ph2113
Active Member
Finally,I restored my Luxman K-15 cassette deck by a piece of paper.
Three years ago I paid $70 for a used Luxman K-15,claimed in working condition.it is my first cassette deck,at that time I knew nothing about a cassette deck but how to use it.
On the first day I received it I found it would stop after playing for a little while,couple days later the capstan motor failed,I sent it back to the seller for service,the seller replace the motor,fixed the unexpected auto stop issue ,sent it back to me.soon after that I found many other issues,unsteady speed,recording distortion,unbalanced volume on both channels,muting function NG,abnormal temperature of FF/RW motor..........I called the seller again,he offered refund but I declined because I'd rather to keep a dream of owning a good working Luxman K15 than having my $70 back.
Later,I did several web searches for service manual but found the seller's posts on different forums,first he asked how Luxman K-15 sounds,he wanted to know because he got the chance to buy one.later,he asked for helps to fix some issues of the K-15.......
I could see from my K-15 the seller had done a lot of efforts on this cassette deck,replaced two belts,two pinch rollers,capstan motor(Mabuchi EG-530AD-2B),reconnected mute wire(it did not appear where it should be),led and sensor.....but obviously because he couldn't get the performance he expected from this K-15 that's why he sold it out and keep his Nakamichi.
One month after I sent it to a local tech,the local tech fixed the recording mute NG by replacing a 12V relay and forsook other issues.couple weeks later I took it back and decided to fix it by myself.
I failed twice of attempting to restore the K-15 in past three years.last week I visited this forum,it encouraged me to start my 3rd attempt.this time I tracked it down to the R/P head.at last I found the misalignment of the R/P head to be the cause of unsteady speed,recording and play distortion,unexpected auto stop,abnormal high temperature of FF/RW motor(much higher than capstan motor).......
Without proper tools I did the adjustment anyway,now the cassette deck appear works fine now,sounds great,clean and clear than before and no obvious distortion perceived.the temperature of FF/RW motor is lower than before.
In order to lower the play position of R/P head I put a piece of 0.8mm thick paper under the black washer(or cushion) of the solenoid as a temporary solution.without it the actuated solenoid will push the head too high up(1~2mm higher than it should be)the result is the head will put too much pressure on tape ribbon and cause play/record distortion,unsteady speed and abnormal high temperature of FF/RW motor.....I am very glad I made a good decision to keep it three years ago.
I plan to use a metal washer to replace the paper which I use as my temporary solution.or if you know how to adjust the head to lower the play position for about 1~1.5mm,please show me how to do it!
Jack
Three years ago I paid $70 for a used Luxman K-15,claimed in working condition.it is my first cassette deck,at that time I knew nothing about a cassette deck but how to use it.
On the first day I received it I found it would stop after playing for a little while,couple days later the capstan motor failed,I sent it back to the seller for service,the seller replace the motor,fixed the unexpected auto stop issue ,sent it back to me.soon after that I found many other issues,unsteady speed,recording distortion,unbalanced volume on both channels,muting function NG,abnormal temperature of FF/RW motor..........I called the seller again,he offered refund but I declined because I'd rather to keep a dream of owning a good working Luxman K15 than having my $70 back.
Later,I did several web searches for service manual but found the seller's posts on different forums,first he asked how Luxman K-15 sounds,he wanted to know because he got the chance to buy one.later,he asked for helps to fix some issues of the K-15.......
I could see from my K-15 the seller had done a lot of efforts on this cassette deck,replaced two belts,two pinch rollers,capstan motor(Mabuchi EG-530AD-2B),reconnected mute wire(it did not appear where it should be),led and sensor.....but obviously because he couldn't get the performance he expected from this K-15 that's why he sold it out and keep his Nakamichi.
One month after I sent it to a local tech,the local tech fixed the recording mute NG by replacing a 12V relay and forsook other issues.couple weeks later I took it back and decided to fix it by myself.
I failed twice of attempting to restore the K-15 in past three years.last week I visited this forum,it encouraged me to start my 3rd attempt.this time I tracked it down to the R/P head.at last I found the misalignment of the R/P head to be the cause of unsteady speed,recording and play distortion,unexpected auto stop,abnormal high temperature of FF/RW motor(much higher than capstan motor).......
Without proper tools I did the adjustment anyway,now the cassette deck appear works fine now,sounds great,clean and clear than before and no obvious distortion perceived.the temperature of FF/RW motor is lower than before.
In order to lower the play position of R/P head I put a piece of 0.8mm thick paper under the black washer(or cushion) of the solenoid as a temporary solution.without it the actuated solenoid will push the head too high up(1~2mm higher than it should be)the result is the head will put too much pressure on tape ribbon and cause play/record distortion,unsteady speed and abnormal high temperature of FF/RW motor.....I am very glad I made a good decision to keep it three years ago.
I plan to use a metal washer to replace the paper which I use as my temporary solution.or if you know how to adjust the head to lower the play position for about 1~1.5mm,please show me how to do it!
Jack