Sony TC-K611S Three Head Cassette Deck - Rotary Encoder Repair / Belts

[@chrislawton9419]

Fantastic guidance and advice. Thank you much for your videos. Managed to re-belt my TC-K611S. Main Drive belt was completely perished, (liquid rubber!) Cassette open/close belt was streched so as not to work. So a very sincere thank you, please keep up your excellent work.

[@pwrestoration]

It makes me very happy that it's helped you out, happy days!

[@modelmonster]

Thank you! I have this same deck and the door would not open but belts were intact. Followed this video cleaning rotary encoder. Also replaced belts while i was in there and now my deck is working again. Thank you for the great video.

[@BigFisherman1969]

Thank you! Your video helped me replace the belts and clean the rotary switch in my deck. It’s a TC K-690, and the tape transport is very similar to the transport in your video. The entire process took about three hours, and now I have a fully functional three head tape deck.

[@brokenjed]

You sir are not chatting rubbish. You are spewing gold. Your video is a treasure trove for us newbies. Maybe I'll get this tape deck to work after all. thank you so much!

[@pwrestoration]

Thanks, I have a lot of videos on this particular deck if yours is the same. What's your issues?

[@markparker7778]

Good evening Paul, hope you are feeling better now than you were when you filmed this. I've only just recently subscribed and just wanted to mention that you are frickin amazing at servicing pretty much anything. The 1940's clock cleaning machine was absolutely stunning btw.The intel and logistical process you convey is intriguing to say the least and addictavely interesting. The Mrs must be quite stoked with your skills and I'm sure very appreciative as well. The unintentional underlined comedic passages are also spot on and add to the overall process which in turn keeps the viewer much more focused. I've never been under the hood and into the source components of an electronic device but having absorbed just a tad of your expertise has given me much more confidence than I could have ever imagined. I'm actually looking forward at giving it a crack. Thank you for your content and my apologies for the short novel but I appreciate you and wish you all the best from S E Florida. Cheers Mate.

[@pwrestoration]

Thanks from the UK to Florida for your kind words, it means a lot. Enjoy the videos! I'm just working on my next one now. Hopefully should be uploaded in a few days.

[@imnickleonard]

Hey Paul, thanks for your videos. I’ve just repaired one of these for my uncle. Someone else had already been in it and the drive belt was replaced with two thin elastic bands something else had failed so I stripped it apart the gearing and works perfectly. Hats off to you Sir

[@pwrestoration]

No problem buddy, sometimes there are some really good attempts you can come across. I'm certainly no expert but glad I inspired you to have a crack 👍

[@xvdifug]

Excellent video, I'll be repairing my own 611S soon. hopefully it will only need belts. I recently repaired my 615S , looks the same as 611S on the outside, But the mech is completely different. same as the W411. Turns out it needs a new drive gear for the mode motor as it dumps tape from the supply reel when paused or stopped. Found some high quality gears from Poland on Epay

[@YouTube4Rudy]

The proper adjustment of the rotary controller is probably why the unit goes crazy after replacing the belts. Thanks for this, I will revisit my TC-k615s. I'm sure it's the same issue.

[@pwrestoration]

It's a common fault if the unit won't change modes correctly.

[@bonistik]

Hey that pen trick is clever! Will try that next time I lose one of those tiny washers :)

[@Solar55]

I picked up a non-working TC-K670 at an estate sale for $20. Cosmetically it was perfect, so I figured new belts was all it needed. Wrong ... after replacing the belts, the head and pinch rollers still wouldn't raise properly for the play to start. The hardest part for me was desoldering and resoldering the pins of the rotary switch. I need more practice ! Anyway it works as good as new now ... thanks for a fantastic video !

[@pwrestoration]

No problem thanks for the comment, that rotary switch is the crux of a fair few odd problems on this transport 😑

[@Solar55]

@@pwrestoration I didn't think it looked all that bad when I first opened up the switch, but the going over it with emory paper made a big difference.

[@stanley2004]

I have the TC-KA2ES deck with this same issue. Unfortunately this video was not out yet so i went ahead and ordered a set of belts and a pinch roller on ebay from a seller on Slovakia. I managed to change them and I it worked fine for some time. After a few months I went to use the deck again a couple days ago and nothing works. No play, not FF and nor REW. Now with this video as a guidance I am going to take out and disassemble the transport and try to fix this otherwise great sounding deck.

[@pwrestoration]

Definitely check the rotary encoder, but before hand make sure the deck is recognizing that you have a tape in. Could be your tape sensor leaf switch needs cleaning!

[@stanley2004]

@@pwrestoration I really appreciate your quick reply. Please forgive my ignorance but what is the tape sensor leaf switch and where is located? I need a little help on this.

