Aiwa AD F450 Cassette Deck - Case Opening?

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Hi,
My Aiwa AD F450 cassette deck has sat idle for a few years. I would like to start using it again, so decided to have a go at replacing its belts as i assume the player has stopped working due to the original belts having perished. Bought the replacement belts but have been stumped before i had hardly started on the task - this must seem like a daft question to you all but does anyone know how to get the case off? After removing the 5 retaining screws, i have tried pulling it, but it won''t budge, and lifting the rear of the case slightly and then pulling, but also to no avail. I don't want to try forcing it off without knowing the correct procedure, in case it is being held in place by some form of retaining lugs and i end up snapping them (from overhead view it seems there might be 2 or 3 of these?).
Thanks for taking the time to read my post

[stevehertz]

You can download the service manual for free from this site: https://elektrotanya.com/aiwa_ad-f450_sch.pdf/download.html

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Thanks for the link stevehertz.
Unfortunately, this just seems to show electrical schematics which I am not capable of reading. I am happy to have a go at fixing mechanical stuff, which is why I thought i could probably change the belts. I can't get the case off though. I've looked on YouTube, etc. but can't find anywhere explaining how to do it, presumably as it is simple to do (except I can't figure it out).

[vidjoman]

Most cassette decks have screws in each side and probably 3 or 4 on the back. It's then common to 'spring' the sides outwards near the back whilst gently lifting the back. The front of the case will usually then just slide backwards. Almost all amps, cassette decks and CD players are the same.

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Thanks vidjoman,
I will give it a go as you have suggested.

Stevehertz,
For some reason the elektrotanya download only gave me a 2 page document of a couple of wiring diagrams. I can't find the service manual anywhere else apart from hifiengine but they are not accepting new user registrations, so I can't get it. I read somewhere that the F410 is similar so downloaded the service manual for this from:-

https://www.audioservicemanuals.com/a/aiwa/aiwa-ad/81231-aiwa-ad-f410-service-manual/.

The exploded view diagram doesn't show any retaining clips for the case front edge as far as I can see, so I guess it should just pull out as vidjoman has described.

Cheers

[djsbriscoe]

Have you tried the tapeheads forum.?

https://www.tapeheads.net/forums/

They are very helpful. They answered a few questions I had about my Aiwa AD-F880 and NAD 6100 cassette decks.

[jamesperrett]

I have one here with the cover not fixed down. As far as I can see there is one screw each side and 3 at the back. The trick appears to be to pull the bottom of the sides out slightly, then lift up the back of the cover until it is at an angle of about 45 degrees. Once you have opened it sufficiently wide, the front of the cover should disengage with the front panel.

To re-assemble you need to engage the front of the cover with the front panel first.

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Djsbriscoe, I'll have a look on tapeheads, thanks for the suggestion.

Thanks for your advice too James. I did pretty much as you have said but only to I would guess 20ish degrees. The case front felt really stiff at this point as if something was about to snap so I didn't push it any further. I'll try lifting the case back higher as per your advice.

Cheers

[jamesperrett]

Yes, it may need to be more than 45 degrees but you can take it to nearly 90 degrees without breaking anything.

[Nickthedentist]

I've had some hifi components where the lid tilts only to 20 degrees or so, and then you need to lift it vertically upwards to disengage it from the front panel.

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Thanks to you all for your advice.

I had a go at the repair today. I managed to get the case off by opening the sides slightly and then lifting its rear up to a high angle before it would come away. The problem seemed to be that one of the plastic support brackets for the front rim of the case was too tight to the rim, indeed it has partially snapped away as a result.

I found (well for me anyway) a really useful youtube video on on how to replace the belts on this deck (initially none of the cassette function buttons did anything but i could hear the motor. so reading up about it this seemed to be the most common cause). I don't know if the rules allow me to put details for it, or a link to it, in this thread, but if someone can confirm that it is ok then i will do that in case it helps anyone else. My main belt had become loose but had not decayed. I cleaned up the flywheel, capstan, etc. with IPA. On fitting the belts and reassembling, put in a Springsteen tape and tests showed the rewind and ff functions worked, but play didn't. Removed the mechanism and could see that on pressing play, the pinch roller wasn't engaging. Saw that i had refitted it incorrectly as the tension spring arm was in the wrong side of the adjacent plate. Refitted the pinch roller (this time correctly), reassembled, retested and this time the play function appeared to work fine as the tape was moving as was the front meter display.

