Nakamichi CR-1A worth fixing?

[kray]

I was gifted a CR-1A. It powers up and all lights etc. it’s super clean, but it won’t play/ff/rew. Without a tape in you can see the left spindle spin and the bottom right pin turn as well but won’t engage with a tape.

Is it worth fixing or should I flip it to go towards something better?

 

[Panamafred]

If you can do it yourself then yes! I always ruin tape decks when I work on them but mine has been a steady runner for last 6 years.

Sounds great and records awesome tapes!

 

[damacman]

It likely needs very simple,e maintenance, possibly belts even. That's a very nice machine and the price was right.

 

[kray]

Any idea what could cause all functions to not work? From the top I can see the main bigger motor spin the larger (wide belt). The counter belt has lost strength but I don’t know if that has anything to do with playing/ff/rew

I’ve already taken it apart mostly but didn’t go further than disengaging the main mechanism to move it around and see if anything looked broke, etc. never worked on a cassette player before either. Not sure what to look for while it’s apart

 

[kray]

Good news!

I got it working! I deoxit’d the crap about of the main motors and after I let it set for a couple minutes as I was looking around. Powered it back on and bam! It worked. Play/ff/rew all started working fine again.

Now I wonder if it will stay that way or if it will crap out again.

 

[zedex]

Cam motor dead spots is the problem, on top right of transport.
Spraying it will help initially. Motor will ultimately need to be replaced.

 

[kray]

Cam motor dead spots is the problem, on top right of transport.
Spraying it will help initially. Motor will ultimately need to be replaced.

Thanks Zedex. How long does the cam motor usually last before needing another shot Of cortisone?

I’ve heard the cam motor in this model is a PITA to replace. I was able to remove the whole transport so maybe I’m inclined to replace the motor with a little more effort.

 

[zedex]

Usually after you spray anything into them, they are done. YMMV. Try cleaning those 3 leaf contacts and see how long it lasts.

 

[kray]

Mine was the Reel Motor with the issue, not the capstan motor, that was working fine.

So we'll see! it's been working fine since last night, play about 6 cassettes fully, no issues. Great sounding deck though, so i might try to fix it myself if need be.

 

[zedex]

Nak capstan motors are bomb proof. Its their reel motors and cam motors that are NFG. Its actually a rarity to acquire a nak sankyo based deck and not have either a bad cam or reel motor.
Btw. If you continue to use this deck daily you may never have a problem and it may serve you well. The problem will rear its ugly head if you leave the deck sit for any length of time unused.

 

[sberger]

CR-1A is a very good deck. When my ZX-7 was acting up recently I put the 1A into rotation and it did not embarrass itself compared to it's much more highly regarded and expensive brother.

 

[lorne]

ANY Nak can be worth saving! I mean, it's worth what you can afford and how much you care.

I only ever owned one Nak — a two head model. It had a richness that no other machine I've had ever matched. Hard to explain, but there is — or was — a technical difference in Nakamichi machines.

Alas, I did not rescue it. Instead I went for for a premium, three head machine by Akai, which I love. But, I still wish I'd kept the Nak until I could have afforded to repair it. Alas, the spares I needed were really rare, I was short of money, and the special alignment/set-up tapes were even rarer. (SIGH!)

 

[jbailey930]

I picked a CR1a from a neighbor with same issue. Seems a little tap/tap on the transport gets it going. It had sat for awhile too. Can you source a cam motor?

 

[zedex]

CR1s never die.
You cant source a cam motor that is a plug and play. They involve modification. Check out page 2 of this thread to fix existing cam motor.
https://www.tapeheads.net/threads/nakamichi-sankyo-control-motor-rebuild.55498/