Sony TC-K80II Cassette Deck Repairs (Ep. 222)

A high end Sony cassette deck get gets a second chance to impress us all.

[@JamesE707]

Nice video, you always make good videos Trevor. The '0VU' you see is the original Philips DIN 160 nWb/m flux standard, set back in the 1960s. The other '0' will be Sony's defined reference for maximum record/pb level, although, it's just a guide. The Dolby Level symbol is about +2.7dB above the original Philips fluxivity - at this point and higher, Dolby encoding/decoding is in an OFF state.

[@paulb4uk]

Superb work great looking and sounding deck.

[@geirendre]

Sony really made some cool stuff back then. Good thing that none of the white gears was broken. Regarding cleaning gold contacts on relays, I was wondering if it would be possible to use those Laser Printer Cleaning sheets to do that? They are bit thicker and more textured than regular printer paper, but don't have any grinding surface that could damage the contacts.

[@brianwood5220]

Very nice deck, restored with care. Thanks for sharing.

[@PhilipsN2552]

Nice work indeed!

[@martyh9309]

CFL is a Compact Florescent Lamp and they last much longer than an incandescent with less heat and a better light color temperature for those devices and more even light distribution. 😊

[@mark902]

Sony best stuff was really good stuff. They spared bo expense back in the day. I have the k75 from this series. It's the three head, dual capstan, with tone assisted record calibration. No direct drive though, and with led meters instead of the lcd. It really well made stuff.

[@erikdenhouter]

For these small holes I cut small lints from thin cotton (hanky's are perfectly fine). Take it through dry first, and then put a drop of cleaning fluid. Pull through.

[@robertdavis5714]

Good production Trevor, small holes I cut-off cotton and the cardboard stem works pretty good for absorption. I can see that getting $1000.00 in 1980, does have outstanding lighting. You are correct, only 2 head. No glue for that cracked plastic wheel ? Nice seeing that Sanyo integrated, own that w/ FM Tuner.

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks again Robert for your continued support

[@Calcraft11]

I bet you wanted to keep that one boy,what a nice unit. You're probably running out of space with all the goodies you have. Nice video!

[@TrevorsBench]

Cassette decks are of no use to me. I have all my music as digital, vinyl or FM

[@dietriho]

Hello Trevor, I am following your channel quite some time - great motivation to my projects. I read from time to time that it is worth installing or replacing so-called audiophile transistors in the preamp circuit board, especially with old devices. Do you have any experience with this?

[@TrevorsBench]

Transistors are transistors. There really are no audiophile transistors. Each type has it's specs and when replacing them you need to pay attention to these specs and keep them within their operating characteristics otherwise they could die or affect the sound quality. Generally, we replace old transistors to more modern types for reliability and not sound. Changing transistors shouldn't make a piece of gear sound better unless the old transistors were defective. I'm speaking very generally here

[@mdzacharias]

Rubber Renew available on Amazon. Small and large sizes.

[@TrevorsBench]

Good to know, thanks

[@8BitNaptime]

When that rectangle behind the cassette is illuminated, besides looking cool, does it signify higher quality? I've only ever seen backlit cassettes in higher end units, like a Technics dbx deck.

[@alexismethenitis]

Beutiful deck, great work. Thanks

[@mr.nobody5422]

Yes rubber renue is still available

[@davejones538]

COME ON PEOPLE GIVE THIS GUY MORE LIKES

[@petenamlook18]

Use disposable makeup applicators for cleaning of small points where Q-tips won't reach.

[@martyh9309]

Lube the gear to gear interfaces as well.

[@martyh9309]

Please service the motors too. Won't be long until they have lube issues as well. 😁

[@TrevorsBench]

Both motors were fine

[@SDsailor7]

Cassette decks are so hard to work on, parts are so small and everything is packed in.

[@ian-c.01]

I was never a fan of cassette players there were too many things to go wrong and there was an incredible mix of technologies from many different eras. They have old mechanism principles from the industrial age mixed with tech developed for the space age and even stuff they were developing on the fly which they threw in to try to keep ahead of developments and requirements ! Sony were renowned for going beyond what was strictly necessary to try to get ahead of the competition and over complicating their products which for some was a selling point but for others it was excess baggage. This was a very nicely designed and built unit but it was mostly designed for home recording and a lot of time and effort went into it's development, it's just a shame they didn't have a better medium than Compact Cassettes. Cassette tape was a terrible medium for audio reproduction, no matter how many electronic filters and special circuits you put inline you cannot overcome the limitations of the tape.

[@TrevorsBench]

Didn't Sony come forward with the Elcaset? They were trying to address the limitations of the compact cassette but it never took off like other formats

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

Trev, why not just use 99% iso and avoid the risk of the plastic segments melting or going brittle over time? You can still buy that poison Rubber Renew. I use it for idler tires on Dual TT. I find you need to clean the part the following day as it oozes out a film of oily rubber poo. If you soak am idler tire in it the rubber swells up like 30%. It returns to normal size in 24 hours. I only use it outside with gloves on. Not looking to grow another head from my neck. Dr. Cassette recommends using windex to clean rollers as it will not dry and crack the rubber rollers. Idk... just FYI.

[@TrevorsBench]

Not a fan of using alcohol to clean oil or grease, there are better solvents out there. just need to be careful around some plastics and use plenty of ventilation. Alcohol has it's uses for removing grime and dirt, just not great for oil and grease

[@johnsenchak]

Keep in mind here, that workers had to hand draw every component you are removing since their wasn't any CAD programs yet.

[@TrevorsBench]

Yes

[@Reflectiveness]

I had to send my cassette deck from the Midwest, all the way to California, for repair.

[@ChrisEdwards-xf7qs]

Pipe cleaners are handy - not the craft ones.

[@TrevorsBench]

I'll look for some, thanks

[@johnsenchak]

change all the capacitors, clean all the pots, remove all the conductive glue , ramble on and on make the video longer then necessary

[@johnsenchak]

REPORTED FOR ABUSE

[@johnsenchak]

STOP THE CAMERA AROUND !!!!! copyrighted music !

[@LT.tapeheads.service]

Nice job!

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks!