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Thanks. 🙂

Hi there, the shop is now closed (about 1 1/2 years ago) and I'm still sorting out the fallout from that. But when the workshop at home is all up and running I'll give you a shout. Will probably be after Christmas now. All the best, Ast...

Hi Aston, hope the workshop setup is going well. Is there a phone number or email address to contact you on regarding the stereo repair?

It was the company that produced the chemicals which went into the capacitors that made a mistake with chemical make-up, which were then supplied to many manufacturers during early 90s. The chemical ended up being corrosive to the can seals and overly expansive, thus causing the problem we're suffering with today. It's a shame that the best technology in history, were fitted with the worst capacitors in history. Save what technology you can whilst there is still some left to save.

@@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp That's some insightful info! I suffered with my icf-7600 😭 The caps' leakge ate through the board's traces and I had to do some shortcuts with wires and I don't have a microscope or any professional tools so you can imagine the mysery 😅 Thanks for the info. Explained a lot..

Thanks. yep, these are pretty good when sorted out. I try to save most bits of vintage tech from the dreaded landfill, if I can. 😀

Unfortunately, I have never found anybody that actually sells the right size. I usually make my own out of sheets of nylon, either using a small hole punch and darning needle or something similar. Panasonic stopped producing them about 20 years ago. Sorry about that.

@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp fixyouraudio sell the aftermarket brass retailer and ship with tiny red washers. I emailed them but they've yet to reply. Damn little washers are so small I lost half of the ones they shipped in 5mins.

@@handheldgaming4life fixyouraudio's part is fine, as long as the other parts aren't worn, which they were on these two personal stereos, and due to that, the brass replacement clutch would have just fallen off in very short time. Yes, I do wonder where he got his washers from as well, I guess they must be out there somewhere, they probably have to be ordered in the millions. 😛

On the SX-21 you tap the tape button, I can't remember how it's done on the SX-10. I think you might need the remote for that one. All the best..

Well done, for repairing your radio, and thank you for the kind comments. Best regards.

Sorry for not replying until now, TH-cam has been doing strange things recently. It's a good point, the friction, not only in the gear-train but also the clutch assembly is most definitely a problem and adds to the wow and flutter of this mechanism. I'm sure they could have thought of something simpler and more efficient. Best of luck with the repair.

Apologies for not replying sooner, TH-cam has been a little strange recently. If the Walkman is completely dead, it could be quite a few things, dry joints, faulty DC jack, battery corrosion, the leaf switch which turns the mechanism on or even the regulator IC for the motor. If the LED comes on however it might just be the belt has perished or has wrapped itself around motor. In any case, it definitely sounds like it might need to be looked at. Best regards, Ast...

Hi there, I apologise for not replying sooner but TH-cam seems to have stopped sending me notifications for some reason. Anyway, that motion does seem to happen when the belt gets wrapped around the motor, however, it also happens if the coils get damaged, or when the chip that drives the motor isn't sending out the signal to each coil in turn. If you haven't already, you can take the split washer off the top and very carefully (with your fingernails) pull the motor halves apart to see what's going on. Be very careful though, the coils are very easily damaged underneath. I'm guessing, (hoping) that's just the belt wrapped around the pulley, down to the belt itself turning into rubber goo. Hope this helps, Best regards, Ast...

@@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp Hi, thanks for the reply. No it wasn't the belt, it occurred without the belt attached. The motor seemed fine when I took it apart. I even ended up swapping it with a replacement, and the problem insisted. It must indeed be the chip sending the voltages to the motor in correct sequence. I'm now awaiting a donor to swap the board with.

@@FlabberQuestion Ahh, that's a shame. Hope you get it sorted, they're not bad little players when up and running. Best regards, Ast...

Nice 😁 Now is the time to enjoy those classic Walkmans for a blast of nostalgia. 🎧 All the best, Ast...

Also, if you want to, you don't have to use electrolytic's, you could use tantalum capacitors, which would last longer, but cost approximately twice as much. Ast...

C420 220uF 4v, C426 47uF 4v, C431 47uF 4v, C607 100uF 4v, C608 33uF 4v, C613 220uF 4v, C828 220uF 4v, and if needed C625 (backup cell) 47000uF 5.5v. Hope that helps. If you search for "Sony ICF-SW1 Capacitor Repair Kit" online there's a few out there, but they're cheap enough to put together from a multi box of caps. All the best from Ast..

There are kits available on ebay and other sites for most Sony radios. But just search google for "Sony ICF SW1 Radio 100% Panasonic Capacitors Complete Repair Kit + Memory Backup" that one seems to have all the caps to do the job. If not available where you are, try a different variation of the search. Lots of sellers worldwide. Best regards, Ast..

