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Akai GX-F80 problems.

CGriswald309

CGriswald309

Active Member
I picked this guy up at a thrift store today for $8. Everything lit up when I plugged it in and it looked mint.

However, upon getting it home and hooking it up I found that all was not well. The deck plays but it is verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow. It is also pretty noise whenever you play, rewind or fast forward.

I took the top off and the belt seems to be ok.

Maybe the motor?

As always, thanks in advance for any advice/help!
 
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If you can easily slide the belt on the flywheel with your finger, with the deck off, the belt needs to be replaced. This deck may also have an idler tire that moves the reels, that will have to be replaced. Marrs Communications probably has a belt / idler kit for it. This is an excellent deck, well worth repairing.
 
I have one of these. The idler is probably hardened and making noise. There is an adjustment inside of the capstan motor for the speed. You can get at it from the front with the faceplate off.
 
First of all, thanks for all the input.

I have very little knowledge when it comes to vintage electronics. I've made a few minor repairs and refoamed some speakers (all thanks to the help from folks here).

Do you think I should take it into the shop to get it repaired professionally or do you think I should try to do it myself? There is an excellent repair shop in Austin about 15 minutes from my place.

Oh yeah, I can easily slide the belt so it needs to be replaced. However, the belt wouldn't cause the noise would it?

Thanks again for all your help. I'm going to grab my credit card and renew my membership right now. The only reason I let it lapse was because I was working part-time and didn't have the cash.

--Brent
 
My guess is the noise is the idler slipping and the rubber grinding against the reel motor pulley. The repair is all mechanical. If you are good at taking complicated things apart and getting them back together, you can do this. Take pictures as you go, so you can remember where things go. If you take it to a shop, buy the belt and idler kit first. Most of the aftermarket belts and idlers you can buy are crap and will not last. Fred gets his from the factory in Japan that made them for Nakamichi and other brands, and they meet the original specs. It will also avoid delays with the shop trying to source parts, or whining that they can't get parts. VintageTx is in Texas somewhere, and he would be my recommended tech.
 
The repair is all mechanical. If you are good at taking complicated things apart and getting them back together, you can do this. Take pictures as you go, so you can remember where things go.
Click to expand...

I think this little beauty will be going to the shop. :D

I sent an email to Marrs Communications about the belt.

Thanks for all the info. I'll be sure to post the pics and/or video once this puppy is up and running.
 
Should be able to get a belt if you have an electronics distributer nearby. In a pinch, I used a rubber o-ring from the hardware store for the idler. Actually worked quite well. My deck had a hardened idler and had the noisy symptoms that you described.
 
Be patient and wait for Fred, or you will get a substandard idler tire that will last a year. All the generic replacements are crap. I sent Fred an e-mail on your behalf. Let's see if that helps.
 
I had one of those GX-F80's and it was a fantastic sounding deck. It was beautiful, and everything functioned perfectly except...the recordings were badly distorted. I took it to a repair shop and found out that something was wrong with the record portion of the record/playback head. Unrepairable without replacing the head which is extremely expensive if available.I was really disappointed buy this cuz it was perhaps the best sounding deck I have ever heard.
 
For the idler, you can get an o-ring from the hardware store from their assortment that will fit on the idler wheel. The o-ring will be round, not square, but worked very well for me.
 
Hi,
I have that Akai f80 since last week.The idler rubber was distorted from one side due to a long pressure from the motor's brass clutch.I took out the rubber ring and put on a amateur drilling machine.Than use some sand paper and make it perfect as new,no deviations on top surface.Now the deck is like new and no noise in FF and REW mode.
 
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