The Coolest LCD of any Cassette Deck - Pioneer CT447 Repair / Service
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- This nice little Pioneer CT447 Cassette Deck has, in my opinion, one the nicest and absolutely unnecessary LCD screens I have seen on a deck of this age and era. Watch as I diagnose its faults (again, bought off ebay) and give it a service and clean. Finally it plays tapes again as it should do!
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Nice job resorting a really nice deck as usual. 😁 I love the simplicity of the transport, sometimes less is more. I also love the Auto BLE animations as much as you do. They just don't make machines like this anymore sadly, but it's nice to see this vintage stuff getting some love.
I have one bought in 2017. I only changed the capstan motor and the pinch roller and it works like a charm. I still use it alongside my other decks (Pioneer CT-737, Pioneer CT-676, Dual C814 and AIWA AD-F810). This deck is made in 1990 and it's a very good deck even if it has 2 heads.😊
I also had a Pioneer CT-443, a deck that uses the same mechanism, but I kept this one because it's better. Very good repair video. I wish you enjoy it.🤗🤗🤗
Compared to some other decks I own, it has a great frequency range
Very satisfying ...I could watch those dancing meters all day..
Pretty cool, I too buy decks for fancy features these days regardless of range positioning. As you progress in the field you may find yourself wanting very specific units mixing unlikely features of the era like 3 head, auto reverse, random track access, intro scan, play trim, forward and reverse dubbing, digital fader... each deck can be unique.
Your belt is a little bit too much for width and tension by glance alone. I could probably know better for the tension but over the years I've developed a sense for how much a belt should be stretched and it isn't much... the best results are obtained when it's almost loose. DeckTech is a brand you can trust even if like me you already have singularly packed quality belts they offer kits that put you ahead of schedule on your next machine. Meanwhile in the past I've spent about 30 bucks a piece from two highest ranking eBay sellers from DE. I've verified their belts were very similar or equal to the best belts I use down to the color tone and rubber texture... for what I saw they could have come from the same factory but their asking was several magnitudes more.
Thank you very much for this helpful video! There are very few videos about this particular model available. Thanks to it I've successfully repaired mine - it was stuck solenoid on the transport that prevented the head assembly from lifting up. Good work!
Congrats on bringing back to life a pretty cool deck. Maybe its just nostalgia but the equipment of yesteryear just seems so much more robust and interesting then what one can usually get nowadays.
That's true. And this is towards the tail end of the heavier era too, up to the end of the 70s. I think it declined through the 90s, to a race to the bottom for price and quality.
Lovely design panel on the transport, and cool display.
It's nothing but relic junk!! 🗑️👎
Good to see such a nice looking deck back in service. I like Pioneer tuners but never had their cassette decks 😕
I use their Stable Platter CD Players. I haven't found a reason to change it out yet!
@@pwrestoration I'm going to have a go at replacing the belt on my very similar CT339. Wish me luck. If you like the stable platter CD players, try and get a PDR-04 or PDR-05. They are actually CD recorders, but they both - especially the 05 make phenomenal players. I prefer them both to my old Arcam Alpha 9 (the one with the legendary DCS ring DAC).
@pwrestoration. Thank you for your work on this video. You have given this tape deck a new lease of life with your skills and know how. With regard to tape calibration, have you ever worked on an Aiwa tape deck with their DATA system? Back in the 1980’s I used to own an Aiwa deck which had a memory option where you could store the calibration settings for 4 different tape types/brands. I read somewhere that Aiwa used TDK cassette tape to set the base/benchmark of their calibration system. My Aiwa deck - the AD - M800 - had a wireless remote, which was quite rare for a tape deck at that time. As I remember, the “v” shaped record/playback head was just superb for tape monitoring and the analog VU meters had an LED in between them to indicate peak levels during recording. Maybe I should have kept it! Many thanks again for your work on your channel. You and yours stay safe and well.
Nice deck but the display isn't a LCD but a VFD display
Try getting video interest with VFD in the title my friend 💋 We share a love for buses though! My bus calendar makes an appearance in this video somewhere
Ah - the old well-actually bait! I think there were a few cassette decks with an LCD display though - Revox springs to mind.
