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Cassette deck? Is it Toast?
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Subject: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Rick Fielding Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:23 AM Bugger, bugger, bugger! After congratulating myself for being able to fix my old turntable (remember, I can play anything, but can't fix nuthin!) I'm now confronted with this. My pretty new JVC double cassette deck (which I use a lot with students) is 'fluttering and wowing' like crazy. It worked great for a year, recording and playing back quite accurately, but now the sounds seems very wavery. This happens whether I'm using a pre-recorded cassette or whether I've recorded one from the mike. From this, I assume it's the playback mechanism. So.....any help would be appreciated. Does it mean the motor (whatever that is) is shot? There's some adjustment even I might be able to handle? I have to take it to a repairman and spend most of the price of the machine itself? I gotta buy a new one? bugger, bugger, bugger! Rick |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: MMario Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:26 AM Rick - I've gotten those symptoms from cassette players that were dirty inside - can you open the case and clean it? |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Watson Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:26 AM Look for the easy solution first... Try cleaning the capstan and pinchwheel. If there's something greasy on the rubber you get wowing and fluttering. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: DMcG Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:40 AM In the event the above suggestions don't cure things, you may be forced to have a peek inside. Lots of cassette decks use an elastic band to connect the motor to the capstan (I am sure the manufacturers would rather I called it a drive belt or constant-velocity-variable-speed-diffidoodle, but its basically an elastic band). You should be able to get a replacement from the manufacturer a lot more cheaply than putting the deck in to be repaired and replacing them is very easy. Whether this is a likely cause depends on how you trade off "pretty new" against "which I use a lot with students"! |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:49 AM Good suggestions and it's been my experience that the cleaning and especially the drive belt are generally at fault, although I must say that my overall past success rate in repairing same would warrant more call of, "Please pass the orange marmelade." Best of luck....and Smucker's is still good jam................ Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Jeri Date: 15 Mar 02 - 12:05 PM A Q-tip and alcohol for the heads. In itty-bitty vaccuum cleaner thingie or an itty-bitty brush for the other stuff. If I'm wrong, somebody please say so. I've never actually broken anything by trying to clean it, but maybe I was unusually lucky. I suspect it might be a good idea to tell Rick HOW to clean it, or he's gonna be in there polishing things with the Dremel... |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Clinton Hammond Date: 15 Mar 02 - 05:52 PM Here's an idea... toss out the cassette player and get yerself a decent cd player or an MP3 player to play, record and replay bits... The solutions above are o.k. as stop-gap approaches, but tapes and tape players are ALWAYS gonna break down fast... |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Justa Picker Date: 15 Mar 02 - 06:06 PM Have you tried cleaning and de-magnetizing the heads? |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Amos Date: 15 Mar 02 - 06:31 PM Demagging the heads won't address wow and flutter. It's mechanical variation in tracking speed of the tape over the heads. As above -- usually worn belt slipping on its little wheels, or oil on the capstan heads causing unpredictable changes in the frictional coefficient betwenn...oh, never mind!! Just clean the little fucker!! A. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Rick Fielding Date: 15 Mar 02 - 07:23 PM OK....I start cleanin'! Thank you humbly. Can't do it Clinton. My students bring a cassette each week. The older ones wouldn't know an MP3 from a DC 8 Rick |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 15 Mar 02 - 07:30 PM RICK IS CLEANING!!!!!
.....somebody get the butter and jelly.......Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Clinton Hammond Date: 15 Mar 02 - 07:33 PM Too bad Rick... What's the cassette for? Is it them playing? Or songs they wanna learn? I've heard MP3s that could be mistaken for DC8s! LOL!!
