im tryin' to repair my walkman and the first video i click has one of my all time favourite songs in the intro hell freakin yea dude, this unironically made my evening 😎
Your videos are always instructing, even if the fate of the "patient" is almost known as lost cause. DAT combine some of the most sophisticated mix of VCR technology with digital and analog audio top sophistication of the early 1990's. In these portable versions, they also concentrated what you could find in a classic 20 lbs machine in a walkman format! So these miniaturized mechanisms and boards are so compact, maintenance was also a conceptual nightmare. There's some test points, but if you have any problem on the IC board, it's a DOA DAT on the service bench. And if you have a chance to locate a drum unit + motor, a board or a complete mech, it's most likely a 25+ years used parts or a donor with lots of wear or similar problems, and you will probably pay too much for another load of crap. I also remember larger and older units like TCD-D5, with a different mechanism but similar generic problems: high density boards with no parts available with specific discontinued IC from Sony, a fragile loading door mech, specific digital connectors and batteries problems. Those tiny "monsters" were considered gadgets as their fragility and excessive cost was repelling most audio fans. It was a sort of proof of know-how few customers could afford, with limited performances compared to normal format or studio counterparts. If you absolutely want to collect portable DAT machines, you won't find anything really good nor cheap. Look for a Nagra Digital if you recently won the local lottery, or keep them inactive in your museum.
According to Techmoan if I remember right, DAT has its fans and there's a website supporting the DAT community. If you can't fix that player, you can try contacting them to see if they can. 😉 No reason to give up on a rare device like that.
Sure there are DAT heads out there but the problem is parts. No parts available for these machines other than old parts and putting old parts into something as mechanical as these is opening pandoras box. The instructions I received when I received it was if there was too much wrong with it, that it wasn't worth fixing. Just because someone might be willing to pour hundreds into one of these things doesn't mean someone else will . I have about 9 DAT decks here, how many would you like? The head drum isn't spinning. It could be the motor, or the circuit. Assuming it is the circuit it could be a capacitor or the motor drive IC or something in the logic, or perhaps the circuit board is damaged and it is a broken trace. There is no way to test these units without the ribbon cable extenders as you cant connect it out of the chassis to test, so a special jig is required to service this. Assuming that there is someone willing to work on this, I doubt they are willing to fix it for 50 or even 100 bucks. Forget what you see on Ebay. Those prices are posted by people hoping to cash in on some uneducated person that has no idea what they are worth. The most I have paid for any DAT other than the first one I bought new, my ES player is 20.00. Thats the MOST I have paid and that was for my Tascam DA40. I had 2 Tascam portable units given to me, and a DA30, plus another DA40, and Panasonic DAT. I sold a couple of them for 50 and even that was tough because the guy knew what they were worth.
@@12voltvids I gues that leaves out the last guy I saw on craigs list with a sony 55ES DAT that had a huge scratch on top, claims he has no tape to test it with, but the lights come on, and no remote and started out wanting $400.
@@dwoodog My maximum for an old dat recorder is 40.00 and that is a stretch. Call me cheap or call me smart. I prefer the later. People grosely over pay for this old junk. The last 3 working dat recorders fully serviced went for 60 to 80 each. However seeing what people pay i let them go too low. Not worth 400 though. Perhaps 200 and it better be tested and guaranteed working.
Hi. I repaired also some of this tapes. And it always was an issue with the gears. You must remove all them (the three white and the two black ones) an clean them from the old grease. At the end of the video you can see, the the loading of the tape is to slow.
This device is Sony at its finest. They really go all the way when it comes to prosumer gear. A coworker had a very similar unit which sold cheap because it wasnt working, it halted on an error code and that was all. He didnt gave it too much use really. It loked like they were pretty fragile o delicate for a "walkman" thing. It is like a cross between a walkman and a camcorder.
Dave, if you still have the unit, check to see if the grounding bar that screws to the chassis and touches the head drum is still there, it has a bend in the metal to put positive pressure onto the head drum, if it's not there or not touching the head drum, it won't spin.
You gave it a lot of time and patience, the loading side works now but it's a nightmare. What a cramped design with so many ribbon cables so easy to tear :-( I did think about a large hammer, sorry a different video lol.
I've got a TCD-D7 that I did a repair on with a similar issue to one in the video. These players tend to be really picky about how quickly the loading guides move into position when the tape is inserted. It appears as though the guides in this video were still moving very slowly and that is what might have been tripping the player up still. After lubricating these, the guides should almost "snap" into the load position very quickly followed by the drum spinning up shortly after. I've repaired a few of these D7's and they all seem to have similar issues with the guides sticking when sitting away for a long time.