When he reaches 1.000.000 subscribers we'll see who's laughing then! 🙂
@@MatthewBrannigan Sony to late 70s
I love the Alps mechanisms that were used in a lot of decks throughout the 90s. Simple, reliable and dead easy to work on. The better variants were rated as low as 0.045% WRMS wow and flutter which is pretty darned impressive when you consider how basic they were. I need to change the capstan motors (£3 each) in a couple of mine as they've gone screechy after nearly 30 years, but that's all I've ever had to do to them apart from one belt change each and the usual routine cleaning and an annual drop of oil on the capstan bushing.
Pity that you are not in Spain, I have a couple of desks to be served the way you do it.
Excelent work, congratulations.
Another great job Paul👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. Good video again.
Nice deck and good work. The BLE was cool
I have the same deck, and I love it, it's very reliable and a good deck to check if old tapes are still good enough. Because when you got a bad old tape, it won't tune it and the display will show "error". I also wanted that deck because of the display. It's recording and sounding very well. The only thing, you should clean it often, the head and the pinch roller, otherwise the sound becomes muddy very quickly. Nonetheless, a very cool deck to have, got mine for 30 Euros.
Those ALPS transports were also used in Sony's around the late 80's. These transports are great quality and last forever. Even the used belts are high quality. My TC-RX80ES (1989) still works perfect with the original belt.
Just love your videos you are a very skilled person I wish I could do what you do, had an interest in cassette tapes since 1978 buy a lot of my music on pre-recorded cassette 😊
I've got the 3-head Pioneer CT-S410 that looks almost identical. Definitely one of the nicest looking decks I've ever had. I've blueprinted mine by going through and replacing any wide tolerance resistors and capacitors in the signal path with something tight tolerance and decent quality. It was definitely worth the time and effort.
Then I got a Pioneer CT-S450S (one of the Dolby S models) and the dedicated animations are no more. It does display "BIAS", "LEVL" and "E Q " on the digital tape counter while doing simple animations on the left and right channel meters though, so that's still pretty cool.
Nice yeah good to repair ❤
Excellent video, thank you.
Questo pioneer appartiene alla categoria del mio CT-333,ed e' uno dei successori.bel modello e ottimo lavoro
That brought a few memories back Paul, I think i still have my CT-447 and a F-676 Tuner. At the time i ran it through a A400 which went years ago, brilliant amp back then.
Bought the tape deck from Gilson Audio in Middlesbrough.
Thanks for the video.
There's only one music shop in Boro now I think, although there did used to be a richer sounds. Now gone. That guitar shop that was in captain cooks square also gone.
@@pwrestoration My father’s friend(Uncle Tony) used to work in Middlesbrough music for years then it moved onto Newport rd.
Gilson Audio shut down years ago but was located on the same road as Richer Sounds.
It was a brilliant shop.
@gtretroworld good old uncle tony. Sold me my first guitar in 1997, which is now my daughter's first guitar. I didn't know it had moved, that's good news. I thought it had just closed.
@@pwrestoration The whole Uncle Tony thing was apparently me and my brothers fault haha. He was always at our house and was like our unofficial uncle, incredible guitar player who should have gone places but he was a bit stage shy. I have a few tape and reel Demos with him and my dad in a few bands from the 70s and maybe early 80s. I think the shop did shut down, i do know he retired. Still see him occasionally.
Looks like a VFD to me, which is even cooler!
If you liked this specific display, you are going to love the display on the CT 939
That's definitely a very cool display, and auto calibration on a 2 head is a nice feature. I use an awful lot of DeckTech belts myself, but I'm in Canada so I probably don't buy as many as you do.
I haven't found one comparable for quality and cheapness yet. Plus they deliver quite quick. I should get shares in the company 😅
Nice video wc
I have this deck and its amazing, I picked it up locally for £75 and was pleasantly surprised by the blank cassette calibration built in! I needed to grease a few bits as there was a bit of vibration from somewhere. Its all good now though. Do you have a video of what you do when some of your last wobble tests etc fail? I would like to see that.