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Rick Fielding Date: 15 Mar 02 - 07:41 PM Naw, it's just to tape the lesson so they don't have to remember details.....I go off on a LOT of tangents. For example, I was showing a student an E6 tuning today, and before you know it we were on to King Kamehameha, Mexican Cowboys, Sol Hoopii, and rabbits! Don't ask.....even I haven't a clue what was going on....but there are a lot of cassettes out there with some STRANGE stuff on 'em. Catspaw, I'd clean more if I was any good at it! Rick |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Clinton Hammond Date: 15 Mar 02 - 07:43 PM Ahhh... gotcha... neat idea man! |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Dicho (Frank Staplin) Date: 15 Mar 02 - 08:07 PM I had a dual tape deck with the "rubber bands" and replaced twice. I gave that one to the Sally Ann and got one with direct drives, used, from an electronics repair shop. It has worked beautifully for 4 years (occ. cleaning and demag). I am considering a Marantz 631 Cd-R and CD-RW recorder- and may just continue to consider it- the cost! There are excellent tape decks out there since the guys who have to have the latest are turning them in to the Goodwill-Sally Anns. A lot of good stuff out there if you look for it. Good speaker units as well can be found for very little. Frankly, I can't tell the difference between the homemade cds and the homemade tapes. The only problem is winding and rewinding to find the part I want to listen to (no problem if I remember to use the counter when I record). |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: 53 Date: 15 Mar 02 - 09:02 PM I'd probly buy a new one since i'm not very good at repairs either. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: MAG Date: 15 Mar 02 - 09:08 PM I don't know how well rated JVC is, but if you dub a lot of tapes, lesser quality doubles tape decks will burn out the motor. A decent repair shop (I've got one -- I know they're rare) won't charge you for telling you the motor's shot. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: E.T. Date: 15 Mar 02 - 09:56 PM Did somebody remember to say isopropyl not rubbing alcohol which has OIL in it? (Which is something you don't want on your little wheely thingies). Technically (according to my bro, who worked for Radio Shack)if you use it every day, you clean it once a month and it lives (and prospers) longer! ET |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: mack/misophist Date: 15 Mar 02 - 10:40 PM To clean the dust out, I suggest a can of air from any computer store. Itsy-Bitsy vacuum cleaners are hard to find. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Mark Cohen Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:14 PM E6...King Kamehameha...Sol Hoopii...Rick, sounds like you need that Hawaiian vacation even more than Kendall does! Aloha, Mark (then I might get to hear him play....) |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: wysiwyg Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:15 PM Hey Rick, cut me a dupe of the thing on rabbits. Rabbits! It's gotta be memorable! ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Rick Fielding Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:44 PM Well Susan it's a long story....but it had to do with people hiring other people from other countries to manage cattle in the first country. Those people (from the other country) brought guitars to sing with after they'd managed the cattle, but since they liked to sing while ON their horses, they used little guitars, which morphed into even LITTLER guitars....... ....oh yeah, at some point my student said: didn't the Aussies hire people to come in and get rid of their rabbits"? Look it beats playin' a "C" scale over and over for an hour! Thanks for the tip about what KIND of alcohol to use. Can you get to the rubber band yourself? Mark...our bags are packed....is the gig booked? Rick (Not on meds at the moment...it just seems that way) |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:50 PM Can someone pass the Quince Preserves please? Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Jeri Date: 16 Mar 02 - 09:49 AM You can get little vaccuums in computer places I think, but it's probably not worth the money. Too bad Dremel doesn't have a "suck" attachment. The canned air is also available in photography stores. The problem with blowing instead of sucking is that there's a chance you'll force dust in where no dust has been. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: GUEST Date: 16 Mar 02 - 10:11 AM Before they brought people in to get rid of the rabbits in Australia, they brought in the rabbits. I think all the rabbits there are descended from 6 breeding pairs or something like that....someone's very bad idea... I'm having bad luck with tape decks myself at the moment. The dual deck seems to be out for the count, and the (really well designed, ergonomically & sonically) tape deck in my truck won't eject a tape that's been in there for like three months. And our CD player in the home stereo kacked as well, and my PC is down for the count, just about. (the count's about 8 now) (I'm using Molly's PC today to avoid frustration).
