Thread: Aiwa deck
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Old 10th Jul 2016, 7:40 pm   #9
paulsherwin
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
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Default Re: Aiwa deck

I think most people here order from CPC. The last time I changed a belt Nick added it to one of his orders as the belt itself is only a pound or two. There are generic belt collections available from eBay sellers for about a fiver, but these don't normally contain a replacement for the main capstan belt. You need to measure the diameter of the old belt and also its cross-section.

If you are lucky the original belts may still be good, or a previous owner may have changed them already.

Nick has actually refurbished one of these (the one he passed on to me) so he will be able to tell you if there are any real problems. Changing the main capstan belt sometimes involves some dismantling but it isn't difficult if you make notes and take some pictures.

Apart from belts, the things to do are:

Clean all switches and pots with Servisol 10
Clean all idler wheels and surfaces with meths
Align the tape head, ideally using a special tape (obviously after cleaning it)
Check and adjust the tape speed, ideally using a test tape and frequency counter, though there are various alternatives
Clean and relubricate any mechanisms which aren't moving freely (this often isn't necessary).
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