I have the very same deck but it's now unused due to perished belts. A technician couldn't fix it for me but provided I can find new belts I'll use this video to attempt a repair myself. It was a great cassette deck in its day and I'd love to see it back in action if at all possible.
+Geoff Roberts You shouldn't have problems finding finding belts for it. To find the size put a piece of fishing line around the pullys. Measure the total length and take 10% off that number. belts are ordered with a letter prefix. Square belts are sbs+size in inches. Flat belts for capstan fbs+size, and round belts rbs+size. That would be for small belts. Medium would be sbm, fbm, rbm. Large sbl, fbl, rbl. Many online sources for belts. The price is going up though due to lower demand.
Worth noting that it's much easier to remove the back plate holding the flywheel if you first unscrew the transformer, which has good wire length. Then for the right screw (veiwd from the back, you'll have better access. Both only need loosening. The back plate slides to the left to remove.
Thanks for the video. It was really helpful in getting my black faced Aiwa M700B going. After pestering my tech for a year, I just got it back. I already had the belt kit and all I had to do was replace the main belt! Very disappointed in him. I won’t go back there!
Well my tape deck may not have a similar problem but i watch your videos in the background while i am repairing and it has a great effect. Today i repaired my aiwa ad-f410 deck thank you sir
Repair, even with the right technician (here) and tools can be a frustrating exercise. When you think of it - more than one thing is going to go wrong. Nice machine!
What a fantastic tip I am just starting a overhaul of a Philips N2533 tape deck does have power all belts are perished, the wire trick to get the size of the replacements is such a clever way of getting the right belt without guessing fingers crossed I will have it back up and running.
did u know is the plumbing store in ur local hardware they sell packages of gaskets that are similar to belts. same thickness,mm,elasticity. i changed my luxman deck with a plumbing gasket and it works like new. i calibrated the speed.lubed the shafts and etc...... the belts(gaskets) 5 for only $9.99
I have an AIWA AD 6900 with the same issue (melted belts). I have some replacements and am hoping to use a similar procedure for getting the new belts in...fingers crossed!
The F770 is much more packed, The case is a lot smaller, and there are more daughterboards. You can't get to the capstan flywheel by removing a bracket, plus it is dual capstan. Having said that, it's my favorite deck and looks and sounds amazing,.
@@kevinhickman50 Yes Kevin, it's a complete swine to work on. I've been in there working on a few things, but I really don't fancy taking the daugherboards out at any time - but may be necessary if I want to completely recap it? I wrote a short piece on the F770 last year .... cassettedeckman.blogspot.com/2019/09/aiwa-ad-f770-dual-capstan-cassette-deck.html Regards.
Did you have much time listening to this deck? Do you remember if you liked the playback and record performance? This was a $450 tape deck back in 1980 so perhaps it could be called their top of the line model. I also own a Kenwood KX-1030.
I have a question, when you show the inside the cassette deck showing the two feed and takeup reels you can see the take up reel have a spring inside it. I have an old Akai deck someone was throwing out and those takeup reels just pop of under the spring tension alone. its almost as if the springs are too strong to be retained by the reel sprockets. I got some lesser tension springs which work but i dont know the long term effects this may have. All mechanisms work and rewind and everything seems fine. Is there something im missing ?. There is also a plastic retaining ring that fits around the Reel prockets which are fitted and not brocken but i dont know their function.......
AIWA spun out of SONY and was a independent company for a while. Sony purchased half of it stocks and later it became a whole subsidiary of Sony which they still are today.
Damn, this must have frustrated the hell out of you! AIWA always had this ridiculous reputation of putting very meager low quality belts in their decks, so, by the time 20 tapes are played, the belts give out... (speaking from experience here). So, purchasing this must have been a pain in the pocket, and getting it will be a pain in the pocket. Guess that's the price of buying high end products, but say what, that's a lovely piece of equipment there, and the video was great!
James Hamilton I was just servicing this for my neighbour. He had it up for sale, and when he went to test it, they belts were melted.I had an Aiwa years ago, the main motor gave up on mine, but it wasn't a real high end unit, it was a 3 head, but a lower end unit than this.
i guess i have the same unit AIWA AD-F55M though not same model but internal are almost identical. bought it that powers on but belt are melted. the capstan wheel is so huge and heavy. may i know what is the correct size of the belt, the flat one and the small please.