So, job done i thought. Put the case back on and connected the deck to my amp and speakers. Put in the Springsteen tape. Pressed play and it played perfectly for about 10 seconds!!! Then, it started a burbling sound before it stopped after a few seconds more. Thought the tape might be mangled. Ejected it, tape was fine. Put it back in, rewind and ff work fine, but play doesn't. I will open the deck up again sometime this week to take a look, but assuming that the main belt has not somehow come off the flywheel and the pinch roller looks like it is still engaging properly, i will be at a loss as to what is going wrong (i should have said before now i am a complete novice and this is the first time i've tried to tackle a cassette deck repair).

Does anyone have any ideas? Any advice will be gratefully received, thanks.

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Something else I did on the assembly which I hope hasn't caused a problem? I used a little Platenclene in the pinch roller. Now i'm wondering if the belt is slipping??

[Ted Kendall]

Have you tried another tape?

[DoWahDiddy54321]

No i haven't, i just thought there must be something wrong with the mechanism somewhere as the same tape played ok before i put the case back on and hooked the deck up to my amp and speakers. The tape i used is very old but not played much, as are all of my tapes. I will try another one tomorrow. Could it be something as simple as this?

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by DoWahDiddy54321

No i haven't, i just thought there must be something wrong with the mechanism somewhere as the same tape played ok before i put the case back on and hooked the deck up to my amp and speakers. The tape i used is very old but not played much, as are all of my tapes. I will try another one tomorrow. Could it be something as simple as this?

All cassette tapes are 'old' now and some are notorious for going 'stiff', there being various reasons for this, but many of them fixable. But for now try some other tapes.

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your advice. Did as you suggested. The first tape i tried was an ELO one and it is playing fine at the moment, so at least it seems like i must have done my repair correctly! This and the Springsteen one that stopped working were both commercially bought at the time. Don't understand why one works and one doesn't, then again i didn't realise that the tapes could be temperamental. I also have quite a lot of home recorded tapes that i put together back in the day as we all used to. Any ideas on what i can do to rescue any tapes i have like the Springsteen one that fail to play?

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Got another problem (didn't notice it initially as i had the volume down low).
When i play the tape it is only audible through one speaker. I've checked the speakers by playing a vinyl and they are fine (i expected this to be the case as i play vinyl often). Think the tape deck <> amp interconnects look and are seated ok. I guess this means a fault somewhere with the tape deck or amp? Would it be worth me trying some contact cleaner on the interconnect ports (they don't look tarnished though) as i haven"t tried to play tapes for donkeys' years?

[stevehertz]

Originally Posted by DoWahDiddy54321

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your advice. Did as you suggested. The first tape i tried was an ELO one and it is playing fine at the moment, so at least it seems like i must have done my repair correctly! This and the Springsteen one that stopped working were both commercially bought at the time. Don't understand why one works and one doesn't, then again i didn't realise that the tapes could be temperamental. I also have quite a lot of home recorded tapes that i put together back in the day as we all used to. Any ideas on what i can do to rescue any tapes i have like the Springsteen one that fail to play?

The problem is, although they were (or should have) been made to Philips' basic specification, all manufacturers used their own materials and variations of construction. The pressure plate for example, or the supposedly slippery 'plates' inside the housing that let the tape run smoothly. It has been shown that over time, different manufacturers' approach to these things and their use of different materials, some of which has not stood the test of time and heat, has caused them to become stiff to rotate. Different manufacturers using different construction methods and materials (plus user storage conditions) - that's your answer as to why some work and some don't. That doesn't 100% remove the culpability of the machine I may add. It may still have a problem or you may have introduced some slippage in the drive system somehow. Yes, it can be complicated!

[Nickthedentist]

Do both left and right level meters dance about as they should when playing?

Swap over the left (white) and right (red) playback leads at the back of the cassette deck.

If sound comes out of the speaker that was dead before, and vice versa, there's a fault in the cassette deck.

If the same speaker stays dead, then the fault's in the interconnects or amp.

[DoWahDiddy54321]

Thanks for the explanation Steve.
Although only audible through one speaker (re. my latest post) the ELO tape played through ok in full.
I will try another 2 or 3 later today and see how i get on.