Sony WM-R707 recording Walkman repair

[@echohunter4199]

Excellent! Thank you for allowing us to learn something today. From other similar videos on repairing these, the technician says that once the gears and belt pulleys have been lubricated with silicons/nylon oil or silicone grease, it’s best to let the unit play a tape for about 20-30 minutes to allow the lubricants to settle and evenly spread onto the shaft axle bearing surfaces and gear teeth.

[@JanusCycle]

Great to know this was useful. Thanks for the extra tips.

[@joeneedstosleep]

I appreciate that you started off by opining that the recording function was half-assed; I'm trying to find a Walkman I can use for decent field recording but which won't break the bank, and very nearly bought one of these. Thanks for the save!

[@JanusCycle]

For quality analogue field recording you need something like a WM-D6C. Thanks for your comment, it's great to know that I have helped.

[@chamni63]

Thank you, I install a new belt and it's working again. The only problem was the lever with the small spring for the closing mechanism, it close not properly now.

[@echohunter4199]

One way you can stretch out a belt and have it better retain its new diameter and not put too much tension on the pulley system is to do the same thing you did and stretch it to the desired diameter then use a hair dryer/heat gun and get the belt warm but not too hot, roughly about 110 degrees. Then remove the belt and see if it’s the required diameter and tension, if not, make adjustments to the diameter of your stretching tool accordingly. You will need a couple additional belts in case you went too far. As we know, these old players don’t like overstressed components (mainly pulley shafts and pulley wheels) since the nylon and plastics become brittle over time.

[@guitarshred863]

Hello I have 3 of this WM-701 , 1- WM-702, and 1- WM-707 but all of this ,I changed the belt , cleaned thoroughly the wheel pulleys, and they suffer from severe wow & flutter. I even changed the pinch rubber . I even adjusted the speed. what can you suggerst? My idea IS TO OPEN THE MOTOR AND OIL IT. What can you suggest , based on your experience.? Please. thanks

[@asteriii9246]

Hi can you pls make a video on how to make those 3.5 mm headphone adapter I can't find any video or info on how to make them

[@JanusCycle]

I am making another Walkman video in the next couple of months, with some more details on the headphone adaptor.

[@barryhinselwood665]

Hi Janus, awesome video, I was lucky to come across a fully boxed wm-701c for 271 euros and repaired it, but I'm really struggling to find out any information on how to replace the pinch rollers ... Have you any experience or advice about how to remove the rubber or remove the whole wheel?

[@JanusCycle]

Have a look at the description in this eBay listing which include installation instructions. I haven't ordered any pinch rollers or replaced them myself yet but I was very happy with the quality of the belt I ordered from this seller. www.ebay.com/itm/Pinch-roller-rubber-tire-for-Sony-WM-701C-WM-F701C-WM-702-WM-703-WM-EX80-Walkman/142165575535

[@chamni63]

Hi, I have the WM701S 10th anniversary, just try to change the belt. I have tried a other belt but it's still not moving. So I hope the original belt will work. But maybe it has a electrical problem.

[@JanusCycle]

Does the motor spin when there is no belt attached? That will help know if the problem is electrical

[@DonalLeader]

I am working on a WM-F702. It works but the wow and flutter are pretty bad. Having watched your video I have ordered a new belt from eBay. Is there anything else I should look at?

[@JanusCycle]

If the old belt has melted make sure you remove all the residue. The belt has a square cross section, make sure it's not twisted. Check the pinch roller looks ok and you should be good to go, good luck.

[@saullima1587]

Donal Leader hey men, i have the exact same model as yours, you were able to repair it? I fixed the belt but when I play a tape it listens sooo slow :/ and I can’t find the potenciometer :(

[@zahidwadud8875]

Hi I have a question, I have the same Walkman and it's not powering up i.e. it won't play FF FW what was wrong with your Walkman? Can I change the electrolytic to tantalum?

[@JanusCycle]

I was having intermittent power problems, but I think it was my home made headphone adaptor shorting out the wrong pins when pressing play. If yours is completely not working, I would look at replacing the capacitors and cleaning the board and all contacts first. If that doesn't help then digging deep with the service manual and testing and tracing power circuits. You probably can use tantalum, but I'm not an expert to know if that's a good idea. I would first try to get it working with electrolytic.

[@Ashkimbo]

what materials did you use to create your own headphone adapter? I'd love to make my own as this era of walkman is something I collect!

[@JanusCycle]

I used a section from an old PCI computer card, cut and sanded to fit. The pinouts are listed in the WM-701C service manual. I attempted a couple of times to get it to fit and line up. Three wires from a headphone socket to the correctly lined up pins and it works great.

