Aha ! The 3rd cassette deck that I ever owned. I bought one of these puppies to replace a CTF9191 which was about as big as this guy but lacked the off-tape monitoring and the big blue vacuum display. The peak of the Japanese "built like a tank" hi-fi period. You know you're getting old when you spend time wallowing in nostalgia. Yet another great video.Thank you.
Thank-you for this video. I've had a CT-f1000 that I've had the belt kit for about 20 years. This gives me the incentive go ahead and dig into mine now.
I have a museum quality Pioneer CT-F1250 that needs belts, still has the original sales decals on the front. I do also have a CT-F900 that needs the take up motor repaired, did the belts and found out the motor has a dead spot. Downside to the CT-F1250 is the glass heads which are prone to high frequency loss issues, the sendust heads that were used in the 900 and 950 were more reliable. Did you get the bias lamp to light on the right side? I also have the Nakamichi Dragon, and I sold the CR-7A it had damaged heads.
I do like the way you explain things as you repair. It is good to get this from somebody who knows what they are doing. Very useful for when I get my new cassette deck and start servicing it! I have already purchased the guitar tuner. Thanks for that!
What a spot on sounding tape deck, the audio playback sounds identical to the source 😀 To my ears i can't hear any frequency wobble, it can be a nightmare trying to get a deck wobble free. I imagine it was a wallet breaker from new.
The Pioneers of that lineup were beautiful machines indeed. Too bad they are notoriously known for their cracked ferrite heads. This makes finding a proper machine that much more difficult. Plus, the Ferrite heads limit this deck's possible sound quality even with the 3-point calibration. So no, this wouldn't beat a Nak like the 1000 ZXL. Its successor, the CT-A1 was another animal, though.
@@12voltvids the Akai GX heads do have some problems, yes. Especially the bass response is lacking which is the main critique I have for my GX-95 Mk.I. Which otherwise would be a pretty great tape deck. Using a Type I ferric will solve the bass problem, though 😂 Also, for some stupid reason, Akai chose to not include a tape guide on the head which makes proper height alignment with tools like the A-BEX nigh impossible. The GX heads are very resistant to wear, though. So they got that going for them. But for head sound quality, Sendust or Amorphous was the way to go
@@12voltvids by the way ... I recently got a pristine TCD-D7 which has a minor problem on some 120 minute tapes. Around the 1h55m mark, the unit will stop recording with an "Error 40" message which hints at the Takeup Reel FG. 90 minute tapes operate fine, though. Any quick idea what could cause this? The reel motor lacking torque maybe?
I have the same deck with the wooden case. I saw one of your videos about how the plastic that lets the cassette click in place is prone to breaking. So what happens to mine? I go to put a cassette into the deck and a small piece of black plastic falls out...I knew immediately what it was and that I was in trouble as the cassette would no longer click in place. I also have the same problem as this deck...ff/rw work but the capstan doesn't. Deck was working great before these two thing happened. I am thinking of either selling the deck or having it repaired. Approximately, how much would it cost to have these issues repaired. A few years ago I had the belts replaced. Thanks....love the videos.
I have a fun one for you i bought two ct-f1000s somone took apart and realized they were over there head so now when i decided to tackel them i have to figure out where all the screws go 😮
i have a ctf750 but mine was working a little when i got it . it was barely moving and struggling to do anything at all, then it quit doing anything at all no motor noise no movement nothing. i didnt pay more then 5 bucks from a garage sale. i have held onto it since i got it a few years ago. go figure
Fantastic !!! I always felt the CTF1250 was better than the Nakamishi because you could manually tweak the Bias/Level/EQ to give a little more high end to CrO2 tapes (my primary recording medium on cassette). A Nakamishi Dragon did it all automatically so was more difficult the cheat the setup. With a ND I had to run through an equalizer to boost the top end EQ.
The auto bias on the other hand gives the truest flattest frequency response. Tweaking it to give more high end is not always a good thing. An audio purest strives for the flattest most transparent sound possible. That means no added tone controls and strives to get off tape exactly what went into it.
@@12voltvids I found that when the cassette was made for auto playback my vehicle speakers lacked hi-end so that is why I tweaked the top end just a little bit. Another way was to use the Dolby B for recording and playback without it on in the truck. No tweaking when I was making copies of mixdowns for musician friends. It got much simpler once CDRs were in vogue.
