Can this marantz head be saved?

Q

Quentin80

New Member
Hello, I recently purchased a 5010b off eBay. I replaced and cleaned the melted belts and all the play, ff etc. functions and all seem to work fine mechanically. Horrible play sound though testing a tape. I cleaned all pots and switches internally and externally using deoxit. Still terrible sound. The head appears scratched and possibly rusted.
I’ll post a couple pics of what it looks like, hopefully someone can give me an idea if this can be lapped down and saved or do I need to replace or ?? I have zero knowledge on cassette players.
Thanks in advance

038C3C2C-52EA-4DE1-ADE4-102FDA5C10E2.jpeg 8D76F3F5-E057-4D1F-8729-CFCC8D860A15.jpeg 3069A414-A5AE-4769-84EA-87FFBF9CEDDC.jpeg
 
Register to hide this ad
If the material is rust-might be toast. More likely tape oxide though-so it can be cleaned off. If firm rubbing (in direction of tape travel), with isopropyl alcohol does not remove it, try using a very fine abrasive liquid cleaner, like Brasso. Clean thoroughly after using with iso. You can put firm pressure on the cloth or qtip.

You should be able to remove the door by pulling up on it. All decks that I have owned (about a dozen), the door can be removed-this will make access much easier.

That pinch roller looks pretty nasty-use a mild soap and water and swabs to get all the oxide off so it appears all black.
 
Acetone will work as well on heads. The heads might clean up, pretty hard to tell if the heads are scored or just oxide build up.
 
Looks terrible. How has it got in that state? What have you used to try and clean it? Iso and acetone will not touch that, so try Solvol Autosol. It’s perfectly safe to use on all head types.
 
Ok update, I took the door off and cleaned the head much better, it took repeated cleanings with iso and it looks much better, I also cleaned that roller.
So it initially sounded much much better, tried a couple different tapes etc. I still get this static that kinda intermittently disturbs the sound? I noticed if I hit play with no tape in it still makes this intermittent static noise? Then unfortunately after just 5 min or so of listening the motor started struggling with speed and it basically kinda bogged down and would only play slow and ff rw seemed much slower so crap lol
I might have a wrong belt tho for the smaller belt. Basically my kit had 3 belts. Big main one and two smaller ones with slight differences, one is for the tape counter. The slightly heavier of the smaller belts I accidentally broke trying to install on the motor and pulley, I wasn’t sure that one went there anyways and then I tried the other small belt in that place and it seemed to work fine? But I’m thinking that it might be for the tape counter now idk?

guess I’ll order another belt kit

C3F43F3E-BABF-43A1-96FA-5B0678D2AA74.jpeg 4336BB9D-87EF-47E4-B34E-724622C69D23.jpeg
 
Numone said:
Looks terrible. How has it got in that state? What have you used to try and clean it? Iso and acetone will not touch that, so try Solvol Autosol. It’s perfectly safe to use on all head types.
Click to expand...
I have no idea how it got like this, it’s from an eBay seller that sells bulk electronics?
 
Quentin80 said:
Hello, I recently purchased a 5010b off eBay. I replaced and cleaned the melted belts and all the play, ff etc. functions and all seem to work fine mechanically. Horrible play sound though testing a tape. I cleaned all pots and switches internally and externally using deoxit. Still terrible sound. The head appears scratched and possibly rusted.
I’ll post a couple pics of what it looks like, hopefully someone can give me an idea if this can be lapped down and saved or do I need to replace or ?? I have zero knowledge on cassette players.
Click to expand...
Heads are fine, just filthy.

infullview said:
Still does not look clean. Use a q-tip and pure acetone - not fingernail polish remover.
Click to expand...

I've always been told to keep acetone away from heads, at least on an RTR -- some makers specifically warned against it. 99% alcohol and perseverance should get rid of any oxide deposits.
 
I have taken Q tips and cut the cotton end off to let me use the stem as a sort of scraper for really stubborn gak. Its compressed paper so it won't damage anything, but if you cut it on an angle to give a bit of a scraper edge it can help pick off really stuck garbage.
 
On the static issue-I would look for what mechanism switches signals for Rec and Play. It may well be a mechanical slider moved by the respective play or record levers. Even if you can't find it, I would engage record multiple times, then back to play-to exercise the switch-this will have some cleaning effect-perhaps enough to clear things up.

The slowing of the motor-perhaps the belt is an issue-but do install the correct size belts. While doing the belts, check for lubrication of motor bearing and other items spun by the belts. Go very sparingly with light machine oil on these bearings. Nothing that spins should be stiff, except the reel spindles when the brakes are applied-which happens in stop and pause modes. You should be able to release the brakes to test when you have the cover off for the belt work. It's usually a carriage that is lifted when in play\rec or fast wind modes. A spring returns it back down to engage brakes-which are simple rubber\plastic nubs that push against the spindles when engaged.
 
Last edited:
So you read my post, picked up on my rhetorical question and ignored the advice. OK. I’ll give it another shot….
The head is still filthy, so go and buy a tube of Autosol metal cleaner and use that to clean the head. It will work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom