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Eunomians
07-15-2006, 04:15 PM
I have recently picked up an amazing Nakamichi 500 cassette player in seemingly NOS condition. I've been contemplating taking it in for a little service... I sprayed the sliders with DeOxit to lube 'em up, now they have that 'glide' when I 'slide' them.

The right channel is not as strong as the left channel, sometimes it cuts out to a very low signal. The left is running perfectly. I cleaned the 2 heads with a little 97% alcohol and lintless cotton swabs.

Since I know virtually nothing about old tape decks, I am turning to this forum for some suggestions. I plan on using the deck to make hi-quality TDK SA-X tapes from vinyl/cd selections; but obviously, I can do any recording or playback at this time.

I am not sure what the problem is. I can tell you that the left channel is ultra-clear. The right channel is weaker than the left channel, it sometimes cuts out to 95% signal-loss. And the right channel, when it cuts out, is a little noisy, no hum, just a little noise and some faint music. The left channel has zero noise.

If I take it to a repair person, how should I explain the issue, what kind of servicing should I get done on it and any idea how much it might cost?

All other functions work perfectly aside from the right channel weakness. There is a sticker on the bottom that says that this unit was adjusted back in 1978 for TDK something or rather. The writing is illedgiable (I do know that Naks are biased for TDK).

Cheers!

Fred Longworth
07-15-2006, 07:52 PM
My friend NAKDOC will likely have comments about this . . . but the 500 is an older machine. I would treat the switches and controls -- especially the record/play slide switches -- with Caig DeoxIT D5, and do a thoroughgoing cleaning of the heads. As for the right channel being weak, usually the left channel goes first. I would try to get a good look at the sensitive (gap) region of the head to check the wear pattern.

Best,

Fred Longworth
http://www.repairaudio.com
StereoTech Classic Audio Repair

Eunomians
07-16-2006, 02:39 PM
You know, I am a complete idiot, it is the LEFT channel that is cutting out!

Is there a rectifiable solution to this problem, or does it require a new head altogether?

Nakdoc
07-17-2006, 08:39 AM
Two possible cures. One is, as Fred mentioned, the long record play slide switch. Getting to it is an adventure. After removing the deck from the case, you have to remove some side boards and connectors. This process is not difficult, so follow the path of least resistance. Once you find the switch on the main board, spray it with DeOxit and work the switch with a prod.
The second cause is week fingers on the edge connectors. Since they are gold plated, cleaning has little effect. With a thin screwdriver or scratch awl gently bend each gold finger towards the middle of the connector. Do not bend sideways. This adds more tension when the connector is plugged in.

Eunomians
07-26-2006, 12:32 PM
Thank you gentlemen for your advice. I have managed to clean the switches in an appropriate manner so as to make this puppy work like a champ! It took many many repeated shots of DeOxit and endless workout sessions flipping those levers up and down 100's of times. Now she works just great. I can't wait to find some nice NOS SA-X 90 tapes to test out how she records.

Best regards

http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/4249/dsc04925fr1.jpg

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/9159/dsc04927jp2.jpg

Nakdoc
07-26-2006, 03:30 PM
Interesting wood panels. The stock version had a hard white finish, so your deck is "customized".

Eunomians
07-26-2006, 05:40 PM
I have seen 2 variants of the Nak 500; one with the white panels and the other with wood panels. It seems that there are more white panels than wood panel versions out there. I have been tracking the Nak 500 for a long time on that site - there have been a few wood panel versions.

I think that the wood looks real nice as it is complimentary to most 70s era woodcased audio equipment. At least for me, the Nak matches my setup:

http://img473.imageshack.us/img473/5263/dsc04932ej6.jpg

Nakdoc
07-27-2006, 10:04 AM
A Dyna quadaptor!!!
Listen to Doors "Riders on the Storm". That would fool my dog, who hated storms, when I used the quadaptor!

Eunomians
07-28-2006, 01:50 AM
I'm gonna give it a shot!