Hello......I was stationed by Butzbach in the state of Hessen from 1980 to 1982. May fond memories of your country. Many of my fellow Army soldiers bought lots of home audio equipment. So a lot of this equipment was easily found here in the states for years. Sadly none of todays people care to deal with such issues and all of the repair shops in the states are unreliable or out of business. Pioneer equipment was good. The PX's sold many Sansui cassette tape decks. They were the fastest and most reliable for the time. Thank you for posting this video and showing the amount of work involved at replacing the belts.
Hello Guys! One correction: After watching my own video, I noticed that the optical encoder is probably not connected to the "capstan motor", but to a little pully sitting right next to that motor, which in turn is connected to the "take up reel motor" and the "counter". The replacement belt is sitting right where it belongs. I simply didn't remember this when recording the commentary and re-watching the footage , which doesn't show where the belt leads.
Careful: When you want to fine-tune the tape speed, you need to have a cassette with a 3kHz signal recorded on a "known good deck", and a Freq. counter (or software) hooked up to the output of the "deck in test". When you dont have any of these, leave the factory adjustment where it is! After re assembling and cleaning (and replacing belts) the speed setting is in 99% of cases fine again :) Hope that helps
I have the same deck, similar issue - replaced the belts myself but it did not fix the issue. I like the way you filmed this, with your video as a guide, I will try again. As you said, this is too nice a piece of equipment not to have working. Thanks!
Ooh! Can I tell you a repair story? I got a portable cassette player who's battery port was completely shot with caked battery crap. I couldn't clean it, so I ripped it open and cut the supply wires to the battery port, replacing the wires and contacts with aluminum foil and a usb cable's wires. While I was at it, I cut out the battery port and widened it to accept an 18650 I took from a laptop battery. I may have gone a bit out of hand, but I also ripped up a power bank to use the charge input and output circuitry inside, and I connected it to the battery after making a hole in the player. Long story short, I have a custom made walkman that is usb rechargeable and can also charge my phone.
Great Job! This repair video sure brought back lots of memories from back in the day of many model repairs of such units. Where the belts are first to go as in your tape drive section. That model is not the easiest to work on but once done, hope it will last for a long time, or until the belts stretch and dry-out over time. If I remember correctly, the reason most models shut off is there is a 'Hall-Effect-Sensor' which detects the take-up reel and if not detecting motion, then shuts the unit off, as your unit was doing, so to not spill the tape out making a large tangle tape mess. Again, wonderful job and it sure did bring back lots of memories.
Love your repair videos, I always wanted to be an electronic repair man and used to fix broken stuff from my childhood, alas I couldn't but watch your videos and regret not doing it.
This is what is so cool about this old mechanical analogue stuff. Yes it is dynamic and complicated. But it is serviceable and you can figure it out yourself just by observing and tinkering. Modern devices are destroyed by even trying to open the enclosures. If you do get in, good luck.
+1 for Bach's St. Matthew's Passion for the test tape at the end. Good taste in music my friend. You give me courage to tactile my Pioneer ct-f9191 which is long overdue for new belts.
Excellent production Sir, I can see why you get this amount of "likes". You got my subscription. Was a teenager during the Stereo Wars of the late 1970's and late 1970's equipment is my addiction.
I had a CTF-950 and probably the best you can have. These had a much higher surge voltage to engage the head up, and then reduce voltage after a second to the solenoid for a nice positive engagement. I repaired many of these, if you have dirty slide switches you can drill a micro hole on the brown cover and spray contact clean in holes and like new.
Audio tape can be ironed flat again. Use an iron on low heat and on top of a sheet of note book paper. The idea is to apply low heat and insulate using paper so the tape isn't melted from applying it directly. I've done this to video tape, too.
I have this deck, and a kit of new belts on my desk! Thank you for you clear and concise instructions. You are a good teacher... Well off I go to do mine now...😀
I really miss this deck, in mine died main electric motor and I couldn't find original replacement. Pioneer repair point inserted different electric motor sony brand and after that appeared noises only when playback. I didn't find out what was the case and why noise was audible only when the head touched tape, the tape didn't even have to spin. Grüße für Deutsche Nachbarn :D
Yeah I've thought about it myself and in this day and age with the media available I can't see using audio cassettes myself anymore either. Even though back in the day I had a Dual C830 tape deck which I enjoyed using.
