[ARSCLIST] Somewhat OT: [ARSCLIST] Nakamichi tape deck problem

[Jeffrey Kane <jeffkane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A potential source that may be very useful for those wishing to obtain Nak
decks or parts; although it's a bit time consuming to get set up and NOT
cheap.

Rinkya is a service that allows bidding on Yahoo Japan and handles
transit/shipping from Japan to you. Expensive, but works brilliantly.
They'll also seek out items for you and place special orders.

HTTP://www.rinkyainc.com. Not associated except as someone who's spent way
too much there buying all sorts of unobtanium.

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Al Quaglieri
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 2:26 AM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Nakamichi tape deck problem

Randy, I used to have one of those decks with the exact same problem. What's
happening is your tape's azimuth starts slipping soon after it starts
moving, and gets worse with time. When you stop, everything goes back to
zero, so to speak, and it starts all over again when you hit "play."
Although it's been many years and I no longer have the manual or the deck, I
recall tracing the problem back to a tiny (less than .5"), screw-mounted,
u-shaped tension spring that mounts somewhere near the r/p head and is
designed to keep the tape hitting the head at the right pressure and angle.
Although I ordered the part from Nakamichi, I never got around to installing
it, as it required the near-total dissembling of the transport mechanism.

There's a place in the UK that still stocks Nakamichi cassette deck parts
and can probably identify this part if you describe it per above. Email them
with your query at spares@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hope this helps,

Al Q.
NY

>Hey folks...I've got an old Nakamichi 480 2 head tape deck that has
been >giving
me some grief of late.  I've noticed that on some tapes I play the
>sound will start out nice and clear and slowly get quieter and muddier
>over the course of several minutes or more.  After getting several songs
>into something I'll realize how awful it sounds and stop it, but as soon
>as I hit play again it comes back in clear as a bell again, and then sort
>of repeats.