Thanks you very much for posting this video . It helped me fix my Philips mini hifi system's tape. The tape head would engage and then immediately disengage. It would play after several tries and sometimes would not play at all. The problem was two micro switches. New one was not available as it is an old model, so I opened the switches and cleaned them. The contacts had turned black because of carbon buildup. Cleaned them and PRESTO !!! the tape worked like new again.
I have many old VCR's in my basement that I am restoring. I have some electronics background but you have helped me 1000% Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!
GOOD POINT ON THE AUTOREVERSE CAPSTAN ISSUES DIFFERENCE, I love decks, never scratched my head on that. You are right also that autoreverse is a convenience, probably no high end deck is supposed to be autorreverse. Good vid sir. And nice deck, yeah tons of empy space. I like JVC myself, because its simplicity and reliability on their cheap decks
Nakamichi Dragon is auto-reverse. Aiwa, Onkyo, Sony and others made high end auto-reverse decks, but the market is small due to most people in the high end market didn't want auto-reverse, myself included.
In the JVC compact stereo from my grandparents there is the same mechanism built in and It still works, only the pinch rollers are really worn. But since noone uses it anymore nobody cares about.
Hi 12Voltvids. Nice video as always, recently I sorta hit the jackpot when I came across a Sony TC-K909ES cassette deck for sale from a local guy. Mind you this is the ES series and comes with 3 heads, dual capstans closed-loop direct drive and the wood panels and all the bells and whistles. I see this particular unit still goes for over $800 bucks on ebay and I got it for $120 bucks. Did not get the remote with it but hey, not the end of the world. However, I have a problem, I cleaned everything, all the tape paths, the heads, the pinch rollers you name it. I recorded 3Khz sine wave and play back its spot on thanx to the quartz locked direct drive. However, I did some recordings, and at the end of the tape, not at the beginning or the middle, but the end of the tape, I heard alot of wow and flutter. Hence, i recorded the sine wave and checked it, the readings are all over the place. I did everything i could think of, i even changed the belt, changed the take up pinch roller, then i saw on the direct drive motor there are 2 10uf 16V SMD's, i changed that to electrolytes caps. Nothing seems to get the annoying W&F fixed, the only thing i did not change is the supply pinch roller because its pretty tight as it is a metal cast and i cannot get the pin out. I didn't want to push it as i might bend it. Can you share some thoughts what could be the problem? I know worn out pinch rollers can cause the same thing, I have another deck Sony TC-WR770 the take up pinch roller fits perfect from that. Still the same issue. Please share your insides on this. Thank you so much. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
@@12voltvids The spools are turned by a separate motor, are you saying the torque is too much? maybe if it has one of those white spongy thingy to reduce the torque (if it has) is tightened up over the years?
@@12voltvids Hi, just to give you an update, i found out what the problem was. The torque tension was just fine. What it was, the spring on the take up pinch roller. During play back, i put my finger on the take up pinch roller, and to the touch without that much pressure it stops, mind you the pinch roller it self is about 60% good, i even sanded it abit and the rubber is supple. So what i did was, i bent the spring to give it more pressure towards the capstan. Wallah it worked. No more annoying wow and flutter and the sound is beautiful. I even changed the supply pinch roller. Everything is just fine, and the mechanism is in good shape and i even changed the belts and lubricated all what i can think of. Small issue i neglected to mention, this is what i had since i bought it, during recording it records like a dream when you play it on another deck. However, whenever i play it from the K909, the same tape or any other pre-recorded tapes, the treble is less. I dont think its the azmuth since i can clearly hear the high frequencies as the azmuth is spot on, but its like if you had turned the treble all the way down, it sounds like that. Heads look amazing, i have a doubt it is circuit related. Any thoughts on this? I thought of changing the all the electrolyte caps on the unit. I see some caps are branded Elna. Can you please guide me on the right path what could be the issue? Your thoughts on this is highly appreciated.
The two are not the same. The premium high-end decks used three motors like this: one for each reels, one for the capstan. This one uses one for the two reels, one for the two capstan, the third one's only purpose is to change the operating modes of the mechanism. It's better than the ones that use the capstan motor to change modes, but far from a true 3 motor mechanism. Some bastards (namely eg. Sony) even marketed 3 motor decks, where the third motor was only for the motor driven cassette door...
@@mrnmrn1 I know. I was just making a point about how "deprived" the decks of the 70s were. I find it hard to believe that it was cheaper for them to make all these complex mechanisms just to be driven by one motor instead of making a three motor direct drive.