The guides are moving freely. That is the speed that the capstan motor was turning them at. So there could be a capstan motor speed issue too then. Thats the problem with mechanical devices, sitting around does them no good.
I believe the loading mechanism still gummed up is moving slow. i do repair this as well it needs to be really smooth for the device to operate. I have never seen this with the drum death. I think most of this got out of alignment before anybody put so many hours on the drum.
@@narutonish It is completely free. The capstan motor also seems to be turning slow. These dat walkman were very unreliable from the get go especially after they have sat for years.
I did notice when you took the top panel off,on top of that black cog,there should be a thin metal arm,this arm pushes the unlock latch for the door. Also that small piece that came loose maybe is from the underside of one of the loading arms? I’ve just had to service my own D7 as the FF/REW gearbox needed a degrease and fresh lube. Works really well now . Edit : after taking a few screenshots-I now see the small metal arm on the 6 o clock position of the cog!
@12voltvids. How lucky do you think I felt when my Sony TCD-D7 Walkman was showing error 02 and wouldn't open and then I found this video? I'm just in the process of cleaning the tracks with isopropanol alcohol and then I'll apply the Molykote PAO grease. The only bit I'm nervous about is resoldering the battery wires. Thank you so much for this video. Without it, I would have spent another £150 for a second-hand DAT player.
Oh 😲. You couldn't fix it! Shit! I hope that doesn't happen to me. People on forums said that error 02 was a drive belt issue, although the service manual said it was a transport issue; I didn't see a drive belt. Oh well. Here's hoping.
Recently I had such a recorder to repair. After solving mechanical and electronic puzzles from the developers of Sony, it was successfully repaired and pleases its owner.
Thank you for the wonderful well made video. Error 10 and 11. So I opened the cassette machine to dismantle it. After you lubricated the parts you had easy movement of the cassette loading sections. Mine are not moveable when I turn the bigger white gear that is next to the double open ended gear. After removing the clip to each gear, I cleaned and lubricated the spindles; if one is sticky many moveable parts need to be lubricated. I dont know what happened but that double open ended gear had less movement than before disassembly and isnt position properly now. - How is the black colored double open ended gear lined up? I looked at your video and observed the positions you had. That gear I did not remove fearing consequences. It is very difficult to see what is connected to what when moving a main gear that moves all others. Using your video as guide I removed the plate on the cassette loading side and on the other side of the tape machine I removed the 3 screws and gear assembly (play rewind fast forward spools and a few gears onboard. One of the levers that moves the gear small gear leftward or rightward to engage play fast f. or rewind was sticking badly. I wondered if a sensor on the unit in the video went bad. Thank you for everything
I found the problems. The tap feed mechanism that brings the cassette tape to the drum, not a lubrication problem, if the two screws are in all the way they seize the levers and this is on both sides. What you claimed was the main problem in the cassette deck you worked on in the video is where I am pointing to. Each screws backed off a 1/4 turn releases the lever so I’ll use either epoxy or locktite on the end of each screw. I had to remove things to see the action of this and that tomunderstand what was going on and it was when I removed the acrews you pointed to that freed things up for movement
Heard that old phone ring in the background,,,I thought it was the old rotary phone with the mechanical bells. Looks like the dat walkman doesn't take any drive belts,,,the wheels are all direct drive from the Capstan motor?
I started to take apart my D8 because FW/REW did not work anymore in order to clean the gearbox driving the rotors. However I could not unscrew two of the four tiny mainbord screws and two of five chassis screws. They are messed up now from my P000 Phillips bit. I searched and found that there is a slightly different Japanese Phillips standard called JIS. Which screw driver did you use (Phillps or JIS)? Contrary to my mainboard screws it looked effortless in your video .... Thanks
@@12voltvids Thanks - too bad, I did not know this intricacies (screw science is really a mess for a non-pro ;-) So I quite badly messed up this screw heads. photos.app.goo.gl/pYECdto3fPcCkPwe6 One I could get out with the aluminum foil trick (ua-cam.com/video/xaQ9eX-b6GA/v-deo.html&ab_channel=UltimateHandyman at 6:33) More tricks here (ua-cam.com/video/TEYgVsPcWjE/v-deo.html&ab_channel=GoCellPhoneRepair) I am afraid this could be the end of my repair, though the DAT is in excellent shape otherwise. .... I doubt, that screw extractors work for this super tiny screws, two of them directly on the mainboard. May be I try consulting a watch maker - they migt have some special tools or have magic tricks ... Thanks
Very confusing when you're doing the timing on the mechanism I lost alot of time until I figured out the right way But your videos are great non the less man!