I've HAD IT with this technology shit. Willie-O |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Mar 02 - 10:14 AM Somebody give Willie a loaf of bread and one of them open-fire toast makers........Get him some homemade apple Butter too huh? Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Rick Fielding Date: 16 Mar 02 - 11:09 AM To hell with that Catspaw, just give us cassette players! Now where the Hell's my Victrola? Stone age Mudcatter |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Amos Date: 16 Mar 02 - 01:54 PM Rick: As regards getting at the drive belt (if it is that sort) it depends on how clever you are at finding, removing and KEEPING the damn tiny Phillips-head screws they usually use to lock down the outer cases. The guidelines are to proceed slowly and carefully, because there are gonna be weird pieces like shims, tabs, small rectangular things of bent sheet metal that suddenly land on the workbench with no map to where the hell they came from. Anyway, if you CAN get the darn thing open, you can probably see the drive belt -- usually a rounded (in cross section) rubber belt which loops around three or so capstans and drive wheels. Ya know, if you can afford it, if you don't feel confident with this kind of work, I would suggest taking it in to a shop, OR trading lessons for labor with someone who has some experience. A |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: GUEST,MAG at work Date: 16 Mar 02 - 02:01 PM Or you could ask each student to bring their boom box ... |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Mark Cohen Date: 16 Mar 02 - 02:26 PM Well, Oz may have rabbits, but Hawaii has mongoose (-gooses? -geese?). How they got here is an interesting story of technology gone awry. You see, along with the first European settlers to the islands came somebody else: rats. A few of them decided they'd rather be in Hawaii than on some cold leaky ship, and they got off, and did what honeymooners did, and there went the neighborhood. So the scientists and the politicians got their heads together and said, "Damn, we got too many rats. Hey, wait a minute, don't those mongoose over in India eat rats? Or is it mongeese? Anyway, let's get some of them and our rats will be history." Well, the mongooses came, and there were lots of mongoose honeymoons, and pretty soon there were lots of little mongeese running around the islands--but GUESS WHAT? Those old scientists and politicians had done what scientists and politicians so often do when they get together and try to make big changes to the environment in the name of progress or economics...oops, they forgot something. Just one teensy little thing. It seems that in India the mongeeses run around all day killing rats, and that keeps everybody happy (except the rats, of course). But when the cute little guys started running around these islands, they couldn't find any rats. Not one. Why? They were asleep! "Er, we seem to have overlooked the fact that the rats in India are diurnal and the ones in Hawaii are nocturnal. Never mind! We'll just have to try something else to get rid of the rats." "But," you say, "what did the mongoose eat?" Ah, what a perceptive person you are! The answer is simple: In addition to rats, mongice also eat eggs. "But where are they going to find eggs in Hawaii?" Even simpler: At that time, there were thousands of birds populating the islands. Many of them made their nests on the ground, since there weren't any predators. Well, not until the mongoose, anyway. Pretty soon what Hawaii had was a lot of well-fed mongoose, a lot of well-rested rats...and a lot of extinct birds. None of which has anything to do with Rick's tape deck, of course...unless he wants to tell this story to his students and record it! Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Amos Date: 16 Mar 02 - 02:33 PM LOL, Mark!! A classic example of poor systems thought at work!! A |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 16 Mar 02 - 04:45 PM And while we are discussing this subject of "Man's good ideas to fix what he has screwed up"........Let's remember that it ain't just animals! Ah yes, never forget that answer to erosion in the southern US.................KUDZU!!!! Talk about your mistakes............. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Lonesome EJ Date: 16 Mar 02 - 08:00 PM Rick, when will you ever learn? Always buy Radioshack. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Mark Cohen Date: 17 Mar 02 - 12:18 AM Hey, 'Spaw, I just figured out the answer to the kudzu problem. All you have to do is get the word out on the Internet that kudzu contains the active ingredients of Viagra and Rogaine... Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Hrothgar Date: 17 Mar 02 - 03:40 AM (1) Do you want to borrow a hammer? I have several sizes. (2) I think the difference between an MP3 and a DC-8 is that the MP3s crash less often. Best of luck. :-) |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Rick Fielding Date: 17 Mar 02 - 01:20 PM Well I'M not ready for the hammer yet. I DO think it's my elastic band though. No, I'm not going to try and fix it myself...but it's an enormous help to be able to go to the repair shop and be able able to drop some of the technical terms bandied about here. It sure beats saying "Duh, my tape deck is busted, can you fix it"? You can just SEE their eyes light up with dollar signs when you do that? Hi Leej. Sadly, after goin to Radio Shack for years, I stay clear of both of the ones near me now. On more than a couple of