Deck doesn't like Type II cassettes

W

WalnutSpice

New Member
I have a 1998 Techwood TDX85 deck, plays amazing with any type 1 tape, no matter the duration the motor can pull a 90 minute type 1 tape the entire way through with very low flutter, sounds the same as if I play it off my iPhone. Recently I wanted to step it up and get some nicer Type 2 cassettes. For the most part it can play them just fine but once every blue moon it'll just eat a type 2 or it'll just stop spinning and the auto stop kicks in.
My thoughts were Type 2 tapes just must be heavier than type 1 and that's why it struggles. so I checked the belt, checked the motors and it all checked out. Anyone got any advice?

To clarify I've been using this deck since 2013, and it was my dad's before since 1998. At least as long as I've had it it's never once eaten or stumbled over a Type 1.

edit: I've been using 90 minute type 2s. Figured I should add, a few weeks ago when was curious if it was because of the long duration / weight of the tape, I took a 90m t2 and spliced it about in half to a 30m. Still got eaten and jammed about 2 weeks later. So new thought, could it be type 2 is thicker and it's getting caught in the pinch roller?
 
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Belts. If it's eating all Type II's it's most likely not taking up fast enough. Let's see what the experts say. BTW, not sure if II's are heavier than I's - great question though!
 
Marrs comm has a first rate belts I'm sure, otherwise google electronic.cc for cheap alternatives (out of Colorado). Not sure if he has them, Techwood isn't a common brand that I know off, besides white van speakers (no offense). Might be better to hit up your local GW or thrift and find a replacement.
 
check the clutch ..run it in play with no tape . see if take up side has plenty of torque .. you may have to find a lever to press to get in play without a tape .
also try running tape ff the rew . then tap tape on your leg .. used to work for me in the old days . :D
 
Are the Type-II tapes new? Old tapes may have absorbed water and have sticky-shed causing the tape to adhere to itself on supply reel (slow transport), or adhere to the tape head (takeup stops loops tape, auto-stop kicks in).
 
The type 2 tape might have a smoother surface. Better type 2 tapes also tend to have closer tolerances of the shell which may place a bit more drag on the take up spool. As mentioned, take up torque may be insufficient.

New belt on any 20 year old machine is advisable.

kfalls said:
Are the Type-II tapes new? Old tapes may have absorbed water and have sticky-shed causing the tape to adhere to itself on supply reel (slow transport), or adhere to the tape head (takeup stops loops tape, auto-stop kicks in).
Click to expand...

Always possible, but I have never heard of SSS on cassette tapes. I have several "squealers", but they transport fine, save for the noise.
 
Techwood = Technics + Kenwood? :idea:

I found one for sale:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131917575061

It's an odd machine... it has full-logic controls, Dolby B NR, and auto-reverse, but no tape type selector, no tape counters (not even mechanical ones), no recording level control, and apparently not even any level meter either!

It could have automatic tape type selection, but I doubt that... so I think it was only designed to record onto normal Type I cassettes. It should still at least be able to play Type II and IV cassettes, though. The belts could be getting weak, even if they are still intact. But I think the cost of replacing the belts would be better spent on getting a higher-quality cassette deck...
 
From my limited experienced, loss of torque on the reels is usually related to those rubber pressure wheels (Idler wheels), not always belts.

In entry level machines, where disassembling and replacing those rubbers is expensive, I had success working the rubber surface with some thin sand paper, cutting a thin piece, sliding it through the mechanism, pressing against the rubber with a screwdriver while the unit is playing (FF or RW too). Most of the time you can access to those rubbers without disassembling the transport.

If you have easy access to the transport mechanism, you could take off the reels, or the motor. Some units have a rubber pulley on the motor shaft, what press against the reels. In other units, the reels have the rubber, and the motor shaft is a metal or plastic piece with some grooves to increase the grip.

Since this is your own unit, I'd take the time to remove the transport and take a better look, perhaps with some easy disassembling you have better access to those rubbers and you can sand them outside the deck.

Some other units have gears to move the reels, and some units have a kind of clutch made of felt (to allow some movement even when the cassette reached the end), that can loose grip too.

(image from the web, no affiliation, linked from www.eslabs.com )

Idler.JPG
 
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