Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

BrianAllen · 14th Dec 2019, 12:18 pm

Is anybody able to let me know if replacement belts are a fair price or a little on the expensive side.

Brian

vidjoman · 14th Dec 2019, 1:04 pm

What price are you looking at?

BrianAllen · 14th Dec 2019, 1:15 pm

Prices on ebay range from approximately£13-£20 for 4 belts for a Philips N4308.

The cost may be justifiable, so this is just a general question, as I don't know what material or production/supply costs are; hence my post, VFM or overpriced.

Bazz4CQJ · 14th Dec 2019, 1:43 pm

As is often the case, some belts could be cheap and nasty and some could be high quality, but how could you test them? Trying to find a supplier who has a good reputation would be good.

B

paulsherwin · 14th Dec 2019, 1:54 pm

You pay a lot more for sets of belts that are specifically assembled for a certain model of recorder, even though they're very unlikely to be OEM parts. If you order individual belts by size from CPC you can expect to pay a pound or two each.

vidjoman · 14th Dec 2019, 2:14 pm

I think one belt is quite long. Quick look on eBay shows some suppliers offering round belts whereas I think the originals are square. Round belts don’t usually work very well. The pulleys are V shaped and the square belts touch on 2 flat sides giving the largest surface for driving.

ben · 14th Dec 2019, 5:34 pm

There is an O-ring place near me that I have bought 'belts' from for my Tandbergs, Philips N4xxx series, etc. with good results (over 5 years without problems in the machines I have fitted them to).

If there is any interest, and with the required dimensions, I could consider putting together belt packs for common machines at a fair price for forum members.

Goodizzy · 14th Dec 2019, 7:00 pm

I have two Tascam 246 portastudio machines that are in need of a re-belting. I've been researching reputable dealers for a few days, and it seems eBay and the like are a crap shoot unless you can find a seller who's established and respected in the repair/refurb community of your particular gear.

I'm not sure if it helps, but McMaster Carr, Consolidated Electronics, and Marrs Communications all had positive reviews. This, of course, requires you to know the diameter and other dimensions of the particular belts you're looking for. These are also based in the US and so may be cost prohibitive due to shipping.

BrianAllen · 14th Dec 2019, 7:49 pm

Thank you for your posts/suggestions.

I have already bought a set of belts for my Philips N4308 and now that I have the "bug" I will definitely be seeking out another deck to renovate/refurb but will be seeking locally as some of the courier/post and packaging costs are getting ridiculous on ebay.

The reason for my post regarding cost/quality of belts etc, was because I couldn't understand how a box of 419 o rings costing £5.97 could be so much cheaper than 4 belts costing up to £20.

Station X · 14th Dec 2019, 8:06 pm

There's a big market for 'O' rings and a small market for tape recorder belts.

Tape recorder belts may have different cross sections to the usual round cross section 'O' ring and be of much longer lengths than off the shelf 'O' rings.

You could buy a reel of 'O' ring "cord" and join it with super glue to make custom belts.

BrianAllen · 14th Dec 2019, 8:16 pm

Oh yes, of course; supply and demand.

Thank you; well that one didn't take long to sort out.

paulsherwin · 14th Dec 2019, 8:47 pm

Buy some O rings. The smaller ones make great tyres for idler wheels. Buy a cheap generic Chinese belt selection too - they may not be the highest quality, but cost next to nothing and are fine for many jobs. You will indeed usually need to order the main capstan belt separately, but that's not difficult.

BrianAllen · 14th Dec 2019, 9:03 pm

Great advice (once again) what a wonderful forum this is.

stacman · 15th Dec 2019, 1:10 am

I recently bought some belts off ebay for my cassette deck, a pioneer CTS 710, They were quite expensive with shipping from Germany, but I couldn’t seem to source anything individually, the sizes seem to fall betwee too small or too large, there are 3 belts on this machine, anyway they turned up promptly, and fit snugly, and as I got the machine at a real bargain price, can’t grumble really, nice deck, 3 heads, tape tuning, etc and looking at prices they currently fetch, for me worth it, I also picked up a Yamaha KX393 as needing attention, that required a belt, but that was only a few pounds, another deck saved,
Regards, Alan.

Alistair D · 15th Dec 2019, 1:25 am

From my vendors list these are some of the suppliers of drive belts. It may take a bit of searching through the sites to find the appropriate section.

https://www.cricklewoodelectronics.com/
https://www.donberg.ie/
https://www.gettheneedle.co.uk/
https://www.littlediode.com/components/home.php
https://shop.mantra-audio.co.uk/
http://pmcomponentsnos.co.uk/
https://www.palcoelectronica.es/
https://www.svalander.se/shoppen/
https://www.thestyluslady.co.uk/
https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/default.asp
https://www.turntableneedles.com/
http://www.vintage-electronics.net/
http://www.wjoe.com/
http://www.tapedrivebelts.co.uk/

Al

BrianAllen · 15th Dec 2019, 10:15 am

Thanks for posting your list of suppliers Alistair D; greatly appreciated.

Stacman, I agree; get the equipment at a reasonable cost and buying the belts won't be too much of an issue.

14th Dec 2019, 12:18 pm	#1
BrianAllen Heptode Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 595	Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! Is anybody able to let me know if replacement belts are a fair price or a little on the expensive side. Brian

14th Dec 2019, 1:04 pm	#2
vidjoman Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: East Sussex, UK. Posts: 3,326	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - VFM or Overpriced!! What price are you looking at?

14th Dec 2019, 1:15 pm	#3
BrianAllen Heptode Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 595	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - VFM or Overpriced!! Prices on ebay range from approximately£13-£20 for 4 belts for a Philips N4308. The cost may be justifiable, so this is just a general question, as I don't know what material or production/supply costs are; hence my post, VFM or overpriced.

