Realistic Tape Decks SCT-33 Cassette, & TR-803 8-Track Pt. 2 Final. 

I just brought one (SCT-33) back to life. Had the goo issue too. That wasn't fun at all. Very happy to get it working again as dad owned it since new.

Nice. I just fixed the 8 track section of my Akai X-1810 Reel to Reel / 8 track combo unit. It had terrible static caused by the -30vdc from the track changer probe because it grounds against the erase head. The erase head wore down a bit and the tape was barely touching which caused sparking / static. Adjusted the -30vdc probe back a little and now it's silent yet still changes tracks. Dunno why, guess I just got bored and finally got around to fixing it!

The tape mechanism looks very similar to the one found in my Panasonic RA-6600. That plastic nylon bracket that holds the tape head in place is literally almost identical to the one in the Panasonic player, and it was a pain in the ass because it was so brittle and had no strength. At least here, it looks like the bracket is readily visible when you take the cover off. In the Panasonic receiver, I had to pull out a bunch of other parts first before actually reaching the tape deck mechanism.

Great video. I have the 803 I just acquired I am in the process of fixing up. I do want to say, while I agree for the most part, I don't think adjusting the motor speeds in general is a bad thing if you have a good reference. For a cassette deck I 100% of the time check and adjust and recheck, and it's never uncharted territory. For the azimuth, if it's out it must be fixed. If I adjust and it sounds better because it was out, it needed fix. Saying "nothing changed since it left the factory" is a bit apathetic and untrue. Mechanisms wear, resistances of windings change, many many factors change over the years that warrant a re-adjustment. Precision instrumentation at the factory or not, if you adjust it, and it comes back into spec, it needed done, period, and it's not best left alone. I've sold many many tape decks on Ebay with 0 complaints and not 1 bad feedback, just compliments, so I feel my stance on that is the correct one. But I agree with one part, if you don't really know what you are doing or what you are changing, it is probably best left alone. As to leaving 40 year old belts on the machine, if they look good and seem to still have great elasticity and no cracking, I leave them. Chances are they will outlive the Chinese belts I'm replacing them with - which to me is a real unknown. To me, if I have to bet on the OEM belt lasting 10 more years and the Chinese belt lasting 10 years, my money is on the OEM. I put a little rubber renew to help it along and send it on it's way. Should I change the belt, I always recalibrate speed and recheck after a week. You can be sure this factor is not the same as it left the factory, therefor pitch is most certain to be off.

sct-33 exact same as a hitatchi I have on my shelf.. well a few different controls but essentially the same.

I have a SCT33 that won't play. Someone have me 2 back in the mid 90s where the tapes won't play. Someone I knew them fixed them but the problems returned about a year or 2 after the fact. When they were working, I had to play a tape on it for 10 mins before the speed would get up to proper speed. Can these problems be fixed? Wouldn't mind seeing if I could get my one unit up and running again.

Just picked up one of these at Goodwill for $10, but the belts have turned to a gooey tar mess. Cleaned up well with alcohol and I am now looking for new belts. Is there any source out there to tell me what size belts this machine takes? The belts had disintegrated and there was now way to measure what was left.

No matter what kind of equipment the manufacturers used to align the head with, sooner or later the head will need to be realigned because it is being used. Common sense.