Nice job. But maybe wad good to clean with alcohol that belt seats and optic regulator and little bit oiling when everything is out... Just my opinion.
Very interesting and informative. It is videos like this that give confidence to those of us who restore our own equipment back to operational condition. Thanks! I am now subscribed.
Great job! I still have my CT-F900 which I bought new in 1979. Believe it or not this was a common problem on new units right out of the factory. I went through three brand new units before I got one that didn't have this problem, only to have the take-up spindle start slipping a few years later. I know two other people who had the same problem with their CT-F900s and ended up throwing them away which was a real shame. I also have a Sony three head cassette deck with auto biasing that does the same thing, and did so almost since new. I paid good money to have it "repaired" two times, but the take-up spindle still slips rendering the deck useless. I'm fairly certain that the problem on both decks is/was not the belts but rather the friction pads in the take-up spindle hub. So I'm holding on to two really nice cassette decks that do not function. Maybe one day...
Un signor Pioneer,registratore di alto livello!.la prova con la cassetta dovevi farla con una cassetta che non conta nulla,non con una maxell di buon modello,poi tenendo d'occhio la meccanica appena vedevi che non andava stoppavi subito e non si rovinava,hai visto che non andava e continuavi ad attivare il play, boh.
1970 Ish is always the belts, never put tapes in them, us a trashed tape to test it, the Car CD player tape is a nice tool. You bought matching belts, lol, you can find the sizes, provided by Pioneer Technics. You found a German shop that did that job for you. Good luck, me running a Studio gear HiFi shop in Amsterdam, No compactessettes, lol! Back then it was Digital Beta only.
Been watching your videos for a while and appreciate them all . I did a belt replacement on a similar Pioneer recently . Them old belts actually turn to tar after a while . I always have wondered how you learned to speak English so well ? Thanks again , Looking forward to more !
Thanks for the Video I replaced all the belts and it went very good . im still having a problem with end of tape shut off. i think its a bad sensing assembly, right off of the tape counter.
Hello, recently I bought a Pioneer DC-Z83 hifi system from 1990 and the tapes heads are in need of alignment but I can't get the doors of the cassette deck off. Do you have any tips on how to get to the adjusting screws?
Well done ! I really appreciate your Knowledge and style and also I try to emulate it in my repairing video. Very useful to all that cannot have the possibility to teardown such kind of objects. Continue like that and you will be very famous.
Well done. Good to see you back in business. That is a very nice tape deck. I have been looking for an amplifier in the Blue Line series that may need a restoration. Unfortunately this collectors range is getting very expensive nowadays.
You replacing the belts, but why you don't clean all the pullies and wheels from old robber and dirt? Why you don't clean old grease and oils and re-lubricate? The chassis and mechanism is open already, would be easy. Why you don't clean and rejuvenate idler and pinch rollers and do not polish capstans? Or you doing all of it, just not showing in the video?
Pioneer makes some nice stuff, but a lot of it is hard to work on because of lack of connectors where they could be, and when you get into the electronics they use a *lot* of proprietary chips, that you can't get any more in half the cases...
Dual capstan when it is not an autoreverseing machine, is refered as Closed Loop. Closed loop help to create a constante tension on the tape when it passes through the heads since there is a very small speed differential between the 2 capstans. In no dual capastan machines, tension is unregulated mostly and it will change from cassette to cassette. Of course it will still work since consumer gear never used closed loop, but closed lopp is way better and with a good amp and a good tape, the advantage became obvious in the sound quality. The optical is for sensor when the tape take up stopped. It is the heart of the autoshut off system. It is a good keeper for sure and at this levels, Pioneer really released Prosumer grade systems. This series aalso know as Pioneer Silver and matching with the SPEC series AMP system in the SILVER RACK which includes everything you need from timer to Open Reel
You should have replaced the lamp for the cassette window while you had it apart. I used to have a CTF-1000. Sold it at a church rummage sale many years ago. So sad...
