This cassette deck repair should give you pause ⏸️

[@vwestlife]

I forgot to mention, if the parts of your pause button mechanism are missing or broken, you can transplant them from almost any cassette recorder with a Tanashin-style mechanism -- even new ones made today -- since the design has been pretty much standardized since the 1980s. But even with a new cap installed, you'll still need to glue it in place to keep it from popping off again.

[@TheyreStillOutThere]

That is a great tip for those of us who buy this junk and like to fix it for fun/torture ourselves. I didn’t know that you could farm parts off new ones.

[@_lun4r_]

Ah, the elusive pinned comment on the VWestlife channel. Love it.

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

@@TheyreStillOutThere you can farm parts from new ones, but i don't recommend it because the build quality of today's players is generally lower compared to before, unless we are talking about "professional" decks.

[@theotherchannel2279]

I was looking at the flywheel and thinking that has to give out some very bad wow and flutter!

[@vwestlife]

@@theotherchannel2279 Yeah, the flywheel on the playback-only deck is rather wobbly. The one on the recording deck is better.

[@vintageMIDI]

Dude: your videos are fantastic. Keeping these Japanese electronics going is a noble cause. The tape era was a marvelous time in engineering. Keep going!

[@brenthooton3412]

That system is pretty sweet. I remember being a kid in the 80s and drooling over systems like that in the Sears or Radio Shack catalogue. A better turntable! Two tape decks with high-speed dubbing! A radio with a digital tuner! A CD player input! A balance fader! A 5-band graphic equalizer!! I can still smell the ink and the paper they used to print the catalogue.

[@blindlemon9]

Watching VWestlife repairing audio equipment is kind of like watching a micro-surgeon operating on someone. I could not do it, but it’s fun to watch.

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

I actually learned quite a bit about cassett decks and repairing them just by watching his videos. His videos are super detailed and have everything I need to know

[@denispoirier19]

Who knew that after 41 years I would finally learn what the beat cut switch actually does! Great video as always!

[@lewis72]

Same here ! I know that there's a similar utility for record of records/LPs, where it removes the low frequencies that can't be heard but I think that that's called a Rumble Filter. I've just looked, my Yamaha amp has a "Subsonic Filter", which is what I thought that a Beat Cut may have been.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

Apparently the tape deck’s bias oscillator (used during recording) can cause interference with the AM signal. That’s where that whistle comes from. Why only AM? Limitations of analog electronics, I guess.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 I have made a video bassed on your question. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bILTloChbJWVhrs

[@Seiskid]

I repaired one of these found on hard rubbish to kill time during covid lockdowns. It had electronic faults with the tuner but was able to figure it out and repair it all without any circuit diagrams which I couldn't find online. At the end I was surprised how nice it all sounded. Even the decks were better than I expected. W&F - insufferable with later tanashin knock offs - was actually quite good on this system. I gave it away to friends children when I was done. It was nice fixing up something that was written off as trash and sending it off to a new life.

[@HandyAndyTechTips]

The original video that you made about this stereo (back in 2010) was one of the first KZbin videos I ever watched. I must have been about 13. It's great to see it featured again!

[@manneroo]

There is something so relaxing about your videos. Thank you for being you.

[@ACBMemphis]

Thanks for the demo of "beat cut" - my 1980s Sanyo boombox had a switch labeled just that, and I always wondered what it did! Never listened to AM radio and the manual was vague so I just left it alone...

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

It can also be used to distinguish devices with DC bias recording from devices with AC bias recording, as DC bias recorders do not need a beat cut switch

[@jimb032]

Omg...the 80s called and want that back now that you fixed it! 🤣

[@8_Bit]

That's a great looking system in an '80s way; the red and blue makes it much more interesting than a typical deck, but it's not totally over the top.

[@999thenewman]

This whole repair video was about shafts, tips and thick glue. It involved prying apart small gaps, pushing buttons and playing with tape just to get Rick Rolled at double speed. Well done.

[@stereophonicstuff]

I remember seeing that Sanyo stereo in many of your older videos; I never knew the cassette player didn’t work. It’s nice to see you were able to fix it. I’ve also had good luck using regular glue for repairs like this. Almost every time someone has recommended super glue, I’ve had better luck using regular glue. I’ve found super glue to be too inflexible and the repair usually doesn’t last, whereas regular old glue has just enough give to it.

