Just discovered this channel. Thanks for posting the vids. Found a couple of these decks in hard rubbish. They got sold under quite a few names, but all seem pretty similar. Also fixed a couple of combo units with the same mech. I'm only a hobbyist but they make a nice fixup curiosity. They either fix up ok, or W&F makes them unrepairable. Run-out on the takeup reel pulley seems to be the root problem. W&F is never great, with these mechs, but if the pully has worn eccentric, its unfixable unless you can find another donor. The better decks can be made to sound "ok" and I'm a sucker for cheap and cheerful projects.
some of the entry level decks are just not worth spending a lot of time on, but i still wanted to make the vid for people that have one or are repairing one
thanks for the efforts! Just got a Kenwood deck at Goodwill for $2.17 and this video will help me keep it out of the landfill. If you could talk in next video about the progression in models and model numbers and any historical info I'd appreciate it. It appears they got cheaper as time went on, more plastic. Your recommendation for a good model to look for too. Cheers!
hi scott , i can make a video of the better ones in a few weeks ? what i would recommend as the better decks are the 3 head models , in particular the kx-1100 range and the kx-9010 . you are correct in saying that later models are more plasticky and even the later better ones (9010) contained more plastic than the previous model (1100) so if you can find a 1100 or its smaller 2 head brother the 880, i would pick one up which model did you get from GW ?
@cassettedeckandwalkmanre-mw1hy I got a kenwood kxW4040 that has sticky switches, but other wise works good. I also found an Akai CS F11 That sounds great, but needs rewind/FF belts. Thanks for your videos, it's fun treasure hunting this stuff and getting it working again. Just rebuilt a Pioneer sx780, which tape deck would you reccomend to pair with it. The kenwood deck is going with my Kenwood KA-701 stack.
Ray, you are an amazing technician. Your years of servicing sure made explaining how to repair this deck informative. I look forward to watching more of your videos. Thanks for putting this together.
Just an FYI...acetone works excellent for removing the melted belt "tar" from everything from the pulleys to your hands. I just had the same experience with a Marantz 5025 and even though it was messy, it cleaned up quite easily with the acetone.
@@cassettedeck-walkman-repair ...I was actually afraid of the same thing, so I made sure to test various areas of plastic parts first. None of the pieces I tried it on had any negative effects whatsoever, so I'm wondering if it's a case of a part actually being "soaked" in acetone that would cause a melting problem? Anyway, in my case...simply wiping a paper towel or Q-tip across the part that was covered in the dreaded "black goo" didn't cause any issues. So glad that I completed the project though, as I was given the Marantz deck by the late brother of a good friend of mine who had also recently passed... and working on it was somewhat therapeutic. My next attempt at getting a deck up and running is my Kenwood KX-66W, which currently only has one transport operating. That's what brought me here to your wonderful video. I'm hoping that the 66 and 55 are similar enough inside that I can just follow your steps to success!
these are standard "Black Rubber Rectangular Outdoor Door Mat" available at lowes, home deport etc , great for protecting your equipment and tools and prevent from losing screws , parts etc .
Rene, thank you very much for such detailed video! I have kx-65cw and there are two belts in drive A broken. Is it ok that the head does not lift completely up without the belts or is it electrical problem as well? I hope I can fix it when I find the belts.
without the belt the cam (command wheel) does not activate completely and the head will not come up properly , replace the belts first and then it all should work again
@@cassettedeck-walkman-repair Thank you! I hope I can find them in Russia. Seems this deck is quite rare in our country. At least there should be some of the same size from the other models. If you have the correct dimensions, please let me know. My main deck is Vega MP-120 with three direct motors, so belts are new for me)
@@crimsonsabbath6489 i dont know the sizes , but if you ordre one of those 50-100pcs packs from aliexpress you should find to correct size , sadly i cannot mail anything into russia right now
@@cassettedeck-walkman-repair Thank you for the advice! There are some sellers in Russia who have different types of belts, think I will find some proper ones.
@@cassettedeck-walkman-repair Rene, I have changed the belts in transport A and mechanically it is working. But the speed is too high (like doubled) and cannot be adjusted with the high and norm speed pots. The speed in transport B is OK. If I simulate the rerecording from A to B while playing A and push dubbing speed button to high the speed goes even faster. Clearly an electrical problem? What is better to be checked first?
I 've got a Kenwood KX-7030 3head dual capstan from ebay. I change the belts and clean everything. It works but the wow and flutter is too high, about 0.2. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!
i just posted a video where i ran into the same issue and it turned out to be the replacement belt was cr*p , you may want to replace the belt again maybe from a more reputable source ? , also look at the back tension belt that is runs smooth and also the capstan oil washers that they run free from the transport but also not touching the cassette ? also clean the bronze bearing and the capstan and a small drop of oil into the bearing
