Kenwood KX-1030 cassette deck--Scratchy sound.

I had noise on the left side only, found this forum and replaced the four caps mentioned along with the gooey belts (4). Another KX-1030 saved!
Thank you all for the info and especially the pics which helped me locate the bad caps.
 
Great. The 1030 is a nice deck. Have two. Down to one. Both had gooey belts. Fortunately, it's an easy one to replace belts. Looks like you are knowledgeable, replacing the belts and caps. Welcome to AK

Eric
 
Thank you. I do some research and and practice soldering on a junk board. I like to repair my own stuff if I can. More satisfying. Lol
 
I specialize on old turntables. Mainly Dual's. Got several Garrard SL95s last year to learn how they work. Later using what I learned on them I tackled a Garrard Zero 100. With the exception of their tonearm they are similar. What I learned from the 95s, fixed 3 Zeros,keeping one for my collection. Learned using guinea pigs. Did the same with Dual turntables,again nice work on the Kenny! Mine has been pleasing.

Eric
 
Another testimonial, changed out the 4 capacitors due to static in left speaker and wala! Back in business. Thanks for this thread to all that have contributed.
 
Hi i'm having trouble with the bias circuit when I engage the bias switch it should record a 400 Hz signal while the recording indicator is OFF, and a 10kHz signal recorded while the indicator is ON. The 400 Hz is working but the 10 kHz is not . Any help or pointers would be appreciated and Thanks in advance
 
the record indicator comes on I hear nothing and VU's go to 0 when the record indicator turns off I hear a tone and the VU's go -20
 
I believe your oscillator is working. When the light come on and the VU's go to 0, you should be getting 10 kHz.
 
Unfortunately, I can't confirm on my KX-1030 because it's currently boxed in storage. I reviewed the Instruction manual in an attempt to help you. My 1st concern was whether your oscillator was working (no light at 400 Hz and light on at 10 kHz.). I believe your oscillator is working as designed but maybe another KX-1030 owner can share their experience with actual sound at both frequencies.
 
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Just pulled the unit out of storage to help troubleshoot.

When I follow the Instruction manual page 10, Bias adjustment, I get no tones at either frequency. If I don't follow the procedure, and set the monitor switch to Source (not Tape as specified), I get both tones. Are you sure the monitor switch is on Tape? If so, you may want to DeOx the monitor switch. Also, to set the bias correctly, the output volume needs to be at max. position.

Good luck.
 
Yeah, I went back and redid the procedure. I had the player on Pause when I got no tones. When I actually record, I get both tones. It would appear your deck lights up as if the oscillator is working, but you aren't getting the 10 kHz tone. The fix is now out of my league.
 
Thanks 93SCMax I thought I was doing something wrong here so now I could use some help here anyone have this problem ? any advice what be appreciated
 
Looks like Jackp052 came and went very quickly on AK. But in that short time, he posted a fix to static noise on KX-1030's. I had one unit that had noise on the right channel only on record. I spent many hours last year, tracing with a Paco audio tracer, and replacing quite a few parts in an effort to eliminate the problem. Eventually put the unit on the side. Fast forward to today. I had another KX-1030 and did a quick checkout, as I had done a service, mechanically and claned/lubed/deox'd previously. Recorded on a full side and everything seemed fine until I did a playback. I noticed low level static/noise on the left channel but on playback so the same issue only in the playback section rather than the record section on the other unit. I did a blind search on google, and found links to this AK conversation. I replaced the (4) mylar caps (2 for playback, and 2 for record) in both decks. End result are that both are now fine. It amazing because the noise is so similar to transistor/IC static. Not too long ago I found an electrolytic cap in the driver section of a Harmon Kardon causing a similar sounding noise. So noise like this is not always the 2SC458's, or other noisy transistor culprits

Thanks again Jackp052!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Hello all, quick question for anyone that replaced these 4 capacitors. There are numerous voltage ratings for the .027uF caps. Any idea which voltage should be used? I have the same noise issue when play is pushed, no tape loaded, on the left channel.
 
50 Volt. I did all four and it cleaned both channels up.

I believe I got them from Mouser, MLR273K50 (CAP-MYLAR .027MF 50V)

Do a Search for Kenwood KX-1030 and you'll find some good advice.
 
50 Volt. I did all four and it cleaned both channels up.

I believe I got them from Mouser, MLR273K50 (CAP-MYLAR .027MF 50V)

Do a Search for Kenwood KX-1030 and you'll find some good advice.
50 Volt. I did all four and it cleaned both channels up.

I believe I got them from Mouser, MLR273K50 (CAP-MYLAR .027MF 50V)

Do a Search for Kenwood KX-1030 and you'll find some good advice.
Thanks, I ordered 4 250v ones before I saw your post. I measured the dimensions and ordered the same physical size.
 
So, I replaced all 4 of the .027uF (250V Panasonic) mylars and the left channel cleared right up. Excellent. When I ordered the 4 mylars I also ordered all the caps for the power supply board as well. They looked easy enough to replace and ended up replacing those today. Those 13 caps made a substantial difference in the noise level also. Before I replaced the caps, using headphones, I could hear a sshhhhh sound (not noise, not static) with the output knob cranked full up. I figured that was normal. After I recapped the power supply it is nearly silent now with the output full up. Crazy quiet now. Almost every cap was way out of tolerance, some 60-70% out of spec. I used Nichicon UHE's. Great investment of only a couple of dollars for the caps, plus about 3 hours to replace them. Tons of glue I had to fight to get 6 of them out. May be something to consider after any static noise is taken care of. Makes me wonder now how many caps on the main board are out of spec also.
 
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