14th Dec 2019, 1:43 pm	#4
Bazz4CQJ Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Oxfordshire, UK. Posts: 4,934	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! As is often the case, some belts could be cheap and nasty and some could be high quality, but how could you test them? Trying to find a supplier who has a good reputation would be good. B __________________ Saturn V had 6 million pounds of fuel. It would take thirty thousand strong men to lift it an inch.

14th Dec 2019, 1:54 pm	#5
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,941	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! You pay a lot more for sets of belts that are specifically assembled for a certain model of recorder, even though they're very unlikely to be OEM parts. If you order individual belts by size from CPC you can expect to pay a pound or two each.

14th Dec 2019, 2:14 pm	#6
vidjoman Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: East Sussex, UK. Posts: 3,326	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! I think one belt is quite long. Quick look on eBay shows some suppliers offering round belts whereas I think the originals are square. Round belts don’t usually work very well. The pulleys are V shaped and the square belts touch on 2 flat sides giving the largest surface for driving.

14th Dec 2019, 5:34 pm	#7
ben Dekatron Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Madrid, Spain / Wirral, UK Posts: 7,498	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! There is an O-ring place near me that I have bought 'belts' from for my Tandbergs, Philips N4xxx series, etc. with good results (over 5 years without problems in the machines I have fitted them to). If there is any interest, and with the required dimensions, I could consider putting together belt packs for common machines at a fair price for forum members. __________________ Regards, Ben.

14th Dec 2019, 7:00 pm	#8
Goodizzy Pentode Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Lynchburg, Central Virginia, USA. Posts: 137	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! I have two Tascam 246 portastudio machines that are in need of a re-belting. I've been researching reputable dealers for a few days, and it seems eBay and the like are a crap shoot unless you can find a seller who's established and respected in the repair/refurb community of your particular gear. I'm not sure if it helps, but McMaster Carr, Consolidated Electronics, and Marrs Communications all had positive reviews. This, of course, requires you to know the diameter and other dimensions of the particular belts you're looking for. These are also based in the US and so may be cost prohibitive due to shipping.

14th Dec 2019, 7:49 pm	#9
BrianAllen Heptode Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 595	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! Thank you for your posts/suggestions. I have already bought a set of belts for my Philips N4308 and now that I have the "bug" I will definitely be seeking out another deck to renovate/refurb but will be seeking locally as some of the courier/post and packaging costs are getting ridiculous on ebay. The reason for my post regarding cost/quality of belts etc, was because I couldn't understand how a box of 419 o rings costing £5.97 could be so much cheaper than 4 belts costing up to £20. Attached Thumbnails

14th Dec 2019, 8:06 pm	#10
Station X Moderator Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4, UK. Posts: 21,288	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! There's a big market for 'O' rings and a small market for tape recorder belts. Tape recorder belts may have different cross sections to the usual round cross section 'O' ring and be of much longer lengths than off the shelf 'O' rings. You could buy a reel of 'O' ring "cord" and join it with super glue to make custom belts. __________________ Graham. Forum Moderator Reach for your meter before you reach for your soldering iron.

14th Dec 2019, 8:16 pm	#11
BrianAllen Heptode Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 595	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! Oh yes, of course; supply and demand. Thank you; well that one didn't take long to sort out.

14th Dec 2019, 8:47 pm	#12
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,941	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! Buy some O rings. The smaller ones make great tyres for idler wheels. Buy a cheap generic Chinese belt selection too - they may not be the highest quality, but cost next to nothing and are fine for many jobs. You will indeed usually need to order the main capstan belt separately, but that's not difficult.

14th Dec 2019, 9:03 pm	#13
BrianAllen Heptode Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 595	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! Great advice (once again) what a wonderful forum this is.

15th Dec 2019, 1:10 am	#14
stacman Hexode Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK. Posts: 278	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! I recently bought some belts off ebay for my cassette deck, a pioneer CTS 710, They were quite expensive with shipping from Germany, but I couldn’t seem to source anything individually, the sizes seem to fall betwee too small or too large, there are 3 belts on this machine, anyway they turned up promptly, and fit snugly, and as I got the machine at a real bargain price, can’t grumble really, nice deck, 3 heads, tape tuning, etc and looking at prices they currently fetch, for me worth it, I also picked up a Yamaha KX393 as needing attention, that required a belt, but that was only a few pounds, another deck saved, Regards, Alan.

15th Dec 2019, 1:25 am	#15
Alistair D Nonode Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Edinburgh, UK. Posts: 2,008	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! From my vendors list these are some of the suppliers of drive belts. It may take a bit of searching through the sites to find the appropriate section. https://www.cricklewoodelectronics.com/ https://www.donberg.ie/ https://www.gettheneedle.co.uk/ https://www.littlediode.com/components/home.php https://shop.mantra-audio.co.uk/ http://pmcomponentsnos.co.uk/ https://www.palcoelectronica.es/ https://www.svalander.se/shoppen/ https://www.thestyluslady.co.uk/ https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/default.asp https://www.turntableneedles.com/ http://www.vintage-electronics.net/ http://www.wjoe.com/ http://www.tapedrivebelts.co.uk/ Al __________________ I won't tell you how I discovered that.

15th Dec 2019, 10:15 am	#16
BrianAllen Heptode Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Staffordshire Moorlands, UK. Posts: 595	Re: Replacement Tape Deck Belts - Value For Money or Overpriced!! Thanks for posting your list of suppliers Alistair D; greatly appreciated. Stacman, I agree; get the equipment at a reasonable cost and buying the belts won't be too much of an issue.