Hey all! New here, and looking at purchasing my first Walkman. Currently there's two very attractive examples of the WM-D6C for sale in my area, both around 200USD after converting my local currency. They both look to be in very good condition, with no scratches or marks on them and are both described as playing back tapes with no problems. However... The first seller says the fast forward will "sometimes" get stuck. He says the rewind functions fine. The other seller says if you want to record a tape the record level needs to be almost maxed out in order to record to both channels. One of the reasons the WM-D6C attracts me is that I'll be able to record tapes without buying a seperate tape deck. Which one sounds like the best choice? Are these common problems that are easily repaired? I own a soldering iron and am not afraid to open my stuff and fix it, but I have zero experience with walkmans. Thanks for your time! -Patrick
both $200! or each one?? If you can buy both of them for $200 then buy both of them and start working on the 2nd one. But if you are going to buy one of them i would recommend you buy the first one. It is more complicated to fix the recording issue than a mechanical problem (like slow REW or FFW function)
Unfortunately 200 dollars each haha. Also unfortunately, the first one has already been sold, so I put in an offer for the second one. Do you have any info I could read up on for fixing the recording function?
The record level problem is interesting. Different tape types record differently, you can go very hot with metal type 4. It could mean the record head is worn out which is no use to anyone
If you want a fairly cheap but solid walkman for a start, the WM-2011 is pretty reliable and got a classic design and sort of mid-size window to watch your tape. The only feature it got is autostop and the switch for type 1 and 2 tapes. There's no mega bass, no anti rolling-mechanism and no dolby anything. Simple play, stop, FF and Rew buttons and a wheel for volume. No autoreverse, so you need to flip the tape yourself. It's a basics only model, made of plastic, and seems to go for cheap regularily, even those after restauration/recapping and with new belt. Uses two AA batteries and is lighter than you might expect. I use it since last year, however, its major downside is that belt exchange can be tricky since its plastic is held together by clips. It does have a belt clip though, so it compensates its size a bit since you don't have to have it in your pocket. Sound is ok, but nothing extraordinary of course. It's nice for the "absolute raw experience", basically.
This model walkman requires a professional service in order to function well. We have a member @Deb64 who is the master of this model. I hope he can read and answer your question.
Hello Patrick and welcome. I've just seen this thread. The record problem could be the play / record slide switch on the main PCB and the record level pot. The record level pots were, I think, built specially for the Pro Walkmans by Alps. They are generally very reliable but you sometimes find one with a cracked track, if it's been dropped. If the above are OK, then you will need to trace the signal through the recording circuitry with an oscilloscope to find the fault. As Boodokhan says, it is worth getting the machine serviced, with new pinch roller, idlers, flywheel tyre and belts fitted. Even a NOS recent D6C will be at least 17 years old (they were discontinued in 2002) so the rubber will be going hard. It it's one of the older D6Cs with the non surface mount PCB then you may want to replace the potted hybrid modules (mute module and 2 x EQ switching modules) since these often fail after about 30 years. There are service manuals for the different versions on the D6C on line. You will need to download them all and open your unit up to see which PCB you have.
So today I already recieved the Walkman in the post! On the surface it looks great and like the seller described it plays back, rewinds and fast forward perfectly. I had a nice walk with the dog while listening to Danish Rock Mix from 1989 (I'm waiting for some better ones in the post haha) The problem comes when I want to record to tape. I was hoping the only problem would be what he described as needing to max out the recording level to record to both channels. However, it's a bit more complicated. When I prepare to the walkman to record, following the manual saying to press the pause button followed by the record button. When I start to move the record level up, sure enough I can only hear the audio on the right side of my headphones. Then suddenly at about 9.5/10 the left channel comes in perfectly. It's a very sudden and specific point that the left channel will come in. At this point the sound is great just using the walkman as a middleman. After recording something to the tape and playing it back it doesn't sound right. The best way I can describe it is like a sinus curve going up and down between sounding fine and sounding very muffled. It will sound fine for 3-5 seconds and then dip down into muffle land. I can try to record the tape onto my computer if listening to what I mean helps. I've tried a couple of different tapes and also with and without NR. I've taken some pictures of the walkman disassembled, hoping someone can help me with what I can try to do to fix it! Thanks for your time!
This is one of the older D6Cs. I think it was manufactured before 1994. It does not have the surface mount circuit board or the modification for the later type of motor. From your description, I think you have two faults. Firstly the record level potentiometer is damaged. I think you will find a crack on the track for the left channel, near the end of the track. When the wiper passes the crack, then you pick up the signal. The bad news is that these potentiometers were manufactured specially for the D6 and D6C Pro Walkmans, and are no longer available. I repaired a similar fault on one of my D6s by taking the potentiometer apart and repairing the crack on the track using conductive paint. The second problem is that the recorded sound alternates between sounding fine and sounding muffled. If this is only happening on tapes which you have recorded on the D6C then I think the record equalisation switching modules may be faulty. These are the two black potted modules nearest to the mic and headphone sockets. The black epoxy potted modules on the D6C and D6s are very prone to failing after about 30 years. I have replacements for these and the mute module available on Ebay. If the EQ modules are failing then it is likely that the mute module will start to fail soon as it is made using similar materials. When the mute module starts to fail, firstly you will hear the sound out distorting or cutting out intermittently. After a while it will fail completely and the sound output will be very quiet as the mute module attenuates the output by 44dB when starting or stopping the walkman. While you are working on your walkman, I would recommend that you get a set of rubber parts (flywheel tyre, belts and idlers) and a new pinch roller from Mihokm on Ebay (he's a member on here too) and fit them as the original parts are at least 25 years old by now.
Thanks so much for all this information. I've opened up the Walkman again and I'm pretty confident I've identified the two equalizer modules and the mute module. I might be confident enough to replace the mute module, but those equalizers looks really scary with all the wires running over them that you can fry with your iron in a second. Since the playback functions I don't think I'll try my luck (it hasn't been great lately haha). Do you yourself offer paid repairs or can you recommend people who do? I've heard the name Dr Walkman thrown around in quite a few forums (never seen a post by the guy himself or a website), but I've also heard his waiting time is years. Again, thank you so much for your time!
Yes I do repair D6s and D6Cs. I have replaced the modules on quite a few Pro Walkmans. Please contact me privately using the "Start a Conversation" function if interested.
