Man spends  

Have to give credit to the least clickbait title I've ever seen on RU-vid.

That’s a really nice gesture and great that you could make a little video on it. For those wondering, I was approached by this lady who said her husband’s tape player had eaten his only cassette from me and was rather devastated over the fact that I had more or less stopped selling them. So she asked if it was possible to get a new one. I said I could dig up a few spares and sent them over. In addition I just asked Mat if he happened to have some extra cassette players around that he wanted to sell. And as you can see from this, this was the result. I’d like to relay a big thank you to Mat as well, from Heather and her husband: «Just received an email from Mat. My hubby nearly lost it in the super market when he realised it was Techmoan. You have been so so kind to us, and I don't think you will ever realise what a difference it has made for my partner. I so truly grateful x.» 😃

You're gonna need a 3d printer at some stage soon, with all the little thingamajigs with attached springs breaking off. Great vid!

Thanks for this video. I have an Onkyo K-200R autoreverse deck, but I'd had to replace the belt, and it wouldn't play in reverse. The mechanism in the Onkyo deck in this video is very nearly the same inside, but with that autoloading addition. When you opened it up in your video, at 18:46, I could see straight away why. I had put the belt the wrong way around the flywheel, and it was rotating backwards.Just fixed it now and all works as it should. Thank you for saving me a lot of time working out what I'd done wrong. I should add, that I bought the deck recently and the belt had disintegrated, so I never got to see how it should be routed.

Onkyo built some beautiful kit back in the day.

Another I missed! Glad youtube finally suggested it.

Man spends 27.41 watching man messing with two old compact cassette decks

I'd very much like to see more videos of "Man messes with compact cassette decks for *x* minutes".

12:10 "That does not make enough for a video" - do you know nothing about your viewers? We eat this stuff up!

Love that title, because the vid is LITERALLY about a man spending 27:41 messing with two old compact Compact Cassette decks

That 27 minutes and 41 seconds was time well spent: I enjoyed watching the testing and maintenance of these cassette decks. :)

That title brought me here.

I would bet the capacitors are dried out in the power supply. The power light blinking is a tattle tale.

Techmoan, you shouldn't be shy about making a video on a simple device. A short video is actually good for people like me who are very busy and don't have the time for a 30 minute video session.

Cassettes are how I got into listening to and appreciating music when I was a kid in the '90s. My brother borrowed and taped a lot of CDs from his friends, and gave me his deck and tapes when he was moving out. I keep them for sentimental reasons and play a few every now and then, despite the degraded sound quality.

I really liked the title :) I wonder how the whole set of the sony would look like.

I recognized that Sony immediately, as I own it. You could by the deck as an option for the DHC-MD373 mini HiFi set. You would have loved that system, if it were only for the integrated MD player/recorder. The system resides in my study and is still in perfect working order.

That eject mechanism is great. It makes me wonder what other stuff you've deemed uninteresting

This has brought back real memories. I bought this tape deck with the micro system, which had minidisk,CD & FM RDS radio in 1999. It was the first thing I ever bought with my first wage packet from my first job. The ta ok e deck was an extra £120, and for the following 22 years (yes I still have it) I have never used it to play a cassette, but at the time, buying a sterio without a cassette deck was so alien to me, I felt compelled to splash out the extra for cassette 😂. I clearly remember the whole system cost £500 from Sony store Nottingham.

I like the motorised loading! Many of that era were spring-loaded.

in a complicated and sometimes insane world these days , your video's are calming, uncomplicated and comforting,and the products bring us in a nostalgic mood, remind us of the times, live was much more simpler :) thank you . I think you could also do meditation relaxation cd's with that voice :p

I have the first cassette deck. It worked with a mini cd and mini disc unit, I don’t think it works as a stand alone unit

I enjoy this non-scripted tinkering around stuff just as much as your in-depth videos

At a cassette factory I worked at 20 years ago we always cleaned heads with Hexane.

Hi I've got the same cassette deck and it sounds absolutely brilliant the Sony deck. It was part of my mini hi-fi which included the CD and a MiniDisc recorder and a radio I sold the main unit because I didn't need a mini disc or the radio or a CD because I already have them but I kept the Tape Deck and to be honest it sounds brilliant to my 60 year old ears anyway all the best for the New Year to you and your family Chris in Sunderland PS you have got me looking for a Philips DCC recorder now I had a portable one years ago and sold it when it became obsolete now I wish I have kept it

That problem with the Onkyo is a classic symptom of a bad take up clutch. It happens when the internal felt pad becomes compressed and the takeup torque increases.This causes the tape to ride over one side of the head. If the clutch isn't too bad, the tape may wander back and forth like yours. The next symptom is chewed tape, as the tape will be pulled right off the side of the pinch roller and wind up in the roller axle. The fact that it came right in your case suggests that the clutch had just become a little frozen from lack of use, and it free'd up. If it starts chewing tapes for the new owner, they can do a home repair on most models by pulling apart the two halves of the take up spindle and cutting half a loop (or so) off the spring. Reassemble, and Bob's your aunty Mary

Very early in my electronics career, after offering to look at a friends cassette machine, I vowed never to look at one again. All those springs and motors and wizzy bits is enough to drive you mad

Looking at the Sony, it looks like the ribbon cable between the front panel and main unit has a small crack across it, maybe this is the problem? And explains why it is intermittent with buttons lighting up.