Not a bad deck, but certainly not one of the best either. I also have it in my audio collection. Bought for 5 euros at a thrift store. Maybe it was a low-end deck for the time when they made it, but it is at least 100 times better compared to the all current new cassette playing crap you can buy from China and even though this deck was also made in China. 20 years ago they made much better quality than today
I don't agree that 20 years ago they made better stuff in china. They make massive amounts of very high quality stuff in china today. Look at computers and phones. Where do you think most are made. Vietnam is also now coming on strong as a high quality manufacture. If you look back to the 60s and early 70s Japan turned out some terrible junk. I'm looking at you akai, with your shitty pot metal cams on reel to reel decks. When i was a kid i remember my parents looking at stuff and if it said made in Japan they passed. When the first japanese cars arrived they were cheap and didn't last long. Now look at them. China is there now. Very high quality on most products. Unfortunately people have long memories and they remember the first generation products. Take a look at the crap heading our way from a few other countries over in that region and you will see pretty shoddy looking products. Vietnam, China, Korea, tiawan all make very good products today. We also said the same thing about Mexico back in the 90s when zenith rca and Sony opened plants there but today they make good stuff too.
Is the easter egg that counter belt laying on the chassis that you hooked the ground wire through, (rendering it impossible to re-install the counter belt)? 😸. It's sort of shaped like an egg too lol. (The shot starts around 9:14)
Easter egg - At 11:26 you refered to connecting to your counter to check speed. It is actually your scope ( which probably has a frequency display) but is not a counter.
Counter belt was off and over the earth wire, then the cat installed it while you were attending the loo :-D. It works but it's a bottom end deck, i always hated reverse decks. It should have sounded good with a metal tape, nope crap!.
Auto reverse decks are not considered high performance decks. Some got pretty good but still the high end dual capstan 3 head single play would run circles around them.
11:17 Your scope is not triggered. It can measure the frequency like this, but if it's correctly triggered, it will measure the frequency of the trigger signal with a *hardware* frequency counter (which now says < 2Hz), which is much more accurate and has faster response compared to the software counter you are using in the measurements menu. Not that it matters if the frequency is 2.99 or 2.9985 kHz in this case, but it's much more convenient to use because of the faster response and more stable readout.
@@12voltvids Sorry, but it's not. The trigger level is set to 120V, I guess the deck does not output such level :-) . You can see it on the bottom of the screen, under the time/div readout: trigger source CH1, level 120V. Oh, CH1 is off, you're measuring with CH2, so even the trigger source is wrong. Also, the signal is rolling. If it's triggered, the text box on the upper part of the screen will show the hardware-measured frequency of the trigger signal, where it now says ' [T]: < 2Hz '.
@@mrnmrn1 Doesn't matter. I input 3khz signal from generator and regardless if I am triggering from it or not the frequency displayed is 3.000khz so it is accurate. Last time i used that scope i was measuring from channel 1, i plugged into 2 to check speed but it is accurate regardless. Makes no difference to the frequency read out regardless if the display is locked or not. I wasn't looking at waveform i was only looking at speed. I seldom use that scope because it can't handle complex waveforms like video. B
@@12voltvids Yes, as I said it will be able to measure the frequency like that with good accuracy, but have you compared the software counter with the hardware trigger freq counter when the signal is triggered? It should react much quicker to changes, yet gives a more stable reading if the freq is not changing, just there's some noise on the signal. Also better resolution, but it doesn't really matter for applications like this. At least it's like that on my Owon MSO7102, I have no experience with your model but it should be similar in that regard.
2:27 ..... SO TRUE ..... it wont detect tape or even stops randomly. Sounds like tape movement sensor ... but it is related to this contacts that cut in and out the signal to the processor. So annoying !!!!!. The other thing on decks and Minisystems from that period is, you press one button and the deck executes any other function. It works fine on the remote, but controls are all messed up. I figured out that this is caused by wornout tactile switches. You will think that ., hey, they are digital, just on/off. NOPE on Panasonic, they input the whole array the contacts using just 3 wires to an ANALOG input on the microcontroller. Each tact switch connect a differente resistor to the divider so different voltages are generated. The processor then know the button by the voltage value (between a certain window) Guess what ? once the switch start to get dirty, they can mimic any other function due to the added internal resistance. ..... And lets add the fuse gear !!!!. I love Panasonic ... but .... some crappy"ideas for life" there.
Hi! Thank you for all the videos! I have an old VHS-C camera (Panasonic NV-V10E) and the focus and zoom is not working. Should I just dump it or at least try to fix it? I am only experienced with computer hardware but not with old VHS cameras. Would love to have your feedback on it.
