Hi All,

Kinda new to the forum. Would like to ask for some help/opinions if you could spare a moment. Finally decided to look at my dead cassette deck for resto or removal. I've used my 1030 since 1979 and have always had a sort of love hate relationship with it. First, It's a demo model (couldn't afford new) and has had a new head, belts, adjustments over the years. The last time I remember it working (more than 5 years ago), The fine bias adjustment was no longer in the range of the TDK-SA 90's I've always used. The adjustment was off the scale. I think it may have been one channel only. I think there was also an issue of one channel putting out a very high distorted volume but don't remember. Too long ago. Should've wrote everything down. Lastly, the main belt just fell apart.
Would respect opinions of whether to try repairing (min $20 for belts plus unknown damages in the fine bias area) or to ebay it for parts and move onto the Tascam 122 single line or dual well (need to copy sometimes). Will be with cassette and MD for awhile. The Tascams just seem so pricey on ebay but they were pricey to begin with and I've heard their quality was tops. Many thanks for any help with the decision and if anyone is familiar with this bias issue and what may need to be done to repair.

Welcome to AK!
The KX1030 is the best cassette deck Kenwood ever made and is worth restoring. It is going to need all the rubber parts (belts, idler wheel, pinchroller.) Unfortunately, since the belt is gone, it's impossible to diagnose anything else in the deck until the belt and any other worn rubber parts are replaced. If you have done proper maintenance and kept the heads, capstan and pinchroller clean, then there are 3 possibilites:
1. The head is bad.
2. There may be a long slide switch inside the deck that switches from record to playback, and it could be dirty.
3. There is a problem in the bias circuit.
If you have not kept the heads clean, or have used a lot of pre-recorded tapes on the deck (they are made with inferior tape and are very abrasive) the head is probably bad. If you have kept it clean, it is probably good. You can clean it if it's dirty, with q tips and alcohol, until nothing comes off. Then look at the surface of the heads. They should be shiny with no notches or grooves worn into them, and no ripples in the surface. If they look ok, they are probably fine and the deck is worth repairing. If they are worn, the deck is a boat anchor.
Don't buy a dual well cassette deck. They are all made with cheap transports inside. You can't give someone 2 high quality tape transports for the price of one. It's better to buy 2 tape decks, a very good one to record on, and a cheaper one (but still with electronic soft touch controls) to play on. Do not get an auto reverse deck either, the heads move and so can never be in proper alignment.

Warren,

Thanks for responding. I have only ever used TDK SA 90's. Never used pre-recorded tape. I have a Kenwood KX-620 (or 630 I can never remember) that I have always used for my playback deck and the 1030 was the recording deck, but the 620 has a freq resp of, I believe 50-12000 and the 1030 is 35-18000. Is what the 1030 is recording, from this scenario, only an input of that 50-12000 range and thus wouldn't I need a deck with a freq response similar to the 1030 to achieve a more accurate copy? As an aside, I like using my dbx 224(?) fo noise reduction. Phenomenal unit. I'm just getting back into all this after a loooong hiatus. Should never have happened.
I will check the head closely later on. I have always been on top of keeping the heads clean to a fault. Helped keep Q-tips in business. I'm sure many others here have as well! My main concern will be the cost of dealing with the undiagnosable bias issue and whether it will render the resto cost prohibitive. Really appreciate the comments.

Yes, your copies are limited by the frequency response of the playback deck. Since you used good tape and kept the heads clean, the heads are probably good. the problem is most likely a dirty control or switch.

Will attempt to find a main belt locally in Boston (should be a challenge) and check the head condition. If all goes well, then will re-evaluate the ancient problems. Will report back. And thanks again.

Lou