Help please! Stuck on repair due to stripped bolt head...

Vampliers. The best thing for removing stubborn Japanese screws.

Thanks for the tip on these. Never heard of them before but I now have a set of three headed my way. Wish I had these before... so many times.
 
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Well, I did manage to find a new idler tire - but it will probably take a couple of weeks to arrive due to where it's shipping from. It was cheap enough that it's worth a shot!

Jonny - the pinch roller feels firm as it should, and the tape will play fine on other decks. This GX-F80 still stalls with other tapes I've tried.
 
I had a Nak deck that needed an idler tire. It looked fine but slipped when engaged. It seemed to fail every few years. They were only about 5 bucks but the hassle of changing it wore me out.
Hope it fixes it.
 
An update! So, it appears the tape played in the video may indeed have been problematic. It got to the point where it wouldn't even play at all. I tried tapping it on my knee a few times to try and loosen up the tape inside, and I did get it to play!

I tried a few other tapes I have, and was able to get 20 minutes or so of consistent play time without any tape stopping. I was able to locate the capstan motor speed adjustment screw, and have it playing much closer to proper speed...

...but, I am having tape slippage issues (tape speed slows down and speeds up, but stays within a certain speed range). It did do this shortly after firing this deck up the day I got it (was able to enjoy a few minutes of it at least, lol). Isn't this often a sign of a hardened pinch roller or improper pinch roller pressure needing adjusting? Only other thing that immediately comes to mind is if belts need some "break in" time...

At least some progress has been made today :).
 
At this point, it could be a number of things, either mechanical, or electrical. They weren't designed with 30 year life spans. The motor could be worn out, or needing serviced(which ain't easy). You new belt might not be tight enough. The roller looks a little glazed. Light sandpapering could help, but you would have to get to it. And, pre-recorded tapes tend to be kind of junky. Try a new blank in there(decent quality) , and see how it does.
 
input. what size tapes? C60s should always work in all decks. C90s can be problematic
if the drive mechanism is out-of-spec. NO: C120s or longer on any but those decks
designed for them.
 
See if you can tell if the motor is changing speed.
How would I measure motor speed to see if it's the motor, and not slipping from a faulty pinch roller or idler tire?

Bob - all prerecorded tapes...but I'm making sure to use ones thay play fine on other decks.
 
not necessarily motor speed - the idler, if that's how the drive works, is driven by a motor
but is limited by the friction between it and the rubber tire. I think this is how it's managed
(from my experiences from fixing low-end Naks with their tire idlers that seem to need
replacing).
 
No, the idler is only for the take up spindle and has nothing to do with the speed. The speed is set by the capstan motor. The capstan moves the tape at a regulated speed. The reel just takes up the slack in the tape.
The easiest way to see if the capstan motor speed is varying is to listen to it. To make is easier, get a piece of surgical tubing, stick one end in your ear and hold the other end near the motor. You will hear the whine of the motor and it will have a pitch to it. Put the deck in play and listen for variations in the motor speed.
 
Well, maybe not much of an "update", but I did try to listen for any variations in motor speed - problem is, I don't have any tubing that might help for hearing variations in motor speed, and it's a pretty quiet motor that is hard to hear such changes without one.

I am beginning to think it is motor related though - One thing I noticed when trying to adjust motor speed before was that it is pretty hyper sensitive to small adjustments and even being touched - I did a motor speed adjustment on another deck, and the speed change seemed much smoother/more gradual (and that deck holds the speed).

I might have the tech who has my SX-950 atm take a quick look at it when I get the 950 back.
 
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