Cassette deck... minor repair questions.

[dcfly]

Hi folks, I have a JVC TD-V711 cassette deck - a really nice unit. Unfortunately, though, I'm having a slight problem in that it's wrinkling tapes sometimes.



I keep the transport very clean, so I don't think that's the problem. I'm thinking it's either somehow the pinch rollers or the belt. The unit claims to have a "pulse servo direct drive motor." On inspection of the inside I see one belt, and it seems slightly loose. The capstans rotate constantly on this unit. I'm pretty sure I can obtain a replacement belt from partsolver.com, but I'm not sure about a pinch roller. So, to those of you with knowledge of cassette decks, my questions are:

1. Does my diagnosis sound anywhere near correct?

2. Do you think that I would be able to replace these parts myself? I'm fairly clever, but have never worked on a cassette deck before.

Thanks for any kind of help!

[Wardsweb]

sounds more like the take-up reel is not taking up the slack. check for a belt connection or idler wheel to drive the take up reel and make sure it's got some take up torque to be able to pull the tape.

[dcfly]

Thanks for the help, Wardsweb.


I'll do some investigating into that. I didn't see anything that looked like an idler wheel-type setup, and there's only one belt in there. Would it help if I posted a picture, or is that going too far?

[Bob R]

Sounds like a sticking idler wheel to me. Use a Q-tip and Isopropyl Alchohol to clean all metal parts, including the heads. Look for flat spots on the idler. Radio Shack still sells a rubber cleaner which will not dry out the elastomer.

The drawback is that this cleans lubricants out of the idler bearing - lithium grease, in sparce amounts, should get it freewheeling again. (clean the outside of the idler - again).

No sprays for me, especialy silicone spray.

[grumpy]

I would go easy with Iso Alky. That stuff and rubber don't mix meaning it will dry it out and make the problem worse. Definitely use the proper rubber rejuvenator if possible. Partsexpress has some but I like to use the kind made for deglazing rubber rollers on printing presses. Its very hazardous stuff but nothing works as good.

Grumpy

[Bob R]

grumpy's right, of course. That's why I tried to stress Q-tips.

And forget my RS suggestion, I just checked their website - nada!

Why they don't even have tube testers there, anymore.

[dcfly]

Thanks a lot for the help, guys; I really appreciate it.

Can you explain to me what the idler wheel looks like? I thought I knew what it looked like, but I don't see anything that looks like what I thought I'd be looking for. How much do I have to disassemble the mechanism to get to it?

This is from a different JVC model, but this is very similar to what it looks like in my deck, but I don't have that smaller wheel, just the two big ones with the single belt (idler? dude, I'm so out of it... ).

[Andyman]

It's a small wheel (1/2"??) between the reel drives that transfers power from a driven axle to the reel drive spindles. Usually it is right behind the cover plate as you look straight into the tape well.

Removing the cover plate is sometimes a very special treat in itself. I too pretty much have sworn off working on cassette decks because of their intricate mechanisms. I've got a couple Naks in my shop that I need to replace the idlers on, but they've been there for over a year.

Give me a speaker refoam any day!