The pads are quite delicate in these, added to the fact that they have probably been weakened by acid damage, I just wanted to be careful. I've had them come in with lots of the pads ripped off before, when they realise what they've done, I get the job of repairing it. 😛

That could very well be the problem. As with all things, you need at least a fraction of a gap, otherwise things start to bind up. Wow and flutter should be in the region of 0.3% W&F (This one measured 0.25% W&F Weighted) Which, whilst not great in relation to, say, a DD Walkman, is not bad for one of these mech's. When working, these little pocketable Panasonic's are quite handy when you just want to disconnect from modern life and listen to some old tapes. Cheers, Ast...

@@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp I’ve repaired hundreds of Walkman at this point. I can get pretty much any mech working. But the rq-sx always sounds awful And slower in the forward direction but fine in the reverse. I have an original clutch. I might try to get it on and I’ll report what it sounds like. I always thought it was because of the poor quality 2 belt design and over time the gears shrunk and the transfer of energy to the forward direction capstan was hindered.

Cheers 🙂 Ast...

Yep, it's happened a couple of times now. I don't think they are overly sealed and oxidise over the years causing all sorts of odd faults. Thanks for watching. Ast..

Nice, glad you got it working, and thanks. 🙂

I guess the video is more aimed at bods that have to do this sort of thing on a daily basis and use the twist off method, which can sometimes take longer if you calculate the cleanup time and damage repair. A set of cheapy soldering tweezers would set you back about £20, but if things are tightly packed then this method might be the safer solution. Being an ex-Sony/Panasonic bod, I guess I have more than my fair share of soldering equipment, as service tech's tend to buy their own equipment that they feel comfy with. Most engineers stock up on multiples of things, just in case it ever gets discontinued. 😀 All the best, Ast..

Cool, and Happy Christmas by the way... Ast..

Sorry for the delay in replying, just saw the message. Thanks very much 😀 Well done with the SNES too. Glad the technique helped. Best regards.

@@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp yeah thanks again it gave me the confidence to fuck around with a lot of shit since then. sadly i dont have a microscope yet :(

Could be capacitors or a damaged flexy cable. Might even be a damaged volume control/headphone socket. Lastly, check for battery leakage. Hope that helps. Ast..

Actually, that's an excellent question, whilst it was approximately three years ago, I believe the temperature was in the region of 320° on the digital displays, however this doesn't necessarily mean that it is exactly 320° at the tip of the soldering iron as that will vary depending on the size of the pad being soldered, how large the ground planes are, and the thermal conductivity of the tip itself. The temperature at the point is probably closer to 300°. My best suggestion would be to find some old scrapped boards and practice with the set up you have to find the right balance. All the best from Aston.

@@AstonsVintageTechnologyWorkshp thanks I only ask because I cannot get the pads on my old caps hot enough before melting the plastic. I also don't know what type of solder was used on this board

@@gandolfgrey5385 Ahh, right, the leakage sometimes causes the solder to no longer be malleable. It turns it to a crystalline form and you might find it very difficult to melt. Grab yourself some amtech non-lead free solder flux or a cheap chinese version (they're actually not bad) and work quickly with a hot-ish iron (320-350 degrees) with liberal quantities of flux and more solder. This will allow the old solder to mix with the new and you can then get the caps off. I say quickly as you don't want to melt the pads off the board. If you think it is taking too long leave it for a bit and try a different cap and go back to the first one later. Hope this helps, all the best from Ast..

I'm not quite sure exactly what you need, but here is the service manual with all the part numbers freeservicemanuals.info/en/servicemanuals/viewmanual/Sony/ICFSW1/

Well, first place to start would be the battery contacts, if they're corroded, you won't get any power. Same goes for if there is any battery corrosion on the circuitboard. Beyond that it would be either the radio or the cassette deck that don't work, and not both of them. So for instance, the cassette deck would be the microswitch not engaging, and the radio would be a broken flexible cable. Failing that, you'll need a basic multimeter and just measure where the voltages stop getting through. Good luck. Ast...

Thanks 🙂 glad it helped. If you do print a battery cover, let me know how it goes. All the best, Aston.

Hi there. Sadly no, not at the moment, as the shop side of things has now transitioned to online and the new workshop is still in the final stages of being transferred to new premises. If things ease up I'll give you a shout. Thanks for the enquiry though. Best regards, Aston..

Hiya, I echo the above question. I’ve got one in silver that’s just started wobbling and making clicking/rotating noises (audible from the device mechanism itself) when playing. This is after what I thought was a fairly minor drop onto grass. Would love to know if you could take a look at some point as will just sit unused on shelf now until I can find someone to repair it! Thanks so much - james

@@jamesharris7003 Will give you both a shout when I'm all up and running. 🙂