[@VectraQS]

Man, this is the second time in two days I have been Rickrolled. Gotta love the plastic components disintegrating in cassette decks. Panasonic has a portable model (RX-S28 if I recall, from 1985) where a crucial component in the autoreverse mechanism always breaks, and it’s impossible to repair. I ended up throwing mine out, though maybe I should have tried a different kind of glue.

[@TheGreenDoggoOfWisdom]

Thanks for the rick roll warning lol

[@elephystry]

What glue did you use?

[@octapesarini]

Always Panasonic and Technics (they're the same lol), I have a RS-TR333 which needs the gear for autoreverse and a new microcomputer (impossible to repair lol)

[@macdaniel6029]

@@octapesarini Try a C64 :D

[@Preinstallable]

A rickroll a day keeps the doctor away

[@life5161]

The pencil ✏️ pointer is my favorite. It appears in quite a few of your videos. 1980's stereos were so beautiful, now most people use a single mono Bluetooth speaker. 🤦 Not us!!!

[@jameshogg11]

I don't know a lot about tapes, but I was pleasantly surprised how good that one at the end sounded!

[@stanleycostello718]

That is a pretty cool deck. Red, blue, white, silver, black. Take me back to the '80s!

[@JonGallon]

This stereo reminds me of my late grandfather, he had this exact model and it sounds nice overall. I never managed to get this one for myself, he gave it for someone else but he gave me its speakers, which I still own to this day but with some modifications.

[@spatsbear]

I've had this happen on several Tanashin mechanisms... although in my case, it didn't stop the flywheel, but made a horrible rubbing sound. And the same part is used apparently on all Tanashin types, including the full auto stop variants. I also found on press-fit parts that you would need to take apart to service later at any point (instead of gluing), put LocTite blue on it. Let it cure and it's good to go. Had to do that on a press fit reel assembly with a clutch that kept wanting to pop apart on an early 80s soft touch tape transport.

[@Recordology]

Great job with clear closeup videography

[@rodrigobelinchon2982]

At first this system looked kinda cheap to me, but it is clearly a good quality system .In my opinion , Sanyo never was as exciting as Sony because of Sony's amazing graphic designers , but I have here a few Sanyo products, and they never disappoint , great audio quality and robust construction. Nice to see this fine system has an owner that appreciates its beauty !

[@UHF43]

Sanyo today is underrated and sometimes overlooked, but they made pretty decent boomboxes in the day.

[@johnbedell2376]

Thank you for making this video. I have a Fisher cassette deck from the early 80’s where the pause key will not latch into place. This video has given me some confidence to attempt a repair. Thank you again.

[@SuperTamaru]

That stereo system is positively *gorgeous*. Very much the aesthetic before my time. And something I'd just like to have for myself in my livingroom.

[@DreQueary]

I just want to say i love how you've kept these videos so simple all these years. I binge-watch regularly. 😅

[@topher6_9]

I love your videos. Thank you for posting.

[@Nickword1]

Love the colors on that thing!!

[@verastaki]

I'm so familiar with this Tanishan based tape mechanism. I know everything about it since I was a teenager & fixing Stereo Cassette Tape Systems. Over the years, I know every detail about it. I know exactly what each part in this Tanishan mechanism does and no problem for me fixing such tape mechanisms. In a way, it's good that this Tanishan based Mechanism is still around today. I so recognize that Brown AC Bias Erase Head. I'm surprised it's being used in this Tanishan mechanism. This Brown AC Bias Erase Head is perfect for Erasing CrO2 Type II & Metal, Type IV Tapes. Something that a permanent erase magnet could never do, even with Normal LN Type I IEC I Tapes, where I could still hear what was taped over. White AC Bias Erase Heads are just as good at Erasing All types of Tapes. Gray AC Bias Erase Heads are even better, But nowadays, when it comes to recording & Erasing, you will only find Black AC Bias Erase Heads - Mainly in today's Full-Logic Selinoid Driven Computer-Controlled Tape Drives. Those Black AC Erase Heads are much better than Permanent Erase Magnets, but still, they do have trouble Erasing CrO2 Chrome Hi-Bias Type II & Metal Type IV Tapes.

