DIY Belt Replacement Marantz PMD 430 

the comment I was looking for! man this little unit is a pain to open and work in. I replaced the belt on a 79 jvc field recorder. that thing was built to be serviced on by amateurs like me. its also 10 times the size and weight. 😆

so glad you mentioned this, because I need to fix one of these as well!

Definitely gonna check out that sony!

ah man that makes me so happy to hear! thanks for letting me know :D

Hey man, thanks for the comment. I'm glad to help, and in fact I have been making these videos because they didn't exist and I had questions that I had to figure out myself and figured it'd be good to share with the community. I love RU-vid because everything you could ever want to learn is either on youtube, or has the potential to be on youtube, and I wanted to be a part of that.

@@User173 That's cool. Well you've definitely opened the door for many to now confidently own and repair a classic recorder. I'm definitely looking to be a part of that myself with what I'm working on.

you're welcome!

its the same on pmd222 please?

@@spectaclesociety Not exactly but very similar. Similar enough to make the video very useful for the 222. I’ve already replaced the bents and added several mods on my 222

best news ever!!! thanks for letting me know :D

awesome! thanks for letting me know.

Great to hear! Thanks for letting me know!

Good luck! make sure you can find belts before you purchase. it can be tricky sometimes.

glad I could help. Yeah I don't know why I always thought it was so difficult,but replacing the belts really isn't that tough after doing it once or twice.

Hey thanks for checking in and letting me know this was useful. cheers

Ciao Marco, prego!

Wow! you speak Italian, bravisimo! Small world I used to live in Visitacion valley near cow palace in SFO in the 90's till 2002. Good luck with your videos promise to promote them around here! Sincerely Marcp

@@marcobertoglio7729 Si Marco, la mia famiglia è di Crespiano, Tuscany!

YW, and thank you!

risk it? replacing belts is a cinch. you got this.

@@User173 Already had it serviced now my issue is the heads. I need to maintain record volume at 10 or else the left channel begins to lose audio as I lower the rec volume. I need new heads, any idea where I can get them?

ho boy. man the market for parts really shot up didn't it.

hey there, yeah I think you can just use the same method. Open it up slowly, take photos, study it before disassembling the belts and make sure you know how they go on. keep your parts in bags and label them so you don't get lost.

yes i believe it is similar but just be sure to take it apart slowly, take notes and photos! so if you forget something, you can use your reference of how it is all put together.

I've not noticed that, no. perhaps clean the pinch roller with rubber restorer? that might help it to run more smoothly.

the marantz microphones themselves all came with batteries, so unlikely

I've never had to use those. However I need to look up their function, exactly, because I may have a belt traction problem on a unit I just got.

I do not, unfortunately. Have you tried seeing if there is a place that sells the belts for it and then emailing them to see if they can help you with a diagram? Vintage-electronics.net is a good place to start.

The counter uses gears from one of the belts to convert the speed to the right speed. No harm in opening it up and taking a peak, make sure everything is as it should be. perhaps a gear is broken or stripped or something.

User 173 thanks!

sure thing. However, there are some realllly great videos out there already. have you seen this one? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cyme4G8iYk0.html

Hi there Erin, I'm happy I could help with the belts! The tapes being eaten can be a couple of things. It depends on the type of tape you are using in it. First, are you using a tape loop by any chance? Sometimes home made tape loops have too much slack and can become problematic. If it is a regular tape, then have you tried cleaning the Capistan and pinch roller? you can use rubbing alcohol on the capistan but NOT on the pinch roller. Rubber will crack eventually with rubbing alcohol so you need to get rubber restorer and cleaner. That is something you can use to clean the pinch roller. Sometimes residue builds up on the pinch roller and causes the tape to stick to it and it gets eaten. Another problem is if the belts are too tight and the pinch roller is pressing too hard against the capistan, it can then also eat the tape, but that is less likely as I am sure you followed my instructions and got the correct belts. Let me know if this helps, if not, feel free to contact me again here, and we can exchange info and maybe I can help you out via Zoom or something. Let me know!

Hey Desperate Dave. I'm so sorry for the late reply. like... very late. so sorry. did you get it working? I'd love to try and help.

@@User173 Thank you for replying! No, it sits in a drawer awaiting attention. I'd be so grateful for your advice. If you'd drop an email off to me, I'll send images and describe what I can. Perhaps there's something else I need to do to get up and running. ratherbetyping@gmail.com.

Oh wow, did it work before? or did you buy it and it never worked? Have you since fixed it? tell me more :D

oh dang man. my heart bleeds for you. Did you use the proper size screwdriver? generally the precision is the only one to use. Unfortunately I do not know how to fix that. Try and get an EXACT fitting screwdriver and use pressure to slowly get it out of there. Then you'll have to replace those screws. Local hardware stores are good at matching stuff and they also may have tricks for fixing your stripped screws.

Not with the 360, but I imagine if you open it up, it's similar to the video I've got here. I think the first thing to look at if the FF and REW aren't working are the mechanisms that engage when you press FF and REW. However, there is ONE belt that is engaged when FF and REW are pressed, and so I'd imagine that belt is broken or too loose. I would def open it up and follow this video for advice on organization and take photos so you can put it back together. Keep little bags that are labled to put various screws in. You can get the new belts from vintageelectronics dot net.

@@User173 Thanks, I'll just take the plunge and try my best once I clear a nice work space and organize my tools. Really great videos btw, you're doing a lot to keep these machines alive!

@@wadegbow Hit me up if you have questions. I'm happy to help keep these awesome devices alive.

wow, that's a new one. the sound your hearing could be due to a blown capacitor, but it could be several other things. I've heard noisy outputs and that generally is a ground problem, so you might check out that all the grounds are secure and didn't somehow get disconnected. best thing to start with is open it up and do a really solid visual inspection. I find that by cleaning it after opening it, it helps me to see things more clearly since you're focusing on spots to clean and therefore being a bit more methodical as you inspect. look for any cold solder joints, etc. you might start with a sniff test too. burnt components have a carbon smell. maybe you get lucky and can find a component that might be faulty.

I think you could email bob at vintage electronics and he'd be able to tell you. I specifically don't know the size, but I did order them from him.

naw, it's just that my name is Eli. 173 is my name rotated upside down in numbers.

yes! great job m'man. these are amazing and you'll love it.

wow, first time? First off, the tape is a loop tape, so that wheel isn't moving because of that. I assure you, it all works and many, many, many people have followed my tutorial and got it to work. so yeah... I smell envy.