God, that melted belt gunk is nasty.Always A LOT of cotton swabs. This is a very informative video. Thank you and SUBBED! And yes , the internet is shite now. You want drivers for your w98 laptop? A thousand driver sites crowd out the one site that gives the ones you want. NONE of them do drivers older than XP and all really only supply W7 to w10. Complete rip off merchants and possibly installing malware into the bargain. Go on E-bay and some bunt will try to sell you a DVD (without any 98 drivers, despite its claim to do so) unaware that older laptops use CDs. The internet, eh? Now I will shut up and watch your videos.
Hello That was a very good video about this deck and how some problem can be fixed. Can you tell please what is the name of the tool that you used for the speed tape calibration and where it can be found. Thanks
+Simon N The test tape I make myself on my direct drive calibrated Technics rsm275. The device I use to check the speed is just a guitar tuner available at any musical instruments store. I use 440 hz for my speed calibration as this is the music note "A" which is the second open string on a standard tune guitar.
Where is a good supplier for tape deck belts? Another good cleaning method for cleaning the goo off of parts is using "goo gone" It's much faster and works better than alcohol and has a pleasant orange smell while you clean. Should work for all types of baked on goo.
+stvlu733 It is hit and miss with belts. I had to break down and order an original from Tascam for my DA40 DAT deck because the 3 suppliers I tried had noting even close. Also I have found that the majority of the belts I have found in shops are left over belts from the heydays in the 80s and 90'sOne supplier even had the inventory of the shop they bought out that closed their doors in 2003.
I have two (2) Aiwa cassette decks of this same model. One of them turns on but when you press the buttons nothing happens. It has belts. The second one works. The audio sounds a bit wobbly especially towards the end of the cassette. Sometimes it stops playing on it's own. Any thoughts?
watch-ed your video that grate cassette player technicks rs-676-us-2 on sale ebay-one grate shape 267.55 no-2-139.98 -first one is x-lent - grate deck think I should BUY-.>?
thanks SO much.. i have a nice old AIWA AD1260 wedge deck in really nice shape, but i need a drive belt and i cant find any info on it.. i dont want to just spend $26 on a random "kit" that wont give me any info .......... i hope i can find some source of info so i can repair it.. this video gives me hope, thanks again :)
Yes just measure the belt by putting a loop of wire or dental floss around the pulley. Measure the total length, and subtract 10% and you are at the belt size. For capstan belt is will be FBSx.x where x.x = the circumference in inches. So if the circumference measured 7.2" it would be an FBS7.2. The letters determines the type and thickness of the belt. F for a flat belt (S for a square and R for a round) B for the material used in the belt. Most black belts use "B" so it could mean "Black Belt" and the S for Small, M for medium and L for Large. Most capstan flywheel pulley use the small variety.
thanks a million for the reply! my real problem is finding a source for the belt.. i can only find 2 sources onlne (one of which is ebay) and both simply say "belt kit" with no information on the sizes (they dont even say flat or round or anything.. ) i read a comment below about using plumbing supply parts.. i might look into that. i just dont have the money right now to randomly waste on hoping the sellers have the right parts for me. it might be cheaper to find a thriftstore deck and take the belt out? sigh.. i love the tape deck, i also got it on ebay last year knowing it needed a belt.... but had no idea it would be so hard to find one these days.. ill keep looking though.. i want my tape player! thanks again! ;)
Good morning! Very good your video. I have some audio equipment and I have managed to restore them. I still have a couple of turntables and decks to restore. I was struck by the equipment used to calibrate the speed, what is the name of that instrument? I have a record player with speed control but the speed is not constant, the potentiometer is failing? Or will it be the engine? I've seen some of your videos and I've learned a lot. regards
I use a test tape with a 440 hz tone, which is the musical note "A" and the device to check the speed is a guitar tuner available from any music store. I make my own 440 test tapes. To do this I calibrated my reference deck using a 1KHz tape, and a frequency counter. My reference deck is a quartz lock direct drive Technics. After calibrating the deck using a very expensive calibration reference tape, I connected my audio generator, tuned it up to 440 Hz, and recorded a tape.