[@Zimmy_1981]

Greetings. These are little switches sprta like levers at the top left or right of the deck well. I wish u success in its repair ​@@stanley2004

[@peterw1213]

Worked at a electronics module factory before. For cleaning copper traces/pads, we used to use pencil plastic erasers and does the job nicely without affecting PCB masks or scratching the pads.

[@pwrestoration]

Ah I have one on my shelves, I wondered why I had put it there 😅

[@thejoojooman6538]

This dude is a magician! Gr8 videos on this channel.

[@lumsdot]

thanks for the vids, I got my k611 to work, first i replaced just the main belt and oiled the capstan motor and it mostly worked but would not play, I then had to do a full tear down to the mode selector and clean the dirty contacts, all works fine now. no one else had been inside, so dirty mode selector is a thing as you said

[@ANTandTEC]

Good video 😎 I've repaired a few of these but not had to take the encoder apart yet, if I do, I now know how to do it 🙂

[@xvdifug]

Green stuff is called solder mask.

[@pwrestoration]

Ah thanks haha every days a school day!

[@admiralhipowa7158]

Wow, thanks for this, a guy put new belts on my Kenwood, I had exactly the same issue . 👍

[@ronny332]

Crazy, a lot of the mechanic is identical to my TC-KA5ES and 7ES. I always thought, when some parts crack I'm for all time out of luck in finding replacement parts. But if this non ES deck has the same gear and plastic parts, for sure other models have them, too.

[@pwrestoration]

Put simply if I add a capstan and another pinch roller to this transport it's the same as some ES transports, I toyed with the idea of doing that but I figured all was doing was adding more potential problems 😅

[@andreikorovjanski]

I was able to disassemble the rotary encoder without unsoldering it from the board. On an untouched encoder, the four plastic pins are not originally melted, but are held in the holes only by friction. After removing the two screws, I just peeled off the cover using a small flathead screwdriver, carefully pushing it into the slot all around the disc. May become useful for those who experience difficulties with unsoldering.

[@pwrestoration]

I have tried this but there's no good way to rebuild it. It needs to be held together properly and securely, as the internals rely on pressure onto the contacts to work properly. The time I used your method I found that it separated about half a mm and the contacts didn't make properly, leading to it being stuck between modes. If it works for you, happy days though!

[@andreikorovjanski]

You know, the encoder repaired by me without unsodering only worked for one day, after which the problem returned. You must be right, it's obviously no way to achieve proper closure of the spring contacts with the base disc without physical extraction of the whole setup off the board and pressing the parts carefully together afterwards. Now I have to go all the way again. Good experience, though) I will inform about the final result.

[@andreikorovjanski]

Okay, I have unsoldered the encoder and processed it in the way it is described in the video. However, after I have assembled all parts back, the mechanism failed to work again - the capstan motor has fried! Have changed it to a new one, and everything started to work as a charm. So in the end I was left in the dark as to what actually caused the deck not to work - a dirty encoder or a dying capstan motor.

[@The70s80scollection]

Hi, I have a TC-KA6ES in mint condition and use it quite regularly, if it ever needs a service, it's good to know there are people out there who know how to service and repair these HiFi cassette decks. Stewart (Irvine, Scotland)

[@Mr_Meowingtons]

That oil most likely Deoxit D5 Same problem with some CB radios that have encoders like that and you have to have some oil on the contacts to stop the oxidation. and use a pencil eraser when cleaning contacts not sand paper. other then that very informative video. Thanks.

[@paulb4uk]

Great well explained repair

[@samankumara7461]

Good job Sir 👍

[@zs1dfr]

Your close-up camerawork is excellent! How many arms do you have? Three?? 🤣

[@pwrestoration]

Ha thanks no just a handy little tripod and a reasonable camera! 😀

[@finleypapworth9575]

I have one of these with what I suspect to be a bad flywheel (I've had a look at it and it looks cracked and I can feel a bump on it), when I turn it on, I can hear a fast knocking sound and when I put a tape in and record, there's quite a bit of wow and flutter on piano and guitar music... I'd love to get either the bad flywheel fixed, or try to source a replacement. Btw it's a UK model that I bought on eBay, from the UK shipped to Australia. It also claimed to be "Refurbished" but now I know that it was seller refurbished...

[@pwrestoration]

It's easy to get to so you can have a look. If the plastic washers are missing from either side of the capstan shaft it'll cause bad flutter.

[@finleypapworth9575]

@@pwrestoration I've only seen one washer for the capstan that goes on the front end, I didn't know that there was supposed to be one that goes on before putting it into the hole? Also I have had a good look at the entire flywheel and taken photos of it, and I can clearly see cracks all over it and feel a warp when running my fingers over it, so the flywheel to me looks like it's been exposed to high heat/bad storage which has caused it to crack and warp.