[@haroldalexis4200]

Excellent repair . I didn't realize that Sanyo had Stereo systems like this. I enjoy watching you repair your unit awesome.

[@rod-bits-and-pieces]

That’s a really nice looking system. One of their better designs before they started to get really cheap and nasty looking and lost all the cassette features. Nice clean recording too, always was dubious of auto record levels for either being to quiet or you can actually hear it trying to adjust to its optimum level at the start of playback. Good job getting it working again. Must be a good few years you’ve had that now.

[@100Underscores]

The high quality stock audio dubbed on to cassette sounds really, really nice

[@manuelramospaton8000]

Man that guitar lick in the end

[@chazz1115]

I love all you're cassette decks. Ive got a 1985 technics and thats absolutely fantastic

[@felidiusz]

Its either exactly same model or very similar that my older brother had in early nineties in Poland. It sounded decently, however if you put cheap casette into it, you could ended up with a tape eaten by the mechanism, so it kept me on my toes. Man, good memories!

[@electronicwaves]

I love to watch videos like this! Thank you!

[@m2esectr]

This is what had happened with both decks on my Emerson CTR-965 boombox, but right now the caps are out and the pause buttons are not working. Thanks for showing me the way to re-install those caps and make the pause buttons work again

[@ashleycox432]

I'd be interested to see a video showing your entire collection of audio equipment. I'm curious to see what you still have, and the systems / components that never made it into videos.

[@yehor25]

It's always a great time when VWestlife posts a video 😁

[@ugzz]

Funny how we learn these lessons.. I literally just used superglue on a battery terminal TWO days ago.. and it seeped down through the plastic and covered the metal tabs blocking the connection. This was in an ancient laptop that took forever to disassemble. Yep, of course I put it back together thinking it was fixed, and yep, of course I had to tear it down again to figure out my mistake.. I used a tiny dab from a glue gun for my fix, but this one is a bit smaller, standard glue VWestlife used was definitely the call! Great video! Great Repair! *and great video title :)

[@TechGorilla1987]

@4:48 - I hope you didn't lose that black plastic spacer in the shot. Great camera work on this video, my friend. Extremely detailed.

[@randyharrigan4790]

i had the same issue with a cheap sanyo plasticy dual deck a few years ago, could never figure out how to get the plastic piece not to touch the flywheel, thank you for this 👍

[@cjpwolf2436]

Great video that you got that Sanyo Home Stereo System. I have kinda the same problem with mine where the cassette deck when pressed play it slows down and the only way to make it stop doing it was to press the pause button a little inch. This was a Singing Machine [Model SMG-199] with a Tanashin stereo head mechanism.

[@elephystry]

hope you fix it mate

[@AMDRADEONRUBY]

Really a nice tape deck love tape sound too of course your voice help alot too for keeping me focus . Nice video

[@Petertronic]

Nice repair! I dealt with 100's of those split washers when I was a service engineer. Fun times.

[@DeanUSAMale]

1986 Stereo Cassette System... one can only guess how many times that "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco and "Let's Go All The Way" by Sly Fox was played, rewound, and paused on this unit... :)

[@nickwallette6201]

Yep. Just looking at it, I can almost hear: "Take.. these broken wings.. and learn to fly again.. learn to live and love so free.."

[@C3S6Films]

i'm glad you rickrolled me at 2x the speed. i also liked the backtraxx song at the end!

[@nickfrench7372]

I had a stereo cassette unit similar to this set with the same problem with the pause button. I had super glue gel type,,,which happened to b the same type of glue that you had used,,,and it had done the trick,,,and the pause button worked as it should. Of course it was fiddly getting that capstan split washer out to remove capstan to get to the pause button mechanism.

[@helperguy1360]

I just love your videos and always look forward to new ones. Main reason I recently subscribe to KZbin.

[@ghiagoo]

Thanks for this video. Will come in very handy, as I have a couple tape decks that aren’t working properly

[@RPKGameVids]

Really nice looking system.