Great piece of work and a nice try. A nightmare to repair. I always loved Sonys and their small stuff. Please try to get hold of a Nagra SNST for repair.
Really cool seeing a broken beyond repair. Looking on face book there is some guy in Romania that seems to also be able to fix these, but the cost of fixing this things VS just go on on ebay and buy another one since they are still somewhat available. IMO these damn little things are almost built to military/medical precision. No way they were intended to last 30 years. I doubt even 10. If I was buddy I would just let you keep it for parts, or get it back and sell it himself for parts. Nice job on what you were able to fix, I was hoping you would note where the batter back p is to hold the time while you change batteries.
I have a few of these little decks - they are excellent. One of my decks is throwing an issue about the moisture indicator. Im wondering how and where to identify that.
I bought the TCD-D3 in the early '90s through Circuit City with the extended warranty, and at about almost a year's time the player began mis-tracking with subsequent dropout in sound (sounds like a record needle slipping) every few seconds. I took the player back to Circuit City and exchanged it for the newer TCD-D8. The latter player developed the same problem within about the same time frame. This was when I realized these players were designed to be expensive (~$1K in early 1990s) disposable devices - the predecessors to the disposable portable players we have today.
Actually, I think I exchanged the TCD-D3 for the early minidisc (MZ-1) portable. But after learning of the compression used, I bought the TCD-D8. I couldn't resist and got the NW-WM1A, which although it has no moving parts, is disposable via its battery design.
DAT machines needed lots of love to function properly. Sony states in their manuals that a cleaning cassette run is recommended every 10 (!) operating hours. And those cleaners don't even work well on the pinch rollers (which aren't really easy to clean yet are responsible for stable tape transport). People who switched from compact cassette portable players to a portable DAT usually expected the same level of reliability and low maintenance. Most were utterly disappointed. I have 4 DAT decks in my possession that I regularly open up to take the complete mechanism out for a good cleaning. And those units still perform.
@@michaelc3987 I bought an MZ-R30 back then to supplement my MDS-JE700 stationary MD deck. It was a great format with huge potential, even with the early ATRAC-3 compression. And due to a design flaw which I was unaware of, the stationary deck crapped out on me way before the portable did. Its vacuum FL display just went dark because it was powered all the time even if the unit was in standby. There was a power switch on the back which I never used 🤷🏼♂️
@@svenschwingel8632 Yes, I have heard the full-sized decks work fine and are reliable (more easily serviceable as well). Some have stated that the portables' problems were due to them having reduced size head drum units, which were "polished" with use and would adhere, pull w/ tape to cause slippage. The solution, which some proposed was to scratch (with sandpaper, for example) the drum on the TCD-Dx. This seemed to work partially - I gave up on the unit for the time being. More recently, I found a video for the actual fix, but I haven't brought myself to do it yet. ua-cam.com/video/H0ga-lwliM4/v-deo.html
I hope some day soon, someone posts a tutorial on how to swap the batteries on the new NW-WM1A. There are some videos on other models, but the units exhibit charging issues after replacement.
Great Video! I've got same model with "error 11". Service Manual reports error 11 as "unloading not completed" on Mechanism Deck. Do you think is the same issue you have on the first part of the video?
No way to do that with the unit apart. All the ribbon cables must be attached including the display. Special FPC extension cables were used to allow the board to lay on the bench connected. Don't have such, so no way to test.
@@12voltvids actually you could put an ohm meter across the motor and see if it has continuity or connect the motor via clip leads to an external power supply and see if it turns. If it does the problem is in the circuitry leading to the motor or wiring. If it does not turn, the. The problem is likely the motor
How can I get enough knowledge to be able to repair most old electronics like you can? Your videos are great but I could use some more basic education on mechanical systems, circuit boards etc. Did you take classes/jobs for this or just pick it up over the years?
Is there a mode switch like on VCR’s maybe it’s looking to hit the fully loaded position switch but the contacts on the mode switch are dirty so it’s going in an error state and unloading again
Nice job, even without being able to repair it. I have the same DAT and it is also broken. It's a shame because I wanted to rescue some of my recordings. It loads the tape well but it does not play it, according to the technical service, when it is put into service mode, it shows reading errors. They said it's the head.... 🤔 It's weird because it can't fast forward/rewind the tape either.
