Hi all,
A while back, I picked up a Pioneer CT-M55R cassette deck for cheap (pics attached). The unit is in excellent physical condition, and all of the internal components work...except that it keeps getting one of the trays stuck inside itself.
The device works by holding all the cassettes in a large tray that slides into the body. When a cassette is selected, a carriage moves into position behind it, and the smaller tray the cassette sits in is moved back (by the same motor/mechanism that moves the large tray in and out, from what I can tell). Once the cassette is in the carriage, it moves back to its home position, placing the cassette onto the play mechanism.
The problem I'm having is with the smaller tray. Fairly often, and for no reason that I can discern, it will get itself in a state in which it is unable to return the cassette to the larger tray. From what I can hear, it sounds like it's attempting to pull the large tray in the wrong direction, spinning the motor, and then giving up. At this point, it usually spins the motor all the way in the other direction, opening the door and ejecting the large tray, still without having returned the cassette or the small tray. Trying to move the small tray back by hand, I encounter some kind of blockage and it won't go back all the way. I've disassembled and repaired this thing at least five times, by moving parts around until the tray goes back, but it just breaks itself again the third or fourth time trying to use it.
I have no clue as to what could be doing this - has anyone experienced this problem on this or a similar deck? Is there something obvious I'm missing? I'd be happy to provide more information if needed.
Thanks!
Images: https://imgur.com/a/gp4QO3e
A while back, I picked up a Pioneer CT-M55R cassette deck for cheap (pics attached). The unit is in excellent physical condition, and all of the internal components work...except that it keeps getting one of the trays stuck inside itself.
The device works by holding all the cassettes in a large tray that slides into the body. When a cassette is selected, a carriage moves into position behind it, and the smaller tray the cassette sits in is moved back (by the same motor/mechanism that moves the large tray in and out, from what I can tell). Once the cassette is in the carriage, it moves back to its home position, placing the cassette onto the play mechanism.
The problem I'm having is with the smaller tray. Fairly often, and for no reason that I can discern, it will get itself in a state in which it is unable to return the cassette to the larger tray. From what I can hear, it sounds like it's attempting to pull the large tray in the wrong direction, spinning the motor, and then giving up. At this point, it usually spins the motor all the way in the other direction, opening the door and ejecting the large tray, still without having returned the cassette or the small tray. Trying to move the small tray back by hand, I encounter some kind of blockage and it won't go back all the way. I've disassembled and repaired this thing at least five times, by moving parts around until the tray goes back, but it just breaks itself again the third or fourth time trying to use it.
I have no clue as to what could be doing this - has anyone experienced this problem on this or a similar deck? Is there something obvious I'm missing? I'd be happy to provide more information if needed.
Thanks!
Images: https://imgur.com/a/gp4QO3e
