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Denon DRM-500 NOS motor

theseeker2

theseeker2

New Member
I'm looking to buy a NOS replacement motor for my Denon DRM-500 cassette deck. The motor in question is shown in the picture below (Mabuchi EG-500AD-2B). I took it to my local turntable tech, and in his words those motors are "gone gosling." This deck has a lot of sentimental value for me because my dad who died about 10 years ago bought it for me when I was in high school.

Hoping someone here can help me out! I figure if I can't find it here then it can't be found :)
 

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I also just discovered that this deck could also really use a new belt, no surprise I guess since it's over 30 years old! If anyone has a new or NOS belt for the DRM-500, I'd love to purchase that as well. Thanks again.
 
Pacific Stereo over at Tapeheads offers a motor that can be used a replacement for the Mabuchi EG-500AD-2B. Here is a link to the webpage where the features of the replacement motor are discussed.

http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=32263

I also found this listing for a belt kit but the seller in located in the UK so the shipping charge could be pretty expensive depending on how quickly you want to receive it.

https://webspareparts.com/products/denon-drm-500-belt-kit-for-cassette-deck

You could also try contacting Turntables Needles to inquire about the availability of a belt kit

https://www.turntableneedles.com/reach_a_live_turntable_technician_by_phone

or try contacting Bob at Vintage Electronics to see if he can provide the belts you need.

https://www.vintage-electronics.net/
 
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Best of the future for your deck, and sourcing a replacement motor. As an owner of a Pioneer CF F1250, I do understand how difficult it can be to source a replacement reel motor. Makes finding correct belts look like a walk in the park.

Good of you to keep trying-I understand the sentimental connection.
 
Yes, that Pacific Stereo motor is supposed to be very good, but not cheap. I wonder if it will fit in that rather tight space in the DRM-500. What you need is a 12 VDC, 2400-rpm CCW capstan motor. The EG-500AD-2B seems to be hard to find, but there are plenty of EG-530AD-2B on Flee Bay. Maybe that (-530AD-) would work just fine.

Regarding belts: Are you really sure the capstan belt is bad? I ask because, Denon capstan belts from that time were/are superb and most of them still today performs like new and within spec W&F. Yes, they are 30 years old but usually performs better than any new replacement belts.

Wish best of luck with your deck!

Cheers
 
I finally came across a NOS capstan motor that is an exact match for the existing on in the deck. I thought I'd desolder those two pins on the top of the board in the first attached picture and that the motor would fall right out, but apparently it's being held in place against another board by three black plastic "legs" (see two of them circled in blue in the second picture).

The last pictures shows what the legs look like on the other side of the board (circled in blue), and also something that looks a bit like a clip (circled in yellow) but I have no idea how to do anything with that without breaking it.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the motor free of those plastic legs. I've tried pry tools, I've removed every screw I can find in the vicinity on both sides of the motor, and I also tried grabbing it and pulling out with a pliers (like a tooth, lol!). No joy.

Anyone have any tips on getting that old capstan motor out of there?
 

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I gather that you have found no screws deep inside those plastic tubes in the photos? Certainly would need a strong light shone directly down their shafts.
 
There *were* almost certainly screws running through those black posts that were supposed to be removed from the front. It looks like you have the deck torn down far enough that you should be able to get to the screw heads. If they're not there, I wonder if a previous owner did something heinous with a serious epoxy or superglue.

Anyway - it looks like a standard ALPS mechanism, which was used by several manufacturers during the period. I don't see a service manual for the particular model, but check out this vid clip (sound on and skip to 6:55):

 
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Sorry to keep bother you all, but I've hit another snag. I got the new motor installed just fine, got the belts put back, and reassembled everything. Something is off with the mechanism after reassembly. The eject button works just fine when there's no tape in the deck, and it also works fine when I first put the tape in. If I fast forward or rewind, everything seems great, and I can still eject the tape no problem. When I press play, the tape seems to jump up and back down, and then it gets stuck in the deck. At that point, I can no longer eject the tape without fiddling with the levers on the left and helping it along. It usually will only play for a little while and then stop. What now?
 
Ok, I got that issue resolved. One last issue...

The tape sounds muffled unless I push with my fingertip on the upper right hand corner of the tape while playing. I guess this changes the position of the tape slightly against the heads and pinch roller. The stupid tape guide on the erase head came loose while I was putting the mechanism back together, but following a YouTube video I was able to glue it back in place with epoxy. I don't know if that is related to this issue or not, but I haven't been able to figure out a way to fix it (short of leaving my finger pressing against the upper right corner of the tape the whole time it's playing!).
 
Looks like you've been venturing "deep in to the forrest" on this one;). Great to hear the new motor works out. As for the remaining problem: look carefully at what keeps the tape in it's place. Are there any mechanical adjustments available there? You mentioned a now resolved problem of the tape "shooting up" when the heads pushed on to it. Or that is how I understand it. That would appear related to me, so maybe you can trace back your steps on that episode?
 
Did you remove the beauty plate?

If so it is now probably not sitting snug against the mechanism, pushing the cassette forward.
 
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