@@12voltvids Hi. Since I had nothing to lose and I like to get my hands on these things, I opened my DAT and realized that it has exactly the same symptom as the one you show in this video. I compared with the DAT of a friend (same model) and from the start I felt that the motor has more power and I heard the typical noises of loading and unloading the tape that mine does not (at least it did before). By chance, you haven't discovered what the problem was, have you?
Please help. My unit has no sound. I need help on what capacitor needs to replace on this model. Also if I can have the capacitor size too, please. Thank you
Have you serviced minidv camcorders, when it starts to chew a tape, it's not always the fault of the camcorder, it can be the tape that's been used I have had this problem with one of my Panasonic Mini DV camcorders, it seems to chew some Sony Premium ME mini dv tapes, but not others which I suspect it's due to the quality of the tape used, I have used Panasonic, Maxell, JVC minidv tapes with no issues, some mini dv tapes from Sony are JUNK..
I would kill for one of those in serviced condition. Unfortunately, they are unrealistically expensive over here 😞 Too bad this unit could not be revived. If the drum assembly is damaged, a DAT machine these days is usually totaled.
@@12voltvids yes, ebay prices for working D3, D7 and D8 are crazy. The D10 Pros are even more expensive. And most price gougers don't even give you the full package but want to sell you the proprietary Sony digital cables (which came with the walkmen) separately. It's crazy.
Sold prices on eBay are what they are; people can chose to buy or not. No one is being forced to buy DATs. I’ve got a very close to mint working D7, including digital IO/remote/timer RMR-D4 and the remote RMT-D3 that I might sell on eBay. I like it but could use that money on something else, especially seeing what they go for. Then people can chose to buy it or not, no matter what price others may think is appropriate.
@@mikeboge I have fixed a few and abandoned others. They are very small and difficult to work on without the proper jigs and board extension jumpers. You can't test it apart.
I was the best way to have portable playback and recording back in the day. Amazing sound quality on a really conveniently-sized cassette. What's not to like? 😬
you went as for as I would have bothered to go. No point in spending lots of time and money on an old out of date system. Even though it looked a well made unit, it is just not worth it, unless you had a big clooection of tapes, but even then, it might be better to buy a working unit and transfer everything.
im tryin' to repair my walkman and the first video i click has one of my all time favourite songs in the intro
hell freakin yea dude, this unironically made my evening 😎
Yodel away
Your videos are always instructing, even if the fate of the "patient" is almost known as lost cause. DAT combine some of the most sophisticated mix of VCR technology with digital and analog audio top sophistication of the early 1990's. In these portable versions, they also concentrated what you could find in a classic 20 lbs machine in a walkman format! So these miniaturized mechanisms and boards are so compact, maintenance was also a conceptual nightmare. There's some test points, but if you have any problem on the IC board, it's a DOA DAT on the service bench. And if you have a chance to locate a drum unit + motor, a board or a complete mech, it's most likely a 25+ years used parts or a donor with lots of wear or similar problems, and you will probably pay too much for another load of crap. I also remember larger and older units like TCD-D5, with a different mechanism but similar generic problems: high density boards with no parts available with specific discontinued IC from Sony, a fragile loading door mech, specific digital connectors and batteries problems. Those tiny "monsters" were considered gadgets as their fragility and excessive cost was repelling most audio fans. It was a sort of proof of know-how few customers could afford, with limited performances compared to normal format or studio counterparts. If you absolutely want to collect portable DAT machines, you won't find anything really good nor cheap. Look for a Nagra Digital if you recently won the local lottery, or keep them inactive in your museum.
According to Techmoan if I remember right, DAT has its fans and there's a website supporting the DAT community. If you can't fix that player, you can try contacting them to see if they can. 😉 No reason to give up on a rare device like that.
Sure there are DAT heads out there but the problem is parts. No parts available for these machines other than old parts and putting old parts into something as mechanical as these is opening pandoras box. The instructions I received when I received it was if there was too much wrong with it, that it wasn't worth fixing. Just because someone might be willing to pour hundreds into one of these things doesn't mean someone else will . I have about 9 DAT decks here, how many would you like? The head drum isn't spinning. It could be the motor, or the circuit. Assuming it is the circuit it could be a capacitor or the motor drive IC or something in the logic, or perhaps the circuit board is damaged and it is a broken trace. There is no way to test these units without the ribbon cable extenders as you cant connect it out of the chassis to test, so a special jig is required to service this. Assuming that there is someone willing to work on this, I doubt they are willing to fix it for 50 or even 100 bucks. Forget what you see on Ebay. Those prices are posted by people hoping to cash in on some uneducated person that has no idea what they are worth. The most I have paid for any DAT other than the first one I bought new, my ES player is 20.00. Thats the MOST I have paid and that was for my Tascam DA40.