Another step. the brushes and commutator bars in both motors need cleaned. this problem plagues the CT-F900 I know for sure. itll work, and the speed warbles, then stops. Tapping on the motor brings it back for a little bit.
Hey, I have the entry level blue line deck, the ct300. It works most of the time fine, but now and then it rips the tape slightly, in the beginning. I did some cleaning with alcohol and the belts are already replaced. Any shots? Am I experiencing the beginning of a bigger failure, did I did something wrong with replacing the belts or is it just sth normal for a deck to slightly a tape now and then?
where can i get a diagram for a MCS 3554 cassette player.. i need to know how to replace the belts for it and i cant find find anything on google or youtube
I also used to think that lifetime warranty was "as long as I, the purchaser, am alive". Apparently, it's "for the (expected) lifetime of the product, under normal use". See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warranty#Lifetime_warranty
Wow, so if a car manufacturer secretly decides that his car only has an expected lifetime of 50,000 miles or 2 years, they can offer lifetime warranty and still refuse to fix anything that breaks after that. So that's also just another stupid marketing-wank.
![สาวเมืองเพชร - ธีเดช ทองอภิชาติ [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kEt7F9PvO3I/mqdefault.jpg)
i would like to add one more step..
clean the pulleys and remove all the old rubber residue before replacing it with new belts
And I would like to add: clean those pinch rollers, then inspect them well. Pinch roller rubber sometimes deteriorates just like belt rubber.
My belts were like jelly and stuck to my fingers like grease.
Hello......I was stationed by Butzbach in the state of Hessen from 1980 to 1982. May fond memories of your country. Many of my fellow Army soldiers bought lots of home audio equipment. So a lot of this equipment was easily found here in the states for years. Sadly none of todays people care to deal with such issues and all of the repair shops in the states are unreliable or out of business. Pioneer equipment was good. The PX's sold many Sansui cassette tape decks. They were the fastest and most reliable for the time. Thank you for posting this video and showing the amount of work involved at replacing the belts.
Thank You for this, I love repair videos that show the repair, many others only talk then show you after the repair.
I'm so glad you're doing this kind of content again. I really enjoy it.
Hello Guys!
One correction: After watching my own video, I noticed that the optical encoder is probably not connected to the "capstan motor", but to a little pully sitting right next to that motor, which in turn is connected to the "take up reel motor" and the "counter". The replacement belt is sitting right where it belongs. I simply didn't remember this when recording the commentary and re-watching the footage , which doesn't show where the belt leads.
Thanks for the new Vault material.
Good luck on selling this! I hope you make lots of extra bucks (not bugs though, LOL), so that we have lots of great content to watch from you! :)
The Post Apocalyptic Inventor
There are actually more words in the English language but I think that our words are more descriptive and therefor longer sometimes.
Careful: When you want to fine-tune the tape speed, you need to have a cassette with a 3kHz signal recorded on a "known good deck", and a Freq. counter (or software) hooked up to the output of the "deck in test". When you dont have any of these, leave the factory adjustment where it is! After re assembling and cleaning (and replacing belts) the speed setting is in 99% of cases fine again :) Hope that helps
I have the same deck, similar issue - replaced the belts myself but it did not fix the issue. I like the way you filmed this, with your video as a guide, I will try again. As you said, this is too nice a piece of equipment not to have working. Thanks!
Ooh! Can I tell you a repair story?
I got a portable cassette player who's battery port was completely shot with caked battery crap. I couldn't clean it, so I ripped it open and cut the supply wires to the battery port, replacing the wires and contacts with aluminum foil and a usb cable's wires.
While I was at it, I cut out the battery port and widened it to accept an 18650 I took from a laptop battery.
I may have gone a bit out of hand, but I also ripped up a power bank to use the charge input and output circuitry inside, and I connected it to the battery after making a hole in the player.
Long story short, I have a custom made walkman that is usb rechargeable and can also charge my phone.
Repaired a few of those myself back in the day
Great Job! This repair video sure brought back lots of memories from back in the day of many model repairs of such units. Where the belts are first to go as in your tape drive section. That model is not the easiest to work on but once done, hope it will last for a long time, or until the belts stretch and dry-out over time. If I remember correctly, the reason most models shut off is there is a 'Hall-Effect-Sensor' which detects the take-up reel and if not detecting motion, then shuts the unit off, as your unit was doing, so to not spill the tape out making a large tangle tape mess. Again, wonderful job and it sure did bring back lots of memories.