[@Ashkimbo]

@@JanusCycle brilliant thanks! I actually have a 3.5mm spare from another project - I'm sure I have an old PCI card around somewhere. Really helpful!

[@guitarshred863]

How about an idea to to recap it?

[@GucciBucci]

I have a 702 of my own. It doesn't seem to be missing any parts or broken pieces but I had to replace the belt and new batteries. When I try to play, fwd or back nothing happens but the lil 2 red lights for fwd & back light up. The walkman itself does have some corrosion on the top connector of the gumstick battery compartment and its slightly cracked. Other than that im not sure what is wrong with it. Could you possibly give me some insight?

[@JanusCycle]

Without the belt on the motor, the motor should still be spinning when the lights are on. There are two lever switches on the circuit board between the battery and the lights. They are moved by the mechanism. They may be corroded. There are also two slide switches on the circuit board that get moved by the mechanism. Making sure these switches work and being pressed by the mechanism and the motor is spinning is a good start.

[@GucciBucci]

@@JanusCycle Thank you. I'll be sure to check. If there is some corrosion, how should i clean it?

[@JanusCycle]

@@GucciBucci Swab some vinegar on the corroded part, that can take time to remove the corrosion though. Remove the vinegar with isopropyl alcohol. As vinegar is light acid which you want to remove when done.

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

A lot of flutter in the audio still, but for something so small it’s amazing it even plays a tape......

[@JanusCycle]

Yes, I heard that too. I have since been able to use a decent deck to record some tapes for myself. They play back really well on this Walkman. I'm not sure why there was that flutter. I want to make a follow up video using these tapes. I still need to replace one of the pinch rollers.

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

Janus Cycle I’d love to get ahold of the original blue walkman, my dad reckons he used to own one but we can’t find it anywhere. Any of the regular Walkman’s would be nice, but they’re far too expensive now.

[@theslatepipebanjodraggers8980]

hi, thanks for this. how would you check the capacitors to see if they are good or not? i'm currently trying to fix another Walkman model with a possible capacitor problem but this is very informative

[@JanusCycle]

The capacitors will often leave a residue on the board which you can often see and if they haven't leaked yet then they likely will soon. The best thing to do is to replace all the capacitors at the same time to be sure.

[@theslatepipebanjodraggers8980]

@@JanusCycle hi thanks, i'll check. is that the only way to tell,? can you not use a multimeter or something on legs of the capacitors? sorry for my ignorance but i'm learning

[@JanusCycle]

@@theslatepipebanjodraggers8980 To measure a capacitor accurately you need to remove it from the circuit. This is because if you measure it while in circuit you are measuring the capacitance of the entire circuit at that point. The problem is it's hard to measure failing capacitors with a standard multimeter. Even if a multimeter has a capacitance mode and you measure a capacitor out of the circuit you still can't always measure if the layers inside the capacitor are wearing out causing internal leakage. There is a special type of meter called an equivalent series resistance (ESR) meter which can get a more accurate measurement of a capacitor, even while in a circuit. Most multimeters don't have ESR built in though. The big problem with some types of old capacitors is the internal fluids can leak out onto the circuit board which is very corrosive and can damage the board and surrounding components. The type of capacitors I replaced in this video are well known to fail and cause external damage. This is why most people recommend replacing all of these types of capacitors in vintage electronics. The risk of damage is too high even after tested with an ESR meter. No need to apologize for ignorance when you are learning. I'm still learning new things every day as well.

[@beninthehell]

My WM's capstan has rusted but I can't find replace part...

[@phaenius]

Any idea how to open a Kenwood CP-D3, Janus? I tried, but have no idea what it still holds up.

[@JanusCycle]

I've never taken a Kenwood apart. Keep prodding and poking very carefully. If someone made it then someone else can take it apart.

[@phaenius]

@@JanusCycle I tried. :( It's stubborn. It's a nice unit, with many features and mechanically runs fine, but I need to clean the volume potentiometer. Thanks for replying.

[@JanusCycle]

@@phaenius You could try holding the Kenwood with the volume control downwards and spraying some contact cleaner upwards into the volume control. Risky and may not work. But hopefully the cleaning liquid doesn't go anywhere else inside and cause more problems.

[@phaenius]

@@JanusCycle I must open it to see it, it requires thorough cleaning.

[@KYIMGMG]

this is very informative, thanks

[@cacadodo666]

So awsome. What a skillset. Im jealous

[@maxgrandpas1756]

Excellent. Very clear video.

[@vinceerck7259]

hello congratulations for your video I will be able to restore mine, for cons I have a question what do you use to make the adapter 3.5mm jack because I do not have the remote either?

