Denon DRM-700A. Demonstrates a fix for slow or fast speed of tape. Adjust VU meter levels.

Bought a Denon DRM-700A tape cassette deck off of a person on eBay. The speed was slow so I took the cover off and adjusted the potentiometer on the cassette drive motor. I also discovered the two pots to adjust the L/R volume levels which correspond with the led VU meter.

[@gacj2010]

I love people like you who are not afraid to tackle a problem like this ...THe American way ..More power to you ... good explaination and ability to speak

[@thinkzinc100]

Thank you!

[@1245102]

I'm about to attempt a speed adjustment on my Denon DRM 800. This video helped me by giving me an idea of where the motor is located. Fingers crossed

[@Just.analog]

Thanks i had an issue with the VU Meter, i balanced it by adjusting the variable resister. Thank you, your video helped me fix my Denon DRM-700 A.

[@thinkzinc100]

After a few months of messing around with this deck I ended up giving it to Salvation Army. I became enamored with a Sony TC-K71. I'm like that with decks. I have had so many! My mainstay is a JVC TD-W707. It's the most reliable deck I have ever owned and it happens to have every feature you can think of along with two independent decks that both record and function admirably. As far as quality of sound is concerned, the Sony TC-K71 is hands down the best one I've messed with and that includes a personal phase with Nak decks (including a BX-300). Both decks are highly recommended!

[@bristrum]

Thanks Thinkzinc100. I had the exact same scenario after an Ebay purchase. After a little probing under the hood without a schematic I was frustrated and ready to return it to the seller. A quick RUclips search brought me to your video. Saved by RUclips once again. :>)

[@discoHR]

This is usually done with a 3 kHz sine wave recorded to a tape on a known good speed deck then you just press play and tune the motor while looking at the oscilloscope. Same for stereo, you want both left and right channels to have the same amplitude. Your method will do just fine without an oscilloscope.

[@vinylfiend1975]

Thanks - some useful info. I'm fixing a DRM-555 but is mostly similar inside.

[@68pishta68]

Don't change any pots unless you mark them prior to turning them, they could be record bias or like you said Dolby settings that are factory set. You may want to shield the display ribbon cable with foil and ground it to chassis ground screw on one end to prevent RF interference in chassis. Great way to sync speed, another way is to find a passage with a hard C note (or other) and use a guitar tuner. Also to balance input levels, use mono button on stereo to set identical levels with pots.

[@kobsol]

Thanks for the video, fixed my Denon dr-m20 tapedeck.

[@thinkzinc100]

Excellent! Glad to hear it.

[@thinkzinc100]

Great! I'm glad the video was useful to someone. Good luck and have fun. :)

[@CPUTests]

if you meesed up other pots than the only one you can that is the motor one for the rotation, that deck no longer reproduce or record as is ment to by factory. Without an osciloscope you CANNOT readjust it. As the speed goes, you can make a cassete recorded on a good known deck with a 440 Hz tone and then you play it on the deck you want to adjust at the same time you play the 440 Hz from your computer. You move the rotation pot till the tones cancel each other.

[@paianis]

Did the same with a DRM-710, unfortunately I destroyed the motor's label in the process as I thought the screw was under it, but I now how have it running slightly too fast instead of way too slow (which I prefer as faster tape speeds yield better quality recordings anyway).

[@elwrongo]

what do you detroyde the motor's "label"? I have the 710 and am just about to work on it so would be interested to know what you did

[@sneff212]

Yeah thats a good idea but with 100% synchronization, you should've put both tracks in mono....

[@thinkzinc100]

For the VU meters, yes absolutely.

[@kthwai]

Thanks for the video. I'm using DRM-510. Since I replaced the belt, now the speed become too slow, even after I adjusted the potentiometer inside the motor to maximum. I wonder if there's any other potentiometer located somewhere else. But it looked like only the orange potentiometers on the mainboard can be adjusted, for bias, rec level, VU meter, but can't find any for motor speed. Any idea how to fix my problem?

[@carminedambrosio7]

Maybe, the size of the new belt was too short ? It could be too much tighten around the motor hub, then it goes slowly, despite your speed adjustement

[@stephendare942]

The image was too dark to see properly