On this video it is obvious indeed that the belt needs to be replaced... And that its path needs to be properly cleaned: isopropyl on cotton swabs, and I also use tow (oakum?), and all the black traces need to be wiped out!
Ok. Thanks !! So as soon as it feels resistance the belt loses it's grip and without resistance it still has enough grip to make everything turn ? So for the FF and REW it has to have more grip I guess, because if I press play it mostly works ok ( except for the sound ) Does it always happen so suddenly ? ( according to the seller, he put a new belt on it ) I hope the new belt fixes everything, most of all that I have the good audio back.
If the seller did put a new belt, it either was the wrong size, or more probably it was already too old and out-of-specs by the look of it. And the black parts near the motor pulley look like the goo that belts do when they're too old: it looks like they're melting. I wonder if there is a chemical reaction explaining it, acid-related, and if so this acid staying in the goo part could propagate to the new belt and contaminate it when in contact (this is just a guess). I don't know if the new belt will fix everything. The "chipmunk style" sound you describe is suspicious, I would expect a slowish motion more than a faster one. But you need to fix everything indeed, and that means the belt at this stade considering your video.
@Ball000 I've read that some people use a rubber band for a temp fix. Can I try that ? If that works, then I would know for 100 % if it would work if I'd use a new belt, right ?
OK I allow you: you can try! ;-) I agree with your last sentence, but that also means that if it doesn't work with the rubber band, it would mean only that: it doesn't work with the rubber band.
I've ordered a new belt from Ebay. I've found a rubber band that's too thick and another one that's thinner, but smaller in diameter. I've connected the smaller one around the right capstan wheel and that turns ok with the rubber band. It's probably a bad idea to try to stretch the small rubber band across all the wheels ? ( update: I've tried it, play works with and without tape, FF and REW work without tape, with tape it tries to turn but then stops and also the motor stops. Probably too much tension for the motor ? Anyway I've removed the rubber band now ) Maybe I can find another that is large and thin, if it can be found that is.
@Ball000 I've received the new belt. I first cleaned the belt wheels as best I could before placing the new belt. But it didn't help. Same symptoms as before. What now ? Reverse what I did to fix the autoreverse and see if it changes something ? Maybe there's someone here who can fix the walkman for me, but what would that cost me ?
I'm sincerely sorry but I don't have a clue unfortunately. About repair service, you can find a list here and I guess you can ask for a quote.
Yeah too bad it didn't help, but now I think we can say that it's probably not the belt then. I'll try first if removing the autoreverse fix, fixes anything. LOL, removing one fix to fix another thing...
@Ball000 So I've removed the autoreverse fix, but symptoms remain mostly the same. I say mostly, because play now works and to my surprise "change direction" also works, so that would mean that autoreverse works also ? ( I'm going to test that later ) The chipmunck audio is gone also, both sides play in "normal" speed. FF and REW still didn't work, I've tried the old and new belt. While playing the tape got eaten and I had to temporarily remove the pinch roller to get it out. Then, as I was turning the wheels to get the tape back in, I felt that it turned very hard. So then I almost had a "Eureka" moment, I thought, maybe I have to try another tape, and when I turned that one with a pen, it turned 10 times less hard than the other tape, so I put the other tape in, pressed FF + RW and... IT WORKS !!!!!!!!!!!! How stupid is that !!!! So a cassette can get bad over the years, probably... I don't know how long the autoreverse will last, because the gear is still cracked. Too bad I didn't try the other tape before. - The speed of the music seems a tiny bit slower than normal, do you have any knowledge of were on the pcb you can turn something to increase speed ? - Also the player has a problem with the headphone jack, I always have to wiggle a bit till I find the right position to get audio from both channels, can anything be done about that ? Also I only get audio if the jack is inserted about 3/4, so if I push it all the way in I get no audio, so I have to pull it back a bit. I'll try the new belt again first, the old belt is in it now.
Looks like a success actually, congratz! I'm not near my G9 so I can't have a look but usually there is a potentiometer near the motor or its wires to adjust speed.
Before the audio playback speed was good, I don't know what changed. I'll see if the new belt changes anything. Also the headphone jack is something I like to see fixed. I will also try with another headphone to see if maybe the connection is better.
Here's picture of the pcb.(From user AiwaDude ) If I must guess, maybe it's on the right, where it says RCH ? But that's not near the motor, so that's probably not it then ? This is mine
On some Aiwa models it should be on a daughterboard soldered 90 degrees to the mainbaord, beside the motor or battery compartment. Some auto reverse models have 2 pots for speed in both directions. If in doubt, follow the motor wires to the board. Don't touch LCH/RCH! It's usually dolby level.
@bub The 2 screws on the left then ? Left = Decrease speed ? Right = Increase speed ? How to determine the right speed ? Just by hearing, or probably a more sophisticated way ?
You need a 3khz speed test tape and a software frequency counter like WFGUI to do it properly. You can do it by ear with prerecorded tape, but will not be accurate. If you own another quartz locked deck, you can make your own relatively accurate 3khz recording. But your quartz locked deck must be in spec!
@bub Why would there be 2 screws ? It's usually 1 screw for changing the speed I thought. Probably it's in the service manual, but I don't have it.
One for each direction. Also, it is very common on this Aiwa series to have bad motor servo board, due to battery leakage, and the ICs sometimes go bad too and cause speed/torque problems.