@@alanarmstrong2323 we had a little between Xmas and new years. All gone now and with any luck that will be all we see till the end of the year. At least where I am and that's really all that matters because i don't have to deal with it or work in it.
What a TANK .... never seen a 1250 inside. Is it DD ?. I see a board around the capstan. Here, top of CTFs are really rare and expensive. It really take some money to get into a DECENT deck ... and Im not accounting for one in working order ..... all the deck work like new as per seller description. You ask for a photo of the head, and somehow they get some 90's webcam quality photo from a 20MP phone .....
Yes it is direct drive. The second capstan flywheel is pretty small. Take a look at my JVC tdv1010. The secondary flywheel is massive as is the main motor which is direct drive as well.
I got into a mint JVC tdv1010 which will blow this one and most other decks out of the water including nakamichi and my cost was nothing. People throw that stuff away like crazy. Most in my "ritzy" area as someone called it can't be bothered trying to sell, they just toss away. Other than the cameras I shoot my videos on i haven't bought any electronic equipment since my 63" plasma in 2009. Not that i wouldn't like new toys, but hard to justify when the old stuff still works. I know people that buy stuff like it is going out of style.
@@12voltvids JVC is one of my favorites, they did fine decks. I had a TDV-662. Kinda of a GEM giving its time period with cassete starting to give up.Never took the cover off since it runs OK. Tested speed stability recording 3Khz tone and playing it back (just to see the stability). The test is not fair, since Im kinda doubling the W&F .... still was able to HOLD at +/- 1 Hz LOL ... reallly OUTSTANDING machine. But the one I like more is the daily one, a KD-X2 (similar to KD-V11) .... which was destroyed in a review in another YT channel becaue its is the bottom of the line. A friend of mine have this for YEARS. It recorded near 100 tapes for me. if there was any W&F, I couldnt detect it. The shock came out when I adquired mine ... I opened it up and the Mecha looked like a "cheap" boombox mecha with soft touch controls. Well, somehow they tricked us to think it was a higher quality machine in terms of construction .... YES, the mecha was "CHEAP" and somehow, the still DELIVERED a good product. On top of that I have seen this deck used and abused for almost 10 years. Used EVERY SINGLE DAY at least a couple of hours without any kind of service in between. Just the speed shifted a bit up. But someone took one here on YT and said it was an utter POS ..... I have other decks, never seen one with such reliability and still good stability. There is more than what meets the eye. And I respect JVC for that.
This tape decks, even if it is working, it need to be changed all belts and idler tires, and clean all old grease, this is just the beginning, this cassette deck in particular it doesn’t perform that well unless you change old pinch rollers and old electrolytic capacitors, then it will performs nicely. Unfortunately it’s not that easy to working on this cassette deck.
To change all the caps in this would cost hundreds and really for nothing. You heard how good it sounds with originals. now if you're stupid and want to throw five or $600 into changing all the caps then knock yourself out but 99 out of 100 people will be perfectly happy with changing the belts and The idler so the unit actually works
@@12voltvids First of all, the capacitors didn’t cost me 600$, just a little over 100$, second without changing capacitors the calibration it doesn’t work properly , may be for some people performance it not that important but for some people it is very important , even if i am wrong, it’s not nice to call people stupid.
@@zulkarnin were you paying someone to do it? When you are paying shop rates of at least 100 per hour it's going to cost a small fortune. If you have more money than brains knock yourself out. There are a few morons out there spending 20 grand on a cartridge to play old worn out records. Are you going to hear the difference? No. You aren't. Unless you are very young. Anyone over 40 won't be hearing much above 15khz anyway. Unless all you want to do is look at test results. No different then the idiots i have to deal with on a daily basis that sit at home and test their internet speed and if their plan says 1gig and they are averaging 900 they will call in and complain and get a truck rolling. The ones i really love are the ones that complain about slow internet. Our life show that they have been testing 50 to 60 times a day. I roll up, connect my computer vereify that their speed is correct on my equipment and then send them a 150.00 bill for wasting my time. One single goof has been charged 150 3 times once by me and twice by other techs. Problem was something on his crapple 🍎 computer. Download 120 Meg upload 930 on 1g package. My PC did 1.1g.
@@12voltvids I am electronic tech like you, I did change the capacitors, also i am un audiophile and cassette deck collector and pro reel to reel Recorders, I didn't try to criticize you, I only was saying that in order to get top performance the capacitors need to be changed. And I sold one for 1700$ because I did all that labor.