Maybe the door, being spring loaded and so presumably requiring a lever to open it up for ejection, was required to firmly shut before play. Any sensors in that area?

I have a similar Onkyo deck with this mech, except the autorverse function, but it's 3-head instead. This mechanism is really a marvel: if you push the door, not the cassette, it just closes in and doesn't start to play.

I have that Sony Micro system it has a Minidisc player built in, still works and sounds great

Thank you for making these videos! I enjoy them very much!

Ooh those flywheels sure are nice. I noticed that before you’d pointed it out. I would definitely adjust the drift, myself, but that flutter is great!

3:54 I use this unit as my main tape player in my hi-fi setup and I am in love with it. Probably a spoiler~ but the soft touch buttons light up green when they are pressed when it is in working order.

I bought the complete Sony system MD313 which came with the 333 cassette unit in December 1998 . £440 if I remember correctly and been using it for over 23 years now. Admittedly I rarely use the cassette deck but it all works ....CD , Mini disc , cassette and radio . I currently have a record deck booked up and love listening to vinyl all over again .

I loves these type of videos, hope to see more cleaning/repair videos in the future.

That Onkyo unit looked excellent. I love those large flywheels. A pity the Sony was dead on arrival.

You can de-glaze pinch rollers with sand or emery paper (something around 500 grade), removing the hardened top layer of rubber, thorough cleaning afterwards with the usual isopropyl or meths. If you've recently brushed your teeth spit works pretty well too(!!).

Wonderful Title.

I bought the Sony TC-TX333 from a charity shop for about £10. It worked fine without the rest of the micro system components, but needed it's belts replaced. I put it in my 'to do' pile, but the wife said I had too many cassette decks, so it's now gone to a friend 😂

I love watching these long videos during my day job lol. Love the content! 🤙🏻

Thanks for the hard work and great videos!

i really enjoy watch you fixing those things :)

Absolutely love these videos !

Leave it to the Japanese, to come up with Fascinating and innovative Tech ! a very unique transport on the last machine. hats off to this 😀👍

Thumbs up for just the title

My parents had a 1970s Zenith Allegro integrated stereo with the slot-loading cassette player. It was a great player, until it developed an appetite for tapes, and no amount of cleaning cured it. When it was paired with the original speakers, it had a fantastic, warm tone, and still did on the phonograph and radio. It could even make AM radio sound good. I miss that stereo.

I have that exact same Sony slot loading player and it does work without the rest of the system, I just have the cable hanging loose and use the RCA jacks to hook up to my active monitors.

That Onkyo mechanism was also used in the TA-RW909 dual Hi-fi deck I have. It is a great sounding deck. They are apparently very rare, it took me months of searching to find one on Ebay for parts.

You said the Onkyo tape deck wasn't very exciting but I think it's awesome it's beautiful it's one of the most the most unusual design I've ever seen!

"Lets open up and see whats going on" My money would have been on you removing the rubber bands for other projects lol

Awesome video!

That DiscoVsion track really slaps. Thank you for providing that.

I honestly loved this video! You had me locked in. Have seen that first Sony deck around. Looks so sleek, but that second one, wow! If you haven’t already, would love to see some Nakamichi decks, with the windows. Loved all the window models especially the 80’s ONKYO Integra series.

I recognize the design instantly. That's probably the optional tape deck for the mini hifi system in my dad's office since I am a child (still there and working very well). It has CD, tuner and mini disc. I remember i noticed behind the tape RCA jacks inputs and outputs. So here is the thing !

We are no longer in comment time out 🙏

The manual indicates the Sony TC-TX333 is indeed designed only for use with the DHC-MD333 component system, but there are other videos on youtube of people using it on it's own.

The mech on the onkyo basic drive is the same as the Yamaha decks of the same era

That chap will be happy!

As for the cassette’s playing vertically the tape travelling over the playback & recording heads make the most of gravity.

And the title of this video explains perfectly why your channel is so popular 😅 keep up the good work your long videos are great don't listen to the moaners... !!!

Well that was a good bit of fun on a rainy Oregon evening! I enjoyed it quite a lot, thank you!

