In fact, the eject buttom is not longer accessable. It is completely pressed in and won't come out. I assume this a protective feature and the idler wheel is bad.

Any ideas?

John

I assume this a protective feature and the idler wheel is bad.


Eh? :confused: :headscrat

No, it probably means that the mechanical linkage to the eject mechanism has broken/siezed/come adrift.

I took the cover off and there is a white plastic gear mechanism that controls the eject. I got the eject button to sit back where it is supposed to, but it won't eject the tape. I can't get the tape out.

If the eject mechanism has siezed, is there an easy and inexpensive fix?

John

I believe the eject button pushes a lever that pulls a cable that runs under the transport & up the left side where it pulls another lever that -finally - releases the door & cassette. With the cover off look down left of the cassette for a thin cable attached to a plastic lever. Stick a popsicle stick or something similar in there & push the lever down gently. It should pop open. There is a clamp screw to hold the cable housing which can sometimes loosen, but more likely break. I'm dealing with the exact issue on a 580.

Tom

Yes, the clamp is made of plastic and can break. Happened on mine. I think I drilled a hole through the boss the clamp was a part of, and secured the cable with a nylon tie wrap and epoxy.

OK, 4 months later...

I got the tape to eject. However, it won't play tapes anymore. I push play and nothing. It rewinds and fast forwards just fine. I can see the motor engage and the belts move, but the tape does not advance when Play is pushed. What do I do now?

John

I tinkered with it a bit more. I actually took most of it apart. It plays tapes now, but I am not sure what I did. However, the eject button disappeared again :( I can eject the tapes manually until I can get that fixed.

John

check that the servo-cam gears are not sticking or the servo motor, and are aligned correctly, the belt to the rh side of the mechanism, this motor positions the gears etc for each function , play\ff\rew\etc

This is a simple one. The brass tube that the eject cable goes through sits inside a plastic retainer that cracks. When this happens, the brass tube slips into a position that prevents the EJECT function from operating. By experimention, determine the correct position of the brass tube (hold it with your fingers.)

Then, use epoxy to GLUE the brass tube to the broken plastic collar that is intended to hold the tube in the correct position. Don't use superglue. Only epoxy.

This fixes the problem every time. All the 480s will eventually get this problem. I've repaired this exact problem twice in the last month.

Fred

Cool thread. The 480's weak spot were in the controls — or so I am lead to believe. The control panel on mine became more and more vague until finally it just refused to obey orders with any consistent obedience. Whenever I really needed to get it mobilzed on the double for something that I really wanted to record, it just went AWOL.

I hope that the thread grows a bit more too. My biggest problem is getting it to respond to PLAY-RECORD. It's been parked in the stockade for about three years while an upscale Akai/A&D GX stands post. The GX is major, but the sound in even this most humble rank of Naks is marvellous.

The control functions go bad (or become erratic) because the control belt (between the small control motor and the white plastic drive gear for the control cam) stretches out. This causes the control cam to stall.

As I recall SCQ4.8 from Russell Industries is the correct replacement. I also use a Sony belt with excellent results.

Fred Longworth

Thanks Fred. Another project to add to the list.