No you didn't because I didn't. I talked to the owner of it and told him that one VU meter bulb was broken, and asked whet he wanted to do, because I would have to order one in. Would have added extra cost to the unit, and he just wanted it working so he could sell it. I think I quoted him an extra 20 to go get the bulb and replace it, and he didn't want to spring for it because he didn't figure he would get any more for the tape deck. As it happened he got much less than he though he would get and it barely covered the cost of servicing because all the calls he got was people looking for "parts" machines. So he got many offers of 10 to 25 for a working machine. I charged him 40 to replace the belts, and that included the belts. He had to struggle to get 50 for it.
I didn't forget to change it. The owner of it didn't want to replace it at the time. He just wanted to get it going as he had a bunch of tapes he wanted to transfer to his computer. His words were, when he brought it over was "don't worry about the meter light"
We use metric here too, but the belts are still measured in the US system. If I call up asking for a 12CM belt there will be a long silence on the end of the phone.
I have the very same deck but it's now unused due to perished belts. A technician couldn't fix it for me but provided I can find new belts I'll use this video to attempt a repair myself. It was a great cassette deck in its day and I'd love to see it back in action if at all possible.
+Geoff Roberts
You shouldn't have problems finding finding belts for it. To find the size put a piece of fishing line around the pullys. Measure the total length and take 10% off that number. belts are ordered with a letter prefix. Square belts are sbs+size in inches. Flat belts for capstan fbs+size, and round belts rbs+size. That would be for small belts. Medium would be sbm, fbm, rbm. Large sbl, fbl, rbl.
Many online sources for belts. The price is going up though due to lower demand.
Worth noting that it's much easier to remove the back plate holding the flywheel if you first unscrew the transformer, which has good wire length. Then for the right screw (veiwd from the back, you'll have better access. Both only need loosening. The back plate slides to the left to remove.
Thanks for the video. It was really helpful in getting my black faced Aiwa M700B going. After pestering my tech for a year, I just got it back. I already had the belt kit and all I had to do was replace the main belt! Very disappointed in him. I won’t go back there!
Byron Ala
I hear this all the time from people.
Well my tape deck may not have a similar problem but i watch your videos in the background while i am repairing and it has a great effect. Today i repaired my aiwa ad-f410 deck thank you sir
Repair, even with the right technician (here) and tools can be a frustrating exercise. When you think of it - more than one thing is going to go wrong. Nice machine!
What a fantastic tip I am just starting a overhaul of a Philips N2533 tape deck does have power all belts are perished, the wire trick to get the size of the replacements is such a clever way of getting the right belt without guessing fingers crossed I will have it back up and running.
Dental floss also works for measuring belt size.
As always excellent videos and informative too.
did u know is the plumbing store in ur local hardware they sell packages of gaskets that are similar to belts. same thickness,mm,elasticity. i changed my luxman deck with a plumbing gasket and it works like new. i calibrated the speed.lubed the shafts and etc...... the belts(gaskets) 5 for only $9.99
First I've ever heard of that, I'm impressed!
Very nice...lovely videos you make
Gorgeous unit
I have an AIWA AD 6900 with the same issue (melted belts). I have some replacements and am hoping to use a similar procedure for getting the new belts in...fingers crossed!
You are the best on youtube love your videos
Nice work.
Pay attention at the orange cap in the amplifier section.
This create a typical noise or dead channel.
This deck reminds me of my AD-F770. Internally - complex, and fully of wires, and very little room to maneuver.
The F770 is much more packed, The case is a lot smaller, and there are more daughterboards. You can't get to the capstan flywheel by removing a bracket, plus it is dual capstan. Having said that, it's my favorite deck and looks and sounds amazing,.
@@kevinhickman50 Yes Kevin, it's a complete swine to work on. I've been in there working on a few things, but I really don't fancy taking the daugherboards out at any time - but may be necessary if I want to completely recap it?
I wrote a short piece on the F770 last year .... cassettedeckman.blogspot.com/2019/09/aiwa-ad-f770-dual-capstan-cassette-deck.html
Regards.
Did you have much time listening to this deck? Do you remember if you liked the playback and record performance? This was a $450 tape deck back in 1980 so perhaps it could be called their top of the line model. I also own a Kenwood KX-1030.
No, was not my deck but did belong to a musician. He sold it right after repair.
