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Vintage Tape (Audio), Cassette, Wire and Magnetic Disc Recorders and Players Open-reel tape recorders, cassette recorders, 8-track players etc.

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Old 18th Apr 2019, 6:45 pm   #1
PatMorgan
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Default Pioneer twin cassette deck - CT-W601R

I picked one of these off ebay during the week for a reasonable cost-£28 not working, presumed belts- and it was just that.
The defect manifests itself as flashing displays for each deck- as the motors try to self-test when the units powered on.
The service manual doesn’t help with the routing of the belts- all these were just shreded and gumming up the decks/pulley’s

The new belts are expensive, as we know- but I had a bag of spares and with nothing to lose- I set about replacing them.
The deck on the LHS has 2 stard type ‘rubber band’ square section, quite small CS types- ones for the servo and the other for the drive- its difficult to describe the routing, but one belt goes arounf the furthers main spool and as it returns to the motor, it is divereted by the nearer (to the motor) of the two spools- so its only making 30% contact with that spool

The RHS and ‘main’ deck has 3 belts- 2 small as described about and the main belt with drives the furthest spool from the motor)- this is the ‘flat type- it didn’t b=need to be replaced.
The best way to get the cassette units out is to:-
Open both doors
Relieve the springs on the door-catches- (photo everything before you move it)
With assorted length jewelers and various small Philips screwdrivers- undo the 4 screws that hold each mechanism to the front cover.
Don’t try to remove the motor/logic feeds- you don’t need to -and they are a pain if you snap them off the motherboard.
Remove the RF screens that will expose the audio board.
Carefully remove the head/audio feed board and remove the connectors form this small boar- very small screw- make sure your screwdrivers magnetized!
Each mechanism has 4 screws holding it together- remove them- I put a small piece of wood in the deck as what I’m describing doesn’t remove the mechanisms from the deck for the reason I’ve explained.
Make sure you catch the spool phosphor bearings that inevitably will fall out.
With dexterity and a paper-clip as a hook, you can remove and replace each belt- I put the mechanisms back together one at a time, and powered up because the mechanisms logic and will turn /reverse/ff etc- to save completing the job and pulling it apart again if its not gone back correctly.
Any ‘mush’ can be cleaned off the pulleys with a decent head-cleaner and cotton-bud.

Its worth saving these decks- they are 1990’s but about as advanced as they became for the cassette-tape. I’ve copied an MD onto tape and would struggle to tell the difference- a far cry from my old Sharp RT-10.
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Old 18th Apr 2019, 9:32 pm   #2
kevinaston1
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Default Re: Pioneer twin cassette deck - CT-W601R

Years ago, before retirement, I used to use a rugmakers latch hook with the barb removed for belt replacement; worked a treat.


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Old 19th Apr 2019, 8:11 am   #3
Kentode
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Default Re: Pioneer twin cassette deck - CT-W601R

That's a good save, Pat, well done! Remember to demag the heads if you've used a magnetic screwdriver.
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Old 20th Apr 2019, 1:26 am   #4
TIMTAPE
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Default Re: Pioneer twin cassette deck - CT-W601R

Also, on some later model cassette mechs it's actually impossible to fit the capstan belt without the help of the little aids the maker has built into the design. Small plastic posts are there to hold the capstan belt in position in a slightly stretched state. Then after you fit the motor and backplate, using a spring hook you lift the belt off the small plastic posts and it shrinks onto the motor pulley. Easier to illustrate this with a photo. Do others know what I mean here?
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Old 20th Apr 2019, 11:05 am   #5
ben
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Default Re: Pioneer twin cassette deck - CT-W601R

Totally, Tim. The sony TCM190 Mech springs to mind.
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