Cleaning the Capstan Rubber Rollers

at Sony we always used tascam. for years. and no never had any problems, recalls or redo's related to it. its NLA now. im retired now so not sure what took its place. long as its made for rubber you should be ok.
we NEVER used Isopropyl alcohol. it caused rubber to harden and crack.
 
^^^ I agree. I never touch my pinch rollers with IPA^^^. Interclean 711 or 721 or acteone for those always.
 
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Cool... glad you sorted that out. Will have to take a closer look at the capstan shafts on the handful of 3014's I have in queue, I would normally have used pure IPA on those otherwise.

John

Having just gotten my 3014a back up and operational I have found that the casptan / pinch roller section on this deck req a lot of attention on order for it's w/f to remain in check. I just found out that Tandberg made a change to their 3014a casptan shafts( thanks John) by sand blasting the shafts on the latter 3014a units to provide more uniform grip. Mine is a early 3014a and has the highly polished shiney smooth casptan shaft The IPA and Q / tips were not cutting it.:scratch2: I have been cleaning like crazy with very little effect using Q tip and the 721 or IPA. Near the end of a tape / (any tape) the w/f would become audible. Just on a guess I took a cut strip of plastic copper pipe cleaner wet with acteone and held it aginst the rotating casptan shafts for about 3 min each moving it slowly along the length as it rotated and much to my surprise lots oxide came off of both shafts. You cant see this stuff on the metal shafts and a Q tip with IPA or 721 alone will not get the hardened oxide deposits off. My W/F problen is gone . Just thought I would share as I may not be the only one here that thought they were cleaning but not really cleaning completly !!!:thmbsp::thmbsp:
 
usually the problem with dirty rollers/shafts/heads is from using the type 1 or normal which is brown and leaves a ton of residue behind. I've serviced a lot mechs really trashed out from using this type. after repair we always taped a note on top for the customer advising them to use chrome or metal. some listen some don't. I always used chrome. better freek response and NO residue
 
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I have owned this deck since it was a new display model ( 87) and have Im sure played just about every tape one can imagine in it. My problem has been that i was cleaning often but not using a strong enough cleaner which allowed buildup over the years inspite of freq cleaning. Live, ask questions and learn something everyday .:thmbsp:
 
Hi guys. I don't know if this is the right thread to ask but I didn't want to start a whole new thread. I've found a Sony TC-K970ES cassette deck (it was gonna be thrown out) and it seems to be working but it is rather noisy when hitting play (but without a tape inserted). I was wondering if the noise is because there is no tape inserted? I haven't got a tape at hand to check it out. Thanks.
 
Hi guys. I don't know if this is the right thread to ask but I didn't want to start a whole new thread. I've found a Sony TC-K970ES cassette deck (it was gonna be thrown out) and it seems to be working but it is rather noisy when hitting play (but without a tape inserted). I was wondering if the noise is because there is no tape inserted? I haven't got a tape at hand to check it out. Thanks.

It may be time for a new belt kit for your deck along with a gen maint / cleaning / relube being preformed.
 
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Thanks Victor.

I was hoping I could solve this without investing in repair kits but Cassette Decks are unknown territory to me.

I guess it's normal that the deck will only Rew & FF a second or 2 in each direction when no tape is inserted?

As mentioned it's a sort of rattling noise during play - sounds like a motor or some gears or something but I'm a newb as mentioned.

I've started dismantling the machine but can't quite figure out how to completely get the drive mechanism out from its bay. I've taken a few pictures.

Billede0400_zps13f6432c.jpg


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Do I need to somehow remove the black metal strip at the top/front?

I started trying to remove the grey plastic front fascia but realised that probably wasn't a good idea.

Any input welcome. :)
 
go online to HI FI engine and see if they have a service man for this unit. good luck with this repair.
 
use allcool isopropyl

Others may disagree but I have used 99% pure isopropyl alcohol for years with no problems. Just don't use ordinary rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol has other ingredients that may harm rubber rollers.