I have a question, when you show the inside the cassette deck showing the two feed and takeup reels you can see the take up reel have a spring inside it. I have an old Akai deck someone was throwing out and those takeup reels just pop of under the spring tension alone. its almost as if the springs are too strong to be retained by the reel sprockets. I got some lesser tension springs which work but i dont know the long term effects this may have. All mechanisms work and rewind and everything seems fine. Is there something im missing ?. There is also a plastic retaining ring that fits around the Reel prockets which are fitted and not brocken but i dont know their function.......
Great video and I like the tape tip. It’s be even better video if the camera angle allowed us to see what you were doing (belt side)
Great deck!
that big teansformer 😍
I found it much easier to take out the power supply than use the 90 degree screw driver.
Supposed to lube/grease the transport, not just replace the belts
My M700B starts but after two seconds stops and slows down to a complete stop. The same happens during FF and REW. Any ideas? I really appreciate it.
AIWA spun out of SONY and was a independent company for a while. Sony purchased half of it stocks and later it became a whole subsidiary of Sony which they still are today.
Thanks for making this video.
Damn, this must have frustrated the hell out of you!
AIWA always had this ridiculous reputation of putting very meager low quality belts in their decks, so, by the time 20 tapes are played, the belts give out... (speaking from experience here).
So, purchasing this must have been a pain in the pocket, and getting it will be a pain in the pocket. Guess that's the price of buying high end products, but say what, that's a lovely piece of equipment there, and the video was great!
James Hamilton I was just servicing this for my neighbour. He had it up for sale, and when he went to test it, they belts were melted.I had an Aiwa years ago, the main motor gave up on mine, but it wasn't a real high end unit, it was a 3 head, but a lower end unit than this.
i guess i have the same unit AIWA AD-F55M though not same model but internal are almost identical. bought it that powers on but belt are melted. the capstan wheel is so huge and heavy. may i know what is the correct size of the belt, the flat one and the small please.
oh ok. great vids. i watch all the time. ur vids are awesome
Is aiwa m700 multi region voltage?
Nice deck, great band, fantastic service!
God, that melted belt gunk is nasty.Always A LOT of cotton swabs. This is a very informative video. Thank you and SUBBED!
And yes , the internet is shite now. You want drivers for your w98 laptop? A thousand driver sites crowd out the one site that gives the ones you want.
NONE of them do drivers older than XP and all really only supply W7 to w10. Complete rip off merchants and possibly installing malware into the bargain.
Go on E-bay and some bunt will try to sell you a DVD (without any 98 drivers, despite its claim to do so) unaware that older laptops use CDs.
The internet, eh? Now I will shut up and watch your videos.
You can get 50 pcs different sizes on ebay for $6 and free shipping.
The idler tire need to be replaced, more than that the rubber poly that turns the idler tire definitely need to be changed.
Hello
That was a very good video about this deck and how some problem can be fixed.
Can you tell please what is the name of the tool that you used for the speed tape calibration and where it can be found.
Thanks
+Simon N
The test tape I make myself on my direct drive calibrated Technics rsm275.
The device I use to check the speed is just a guitar tuner available at any musical instruments store. I use 440 hz for my speed calibration as this is the music note "A" which is the second open string on a standard tune guitar.
Where is a good supplier for tape deck belts? Another good cleaning method for cleaning the goo off of parts is using "goo gone" It's much faster and works better than alcohol and has a pleasant orange smell while you clean. Should work for all types of baked on goo.
+stvlu733 It is hit and miss with belts. I had to break down and order an original from Tascam for my DA40 DAT deck because the 3 suppliers I tried had noting even close. Also I have found that the majority of the belts I have found in shops are left over belts from the heydays in the 80s and 90'sOne supplier even had the inventory of the shop they bought out that closed their doors in 2003.
Thank you 🎵
The markup on those belts - WOW - 25 cents worth of rubber
+Donald Ellett
Supply and demand. They sell a fraction today compared to 20 years ago.
I have two (2) Aiwa cassette decks of this same model. One of them turns on but when you press the buttons nothing happens. It has belts. The second one works. The audio sounds a bit wobbly especially towards the end of the cassette. Sometimes it stops playing on it's own. Any thoughts?
The belts could be worn or dried out.
watch-ed your video that grate cassette player technicks rs-676-us-2 on sale ebay-one grate shape 267.55 no-2-139.98 -first one is x-lent - grate deck think I should BUY-.>?
Brake cleaner does a pretty good job of removing belt goo
So does baby oil.