[@manolokonosko2868]

When I was a kid I admired television and stereo repairmen the way people today admire sports heroes or celebrities, and I wanted to be one. But by the time I grew up, those businesses started to fold as cheap electronics and advances in technology made it easier to just junk the old equipment and replace it than to repair it. And in my lifetime I only used the services of a repair shop 3 times... in 47 years.

[@scotthullinger4684]

Considering how mechanically complex they are, and how expensive a good one is, well ... it's amazing that tape decks were even manufactured and sold at all.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

If you think audio decks are complex, look at a VCR.

[@scotthullinger4684]

@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 - I dare say a basic tape deck is more complex, simply because the parts are smaller, and it's not as easy to manufacture small precision parts with great care and accuracy.

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

A VCR threading mechanism needs a state machine, with precisely-choreographed actions occurring at the correct time.

[@scotthullinger4684]

@@lawrencedoliveiro9104 - That sentence could describe a huge number of machines. So why is it such a big deal with a VCR in particular? OH, and a "state machine"? What's that mean?

[@lawrencedoliveiro9104]

@@scotthullinger4684 Go have a look at one.

[@theposguy1435]

I got that radio when I turned 7 for Christmas

[@ItsRyukin]

11:49 When you hit that play button, You even rick-rolled me at high speed. 😅 (0.5x is the original speed)

[@Woodys_Wisdom]

Wow I had the same exact problem in a Soundesign 4742 dual cassette boombox. The way the broken stoppers rested against the capstan flywheel made it at first appear to an untrained eye like that was how they were meant to be. Definitely wasn't and I superglued both stoppers back down.

[@HiFisquarepants]

Thanks for the video 🙂👍

[@ArthurJS123]

That very same Sanyo was my college stereo system. Perfect dorm room beater system.

[@Aaron-iz3hk]

I passed one of these up at our local Goodwill in Wisconsin just the other day. They wanted $26 for it, cassette decks not working. Fun to see a video about it. EDIT: Thank for these videos. I have been working a few of those same mechanism and fighting that split washer was difficult. I thought I was doing something wrong or didn't know a trick.. Glad to see I was doing it the same way. I just lack your very steady hands.

[@diagnostuck9877]

That video title… 😗👌

[@Kylefassbinderful]

I really loved that style with the bold colors and the digital radio display. I had something similar as a kid, it was a Fisher but I don't remember the model number.

[@HavocSun]

So you act as if this was just a simple fix, maybe the way your mind works it was. To me that was a full on electrical technician top of the line repair! These combo decks have such great memories for me. My mothers that she used to listen to all the time is in storage. It has a multitude of problems I will one day fix. But for now I have more important things to attend to. Like this ranch I just bought which caught on fire. Before I can even move in no less. So I am busy figuring out a way to make trusses with today's codes for a ranch that was built in the early 70's. I don't even think they went buy any codes, since the trusses are built with 2" X 2"! Should make for a great video!

[@thevacdude]

Thanks for the video, Kevin.

[@kirkmooneyham]

If that split washer is metal, you could use some needle-nose pliers to carefully squeeze it and close that gap. Congrats on the repair. System sounds pretty good for an all-in-one.

[@UHF43]

I'm afraid it's plastic.

[@thatpersonwithamlpiconwhos2861]

I love how the entire thing looks like the top part of a Sega MasterSystem.

[@TRONMAGNUM2099]

I wish they still made the all in one type stereo systems. I'll look at ebay and try to find one now that you showed how to repair the tape deck.

[@albertmorel2771]

Your videos always are delightful. Thank you for taking the time to share with us. I have a vintage Dwight D. CB radio that my local radio shop will not fix. I am pretty sure it is transmitting good. Just for the nostalgia factor I would really love to get the clock working properly. I can hear the motor sometime and on occasion it seems to want to move but I lack the knowledge to fix it and the cb shop told me that that could not fix it due to lack of parts. I inspected it and all the parts look intact. I have never seen one of these with the clock actually working properly. I had one years ago around 1989 or 1990. It was President Dwight D. Cb radio and it was in even worse off condition than this one. I recently obtained one in better shape than my original and I wish I could get it working since it looks so retro and 70's style. Any suggestions?

[@orangejjay]

Man. That thing looks like my mom's Fisher setup from back in the day.