I don't really, but generally there can only be components in the tape path to blame. So working cheapest to most expensive I would go good clean and oil - change pinch roller - reel tables or clutches - capstan belt - capstan itself - capstan motor - electricial issues.
I had one of these in the mid 90s. Really good tape deck!!!
Ничего хорошего после 90г pioneer не выпускал.Самая бюджетная модель из всех,что я видел!😐
Sweet deck
That's funny, the transport in my TEAC v1050 is almost the exact same, the capstan wheel, the single pinchroller on the right... Do you think they shared transports between TEAC and Pioneer ?
Maybe! Either that or someone robbed some design plans 🫠
There is a BLE animation on my CT-S320 as well - it probably sold the deck for me when I bought it in 1993.
do you know how to fix the tape selector when bec ause of using too much chrome tapes the auto selector wares out and always on type I, WE CALL IT CHRISTMAS TREE DECKS (my friends and i) ,i was the first to buy one with this displays but 3 head deck, cool is the ct-91A DISPLAY
Great video, just subscribed!
Thanks for the sub!
Omega aficionado? I am more of a vintage collector myself 😎 and its always a whole exploration to see how to remove transports on machines youve never seen before
I also have a ct 737 mark II, and the door don't open anymore, and I don't find anybody to fix and service this set
I have a JVC KD-V6 that needs to be serviced, unfortunately I can’t find a local shop to work on it here in the DFW area. Sad.
Time to pull the screwdrivers out and have a go 👌
@@pwrestoration I actually bought the service manual for my KD-V6! Need to get courageous and open it. Can you suggest where to order parts for it?
Thanks for the great video and advice.
@@rafacq depending where you are in the world, webspareparts.com show a belt kit for it. You would probably have to pop the pinch roller(s?) out yourself, measure it up and then buy one online as a generic replacement. They're measured diameter/width/axle diameter. IE 13x8x2.
Best of luck!
@@pwrestorationthanks. Thanks for the link. I’m in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area in the US.
I ordered two belts from them. Thanks again.
If the calibration failed, does it tell you why, which step?
As much as I like auto-cal on the Revox, it almost always stumbles on late BASF chromes. Early ones (if still alive) are usually fine, but the cheap late CSII and some Maximas always beat the Swiss firmware. Sometimes it says OK, but it's definitely not (over-the-top upper mids), sometimes it just flashes "fail".
That's a great point actually, I really don't know. Maybe if I put in an awful old tape, I could test that
I have just acquired a CT449 also with the Auto BLE. How do you get it to work - do you need to insert a blank cassette? I have no manual. My machine is mint tho so don’t think anything is wrong - just nothing happens when I push the Auto BLE button. Thanks for your help!
I think you press auto BLE and record, or then record. Then play. Can't remember now! Make sure it's not had the recording tabs snapped off your tape.
Manual here
archive.org/details/manual_CT449_SM_PIONEER_EN
@ Thank you, much appreciated!
Hi Paul. I've just repaired a TC k611s with the help from your videos. It's up and running, which sounds great for the first 3 seconds, then goes flat and dull, so it's losing the high levels. I've not replaced the pinch roller, so that's my question. Where do you get your replacement pinch rollers from ? Many thanks.
Exactly that. Your pinch roller is causing tape skew, which is making the tape move off centre of the head as it plays. Pinch roller size is 13x8x2 and they're freely available. You can actually replace the roller by popping it out if it's holder while it's in situ with a pick or similar tool. Don't loose the axle! eBay is best bet. If you buy cheap ones they can come too thick and need filing down sometimes to fit into the holder.
@pwrestoration Thanks Paul. It's also running slightly slower, hopefully this will sort itself with a new roller.
@@happyjive2235 the speed change will be from the new belt, it's a bit tighter so will need the speed adjusting. The roller generally doesn't affect speed too much. Good luck!
@pwrestoration I don't own an oscilloscope, would I be right in saying I'll have to adjust the tape speed until it sounds about right?
@@happyjive2235 to be honest yes, that would work. To do it properly you'd need a speed calibration tape off eBay. They're maybe £12? Then you can use an app called spectroid which is free to adjust your speed against the tone on the tape 🙂
Nice deck. I've a Teac W-790R that I think needs a belt change.