That's a beautiful old tape deck!
Love your repair videos, I always wanted to be an electronic repair man and used to fix broken stuff from my childhood, alas I couldn't but watch your videos and regret not doing it.
yeah, same with me. I hate nowadays, its hard to find someone that can and willing to repair electronic things.
I had a nice hand me down pioneer set when i was a kid, It's depressing to think that i just threw it away when i got a new stereo.
This is what is so cool about this old mechanical analogue stuff. Yes it is dynamic and complicated. But it is serviceable and you can figure it out yourself just by observing and tinkering. Modern devices are destroyed by even trying to open the enclosures. If you do get in, good luck.
Amazing video my friend. You have inspired me. Very clear language, no hesitations, no bla-bla just the facts.Thank you.
I really enjoy repair videos like this. Thanks man!
Damn all those belts! My early 1990s Kenwood KX-7030 only has 2 belts inside. Shows how much progress was made in a decade.
Great. Replaced all the belts, but didn't clean all the wheels and plastic parts that come into contact with the new belts.
+1 for Bach's St. Matthew's Passion for the test tape at the end. Good taste in music my friend. You give me courage to tactile my Pioneer ct-f9191 which is long overdue for new belts.
Excellent production Sir, I can see why you get this amount of "likes". You got my subscription. Was a teenager during the Stereo Wars of the late 1970's and late 1970's equipment is my addiction.
I had a CTF-950 and probably the best you can have. These had a much higher surge voltage to engage the head up, and then reduce voltage after a second to the solenoid for a nice positive engagement. I repaired many of these, if you have dirty slide switches you can drill a micro hole on the brown cover and spray contact clean in holes and like new.
Stroke of genius using the tape adapter! Haven't seen anyone else do that!
Audio tape can be ironed flat again. Use an iron on low heat and on top of a sheet of note book paper. The idea is to apply low heat and insulate using paper so the tape isn't melted from applying it directly. I've done this to video tape, too.
I have this deck, and a kit of new belts on my desk! Thank you for you clear and concise instructions. You are a good teacher... Well off I go to do mine now...😀
I really miss this deck, in mine died main electric motor and I couldn't find original replacement. Pioneer repair point inserted different electric motor sony brand and after that appeared noises only when playback. I didn't find out what was the case and why noise was audible only when the head touched tape, the tape didn't even have to spin.
Grüße für Deutsche Nachbarn :D
Nice work !
I have the CT-F950 and the CT-F1250 and I'd never part with either.
Pioneer made some beautiful pieces in the 70's.
Somehow you made this interesting to watch even though I have no intention of ever owning a tape deck again, good job!
Yeah I've thought about it myself and in this day and age with the media available I can't see using audio cassettes myself anymore either. Even though back in the day I had a Dual C830 tape deck which I enjoyed using.
Same here. He's got that gift of making something that you have no interest in, well, interesting. Looking forward to more videos!
All cassette tape decks auto stop if the take up spool does not spin. This indicates that rubber parts are slipping and need replacement.
8:10 pretty shure that optical thing is the auto stop. when it stops spinning the the mechanism stops. Nice repair! liked following allong.
These are great! I have an F850 and F950. Thanks for the video!
All of this just to listen to music. Amazing. I still play my Yamaha cassette deck regularly. Love that mechanical music.
That's a quality deck, nice that it's going again :-D
greetings your video's are very in depth indeed just like going to night school to learn a subject.
Nice job. But maybe wad good to clean with alcohol that belt seats and optic regulator and little bit oiling when everything is out... Just my opinion.
The blue display on these was called
'flouroscan'
Well done! Thank you, Like.
Great job! I seem to get all my belt kits from Germany, always have the correct sets.
Very interesting and informative. It is videos like this that give confidence to those of us who restore our own equipment back to operational condition. Thanks! I am now subscribed.
Magnífico trabajo mi querido amigo....muchas gracias por su aportación al canal....y animarle, a seguir en la misma trayectoria....