[@robertleeluben]

Good job, brother. Must have been quite a shock when you found the belts fully intact.

[@manilavinyl5680]

that last music sounds great!

[@CARLiCON]

BTW that Backtrakz blues song sounds great on cassette!

[@janedoe6350]

I have had this happen on a deck but the collar didn't act as a brake. It just rubbed on the flywheel and made a shuffling sound. That type of mechanism is noisy anyway due to the plastic cogs. But its even noisier with the pause collar rubbing. I used superglue gel but it worked fine. Easy fix once you know.

[@macktheinterloper]

Oh I remember this deck! Wasn't it a part of one of those cabinet sets with a turntable? Pretty sure one of my friends had the full setup. And now I just looked at the thumbnail and yeah... lol

[@vwestlife]

Yes, it does have a turntable on top, and I have the matching cabinet/rack for it.

[@TravisTev]

The styling of this unit looks kind of like one I saw as a kid, I think, though I doubt it was the same one. Funny enough, it had a pause button failure that resulted in the take-up reel stopping but the pinch roller remaining engaged, turning the pause button into an on-demand “eat tape” button.

[@UHF43]

It's worth mentioning that each cassette deck has its own motor.

[@milkman3281]

Awesome video! This exact thing happened to my cassette player and this video helped me fix it

[@misterrocks3035]

The look of this system is very similar to a TEAC component Hi-Fi my Grandparents had many years ago. In my youth I had a little TEAC three-function system where the pause button on the tape deck needed to be held about halfway, or the auto-stop would trigger. It's really interesting to learn all these years later that the mechanism of most cheaper cassette decks has been the same for decades.

[@brentfisher902]

Age Test: If you knew what happens when you hold the pause button down halfway while playing a tape...

[@twocvbloke]

I think my mother used to have such a system in the early 90s, complete with the original speakers, long gone now of course...

[@rager-69]

I bought my first "HiFi" rack system in March 1986 at Target. It was a Sanyo, but it must have been a lower grade than this because it looked a little different and I don't believe I could play/record Metal, but I think it had a Chrome setting for record. I paid $400 for the system and paid an additional $200 for the matching CD player.

[@rager-69]

On second thought, mine may have been considered a higher end system, since they were individual matched components (using proprietary pin connectors to pass audio rather than RCA) rather than an all-in-one psuedo rack unit like yours.

[@supermasterPIK]

Back around 89 or so, there was a very similar Samsung "3 in 1", as they called. Had a built in CD player. Colors are similar and claims "Easy Control System", sliding volume, digital tuner with memory, etc. Model is SCM-7500 and there are some of them for sale on EBAY. And yes !! there are still some spare parts.

[@andygozzo72]

that pause 'issue' is very common on spectrum plus2's and amstrad cpc464 machines 😉

[@andygozzo72]

in those, the collar splits, wonder if loctite screw/studlock would stick it?

[@pomonabill220]

Great fix! Boy, they sure try and make these systems look fantastic! All the lettering and graphics and lines and arrows and..... Makes it kind look cheap though.

[@EclectikTronik]

Alan Sugar (who thought of the all-in-one tower systems) always said that his aim in filling the panels with that stuff was to create a 'mug's eyeful' - i.e. something that would stand out in a shop to the average non-specialist punter. Any gimmick was fair game it it meant more sales!

[@mr.skeltal8687]

My friends grandparents had this system. Full cabinet and matching speakers. They asked that I fix it and I did, but it was one of the worst repairs I've ever had the displeasure of attempting. For every one thing I fixed, two more things broke. Such a pain

[@JarbeVeg]

Low quality cassette mechanism but yet some effectivness

[@TurntableGuy]

A little drop of oil in the capstan bushing works wonders.

[@brick6347]

This video actually made me quite philosophical. Is the 20th century going to be a black hole of knowledge in the distant future? As the plastics in devices like this decay and break, how long will they last? Does anyone actually know? Did you know there are more Etruscan razors in existence than Roman ones, because the Etruscans used bronze and the Romans used steel so they've all long since rusted away. I can easily imagine an Edison cylinder record player made of wood, brass and iron outlasting an iPod! 2000 years from now, will Tin Pan Alley be the soundtrack to our generation because that's all that's left! Quite Silurian and unsettling!