[@JanusCycle]

I used a section from a PCI computer card connector. Only 3 pins need to line up to wire up a headphone socket.

[@vinceerck7259]

hi what do you use to charge the battery of this walkman, because the prices for an sony charger of time are prohibitive ...? thank you

[@JanusCycle]

i made a charger using a DIY charging board from ebay, USB 5V input and two wires output to the battery. www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-2V-Ni-Cd-Ni-MH-NiCd-Rechargeable-Batteries-Charging-Board-Charger-Module-DIY/192206169398 Any NiMH charger can work if you make the holder for the walkman battery yourself

[@HamtaroEL]

WM-R707 are still better than CFD-S70 in the cassette record deck. The latter have permanent magnet whereas R707 have AC erase heads. Or any modern chinese branded boomboxes cassette decks.

[@dimitrisstavrianos2327]

Hello, where did you find capacitors ?

[@JanusCycle]

ebay, make sure you get the right voltage, they should be the correct size.

[@dimitrisstavrianos2327]

@@JanusCycle thank you so much for replying….I have one R707 and the “technicians” in Greece get overly agitated when I ask them to work on it , claiming that such capacitors “do not exist…”

[@JanusCycle]

@@dimitrisstavrianos2327 look for 'surface mount electrolytic capacitors'. If you find ones with the same voltage as inside your Walkman, they should be small enough to fit just fine.

[@LifeSized101]

Got a wmgx77 similar having radio aswell. Battery charger i got is 100 volt , probably not a Good idea for 240volt. Where do get your capacitors from

[@JanusCycle]

Capacitors came from eBay, search 'SMD capacitors'. Walkmans tend to use 4V or 6V capacitors so I have both here when fixing. Yes, the 100V charger on 240V is not good.

[@HamtaroEL]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4LWenRqnciLja8

[@LapisandHamtarolover]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqm1haKMjMx1qaMsi=ASiS-2BE1VP5FREc

[@lachlanlau]

15:01 what song?

[@JanusCycle]

Unfortunately I don't know the name

[@sogoodlocal2129]

椎名 恵のC'est la vieという曲です。kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWS1mYhoia55atE

[@Khaled_Assem]

Belts from Ali express?

[@JanusCycle]

ebay, seller had made copies of original belts.

[@HamtaroEL]

It is possible to have miniature permanent magnets as the erase head. I have WM-R202 and they do swing out in record and in in play. www.ant-audio.co.uk/Photos/SONY/WMR202/album/slides/006.html

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

I hear you’re an Aussie! 🤙🏻

[@lenco5994]

hello, how can we buy those rubber belt to fit?

[@JanusCycle]

I found mine from a seller on ebay who specializes in new walkman belts and pinch rollers, good prices and great quality.

[@lenco5994]

@@JanusCycle able to tell me his ID please?

[@JanusCycle]

@@lenco5994 seller is mihokm, item is listed as Belt for Sony WM R707 . . . and other models. Good luck, let me know how it goes.

[@lenco5994]

@@JanusCycle got a new belt, however, the wheels were running for few seconds then stopped when i pressed either play or forward/rewind buttons. any idea if that issue was related to capacitor?

[@JanusCycle]

@@lenco5994 The motor should run without the belt attached, does yours? Before the capacitors I would look at the gears and levers and the way they press on the switches to indicate things like end of tape.

[@AshimSingh1]

Hi Janus, nice vid mate. Would you repair some of my walkmans? I have 0 skill and don’t want to damage them. Happy to offer fair price. TIA

[@JanusCycle]

I only fix very specific models. I'm in Australia and only accept packages from some locations. You are welcome to email me but don't get your hopes up.

[@HamtaroEL]

Janus Cycle, do you like Japanese music?

[@JanusCycle]

I'm not familiar with much Japanese music, mostly I've listened to Ayumi Hamasaki. If you recommend any great but perhaps less well known songs or albums I will listen.

[@HamtaroEL]

@@JanusCycle Akiko Yano and Shiina Ringo. I have them on cassette given to me by my Japanese teacher.

[@JanusCycle]

I've been listening to Shiina Ringo tonight, I like her music style. Not sure about Akiko Yano yet. Thank you for your suggestions.

[@fernandom6724]

these walkman must be " made in Japan " for the good quality....

[@JanusCycle]

Yes, all the best 1990's Walkmans were made in Japan.

[@DonalLeader]

Good job!

[@gabrielkrolczuk4596]

supper!

[@joseromano5382]

Walkman lindo 👍

[@oceanic_airlines]

Sim. Tenho um à venda no Mercado Livre, tem interesse?

[@BavarianM]

My Walkman D3 Profissional records awesomly