First of all, before (finally) owning this little fella it's been years since I've used tapes for the last time so my memory's a bit hazy and so I'm here to (re)learn stuff. Input's more than welcome. Why open? Since about a month my WM2011 is having a recurring issue of fluctuating speeds (slowdowns). When it shows up, it's periodic and increases in intensity. Quite a killjoy when you just want to enjoy your favourite music. Anything else? Additional info in spoiler. Spoiler Occasionally autostop will toggle or the tape won't spin when hitting play. Simply retrying might occasionally fix this behaviour. I also can't get rid of this feeling that rewind sounds... slightly different. While at it, rewind/fast forward can occasionally completely undo those issues, but at some point, they are back again. Originally I assumed that'd just be weak batteries as it started to show up when the batteries declined, but after replacing them the mechanism still wasn't quite turning regularily (batteries really were low though). Attempts at pinpointing the issue: To me that sounds like it could be the belts (to my knowledge it had two, correct?). Either they're already loose or broken, which is strange since the seller claimed the belts were replaced right before it was put on sale. Seemed like a reliable guy too. I only own it since about 4.5 months too and it wasn't really exposed to extreme heats. Sounds a bit suspicious to me for them to give in this fast. I may use it often, but not every single day. So either they were cheap rubber, or I got semi-scammed on that part and they weren't even exchanged at all. With a bit of luck they might have just slipped off or were badly applied and would merely need some readjustments on the wheels. In any case I should probably consider purchasing spare belts. Now to the main issue: Clips, not screws. The casing of a WM2011 is held together by clips as far as I can tell and I would really hate to accidentally break something, even though I am a very careful person. Is anyone aware of some walkthrough video or photo-tutorial so I could go through it step by step and gently lift it on the best/safest spots for minimal damage? Did anyone even by chance do this before? I haven't found any thread on it except for one with a one sentence reply to the opening issue. Does my assumption for the cause sound plausible (before I end up opening and potentially damaging it for no good reason)? Help's greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! PS: Thanks for moving to the correct forum!
Have you seen these: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/sony-walkman-wm-2011.719286/ https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/opening-my-walkman-tape-player.464661/ https://www.reddit.com/r/cassettecu..._open_this_walkman_cant_find_any_screws_help/ It sounds as if you have to be careful. I have a similar clipped together Sony Walkman. My advice would be to start near the battery compartment using a "spudger" or if you haven't anything else finger nails and a butter knife.
Thanks for the quick reply (still irks me how I've managed to post this in the wrong subforum ). I'll keep that in mind! I believe I should have a spudger somewhere, worst case I could use my plectrum as a support so it won't snap back. It's flat and pretty hard so it should do I guess. I've seen the first two threads as I was searching right before posting, couldn't find any images or videos of it being opened though and whenever I thought I found something image links were broken. I was hoping to get insight on where exactly the clips are. But silly me could have thought about the service manual... I'll see if I can find one for the WM 2011 tonight. However, I just came across this, maybe it'll be semi-useful to someone else with the same model: Absolutely no idea what he's talking about as I speak no Japanese, but thanks to the closeups this gives some insight on where the components are located, so that should at least help me a bit in avoiding damage to the board and mechanism. I'm thinking about documenting the process of opening it if someone else is interested in it. Maybe that would help others later on.
Look down here http://www.stereo2go.com/forums/threads/car-boot-sale-finds.891/page-7 There is a picture after I got mine undone. It looks to be the same mechanism as the one in the video. In the Christmas break I got around to ordering new belts from Marian Mihok using his new web site https://fixyouraudio.com
Yeah, that does indeed look the same. I didn't know that site, thanks! The offers seem fair, this'll be useful.
Moved to correct forum. Ok so there are loads of Sony models with this case and opening is easy, I have a diagram of where all the clips are, I will try and post it. Best thing to do is get an old credit card, cut it into 6 or 7 strips vertically and insert in the correct spots and it will pop open, they also cause zero damage.
That would be cool! I don't have any old card anymore (unfortunately), but I should have enough guitar picks to abuse that way. And thank you for moving the thread.