I had 2 Tascam portable units given to me, and a DA30, plus another DA40, and Panasonic DAT. I sold a couple of them for 50 and even that was tough because the guy knew what they were worth.
@@12voltvids donor deck, then.
@@12voltvids I gues that leaves out the last guy I saw on craigs list with a sony 55ES DAT that had a huge scratch on top, claims he has no tape to test it with, but the lights come on, and no remote and started out wanting $400.
@@dwoodog
My maximum for an old dat recorder is 40.00 and that is a stretch. Call me cheap or call me smart. I prefer the later. People grosely over pay for this old junk.
The last 3 working dat recorders fully serviced went for 60 to 80 each. However seeing what people pay i let them go too low. Not worth 400 though. Perhaps 200 and it better be tested and guaranteed working.
@@12voltvids I have a Sony D8 I got for free!!! Working well though. I am keeping it in a gentle fashion in it's old age.
Hi. I repaired also some of this tapes. And it always was an issue with the gears. You must remove all them (the three white and the two black ones) an clean them from the old grease. At the end of the video you can see, the the loading of the tape is to slow.
This device is Sony at its finest. They really go all the way when it comes to prosumer gear. A coworker had a very similar unit which sold cheap because it wasnt working, it halted on an error code and that was all. He didnt gave it too much use really. It loked like they were pretty fragile o delicate for a "walkman" thing. It is like a cross between a walkman and a camcorder.
Dave, if you still have the unit, check to see if the grounding bar that screws to the chassis and touches the head drum is still there, it has a bend in the metal to put positive pressure onto the head drum, if it's not there or not touching the head drum, it won't spin.
You gave it a lot of time and patience, the loading side works now but it's a nightmare.
What a cramped design with so many ribbon cables so easy to tear :-(
I did think about a large hammer, sorry a different video lol.
I've got a TCD-D7 that I did a repair on with a similar issue to one in the video. These players tend to be really picky about how quickly the loading guides move into position when the tape is inserted. It appears as though the guides in this video were still moving very slowly and that is what might have been tripping the player up still. After lubricating these, the guides should almost "snap" into the load position very quickly followed by the drum spinning up shortly after. I've repaired a few of these D7's and they all seem to have similar issues with the guides sticking when sitting away for a long time.
The guides are moving freely. That is the speed that the capstan motor was turning them at.
So there could be a capstan motor speed issue too then.
Thats the problem with mechanical devices, sitting around does them no good.
@@12voltvids move it or lose it. Simple as that when it comes to mechanical devices, even modern computer hard disk drives.
I believe the loading mechanism still gummed up is moving slow. i do repair this as well it needs to be really smooth for the device to operate. I have never seen this with the drum death. I think most of this got out of alignment before anybody put so many hours on the drum.
@@narutonish
It is completely free. The capstan motor also seems to be turning slow. These dat walkman were very unreliable from the get go especially after they have sat for years.
@@12voltvids Yes, they are a pain in the neck specially the Sony TCD D3. A nightmare to put it back together specially the cable connections.
I did notice when you took the top panel off,on top of that black cog,there should be a thin metal arm,this arm pushes the unlock latch for the door.
Also that small piece that came loose maybe is from the underside of one of the loading arms?
I’ve just had to service my own D7 as the FF/REW gearbox needed a degrease and fresh lube. Works really well now .
Edit : after taking a few screenshots-I now see the small metal arm on the 6 o clock position of the cog!
The whole video is very confusing with the mechanism
There is a better video out there showing how to time the mechanism etc
@AutoTuga, better video? Any hints how to get it?
@12voltvids. How lucky do you think I felt when my Sony TCD-D7 Walkman was showing error 02 and wouldn't open and then I found this video? I'm just in the process of cleaning the tracks with isopropanol alcohol and then I'll apply the Molykote PAO grease. The only bit I'm nervous about is resoldering the battery wires. Thank you so much for this video. Without it, I would have spent another £150 for a second-hand DAT player.