I'm thinking why would a single well deck have a mult-speed motor (easter egg) or possibly why the speed control would be outside the capstan motor itself. I guess we'll know when Dave tells us. LOL
Sped control still inside the motor but adjustement pot is not external on AB temrinals. But .... they went into much trobule to make it service friendly ?????. It doenst add to me.
I believe I have found the easter egg. At 14:59 when the counter belt magically disappears from laying inside on the bottom cover (presumably now reinstalled in it's rightful place), a symbol appears on the bottom cover nearby that mysteriously looks like the grill of a Jeep ]|||[. Not being fluent in emojis or emoticons, I can only surmise it has to do with your realization that you forgot to reinstall the counter belt earlier... please elaborate so that I'll be able to sleep tonight! 8-) p.s. Ted E. Bear may have earlier referred to this symbol as the "date written in the bottom" ???
Thanks you very much for posting this video . It helped me fix my Philips mini hifi system's tape. The tape head would engage and then immediately disengage. It would play after several tries and sometimes would not play at all. The problem was two micro switches. New one was not available as it is an old model, so I opened the switches and cleaned them. The contacts had turned black because of carbon buildup. Cleaned them and PRESTO !!! the tape worked like new again.
Easter Egg=string instrumental music mixed into the test 15:21. Your videos helped me a TON!
I have many old VCR's in my basement that I am restoring. I have some electronics background but you have helped me 1000% Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!!
GOOD POINT ON THE AUTOREVERSE CAPSTAN ISSUES DIFFERENCE, I love decks, never scratched my head on that. You are right also that autoreverse is a convenience, probably no high end deck is supposed to be autorreverse. Good vid sir. And nice deck, yeah tons of empy space. I like JVC myself, because its simplicity and reliability on their cheap decks
Nakamichi Dragon is auto-reverse. Aiwa, Onkyo, Sony and others made high end auto-reverse decks, but the market is small due to most people in the high end market didn't want auto-reverse, myself included.
In the JVC compact stereo from my grandparents there is the same mechanism built in and It still works, only the pinch rollers are really worn. But since noone uses it anymore nobody cares about.
Glad you still saved it from the trash.
Hi 12Voltvids. Nice video as always, recently I sorta hit the jackpot when I came across a Sony TC-K909ES cassette deck for sale from a local guy. Mind you this is the ES series and comes with 3 heads, dual capstans closed-loop direct drive and the wood panels and all the bells and whistles. I see this particular unit still goes for over $800 bucks on ebay and I got it for $120 bucks. Did not get the remote with it but hey, not the end of the world. However, I have a problem, I cleaned everything, all the tape paths, the heads, the pinch rollers you name it. I recorded 3Khz sine wave and play back its spot on thanx to the quartz locked direct drive. However, I did some recordings, and at the end of the tape, not at the beginning or the middle, but the end of the tape, I heard alot of wow and flutter. Hence, i recorded the sine wave and checked it, the readings are all over the place. I did everything i could think of, i even changed the belt, changed the take up pinch roller, then i saw on the direct drive motor there are 2 10uf 16V SMD's, i changed that to electrolytes caps. Nothing seems to get the annoying W&F fixed, the only thing i did not change is the supply pinch roller because its pretty tight as it is a metal cast and i cannot get the pin out. I didn't want to push it as i might bend it. Can you share some thoughts what could be the problem? I know worn out pinch rollers can cause the same thing, I have another deck Sony TC-WR770 the take up pinch roller fits perfect from that. Still the same issue. Please share your insides on this. Thank you so much. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Check the torque on the take up spool.
@@12voltvids The spools are turned by a separate motor, are you saying the torque is too much? maybe if it has one of those white spongy thingy to reduce the torque (if it has) is tightened up over the years?
@@BABYGODZILLA2009
There will be a torque limiter on it.
@@12voltvids Hi, just to give you an update, i found out what the problem was. The torque tension was just fine. What it was, the spring on the take up pinch roller. During play back, i put my finger on the take up pinch roller, and to the touch without that much pressure it stops, mind you the pinch roller it self is about 60% good, i even sanded it abit and the rubber is supple. So what i did was, i bent the spring to give it more pressure towards the capstan. Wallah it worked. No more annoying wow and flutter and the sound is beautiful. I even changed the supply pinch roller. Everything is just fine, and the mechanism is in good shape and i even changed the belts and lubricated all what i can think of. Small issue i neglected to mention, this is what i had since i bought it, during recording it records like a dream when you play it on another deck. However, whenever i play it from the K909, the same tape or any other pre-recorded tapes, the treble is less. I dont think its the azmuth since i can clearly hear the high frequencies as the azmuth is spot on, but its like if you had turned the treble all the way down, it sounds like that. Heads look amazing, i have a doubt it is circuit related. Any thoughts on this? I thought of changing the all the electrolyte caps on the unit. I see some caps are branded Elna. Can you please guide me on the right path what could be the issue? Your thoughts on this is highly appreciated.
