later. The deck was in and out of Sony's repair shop four times before they ended up giving me a DTC60ES.

[@alexandrossotiropoulos5621]

I use the hot tweezers to remove the caps. It is easier and convenient.

[@jonirobertomaron880]

I have a Sony DAT model DTC-690 that does not play and does not record. I've already replaced all the electrolytic capacitors on the preamp board. Could you tell me what the problem might be?

[@svenschwingel8632]

Is that Dave Koz playing in the background?

[@PedjoGT]

I serviced Sony dtc 57es i never seen this problem....left arm is blocked...and when i used camera and daylight i see that arm plastic black rails or path on left and right arm path are cracked on several spots...that black path is molded i think on metal center frame...i fixed that with epoxy but i never seen this problem...this caused also that arm's slider with springs is on the pressure then white washers cracked and arms gear poped out...interesting stuff🤨

[@mryamaha100]

Dave what do you think about changing Cap s on old amp s 30 years do you think its best not touch if working its YAMAHA kA 20 Keyboard amp 150 watts

[@Total-Solutions]

Measure and replace.

[@12voltvids]

Only change the bad ones. I have mentioned this before but a number of years ago I had a guy bring me an amp and a bag full of parts that he had purchased. He bought a repair kit online it had me changed all the parts. Sounded great to me but the owner was not happy because to his ears it didn't sound right. I might add that the amplifier was working when it was brought to me it wasn't one that had a failure it was brought to me just to change the Caps because the owner had read somewhere that all the capacitors have to be changed by some know-it-all on the internet. Probably some know it all that was selling cap kits. Anyway I changed all the parts, there is no video of this because it was done before I was making videos charge the guy 100 bucks to change them all and then had to go back and change them all back because he was so unhappy with the new sound. Good thing I kept all the old parts I gave them back to him in a bag. For that reason I would never tell someone to change every cap you can if you want it's certainly not going to hurt anything but keep this in mind capacitors made today are a completely different formulation chemically that they were back in the 60s 70s even into the 80s. The chemicals used in the electrolytic where hazardous. New regulations required new components to be environmentally friendly. The new chemical makeup change the electrical characteristics and anything in the audio circuit that changes the electrical characteristics is going to change the way the amplifier sounds. To some people that change might be welcome but to someone who has a vintage piece and likes the way that it sounds, may not be happy with the new sound. Lesson learned I change only caps that measure out a spec and you'd be surprised and how few of the vintage old caps are really that far out of spec. Now with vacuum tube equipment and paper capacitors they all have to be changed no matter what. They might measure fine but unless you have a high voltage breakdown tester you won't know because under the plate voltage of 300 to 400 volts there is going to be leakage on those old paper caps which in a high impedance tube circuit will spell disaster for the tubes and other components.

[@perherbert]

I have an NAD 1300 preamp that made an god awfall racket humming. I changed 4 caps in the power supply and now dead silent, only the transformer hums and its only audible if you put your ear to it. 😊👍

[@robinsattahip2376]

Sony used to be something special in the days of the Trinitron, Walkman, and the first portable CD players. Now, their standard products are no more creative or higher quality than any other manufacturer. I believe they still make some quality cameras in Japan.

[@mjl4423474]

Even if you repaired it looks like something else would likely just break later given the condition of the plastics in that thing

[@12voltvids]

That's the problem with this mechanism. I have a couple of dtc75es very solid construction by comparison. As I mentioned I had one that used to say mechanism as this I sold it a few years back. When I picked up my two tascam da40s for 20 bucks each and got them working the Sony I had I didn't forget the model but the video of servicing it's on my channel was pale bike comparison I put it up for sale initially hoping to get a hundred bucks for it got no offers dropped it to 90 got no offers every week I kept dropping the price finally I found some sucker to take it off my hands for 50 I consider myself fortunate to have even gotten that for it considering that I bought two da-40s which are 10 times the machine for 20 bucks a pop.

[@zx8401ztv]

Yep its very crappy in some places, the tape loader looked interesting. I bet you held your soldering iron on the exit guide and still it was frozen. I watch a youtuber called radio cruncher, he repairs radios and sony multiband radios have loads of the crapacitors, graham uses the same method you use to remove them. Brutal but it works :-D

[@janzacek9996]

after replacing the capacitors of the preamplifier head, playback works for me... but recording does not work... when recording, it does not even delete the old recording... it simply does not do anything with the recording...

[@12voltvids]

That's a recording amplifier issue likely. There is no erase head for dat. It simply overwrites.

[@janzacek9996]

@@12voltvids and the recording preamplifier is not the one on the machine? I thought there was only one. Head preamplifier for both playback and recording. At least marginally, what else should I focus on?

[@12voltvids]

@@janzacek9996 The record amp is on the same board.

[@janzacek9996]

@@12voltvids so disassemble the amplifier again on the mechanics and see if there is a cold connection somewhere on the capacitors that I soldered... I hope it's not a mistake that I desoldered the old capacitors and didn't snap them. thank you very much for the advice and help. I appreciate it.

[@carloferrari3671]

That's weird: I've found the same on my 59ES (european model).. both guides were frozen.

[@12voltvids]

Usually that's because someone in the past seviced it found the alignment out and glued them in place. These are all old machines now you you have to think they have been serviced before.

[@michaelturner4457]

DAT out of hell.

[@12voltvids]

It was

[@mvevitsis]

The DAT machines are a real fucking mess. The final models (ZA5ES and TCD-D1) are reliable, but the rest are junk.

[@svenschwingel8632]

The 3DD in this iteration was cheap indeed. But it was sold in Champagne finish so it was an ES 🙄

[@DigitalFacts]

Hands down, those are the worst transport mechs in any Sony deck ever produced. After they released those into public there were numerous updates done to the transport - even complete service kits were available with parts that had to be changed in order to make the mech work as intended. Still got two of them here - reworked them years ago but they never worked reliable.

[@packratswhatif.3990]

Yup, and some days the bear gets you ….. or the person that owns this machine.

[@hermannschaefer4777]

Note to myself: omit any Sony DAT drives

[@12voltvids]

No only this one was crap. They had good drives.

[@hermannschaefer4777]

@@12voltvids I recently tried to restore old DDS-2 data tapes and found all of my Sony drives (SDT-5200 and such) dead as a dodo. Haven't open them, but well, ..

[@FindLiberty]

IT'S FUBAR

[@FindLiberty]

@Taco I know; Dave can fix ANYTHING. That guide is FUBAR. Take care of you and yours.

[@12voltvids]

That's right it needs a new guide the question is where do I find one.

[@12voltvids]

I couldn't have said it better myself.