[@finleypapworth9575]

@@pwrestoration So I feel that I need an entirely new flywheel, because the one that's in it, causes an audible noise when powered on, and it to me looks cracked and warped. I have photo and video proof too!

[@pwrestoration]

@@finleypapworth9575 very odd. I'll keep an eye out but it'll probably need a donor machine for it

[@finleypapworth9575]

@@pwrestoration Yeah, I figured that I might have to, if the 511s has the same flywheel, that’d be nice if I can’t find many 611s on eBay. Those models are very difficult to find here in AUS! (or pretty much any decent 90s 3 head deck!) which is why I have to look at UK decks, (you guys have heaps more) since we use the same voltage and htz as the UK! (although a parts deck wouldn’t matter if it’s the wrong voltage)

[@jasejj]

Could the oil in the mode switch be dielectric grease? A couple of KZbinrs put that stuff into these switches in VCRs. Talking about VCRs I'm going to try the pen trick on a pinch roller on a video that has lost the plastic washer and so is flapping about. Thanks!

[@pwrestoration]

I'm not sure. To be honest there was so much white lithium grease dotted about the transport it had gotten everywhere 😄 Good luck brother! It seems that pen trick might be saving a few things tonight, had a few mentions for it

[@plazmapetr8261]

Dobrý den dotaz dá se nějak ovlivnit tažná síla navíjecí kladky při přehrávání se hrne pásek ke straně většinou na začátku kazety děkuji za odpověď pm

[@pwrestoration]

Yes take the black faceplate off and then remove the take up arm. It is held in place with a rubber washer. Give it a good clean out, clean it's shaft. DO NOT grease the shaft. It needs friction to engage Good luck

[@plazmapetr8261]

Pokudim se díky ale kdyby tady byl navod tak by to bylo super 👍​@@pwrestoration

[@jnbraga67]

Great video,thank you so much!!

[@KYIMGMG]

You are very clever MAN, Thank you

[@myriad1973]

I have had this cassette deck that I bought used on eBay in 2006 that has barely ever gotten any use since I've owned it. My son brought to my attention that it won't play, which turns out to be the rotary encoder that you pointed out in this video. Is it possible to clean the rotary encoder with electronics cleaner without disassembly? I'm pretty certain that the transport mechanism has gotten quite dusty over the years from just sitting in my entertainment system without any use.

[@pwrestoration]

It's really difficult to get the cleaning solution into it without disassemble. Maybe worth a go but still not that complicated a job 😀

[@Sierra747]

Do you know of the rotary encoder is the same in a Sony tc-ke400s deck? Mine is playing up as non of the buttons do what they should. Fast forward and rewind make it play and sometime makes only one real rewind which chews the tape up! Pressing stop does a similar thing too then the deck gets stick on the play positions and you can’t eject the tape until you turn the deck off and on again!

[@pwrestoration]

From memory it's about the same, but the rotary encoder will only cause the deck to get stuck between modes, IE it'll play, judder, FF and then reverse, etc etc. If the encoder is duff the buttons will still work. I'd say if this is your issue the tactile buttons have had it. They work oddly though, one broken button can cause issues with all of them. They share an earth and signal path. You'd have to take the button panel out and solder a set of new buttons in. Luckily though, they're about £2 for 10 on eBay. Just gotta measure your current ones and get the right dimensions 🙂

[@Sierra747]

Thank for your advice. The deck does jump about too fast forward inf and rewinding too and the mode selector motor keeps going running back and fourth. The only button that seems to work is the play button.

[@lordofthemundane7899]

Hi. Very informative video thanks. I have this model and love it, but my unit has similar problem. It’ll fast forward fine, but only play or rewind for a second or so…. Is it the same fix? Would really appreciate your opinion as you seem to know your onions.

[@pwrestoration]

I'd say it's either the rotary encoder that needs a clean, or the backs of the reels need cleaning. The sensors can't sense the deck is spinning sometimes. Email me if you get issues, I repair these regularly.

[@lordofthemundane7899]

@@pwrestoration Really appreciate your response. I will email in due time. Thanks again.

[@iancampbell2861]

Fantastic videos - I have a couple of these decks that I'm hoping to revive. Have you come across any issues with the tape type selectors ? Both decks I have aren't correctly identifying the correct type - for example one identifies any tape as Type IV ! Any pointers or things to check would be much appreciated.

[@pwrestoration]

Very common, it's the four black switches at the top of the transport. You'll have to remove the transport to get to them properly but they either get bent from people forcing the transport back in, or simply get a bit mucky. Nice easy fix if you're happy to pull the transport! I have a few videos on this deck and transport type with tips on the best way to remove it and avoid damage 👍

[@angelodagnolo984]

Asking for help with my AiwaADF800 the photo sensor has clapped out. I cant find one anywhere the service manual says its a SP1-315-04-B this brings up nothing on google. Thanks in advance for any help if possible.