Wow, three motors. Back in the 70s, a three motor deck was not just hi-end, it was premium high end.
The two are not the same. The premium high-end decks used three motors like this: one for each reels, one for the capstan. This one uses one for the two reels, one for the two capstan, the third one's only purpose is to change the operating modes of the mechanism. It's better than the ones that use the capstan motor to change modes, but far from a true 3 motor mechanism. Some bastards (namely eg. Sony) even marketed 3 motor decks, where the third motor was only for the motor driven cassette door...
@@mrnmrn1 I know. I was just making a point about how "deprived" the decks of the 70s were. I find it hard to believe that it was cheaper for them to make all these complex mechanisms just to be driven by one motor instead of making a three motor direct drive.
Was the Easter egg a design on the workbench??? Or the bump inside on the bottom floor of the tape deck???
This is like the tv show "what's my line". I can only answer yes or no, and in this case the answer is no. Getting close though.
Nice video 👍 there is so much room in the box u could put an amplifier with Bluetooth inside?? Maybe.
Great video! As always.
Not a bad deck, but certainly not one of the best either. I also have it in my audio collection. Bought for 5 euros at a thrift store. Maybe it was a low-end deck for the time when they made it, but it is at least 100 times better compared to the all current new cassette playing crap you can buy from China and even though this deck was also made in China. 20 years ago they made much better quality than today
I don't agree that 20 years ago they made better stuff in china. They make massive amounts of very high quality stuff in china today. Look at computers and phones. Where do you think most are made. Vietnam is also now coming on strong as a high quality manufacture.
If you look back to the 60s and early 70s Japan turned out some terrible junk. I'm looking at you akai, with your shitty pot metal cams on reel to reel decks. When i was a kid i remember my parents looking at stuff and if it said made in Japan they passed. When the first japanese cars arrived they were cheap and didn't last long. Now look at them. China is there now. Very high quality on most products. Unfortunately people have long memories and they remember the first generation products. Take a look at the crap heading our way from a few other countries over in that region and you will see pretty shoddy looking products. Vietnam, China, Korea, tiawan all make very good products today. We also said the same thing about Mexico back in the 90s when zenith rca and Sony opened plants there but today they make good stuff too.
Is the easter egg that counter belt laying on the chassis that you hooked the ground wire through, (rendering it impossible to re-install the counter belt)? 😸. It's sort of shaped like an egg too lol. (The shot starts around 9:14)
Nope
@@12voltvids Dang I thought for sure 😹 Thanks for the response.
Easter egg - At 11:26 you refered to connecting to your counter to check speed. It is actually your scope ( which probably has a frequency display) but is not a counter.
Nope that's not it.
Counter belt was off and over the earth wire, then the cat installed it while you were attending the loo :-D.
It works but it's a bottom end deck, i always hated reverse decks.
It should have sounded good with a metal tape, nope crap!.
Yap! I think that's the one!
Was the Easter egg the mechanism that looks like a face when you're adjusting the pinch rollers?
Need specifics.
@@12voltvids At 4:52 the head and pinch rollers look like a mouth or some sort of freakish mustache haha, the the hubs are the eyes
@@mjl4423474 Nope. It is something I added that is out of place.
I never knew Auto Reverse was a convenience feature, and not a performance feature. Interesting.
Auto reverse decks are not considered high performance decks. Some got pretty good but still the high end dual capstan 3 head single play would run circles around them.
11:17 Your scope is not triggered. It can measure the frequency like this, but if it's correctly triggered, it will measure the frequency of the trigger signal with a *hardware* frequency counter (which now says < 2Hz), which is much more accurate and has faster response compared to the software counter you are using in the measurements menu. Not that it matters if the frequency is 2.99 or 2.9985 kHz in this case, but it's much more convenient to use because of the faster response and more stable readout.
It certainly is triggered off the incoming signal.