I had exactly the same tape mechanism in a Panasonic Ghetto Blaster but it didn't automatically play when you inserted a cassette

I’m alway’s impressed that your willing to take things apart. I wouldn’t know we’re to start.

i like unique loading/eject ways

Enjoyed the video. Onkyo is my personal favorite brand for audio amplifiers. I've used one for some years now for my entertainment system and music. It still preforms as well as the day I got it. Their stuff is really top quality, I think the person you're sending that tape deck to will be pretty pleased with it.

I have the Sony Minidisc Dhc-md373 system, and this tape player was optional for this, but I never got one, as I thought with CD and MiniDisc, I was saved for the future...

The theory that the first cassette deck was designed to only work when connected to an amp through the special connector doesn't make sense. If that was the case, why would it have RCA jacks on it at all? I don't see any cracks on the ribbon cables in the video, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. It certainly acts like there's shorts in the control system somewhere, and the ribbon cables are top candidates.

Nice new Olight!

I like that loading mechanism on the Onkyo, I'm glad it made its way into some kind of video eventually anyway.

12:09 VWestlife: *are you sure about that*

lovely stuff

"And the reward to most on point title of 2021 goes to..."

Ive never had any luck with complicated tape decks. I like the basic ones that play and record.

I love the title's scathing commentary on clickbait titles.

For the poor Sony I would say power supply fault, short circuit or bad caps. I don't know but with those controls there maybe or would have to be some sort of logic chip or function control IC that could have possibly went bad or is somehow shorting. Just my two cents worth.

It's always a good idea to use rubber rejuvenator (such as Platenclene) as well as isopropanol, on rubber components. This restores the grippiness & resilience of rubber components like pinch rollers, rubber tyres, & belts. It really does work I've revived loads of rubber tape deck bits with this!

probably stopped working 3 days after end of warranty xD

as an fyi, on sony pro decks like their beta , umatic, etc, if you press the eject button whilst simultaneously turning on the power button, this will cause the mechanism to eject the tape. ive a sony pcm 7040 and another pro deck (mini dv) where you can do this procedure also. maybe try this next time or if you still have it, try it now.

11:27, not the case. It works perfectly without original jack that you point at. I have one with and one without it. Both work ok on different brands of Amps and on the Sony original one made for that deck..

I came to see what he did in the other second…..I bet it’s gold!

You should check the transformer output with a multi meter.

Oh, yes, the day-long five minutes jobs. I must learn to recognize them in advance.

i would have checked every connection across the ribbon, you can see a crack across it @8.19 might just be the plastic, but i'd check it

Hay great video have you ever done a video on the Sony cfd v15

I have the Sony, part of a mini disc midi system I bought years ago, it’s great connected to my amp via rca, the other lead is left loose, touch wood it’s fine 🤞

That Onkyo system looks as Liverpool Mini PCS-05 but in my catalog it is with double cassette - standard loaded vertical in front. Actally I was deliberating to buy that one but finally purchased in1993 bigger ONKYO set. That Mini they offered with dedicated Onkyo speakers PS-05U May be they provided customer option to choose that one single advanced cassette instead of double? . CD in that system reminds that tape deck exactly only difference is that CD door/tray is more flat. System had had 45W per channell an d flutter they stated 0,07% so after all years still granted 😄

May need to be in system, So when Tape is selected a signal is made to it to allow it to work..?

I don't know if anyone else noticed it, but for the Sony system did anyone else see a hairline crack in the ribbon cable between the front panel and the main board?

8:57 who sees the cracked ribbon cable?

I've been looking and the Onkyo k-611/k-622 are the same style as yours but it's probably the smallest 3-head cassette "deck".

I find the physical design of the onkyo really nice

I have an identical* - looking Sony tape deck, but a 373, rather than a 333, attached to my Sony bedside 'HiFi'. I have not connected the bus lead, but the tape deck works works without it. My understanding is that the bus is for remote control using the hifi's handset. *To pedants: OK - _almost_ identical, apart from a 3=>7

Was going to say that Tape deck looked like the optional one I need to go with my Sony EX880MD Mini HI-FI Component System but turns out it's actually the TC-TX770 for mine and not the same. I'm sure these tap decks can be used separately though as on my unit everything is connected and powered via system control ribbon cables with only the AU BUS left which I would assume allows the tape deck to be connected but powered separately as it's an option on the amp that I can select and the deck in this video just has the AU BUS connector on it plus power lead.

On the Sony deck in this video, I would start by measuring the tensions from the power supply. It must be something missing there, making the tape mechanism seem "dead".

Disabling the comments for a few days really has an impact on the number of comments, apparently!

16:17 Morning Dew by Anders Enger Jensen... also known as the theme to The 8-Bit Guy.

General question - is anyone aware of a coffee table book showcasing Japanese 60s and 70s audio tech?

I don’t mind a signed broken MiniDisc Walkman, I’m from Lancashire too 😂

it always makes me shake my head when I see a sony name. Its wild that they've done so well for so long with such terrible names