[@pwrestoration]

Yeah generally those codes are way outdated and only apply to service techs for Aiwa in the decade of manufacture. Your only bet is to try and locate a spares or repair deck that has the same transport.. go as low down the range as you can find. Maybe the service manual quotes other model numbers it applies to?

[@gevowavemagnet]

How do you adjust the speed on these critters? The service manual is no help at all, thanks.

[@pwrestoration]

Hi it's a pot in the back of the main motor. I've got a few videos on this model, the speed adjustment is usually towards the end of my videos. Hope you get it sorted!

[@hoevelaken]

What will you do when the door does not open and the belt of the dooropener is broken

[@pwrestoration]

You can manually open it. Take the lid off and look down into the transport. There is a white cog on the left side of the transport, use something not sharp to turn it and the door will open just enough to remove the door cover. Then you can pull the transport.

[@harmonteron9615]

How increase output treble of my Sony 3 head deck 222esl , or should i hve to change the head or pinch roller

[@pwrestoration]

Pinch roller usually. If it's old it can cause the tape to skew off to the side, which means your high tones aren't getting read by the head

[@harmonteron9615]

Ok, what should i do brother, shall i change the pinch roller or head

[@pwrestoration]

@@harmonteron9615 new pinch roller mate. Size 13x8x2, you can swap it out just through the transport door. It just pops in and out.

[@harmonteron9615]

Can i find on amazon or ebay , head and pinch roller

[@AnthonyToth-t5v]

Demagnetise the head re align azimuth clean everything re lube everything put new belts in job done

[@AndrewUxcentric]

Hi, greetings from the other side of The Pond. I'm an amateur trying to fix my Sony tape deck. Have a look kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJ2Xp6d7lqalf9U It's a TC-WR 820. Transports look similar to the one in this video except there are two transports and each has two capstan flywheels. Both transports will eject rewind and fast forward. But when I push play it stops. I've changed the belts and was very careful to align all the gears as shown in the manual. Checked and cleaned the mirrors. I haven't cleaned the rotary encoder. I'm wondering if it's possibly something else? Also before I took things apart I noticed the capstan flywheel washers were missing. You mention I can cut some out of a pen refill? seems it would be much smaller than the one in the video. I'll have to try cutting some. Any advice is much appreciated. And great video. Cheers Andrew

[@pwrestoration]

Andrew no the pen refill trick is for retaining part of the transport. It should still run without the washers on the capstan. Is the unit registering it has a tape in it? Did you also clean the sensors when you did the mirrors? A rotary encoder clean is always beneficial. But generally it just causes the unit to be stuck between two modes.

[@AndrewUxcentric]

@@pwrestoration It does run without the washers on the capstan, and surprisingly quiet too. A bit of history about this unit; It was my brother-in-laws and hadn't been run for over 10 years. Sat in a cabinet beside his woodstove for years. Belts were mush but the insides are very clean. Mirrors were clean but I gave them a wipe with IPA anyway. Sensors too. I don't know how to tell if the unit is registering that it has a tape in it, I'm not sure how to do that? I have been testing it without the ornamental plate assembly and LED, I don't think that matters? I used the pen refill trick on the lever assembly, And test fit one on the capstan while it was out on the bench. It works on the Capstan, might try it when I put it back together. Thanks for the help, really like to get this going. Any more ideas would be great.

[@pwrestoration]

@@AndrewUxcentric if it were me I would simply leave the washers off the capstan for now. If you're definitely confident the mirrors and sensors are clean then it must simply be the transport is stuck. The unit should recognise if you have a type 1 / type 2 tape inserted via the brass leaf switches on the top/front of the transport. It should show on the display. If it doesn't, they may need fettling a little. After that I would be stripping the transport and probably cleaning the rotary encoder if it has one. And then making absolute sure that the transport is rebuilt properly, the primary thing being that the rotary encoder is aligned properly as per the video (if indeed the transport is the same).

[@AndrewUxcentric]

@@pwrestoration What do you reckon... kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqPFnquEl5Z5bqM The display will show a dotted red line when a type 1 tape is loaded. Is that what it is supposed to do? or should I actually see the words "type 1" somewhere on the display

[@AndrewUxcentric]

Here's a video showing how I aligned the mode cam with the rotary encoder and the selection lever, and a picture from the manual. Still same problem. rewind and fast forward only, no play... kzbin.infos_PxllJIFJs?feature=share drive.google.com/file/d/1ypCgYTj_he8MKVIDECerxOpDjU5JauM7/view?usp=sharing