Have you ever replaced the idler tire on any of these units? I'm trying to find the procedure to do that
so far, best goddamn video on how to change these belts. thanks
Great job! I still have my CT-F900 which I bought new in 1979. Believe it or not this was a common problem on new units right out of the factory. I went through three brand new units before I got one that didn't have this problem, only to have the take-up spindle start slipping a few years later. I know two other people who had the same problem with their CT-F900s and ended up throwing them away which was a real shame.
I also have a Sony three head cassette deck with auto biasing that does the same thing, and did so almost since new. I paid good money to have it "repaired" two times, but the take-up spindle still slips rendering the deck useless. I'm fairly certain that the problem on both decks is/was not the belts but rather the friction pads in the take-up spindle hub. So I'm holding on to two really nice cassette decks that do not function. Maybe one day...
Un signor Pioneer,registratore di alto livello!.la prova con la cassetta dovevi farla con una cassetta che non conta nulla,non con una maxell di buon modello,poi tenendo d'occhio la meccanica appena vedevi che non andava stoppavi subito e non si rovinava,hai visto che non andava e continuavi ad attivare il play, boh.
Love it, wonderful
Excellenet vid, thank you for introducing the basics.
1970 Ish is always the belts, never put tapes in them, us a trashed tape to test it, the Car CD player tape is a nice tool.
You bought matching belts, lol, you can find the sizes, provided by Pioneer Technics. You found a German shop that did that job for you.
Good luck, me running a Studio gear HiFi shop in Amsterdam, No compactessettes, lol! Back then it was Digital Beta only.
Been watching your videos for a while and appreciate them all . I did a belt replacement on a similar Pioneer recently . Them old belts actually turn to tar after a while . I always have wondered how you learned to speak English so well ? Thanks again , Looking forward to more !
I like the revised logo. It looks nice.
I had one of these of some kind. they was really high tech back then.
I like JST connectors, they make bundles of wires neat.
loving this repair series, keep it up!
Very nice looking deck! I'm so tired of the all black.
Thanks for the Video
I replaced all the belts and it went very good .
im still having a problem with end of tape shut off. i think its a bad sensing assembly, right off of the tape counter.
This bit of kit would look lovely in Techmoan's rack :)
I believe he has the next model up.
Hello, recently I bought a Pioneer DC-Z83 hifi system from 1990 and the tapes heads are in need of alignment but I can't get the doors of the cassette deck off. Do you have any tips on how to get to the adjusting screws?
@ 2:00: ...Inserting an ordinary cassette tape... A Maxell XL-IIs, no less.
i was shocked to see that excelent cassette get chewed up in as he said 'tape salad' ...
Bravo ! Du bon travail pour un bel appareil !!!
Bravo! Good job for a beautiful device !!!
Well done ! I really appreciate your Knowledge and style and also I try to emulate it in my repairing video. Very useful to all that cannot have the possibility to teardown such kind of objects. Continue like that and you will be very famous.
Very good video, thank you very much!
You're a funny old cove Post Apocalyptic Inventor, but I'm fond of you.
Well done. Good to see you back in business. That is a very nice tape deck. I have been looking for an amplifier in the Blue Line series that may need a restoration. Unfortunately this collectors range is getting very expensive nowadays.
Very nice ! Also, your english improved a lot over the past years ! Keep up the good work !
I'm pleased to be sat next to second hand Technics SL - B21 turntable, ST - Z25L tuner, SU - Z25 Amp and M216 Cassette deck. :)
You replacing the belts, but why you don't clean all the pullies and wheels from old robber and dirt? Why you don't clean old grease and oils and re-lubricate? The chassis and mechanism is open already, would be easy. Why you don't clean and rejuvenate idler and pinch rollers and do not polish capstans? Or you doing all of it, just not showing in the video?
I own one of these machines and need a belt set. Thank you for the tip.
I found an old VCR with the same problem! Couldn't make out what the fault was initially. Will try replacing the belts!
Really dig the intro.
Very interesting work. Thank you.
Pioneer makes some nice stuff, but a lot of it is hard to work on because of lack of connectors where they could be, and when you get into the electronics they use a *lot* of proprietary chips, that you can't get any more in half the cases...
