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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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9th Oct 2011, 5:44 pm | #1 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Llandudno Junction
Posts: 1
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Sony Stereo Cassette Deck TC-KE600S
This morning I dug up this 3 - head Cassette deck (after a period of non-use of about 4 years) with a view to using it to convert some of my old cassettes to MP3 and also to try out some of the audio restoration tools I have on my PC. I think some of the currently available cassette decks with built - in USB output are not of particularly good quality, and that is why I want to use this 3-head machine.
I plugged the deck up, put a cassette in and pressed the play button. After a few seconds, the mechanism ground to a halt, and this happened repeatedly with other cassettes. I removed the top lid and found that the capstan flywheel had seized up. I forced it to rotated by manually turning it, and hey presto, the machine obliged by playing cassettes. Due to lack of use over a long period, the mechanism had seized up, but when I played some piano recordings, there was noticeable wow and flutter. To prove that it was this machine, and not the machine used to make the recording, I recorded about 20 seconds of piano onto a blank cassette using this deck, and then played it back. Yes, again, very noticeable wow and flutter. I think the machine seized up and now wows because the belt connected to the motor and the flywheel a) got stuck to the flywheel rim and b) is now suffering from differential stretch. The next thing for me to do is to clean the rim of the flywheel and fit a new drive band. I need to find out if there is a Sony service centre in the UK which could supply one. Does anyone know where there such a centre, or where else I could get a drive band? Apart from this problem, the deck is excellent - controls are very well laid out and there are front panel tweaks for record calibration and bias as well as Doly B, C and S. The level meters are also excellent. Thank you Howard GW4KFY |
9th Oct 2011, 11:02 pm | #2 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Croydon, London, UK.
Posts: 69
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Re: Sony Stereo Cassette Deck TC-KE600S
Dear Howard
Does your machine have a belt drive or a band drive? Square section drive bands are fairly easy to come by provided you have the dimensions (maplins still stock them I believe?) Flat belts similar to the type fitted to belt drive turntables are less common. A few years back my Sony TC K415, another great Sony 3head cassette deck started to play up and damage my tapes, I was able to find another one, brand new, ex-demo that had been sitting in the store room of a Bang & Olufsen dealership in London for a very reasonable price. I assume you have tried looking on the internet to see if there is a Sony spares centre? Regards Chris F |
10th Oct 2011, 11:37 pm | #3 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Madrid, Spain / Wirral, UK
Posts: 7,498
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Re: Sony Stereo Cassette Deck TC-KE600S
measure the old one, deduct about 10%, and try places like cpc or charles hyde.
__________________
Regards, Ben. |
16th Oct 2011, 11:07 pm | #4 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Buxton
Posts: 15
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Re: Sony Stereo Cassette Deck TC-KE600S
Howard, the deck probably needs lubricating as well. If you you are upto opening up the case. Put a tiny bit of oil on the bearings (not nylon ones). A safe way of doing this is to dip the end of an opened out paper clip into a drop of machine oil (sewing machine oil or 3 in 1 oil) and carefully put it onto the bearings. Keep it well away from any rotating rubber parts/belts. While you are at it, clean away any collections of crude that have built up. Don't touch circuit board components with your hands. Keep magnetic screwdivers away as well.
Peter |
18th Oct 2011, 1:09 am | #5 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Madrid, Spain / Wirral, UK
Posts: 7,498
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Re: Sony Stereo Cassette Deck TC-KE600S
If this is a dolby s deck, it will be from the late '90s and should not need much if any lubrication. just change the betls and take it from there.
The reason it is stopping is that the capstan flywheel drives a cam for the soft touch transport controls. Any slack in the belt and it stalls when that cam is engaged.
__________________
Regards, Ben. |
18th Oct 2011, 7:28 am | #6 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Aalborg, Denmark
Posts: 903
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Re: Sony Stereo Cassette Deck TC-KE600S
I doesn't look much like Howard is monitoring this page of his.
If he does and is in need of the service-manual for TC-KE600S he should drop me a PM for more... rgds, /tri-comp |