@@12voltvids oh I didn't know about that. Might try it out on my ITT Stereo 5000
Sounds good
thanks SO much.. i have a nice old AIWA AD1260 wedge deck in really nice shape, but i need a drive belt and i cant find any info on it.. i dont want to just spend $26 on a random "kit" that wont give me any info .......... i hope i can find some source of info so i can repair it.. this video gives me hope, thanks again :)
Yes just measure the belt by putting a loop of wire or dental floss around the pulley. Measure the total length, and subtract 10% and you are at the belt size.
For capstan belt is will be FBSx.x where x.x = the circumference in inches.
So if the circumference measured 7.2" it would be an FBS7.2.
The letters determines the type and thickness of the belt.
F for a flat belt (S for a square and R for a round)
B for the material used in the belt. Most black belts use "B" so it could mean "Black Belt" and the S for Small, M for medium and L for Large.
Most capstan flywheel pulley use the small variety.
thanks a million for the reply!
my real problem is finding a source for the belt.. i can only find 2 sources onlne (one of which is ebay) and both simply say "belt kit" with no information on the sizes (they dont even say flat or round or anything.. ) i read a comment below about using plumbing supply parts.. i might look into that.
i just dont have the money right now to randomly waste on hoping the sellers have the right parts for me.
it might be cheaper to find a thriftstore deck and take the belt out? sigh.. i love the tape deck, i also got it on ebay last year knowing it needed a belt.... but had no idea it would be so hard to find one these days..
ill keep looking though.. i want my tape player! thanks again! ;)
wow..I like it..
Good morning! Very good your video. I have some audio equipment and I have managed to restore them. I still have a couple of turntables and decks to restore.
I was struck by the equipment used to calibrate the speed, what is the name of that instrument?
I have a record player with speed control but the speed is not constant, the potentiometer is failing? Or will it be the engine?
I've seen some of your videos and I've learned a lot.
regards
I use a test tape with a 440 hz tone, which is the musical note "A" and the device to check the speed is a guitar tuner available from any music store. I make my own 440 test tapes. To do this I calibrated my reference deck using a 1KHz tape, and a frequency counter. My reference deck is a quartz lock direct drive Technics. After calibrating the deck using a very expensive calibration reference tape, I connected my audio generator, tuned it up to 440 Hz, and recorded a tape.
@@12voltvids How can I get a hold of one of those 440hz tone tapes? Do you sell them?
@@nanoatom6146 yes I record them on my certified calibration deck.
Got a nacamichi for your bench and video if you're interested zx7 in think, let me know bud
sure
@@12voltvids how can I speak with you, I'm old fashion about stuff, I need to speak with people lol
Did I miss the bit where you replaced the VU bulb?
No you didn't because I didn't. I talked to the owner of it and told him that one VU meter bulb was broken, and asked whet he wanted to do, because I would have to order one in. Would have added extra cost to the unit, and he just wanted it working so he could sell it. I think I quoted him an extra 20 to go get the bulb and replace it, and he didn't want to spring for it because he didn't figure he would get any more for the tape deck. As it happened he got much less than he though he would get and it barely covered the cost of servicing because all the calls he got was people looking for "parts" machines. So he got many offers of 10 to 25 for a working machine. I charged him 40 to replace the belts, and that included the belts. He had to struggle to get 50 for it.
What about the capstan oil?
Carlos Mergulhão Just regular electric motor oil is all that is needed.
You did not replace the light behind the VU meter!
markpirateuk Not yet no. I don't have one. The shop where I picked up the belts didn't have one in stock.
looks like my old pioneer ct400 inside
Hi. Is it worth it to have such a deck at home or can you find a better one?
Serge Shau
This is one of the better decks these days if you can find one.
Thank you.
13:55 A Serpentine belt for my car engine is cheaper!
you forgot to change the vu bulb
I didn't forget to change it. The owner of it didn't want to replace it at the time. He just wanted to get it going as he had a bunch of tapes he wanted to transfer to his computer. His words were, when he brought it over was "don't worry about the meter light"
+
inches lol nobody uses that in Europe
We use metric here too, but the belts are still measured in the US system.
If I call up asking for a 12CM belt there will be a long silence on the end of the phone.
ADMIRE YOUR CONFIDENT NARRATION MAN!!!