Hi all Ok so I was gifted/kind of stole with sort of permission my Step Dads WM-D6C, he doesn't use it anymore and i really wanted it haha. Anyway its not been turned on in years. I put batteries in and its all working it seems, in good condition but when I tilt the machine the motor stops spinning and rewind seems to struggle so I am going to replace the belts. As the tape does play 9even if slowly) I tried to see if i could get any sound but after plugging in my headphones I couldn't hear anything at all. When i push the headphones in to the headphone socket i hear that little noise that a contact has been made audibly in the headphones but with the tape playing I hear nothing, nor do I if I move the volume around. I also tried the line out and the same. Do you think theres another issue possibly other than the belts or could the bad belts also cause this issue maybe? I have ordered the belts and they are on the way but wondered about this. Any help very much appreciated.
It could be a bunch of issues but I always start with the basics. Clean the volumn and headphone jack with DeOxit. Replace the belt and clean the heads, when it's open look over the wiring to the headphone jack and make sure the female jack is clean without any green oxidation. Portable players took a lot of abuse, the headphone jack get knocked around a lot and a wire may have come off or the clips may have broken. Take photos with close-ups and we might be able to help more.
OK great, really appreciate your help Mister X. The belts are on their way so when they arrive I'll replace and open up, take a look around. I'll take photos and report back then.
Hey there OK so I received the replacement belts and changed them over. I was lucky to find a couple of videos and managed to change both the clock counter and the main drive. Put everything back together and it seemed to have gone well. I tried a tape and weirdly it plays a bit better but still the tape doesn't always turn (sometime it does fine sometimes not) I definitely think I put the belts on correctly but I will double check. Anyhow I can hear the motor whirl. Regardless, when it is working I still can't hear anything. i cleaned the volume area when it was apart but the issue has to be something else. The headphones when I insert them makes a sound, the jacks sound like they are working. The display doesn't move although maybe it only does when its recording? Anyhow Ii can hear anything. What could be wrong do you think? The machine inside looked super clean and I definitely was careful to put it back together again properly. I wonder if a part has blown or died. I diid some reading and heard an issue could be the mute system the player uses. Any help or ideas much appreciated.
Ok so I reopened it to take some photos. Please see below https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RbyS99CCUIvf48VuUBTs3sCDnKY6r5TP/view?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c9CT0U6f_3Hl97dAnWIkH2yFGkl0weMw/view?usp=sharing Also heres a video of me testing the motor. As you can see it runs and then just stops. If I reconnect the battery again it seems to bring it back to life for another burst.
But if you turn up all the volume and insert the headphones .... do you at least hear the background rustle ??
hi Silver965 Ok so when I have the tape in and press play I can hear the headphones make a little noise turn on, it doesn't increase with the volume set higher it stays the same. The LED monitor stays completely blank unless I switch it to bat and then it shows one bar. When I plug a mic in the same is true, I can't hear anything when recording or see any levels. Also, with regards to my other problem, do you think the tape player needs new rubber capstan ring and idlers due to the fact the tape movement is still struggling even with newly replaced belts? Maybe i need new pinch rollers as well? Not sure what could cause the tape movement issue.
Ok so I worked out the speed issue. Where the motor meets the fly wheel it doesn't create enough friction to run it properly so going to replace that, hoping thats it anyway. The motor runs great and spins as should but the flywheel just isn't spinning as much as its should so looks like its slipping lots. I'll get a replacement part but if anyone knows of any tips to get this better let me know. Now also I was lucky enough to get hold of another WM-D6C and I'll post about that later because it had an interesting modification it might be worth sharing carried out by the BBC electronics department. Anyhow I replaced the belts on that and it works a charm, amazing sound quality! Anyhow I got to notice some differences. The sound issue I am having has become more clear. On the working machine the sound hiss or noise gets so loud on the new machine when I increase the volume, it isnot the case with the other where no sound comes through. I can hear the headphones connect when i have them on and place the plug into the headphone jack but other that that its dead. What could the cause of this be? Could it be something to do with the mute circuit?
you should open it and take a measurement with a tester to understand if the dc-dc converter is working correctly .... play and measure on pin 8 of IC 301 if there are about 10.8 volts
hey there. Ok great. So I just got a multimeter and this will be my first time using it. I can probably locate pin 8 of IC 301 and place one of the points there but where do I place the other one? Sorry to be a pain and a total newbie. I am enjoying learning this however.
Ah wonderful, exactly what I was looking for. I'll get back to you once I've gone through this and had a go measuring the volts from that pin
Ok. Silver 965. I watched the video and did some test runs with thinsg and getting the hang of it. I have opened up the player again and located pin 8 of IC 301 following the schematic you posted. I obviously touch that pin with one of th eleads from the multimeter but where should I place the other one? I want to make sure I'm doing this right and collecting the right reading
Hello then red cable on pin 8 and black cable to earth or negative of the batteries .... or pin 4 ic 301