Oh 😲. You couldn't fix it! Shit! I hope that doesn't happen to me. People on forums said that error 02 was a drive belt issue, although the service manual said it was a transport issue; I didn't see a drive belt. Oh well. Here's hoping.
Any DAT decks in the UK for sale are an absolute fortune now, working or not! Shame it couldn’t be fixed.
Recently I had such a recorder to repair. After solving mechanical and electronic puzzles from the developers of Sony, it was successfully repaired and pleases its owner.
Thank you for the wonderful well made video.
Error 10 and 11. So I opened the cassette machine to dismantle it. After you lubricated the parts you had easy movement of the cassette loading sections. Mine are not moveable when I turn the bigger white gear that is next to the double open ended gear. After removing the clip to each gear, I cleaned and lubricated the spindles; if one is sticky many moveable parts need to be lubricated.
I dont know what happened but that double open ended gear had less movement than before disassembly and isnt position properly now.
- How is the black colored double open ended gear lined up? I looked at your video and observed the positions you had. That gear I did not remove fearing consequences. It is very difficult to see what is connected to what when moving a main gear that moves all others.
Using your video as guide I removed the plate on the cassette loading side and on the other side of the tape machine I removed the 3 screws and gear assembly (play rewind fast forward spools and a few gears onboard. One of the levers that moves the gear small gear leftward or rightward to engage play fast f. or rewind was sticking badly.
I wondered if a sensor on the unit in the video went bad.
Thank you for everything
I found the problems. The tap feed mechanism that brings the cassette tape to the drum, not a lubrication problem, if the two screws are in all the way they seize the levers and this is on both sides. What you claimed was the main problem in the cassette deck you worked on in the video is where I am pointing to. Each screws backed off a 1/4 turn releases the lever so I’ll use either epoxy or locktite on the end of each screw. I had to remove things to see the action of this and that tomunderstand what was going on and it was when I removed the acrews you pointed to that freed things up for movement
Heard that old phone ring in the background,,,I thought it was the old rotary phone with the mechanical bells.
Looks like the dat walkman doesn't take any drive belts,,,the wheels are all direct drive from the Capstan motor?
I started to take apart my D8 because FW/REW did not work anymore in order to clean the gearbox driving the rotors.
However I could not unscrew two of the four tiny mainbord screws and two of five chassis screws.
They are messed up now from my P000 Phillips bit.
I searched and found that there is a slightly different Japanese Phillips standard called JIS.
Which screw driver did you use (Phillps or JIS)?
Contrary to my mainboard screws it looked effortless in your video ....
Thanks
Mine are all jis in that size.
@@12voltvids
Thanks - too bad, I did not know this intricacies (screw science is really a mess for a non-pro ;-)
So I quite badly messed up this screw heads.
photos.app.goo.gl/pYECdto3fPcCkPwe6
One I could get out with the aluminum foil trick (ua-cam.com/video/xaQ9eX-b6GA/v-deo.html&ab_channel=UltimateHandyman at 6:33)
More tricks here (ua-cam.com/video/TEYgVsPcWjE/v-deo.html&ab_channel=GoCellPhoneRepair)
I am afraid this could be the end of my repair, though the DAT is in excellent shape otherwise. ....
I doubt, that screw extractors work for this super tiny screws, two of them directly on the mainboard.
May be I try consulting a watch maker - they migt have some special tools or have magic tricks ...
Thanks
Very confusing when you're doing the timing on the mechanism
I lost alot of time until I figured out the right way
But your videos are great non the less man!
Can you please share how did you adjust the timing of the mechanism?
I have a like new TCD-D100 and still works excellent :)
Be gentle with it ;)
That's too bad. It looked like it was in really good condition too.
Great piece of work and a nice try. A nightmare to repair. I always loved Sonys and their small stuff. Please try to get hold of a Nagra SNST for repair.
No thanks.
Really cool seeing a broken beyond repair. Looking on face book there is some guy in Romania that seems to also be able to fix these, but the cost of fixing this things VS just go on on ebay and buy another one since they are still somewhat available. IMO these damn little things are almost built to military/medical precision. No way they were intended to last 30 years. I doubt even 10. If I was buddy I would just let you keep it for parts, or get it back and sell it himself for parts. Nice job on what you were able to fix, I was hoping you would note where the batter back p is to hold the time while you change batteries.
Nicely made unit. Would of liked to own one years ago.
I have a D3 and it was always breaking down.
I have a few of these little decks - they are excellent. One of my decks is throwing an issue about the moisture indicator. Im wondering how and where to identify that.