@@zulkarnin you could get that without doing all that work. People are stupid and will pay big bucks for this crap. I wouldn't offer anything for that deck. If I wait long enough one will drop at my door for free. Only total iditos would pay that. Same as the idiot that thinks a broken 1250 for parts is worth for 1000.
I have 24 Cassette decks and I could use a good calibration tape. With all the test frequencies. I was repairing one of these and a pinch roller was hard and I didn't see an easy way to remove it from it's bracket so I sent it out for rebuilding and they mangled the bracket.
Hi i just bought a sony handycam hi8 trv318 and i got a portable battery and film for it but whenever I put film in it, it still won’t record. I was wondering if you could help me and i could maybe send you a video of what’s going on
The problem is you bought a hi8. This is a very old camcorder. Over 20 years old. Even though this was past the capacitor plauge that haunted earlier models there us still so much that can and does go wrong with these old cameras. The most common fault is the edge connectors. I could never recommend that anyone buy old cameras because 9 out if 10 are no good and many can not be repaired as no parts available.
@@12voltvids so do i just let it collect dust? everything works it’s fine, it’s just when ever i put my tape in to record two signs pop up, one with a line through what seems to be a tape and a upload sign
Not sure how familiar you may be with 8mm cassette media but the erase tab on the cassette/film cassette itself may be in the "off" position. The camcorder will play but won't record until the tab is switched to "on".
440hz is the frequency of the A string on your guitar. Any guitar tuner will allow you to accurately set your tape speed using a 440 tape. Of course this is only as accurate as the deck that made the recording. The decks I use to make the recording are certified using a factory alignment tape and frequency counter. They are both direct drive quartz lock capstone motors with no belts. It's reference to a crystal oscillator which is not going to change frequency therefore the motor will always be at the correct speed as the speed is monitored by a closed loop servo that is referenced to this quartz oscillator. if the motor is going slow the server will speed it up if the motor is going fast the server will slow it down. So any tapes that I make using my 440 hz signal generated in Audicity can be used to calibrate any other deck. The deck I use to record these reference tapes is not a machine that is used for any other purpose. I don't use cassette tapes personally for anything. I have some old tapes that once in awhile I will play but they are not played on the deck I use to record reference tapes. Therefore when you set your speed using a guitar tuner to the a string you're getting the exact speed of my recorded reference tape from my calibrated deck that was certified with a Sony factory speed reference tape.
@@12voltvids Thanks for all the information! I'm not into tape deck repairs (yet) but i'll check what my decks are capable of in the future for such reference tapes. At least my Kenwood KX-880HX is direct drive. Thanks again and have a nice day!
How I do like Direct Drive and Optical sensors with NO Belts ! That unit looks like a Hounds Meal to work on, guess the design engineers had a bad day designing this mechanism……… Dave, what is the worst - bad ass unit you have ever worked on ?
They can be. I did another one today with multiple faults. Still working on it now. Did this one a different way as far as changing the idler tire was concerned and yes it was much easier. Will post that one once I finish it, if I finish it because it has more tan just the belts at fault.
Kenwood KX600 650 800 is really a pain to work. Build quality is there .... but they a POS,they need belts very often, slow and clunky. Just the counter require 3 belts. Try to beat that. And the electronic stop sensor is tied to the counter, so those need to be in top shape. Never buy one of them .... even free is expensive.
@@12voltvids Only way, is it was the case for nice one.To be honest, I bought the KX600 "mint" condition ... but well used.. Got a nice pain in the but changing the belts, revist it a second time because some belts werent strong enough and started to slip. Third time because the counter ones were a bit tick and generated too much drag. Drop a new motor on it as the original couldnt hold the adusted speed. Never seen a new motor struggling to bad in a tape deck. When you ask for cue or review is like is about to die. But got it ok, calibrated by the manual ... bla bla bla .... I took it after 1 and half year of being stored .... guess What ? ...... Main belt slips ... I get half way, stalls the flywheel, buttons jam ..... If they were trying to make a soft touch thing, they failed miserably. The KX 800 makes AWSOME recording, it can take even the strong metal tapes in the market. Really nice machine. But it put so much stress on the belts and motor. You can feel the clunkiness pretty bad and every button you press feel like a pain, I cant help me thinkin how belts are being decimated. This is why I love botom of the lines JVCs. You make them work hard ... and barely aks for maintenance.