I also treat the rollers with a rubber preservative such as MG Chemicals Rubber Renue.
+1 (me too), alcool isopropyl :tresbon: for years and NO problems!!
 
DELETE — I did not see how old this thread was until alter — sorry!:ntwrthy:
 
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Am a aircraft mech and true the years I have been putting this stuff on de-ice boots , on aircraft wings.It protect the rubber from cracking and getting hard. Its called Age Master no1. Joe
Interesting!

I bought one of these kits about 18 years ago here in Japan (see attached). There is still quite a bit left in the roller bootle, but the head cleaner is getting down cuz I've used it for other things, including audio stuff. I was wondering what I'd do when my supply ran out. Then recently, while phono cartridge shopping at the giant electronics/electrical chain store, Yodobashi Camera ... I found exactly the same kit. I was astonished. I grabbed it for about $1.50 less than the original price marked on the box.

It's made in Japan and has what appears to be an affixed batch number. Manufactured, or perhaps more likely supplied by Audio Technica — #AT6037. No.1 bottle is head cleaner (red solution); No.2 bottle is for pinch rollers (green solution). I've had five tape machines during these years — with problems, but dirty rollers (and heads) have never been an issue. You can see the crud come off the rollers — just swipe with Q-tips until there is no 'show' on the tip. If done on a once-in-awhile basis, cleaning is an absolute cinch taking only a swipe or two.

I bought this kit thinking that it may not be very long before it disappears off the shelves forever.:scratch2:
 

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Since you've tried everything else and have nothing to loose, try a little paint thinner on a white cloth or Q-tip with the drive engaged if you can and clean the pinch roller and the capstan. When the cloth comes out clean, the roller will be clean.
Keesue: I have done some work in professional studios here in Japan as a narrator, but I have never, ever seen anything like this!:tresbon:
 
Lorne - no indications on the green bottle as to the contents?
I can read the Katakana which says the obvious and is in English anyway — "Pinch Roller cleaning blah blah keep out of the reach of children." The rest is in fine print kanji and I can't read it. I think that if it were anything about chemicals it would have a lot of Katakana. I suspect it is just directions on how to use it, which could have some hints after all. I'll see if I can get somebody to look at it, and if it's technical, I know a scientist I can ask.
 
Use Intraclean S-721H to clean the capstan shaft, the record/playback heads and the pinch roller(s). Intraclean doesn't dry out the rubber in the pinch roller and does a great job of remove tape oxide and binder that holds the magnetic particles to the tape.

It's what they used in broadcast for radio for years.
 
Use Intraclean S-721H to clean the capstan shaft, the record/playback heads and the pinch roller(s). Intraclean doesn't dry out the rubber in the pinch roller and does a great job of remove tape oxide and binder that holds the magnetic particles to the tape.

It's what they used in broadcast for radio for years.
After reading your post, I went into the archive and found an old thread that featured the same chemical you mention. Then I did a bit more surfing around and added some things I had found out to that dinosaur thread.

Here:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=158954

Interesting stuff. I want some of this chemical, but I doubt if I will find it in Japan. Moreover, I doubt that I can have such a chemical/fluid shipped from overseas here to Japan.

Cheers — Lorne
 
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^^^ I agree. I never touch my pinch rollers with IPA^^^. Interclean 711 or 721 or acteone for those always.
If you think isopropyl is to harsh for cleaning rollers and belts you'd better rethink using acetone
That's probably the worst think you could use for regularly cleaning anything made of rubber short of motor oil (pun intended but sentiment not)

And yes, I am aware I am responding to a 3 year old post, it's the message I'm concerned about for future readers considering using it)
 
I use Everclear (200 proof ethanol) If it is available in your states liquor stores. It evaporates completely leaving no film of any kind. 45 Years ago when I worked in a computer mainframe room we used it to clean computer tape drives.
 
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