I bought the TCD-D3 in the early '90s through Circuit City with the extended warranty, and at about almost a year's time the player began mis-tracking with subsequent dropout in sound (sounds like a record needle slipping) every few seconds. I took the player back to Circuit City and exchanged it for the newer TCD-D8. The latter player developed the same problem within about the same time frame. This was when I realized these players were designed to be expensive (~$1K in early 1990s) disposable devices - the predecessors to the disposable portable players we have today.
Actually, I think I exchanged the TCD-D3 for the early minidisc (MZ-1) portable. But after learning of the compression used, I bought the TCD-D8. I couldn't resist and got the NW-WM1A, which although it has no moving parts, is disposable via its battery design.
DAT machines needed lots of love to function properly. Sony states in their manuals that a cleaning cassette run is recommended every 10 (!) operating hours. And those cleaners don't even work well on the pinch rollers (which aren't really easy to clean yet are responsible for stable tape transport).
People who switched from compact cassette portable players to a portable DAT usually expected the same level of reliability and low maintenance. Most were utterly disappointed.
I have 4 DAT decks in my possession that I regularly open up to take the complete mechanism out for a good cleaning. And those units still perform.
@@michaelc3987 I bought an MZ-R30 back then to supplement my MDS-JE700 stationary MD deck. It was a great format with huge potential, even with the early ATRAC-3 compression. And due to a design flaw which I was unaware of, the stationary deck crapped out on me way before the portable did. Its vacuum FL display just went dark because it was powered all the time even if the unit was in standby. There was a power switch on the back which I never used 🤷🏼♂️
@@svenschwingel8632 Yes, I have heard the full-sized decks work fine and are reliable (more easily serviceable as well). Some have stated that the portables' problems were due to them having reduced size head drum units, which were "polished" with use and would adhere, pull w/ tape to cause slippage. The solution, which some proposed was to scratch (with sandpaper, for example) the drum on the TCD-Dx. This seemed to work partially - I gave up on the unit for the time being. More recently, I found a video for the actual fix, but I haven't brought myself to do it yet. ua-cam.com/video/H0ga-lwliM4/v-deo.html
I hope some day soon, someone posts a tutorial on how to swap the batteries on the new NW-WM1A. There are some videos on other models, but the units exhibit charging issues after replacement.
I have a Casio DA-2. It still works!
Great Video! I've got same model with "error 11". Service Manual reports error 11 as "unloading not completed" on Mechanism Deck. Do you think is the same issue you have on the first part of the video?
Wonder if the motor is getting voltage. I would put a meter across the motor leads and see if it is trying to turn on.
No way to do that with the unit apart. All the ribbon cables must be attached including the display. Special FPC extension cables were used to allow the board to lay on the bench connected. Don't have such, so no way to test.
@@12voltvids actually you could put an ohm meter across the motor and see if it has continuity or connect the motor via clip leads to an external power supply and see if it turns. If it does the problem is in the circuitry leading to the motor or wiring. If it does not turn, the. The problem is likely the motor
@@stphinkle It won't be the motor. Drive IC or something else in circuit.
How can I get enough knowledge to be able to repair most old electronics like you can? Your videos are great but I could use some more basic education on mechanical systems, circuit boards etc. Did you take classes/jobs for this or just pick it up over the years?
t was constant courses over my career. Every 6 months or so there were new courses to cover the new stuff.
Probably a stupid question, but I didn't see you re-solder those two wires (visible 24:21). Could that be why the drum motor isn't running?
Battery terminals. Was plugged in, batteries not used.
Is there a mode switch like on VCR’s maybe it’s looking to hit the fully loaded position switch but the contacts on the mode switch are dirty so it’s going in an error state and unloading again
Nice job, even without being able to repair it. I have the same DAT and it is also broken. It's a shame because I wanted to rescue some of my recordings. It loads the tape well but it does not play it, according to the technical service, when it is put into service mode, it shows reading errors. They said it's the head.... 🤔
It's weird because it can't fast forward/rewind the tape either.
It might be the head or it is not loading correctly.
@@12voltvids Actually, in stop mode, it doesn't need to load the tape (stretch the tape) to fast forward/rewind, does it?
@@fernandogentile23
Yes all tape movement is done loaded.
@@12voltvids I see, thanks for the heads up.
@@12voltvids Hi.