I hope the Lab Reports came back again too
I'm thinking about making one tomorrow or at least next weekend. I really want to put out more content again!
no pressure... just, keep it going :)
Hi my dear friend i like your videos
Keep up the good work
I you can make a video about how to start basic elctronics
omg my old tape deck! wish i had never let this baby go. best player i ever owned.
Dual capstan when it is not an autoreverseing machine, is refered as Closed Loop. Closed loop help to create a constante tension on the tape when it passes through the heads since there is a very small speed differential between the 2 capstans. In no dual capastan machines, tension is unregulated mostly and it will change from cassette to cassette. Of course it will still work since consumer gear never used closed loop, but closed lopp is way better and with a good amp and a good tape, the advantage became obvious in the sound quality. The optical is for sensor when the tape take up stopped. It is the heart of the autoshut off system. It is a good keeper for sure and at this levels, Pioneer really released Prosumer grade systems. This series aalso know as Pioneer Silver and matching with the SPEC series AMP system in the SILVER RACK which includes everything you need from timer to Open Reel
After good cleaning that will be a great tape deck!
techmoan has that tape player!!
Techmoan has a CT-F1250.. this tape deck's big brother. It has a direct drive motor and doesn't need as many belts.
so awesome cool ! I love the old Tapedecks with the peaks ^^
Very well explained & very professional, Thank-you.
You should have replaced the lamp for the cassette window while you had it apart. I used to have a CTF-1000. Sold it at a church rummage sale many years ago. So sad...
I have a ctf 650 and ctf 750 does yours have a ac primary line fuse on the 120 volt primary
No idea why you'd need to know this, but I'll bump you with a like in the hopes that he sees it :)
@@ChrisStoneinator I put fuse in to units that don't have a fuse in the ac primary consult a authorized service center before doing
Another step. the brushes and commutator bars in both motors need cleaned. this problem plagues the CT-F900 I know for sure. itll work, and the speed warbles, then stops. Tapping on the motor brings it back for a little bit.
When you took the cover off i said wow that's quality electronic components.
Very smart, the aux cassette.
A drop or two of light machine oil in the capstan bearings helps keep them spinning freely.
I hope neither your new workshop nor your vault drowned in the floods of the recent days!
I swear, you Germans have a special word for everything. Lol 🤣
Possible indeed🤣👌
We anglophones have a word for tricking people into watching a 1980s Rick Astley video on TH-cam
Yes we have :)
Your English is superb!
Great video. Do you need to lubricant or oil anything?
Nice repair work
Amazing job!!!
At the end Matthaus Passion was wonderful choice
Bravo! Beautiful deck man. Thanks.
That is beautiful
I have pioneer tape deck CT-200 and equalizer SG-9500 from blue line. It is extremely nice devices.
this guy didn't use ipa cleaning fluid on any of the dirty wheels pinch roller heads you can see the old dirty rubber deposit on the fly wheel .
you got soooo lucky that it wasn't a bad sensor or capacitor etc or something unseen
Bandsalat is my new favorite word! #EverydayGermanForYourEverydayLife
Hey, I have the entry level blue line deck, the ct300. It works most of the time fine, but now and then it rips the tape slightly, in the beginning. I did some cleaning with alcohol and the belts are already replaced. Any shots? Am I experiencing the beginning of a bigger failure, did I did something wrong with replacing the belts or is it just sth normal for a deck to slightly a tape now and then?
The Bach was a nice touch.
where can i get a diagram for a MCS 3554 cassette player.. i need to know how to replace the belts for it and i cant find find anything on google or youtube
Congratulations, your warranty is now void. 😎
I'd like to see *any* piece of equipment that's almost 40 years old and still under warranty.
There has to be something that's has a life long warranty.
Even lifetime warranties are only normally valid for the person who bought the item new.
I also used to think that lifetime warranty was "as long as I, the purchaser, am alive". Apparently, it's "for the (expected) lifetime of the product, under normal use". See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warranty#Lifetime_warranty
Wow, so if a car manufacturer secretly decides that his car only has an expected lifetime of 50,000 miles or 2 years, they can offer lifetime warranty and still refuse to fix anything that breaks after that. So that's also just another stupid marketing-wank.