@@12voltvids Sorry, but it's not. The trigger level is set to 120V, I guess the deck does not output such level :-) . You can see it on the bottom of the screen, under the time/div readout: trigger source CH1, level 120V. Oh, CH1 is off, you're measuring with CH2, so even the trigger source is wrong. Also, the signal is rolling. If it's triggered, the text box on the upper part of the screen will show the hardware-measured frequency of the trigger signal, where it now says ' [T]: < 2Hz '.
@@mrnmrn1
Doesn't matter. I input 3khz signal from generator and regardless if I am triggering from it or not the frequency displayed is 3.000khz so it is accurate. Last time i used that scope i was measuring from channel 1, i plugged into 2 to check speed but it is accurate regardless. Makes no difference to the frequency read out regardless if the display is locked or not. I wasn't looking at waveform i was only looking at speed. I seldom use that scope because it can't handle complex waveforms like video. B
@@12voltvids Yes, as I said it will be able to measure the frequency like that with good accuracy, but have you compared the software counter with the hardware trigger freq counter when the signal is triggered? It should react much quicker to changes, yet gives a more stable reading if the freq is not changing, just there's some noise on the signal. Also better resolution, but it doesn't really matter for applications like this. At least it's like that on my Owon MSO7102, I have no experience with your model but it should be similar in that regard.
@@mrnmrn1
This one I have is a piece of crap. Will not display video and had i known that i would never have wasted money on it.
Were there any dual motor dual flywheel auto reverse decks?
Naka and akay made a fully mechanica tape reverse (the tape is what is changed actrually) to adress this issues I think.
Took a while after repair to notice the tape counter belt was not fitted
You spotted one continuity error. That's not the Easter egg though.
When you calibrate speed, counter belt was missing, do you re-calibrate, when you put that belt in place??
The counter belt will not affect speed as it just turns with the take up hub which naturally slows down as the tape spool fills up.
@@12voltvids I think that counter belt slows down a lot.
@@RetroMechanic
The counter belt will not slow down the capstan. It rotates with the take up hub.
2:27 ..... SO TRUE ..... it wont detect tape or even stops randomly. Sounds like tape movement sensor ... but it is related to this contacts that cut in and out the signal to the processor. So annoying !!!!!. The other thing on decks and Minisystems from that period is, you press one button and the deck executes any other function. It works fine on the remote, but controls are all messed up. I figured out that this is caused by wornout tactile switches. You will think that ., hey, they are digital, just on/off. NOPE on Panasonic, they input the whole array the contacts using just 3 wires to an ANALOG input on the microcontroller. Each tact switch connect a differente resistor to the divider so different voltages are generated. The processor then know the button by the voltage value (between a certain window) Guess what ? once the switch start to get dirty, they can mimic any other function due to the added internal resistance. ..... And lets add the fuse gear !!!!. I love Panasonic ... but .... some crappy"ideas for life" there.
Hi! Thank you for all the videos!
I have an old VHS-C camera (Panasonic NV-V10E) and the focus and zoom is not working. Should I just dump it or at least try to fix it?
I am only experienced with computer hardware but not with old VHS cameras. Would love to have your feedback on it.
I'm thinking why would a single well deck have a mult-speed motor (easter egg) or possibly why the speed control would be outside the capstan motor itself. I guess we'll know when Dave tells us. LOL
I won't tell, i won't even hint. Someone will know in a instant and hit the nail on head so to speak.
@@12voltvids I suppose you would let us know eventually, I've stated my guess(es) already. LOL
@@darinb.3273
Whoever guesses correct will be notified in the comments. So put your thinking caps on.
Sped control still inside the motor but adjustement pot is not external on AB temrinals. But .... they went into much trobule to make it service friendly ?????. It doenst add to me.
It just dawned on me and may not have a thing to do with the repair, I think you have a new adopted kitty cat.
Lots of empty space in this one not exactly like the last JVC.
LOL, still a nice mecha for 90s standards. Have a look inside the KDV11 .... you can park a car inside the deck with all the empty space.
I believe I have found the easter egg. At 14:59 when the counter belt magically disappears from laying inside on the bottom cover (presumably now reinstalled in it's rightful place), a symbol appears on the bottom cover nearby that mysteriously looks like the grill of a Jeep ]|||[. Not being fluent in emojis or emoticons, I can only surmise it has to do with your realization that you forgot to reinstall the counter belt earlier... please elaborate so that I'll be able to sleep tonight! 8-)
p.s. Ted E. Bear may have earlier referred to this symbol as the "date written in the bottom" ???
"Silent Mechanism" is anything but silent!
I enjoy watching, date written on inside bottom
Nope but good guess.
its cheap..i am not like this deck