Teac decks can be funny, a bit like Denon. They can be either really simple to work on or absolutely horrendous. Best of luck!
It looks straight forward. Belts ordered!
I had that deck but as a dubbel deck with both decks record functions to do relay recording or record 2 tapes at the same time same display just an extre counter for the second deck and auto reverse .... wish i still had that deck it costed me around 1200 guilders in that time a really good high end deck
Can we install generaly normal Rec/play head in 3 head cassette deck brother , pls can give advice im frm india, generaly like this head, because my deck is not producing clear n clean output sound when i play any cassettes even the tapes is good
Yes brother if it fits and the resistance is the same, it should work.
Thnk you, i just need only to increase the output treble sound brother , how to increase the treble brother
Just got a CCT-449 for 27€, it's true that fluorescent display's very nice. I also have the double capstan 3 head Dolby S version of that deck (CT-S810S) with the same display (no, not for 27€).
I still haven't owned a pioneer 3 head deck personally. I bet their quality is great.
Nice video. Are you from Scotland? I like your accent.
A huge mongrel I'm afraid. Half Yorkshire and then 20 years spent in Scotland. Good ear!
Love that display. How does it sound? (with non accordion music :P) Will you be keeping this one?
It sounds great, to be honest I always find semi decent Dolby C decks usually do. Not sure what to do with it yet, I have so many decks 😅
@@pwrestoration The eternal question... How many decks is too many decks? 🤔🤣 I now have five. 🤷🏻🤣 I think I'm at my personal limit now.
Now you won't have to go to all the trouble of getting a Christmas tree and decorating it with lights! Just set the deck up and play its flashing lights while you drink eggnog and your cats and/or children sneak around trying to open the presents early!
I suspect the display is a VFD rather than an LCD
You don´t have any cassette on it HOW COULD IT DO ANYTHING?sorry for the caqps lock it activates when unexpected
The electrolytic capacitors will need to be changed, after the age of the deck, they will definitely be dried out.
Nah, in my personal experience people have a giant love for changing caps willy nilly. If I were doing a complete stripdown I might test them all, but this involves pulling each one to do properly. Just changing them can cause more problems than it solves, especially if the deck is in spec as is.
I have made the experience after servicing 150+ decks early on that changing caps just for the sake of of it does often lead to mishaps such as broken traces, false polarity , lost cable connections. But I do change any caps when they are the cause of malfunction or are visibly in bad condition. Power supply caps should be checked too. Any caps which were glued on the circuit board should have the glue taken off as that can become corrosive.
That LCD is not an LCD.
Potatoes tomatoes! 🥔🍅
I LIKE YOUR WATCH --INVICTA ?
Omega
1990-91, by the way
Looks almost like a Sony TC-K679ES or TC-K690.
Not many about either, it has got odd dimensions. Little taller than normal I think.
This is a VFD, no LCD.
LCD?
No!
Vacuum Fluorescent Display, short Name VFD!
I knowwww I know. But, try using the algorithm to your advantage with VFD in the title. Gotta have some leeway 😀
I gave up on Pioneer when trying to fix my Pl-600 turntable - I couldn’t believe how cheap and crappy it was made, after 2 days of getting frustrated it went right into the trash.
Pioneer ? No thanks
They're hit and miss. Depends on the decade generally.
P.S. Play an accordion--go to jail. It's the law.
Don't resist it! 😅
Its a VFD and not a LCD...
meh potato tomato
Is that Scottish accent?
Ha it's a mongrel I'm afraid. Yorkshire and then 20 years in Scotland, so maybe some twang in there 🙂
with out a cassette deck would not work
There's a potential tattoo right there!
lmao
Cassette decks are laughable in 2024!! 🗑️😆
And yet here you are 🤤
Don't watch the video then you bellend 🎉
@pwrestoration. Is it possible to block this character from commenting on your YT channel? Do you think he works for RS Components with that “-rs4uk” suffix on his name?
Nice yeah good to repair ❤
Nice yeah good to repair ❤