occasions I've watched the owners of both stores be unneccessarily nasty to customers who seemed to have legitimate complaints. And on a personal note, I took back a micro-cassette player, that I'd only bought a few hours before, that obviously had a busted control. The owner INSISTED that I had broken it...and if not, why hadn't I purchased the extended warranty (Three hours ago!) so they could send it back to the factory. All I wanted was a replacement (which they didn't have) or my money back (which they wouldn't hear of). I ended up with a credit note, which I used for batteries and cassettes, but boy, if that's their current stance dealing with 30 year customers (and the proof SHOULD be on their computer, considering the number of times I've given all the data they asked for) I gotta go to Walmart, even though it galls me. I know this can't be the same all over, 'cause in a smaller area the word would spread like lightning, but I've sure seen it coming in Toronto. Same with Tandy, where I buy my Leather supplies. Used to be they could separate the 'jerk' customers from the polite repeat ones, but now they don't even try. Cheers Rick |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Ebbie Date: 17 Mar 02 - 04:51 PM All you have to do is get the word out on the Internet that kudzu contains the active ingredients of Viagra and Rogaine... Mark, you may be on to something there. Kudzu definitely rises and it's also thick and growing where it's never even been before. I suspect we could get rid of most of the pests of the world if we could just convince people of its efficacy against libido loss or for lengthening of life or for reversing the aging process... Did you read the latest, however, about black bear bile? It appears that the Chinese may know more about it than our science has officially conceded. Ebbie
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Lonesome EJ Date: 17 Mar 02 - 05:40 PM Yeah, Rick, it is sad. I try to treat all customers fairly and with the same respect with which they treat me. Unfortunately, Radioshack Corp sometime neglects servicing its own customers (the store owners), making it a difficult situation to be compensated for faulty product. Having said that, I would also say there are very few instances, after over 6 years, when I can't come to a fair accomodation with a customer. That personal contact is called problem solving, and it is the single greatest advantage a small retail store has over the big box bottom-line-price people like Walmart. The switch problem should have been easy enough to remedy, and its just stupid to lose a loyal and reasonable customer over such a small thing. Tell 'em I said so. :>} |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 18 Mar 02 - 07:40 AM Rick, you obviously didn't read the Radio Shack 50/50 Guarantee......50 feet or 50 seconds, whichever comes first. I think you were probably over the warranty period on both counts. Seriously, Leej, I feel for you. There's no frustration much greater than a company which will not back you up. When I was with Sun, I watched the changes over the years from a company once totally dedicted to customer satisfaaction to one where they sent out a list of "20 Things Which Makes Sun Great" and not once was the customer mentioned! That particular list spoke volumes and I know of at least 6 middle level corporate types like myself who had "come through the ranks" that left within 3 months of it's publicaation, not to mention a boatload of old-time reps who had had it too. Very sad. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Mickey191 Date: 18 Mar 02 - 01:27 PM Please, can someone tell me how to demagnetize a cassette player? Thanks. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Justa Picker Date: 18 Mar 02 - 01:52 PM You go to Radio Shack (or other similar type of electronics store.) You purchase a tape-head demagnitizer. $25-35.00 You turn on the demagnetizer and gently rub the end of the demagnetizer against the metal tape heads for about 15-20 seconds. Approach the heads slowly when beginning, and pull the demagnetizer away slowly, when done. The entire process takes about 20-30 seconds. Then clean the heads with isoproyl alcohol (or head cleaning solution) with a Q-tip. |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 18 Mar 02 - 01:58 PM LMAO JP..........Just what the hell are you describing anyway? "Hey Honey.......Whaddaya' say we de-magnetize huh?" Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Justa Picker Date: 18 Mar 02 - 02:05 PM Yeah...it occured to me when writing the above description of the "connotations"... Difference is you don't have to tell the tape heads jokes or feel in any way self conscious, as you approach them. *BG* |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 18 Mar 02 - 02:22 PM Yeah....Good point. Although I think Freud did write some on the subject of "De-Magnetizer Envy" and how the size of your de-magnetizer could affect your entire cassette. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: Mark Cohen Date: 18 Mar 02 - 04:23 PM Gee, 'Spaw, I didn't think that a process described as lasting "20-30 seconds" would bring those sorts of thoughts to your fevered brain. But, hey, I guess you play the hand you're dealt... Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Cassette deck? Is it Toast? From: catspaw49 Date: 18 Mar 02 - 05:08 PM Well now Doc, playing the hand your dealt is better than playing with it with your hand! Spaw |
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