Since I had nothing to lose and I like to get my hands on these things, I opened my DAT and realized that it has exactly the same symptom as the one you show in this video. I compared with the DAT of a friend (same model) and from the start I felt that the motor has more power and I heard the typical noises of loading and unloading the tape that mine does not (at least it did before). By chance, you haven't discovered what the problem was, have you?
you did not resolder red and black, but I suppose you resoldered it before the last filming sequence !
That's for the batteries. Not needed to power up.
@@12voltvids I knew that you did not forget something so obvious :-) Keep the good work up.
How is the battery placed? inside a small box? or directly to the walkaman?
Please help. My unit has no sound. I need help on what capacitor needs to replace on this model. Also if I can have the capacitor size too, please.
Thank you
Have you serviced minidv camcorders, when it starts to chew a tape, it's not always the fault of the camcorder, it can be the tape that's been used I have had this problem with one of my Panasonic Mini DV camcorders, it seems to chew some Sony Premium ME mini dv tapes, but not others which I suspect it's due to the quality of the tape used, I have used Panasonic, Maxell, JVC minidv tapes with no issues, some mini dv tapes from Sony are JUNK..
I would kill for one of those in serviced condition. Unfortunately, they are unrealistically expensive over here 😞
Too bad this unit could not be revived. If the drum assembly is damaged, a DAT machine these days is usually totaled.
Don't look on ebay. I have bought used DAT decks for 10 to 20.00, several actually.
@@12voltvids yes, ebay prices for working D3, D7 and D8 are crazy. The D10 Pros are even more expensive. And most price gougers don't even give you the full package but want to sell you the proprietary Sony digital cables (which came with the walkmen) separately. It's crazy.
@@svenschwingel8632 I stay clear of fleabay
Sold prices on eBay are what they are; people can chose to buy or not. No one is being forced to buy DATs.
I’ve got a very close to mint working D7, including digital IO/remote/timer RMR-D4 and the remote RMT-D3 that I might sell on eBay. I like it but could use that money on something else, especially seeing what they go for. Then people can chose to buy it or not, no matter what price others may think is appropriate.
@@che1602
You know the saying a fool and his money are soon seperated.
hello please can you tell me what kind of grease you use for lubrication?
Molly coat or super lube. They are synthetic lubricant
I found a channel called pokeywizard that guy has some videos on that same thing you was working on mybe you can see if you can talk to him about it
Hey friend my walkman tcd7 the battery contacts part is clean but it is not connected with batteries only with charger what would be the problem?
Check diod D503
I have a Kenwood KA 4002 in bad shape ... What you think?
Do you work on Sony d7 still? I have one with a door opening issue I’d like to have looked at
I try to avoid them.
I don’t blame you. I’d try myself but got no clue and would screw it up worse.
@@mikeboge I have fixed a few and abandoned others. They are very small and difficult to work on without the proper jigs and board extension jumpers. You can't test it apart.
I ended up trying myself but messed it up worse haha. Maybe someone would want to buy it for parts
These things are an engineering marvel. But obsolete as hell. Here in Brazil they are being sold in auction sites for hundreds of dollars...
How do I send in my Sony DAT for a repair? any info wold help. Thanks.
Some can be fixed others not. I try but I am not a miracle worker
Please help on capacitor for audio sir. 12voltvids
New camera?
I have a new one but it wasn't used in this. I used it for the outdoor shots on that security camera i reviewed
I have never seen a working TCD-D7.
Like all the DAT walkmans they fell apart regularly.
Dat dat dats all folks
Shame really it’s looks like a good quality item
I was the best way to have portable playback and recording back in the day. Amazing sound quality on a really conveniently-sized cassette. What's not to like? 😬
you went as for as I would have bothered to go. No point in spending lots of time and money on an old out of date system. Even though it looked a well made unit, it is just not worth it, unless you had a big clooection of tapes, but even then, it might be better to buy a working unit and transfer everything.
I can hear the DAT fans now!!!
ich vermisse die deutschen Untertitel. Ansonsten interessant, wie immer - Danke.
You repair radio portable AM stereo sony srf a1 no sound stereo en FM un am.stereo no stereo
All camcorders, dat Walkman’s , vcr , video8, Hi8 Walkman’s , vhs video have problems with bad capacitors, with bad connectors and decks so boring 🙄
A wise man once said "The reliability of any electronic device is inversely proportional to the number of elecrolytic capacitors it contains "
BLOWN MINI CAPACITORS MAYBE?
Unlikely, they are not leaking, and they wouldn't cause the drum not to spin up.