[@rodrigobelinchon2982]

I guess archeologists will have pictures and youtube videos

[@brentfisher902]

You should worry more about video games...some of the ROMs in arcade machines were encrypted, with the key stored in BATTERY backed RAM....

[@AussieTVMusic]

I use to think the Beat Cut switch was there to cut out any disco music.

[@brentfisher902]

When I was a child I used to believe that the high speed dubbing mode is put there so you can switch it on when your batteries are dying, so you can hear the music at the normal speed for a little longer...

[@verastaki]

My favorite era when music was on compact cassette tapes, and most attention was aimed towards both, tapes & machines that play/record them. Even Tanishan mechanisms seemed to be a bit more solid & sophisticated then, with detection sensors in place, better heads & especially actual AC Erase Heads. I watched over the years how these mechanisms changed, they started getting better & better with more features. Then they started to go back to the basics again. Today, Sony, Panasonic & Toshiba are probably the only decent machines left, with a proper tape speed, w.o.w and flutter, accurate frequency response for both, playback and recording. But I was always more into Full-Logic Selinoid Driven Tape Mechanisms than Tanishan's and other piano key type Tape Decks

[@DRDCC]

Great Video. We all learn from these.

[@rednwhitecooper]

I was waiting for that black washer to disappear down into them mechanism while you had the assembly up on its side and it was giving me a large amount of anxiety 😂

[@TechGorilla1987]

@5:17 - You need Scotch Weld PR Gel adhesive. It's super glue in a VERY viscous formula. They have a wide range of viscosity in the PR range. PR stands for Plastic/Rubber.

[@vwestlife]

Thanks, but cheap regular glue works fine when you're not in a hurry for it to dry.

[@doctorwhofan6340]

11:50 you rick rolled us at 2x speed! I cought that my dude!!😂

[@desnick2316]

Looks like the white collar was actually cracked. I hope that glue keeps it together for long time.

[@vwestlife]

It's still working fine today.

[@AeroModule]

What's the music being played during the playback test at 9:40?

[@rednwhitecooper]

Colors in Motion - Secrets

[@codebeat4192]

Aaaaahhhh, 86, the year of quality and black, blue and red color scheme :-P Anyway, you don't have to take it apart, use an exacto knife to push it back. After this, bend some metal clip that fits on the side and push a little on that pause thingy. Use some glue (or a screw) to hold the clip in place. Problem fixed. There is another thing you need to take a look at, it is the white center transmission wheel with a black cap and a spring inside that is hold together the same way. This wheel is also a timebomb. In the past I had several mechanisms (for example the Tensai RTC-8310 TV boombox) with such kind of wheel and pop off all over the place. To avoid this, pop off carefully the cap, clean it with alcohol and put some glue on it at the center of the cap and push it in place. Now you are ready to rock ;-)

[@life5161]

That stereo is Pure beauty 😍 👌

[@albertocabezas282]

A friend bought a system like this one. A big set of speakers, turntable, radio, many different coloured lights but it was garbage. The deck part had a permanent magnet for erasing, no Dolby and no tape selector. The turntable sounded thin and cheap. But it was quite fun and looked nice.

[@vwestlife]

This one is much better than the average all-in-one system. See my original video about it.

[@albertocabezas282]

@@vwestlife Yours is quite good.

[@milfordcivic6755]

I had the next model down from this growing up. It had an analog tuner, no EQ and no bias settings for the cassette.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Any idea where to get the plastic Capstan retainer? I have a deck with one missing.

[@Markimark151]

I have a similar cassette deck but made by Kenwood, I can’t play certain cassettes despite the mechanism is working and playing normal tapes fine. But the gears in that cassette deck isn’t moving certain tapes!

[@HostiaRecords]

I change the video speed to 0.5 while you are dubbing that tape, 😁

[@schmatzler]

Interesting. I've had a similar problem on my Hitachi TRK-3D8 boombox. I was able to fix the plastic peg with the baking soda+superglue trick (mine was cracked so it wasn't held in anymore). Put a lot of it onto the cracked peg and sanded it down just enough to not touch the flywheel anymore. Boom, done! MacGyvering electronics is fun.