The upside-down, unserviceable (but beautiful) vintage cassette deck
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Panasonic and Technics' entry-level cassette decks from the late 1970s and early 1980s are brimming with vintage hi-fi audio component charm, but have a very non-service-friendly chassis design.
10:24 I thought you were AVGN for a second there...
Yuup 😂
Yes 😝
The amazing thing is that you are able to keep all your vintage stuff in order and accessible. I had a ton of neat stuff but sometime it's not worth the effort trying to find to and get it out.
1:10 The font of the word "METAL" is the SEGA logo, but in black instead of blue.
SEGA: NO WAY!
That's what I was thinking when I saw that. “SEGA?"
Hmm guess metal Sonic was involved 😀
Although not as chunk and a bit squished compared to Sega logo.
MEEEEETULLLLLL
After getting into cassettes, I realize that ease of service is a far more wonderful thing than exterior polish or even technical specs. A Dolby S deck that cant be serviced is just a deck you are leasing from the landfill.
It's a really gorgeous and aesthetically satisfying deck!
I used to have a seperates stereo system in the 80's. The tuner/amp was labled National-Panasonic, the tape deck was Technics-Panasonic, the CD was Technics and the turn-table was National. Hell of a mix-up, but sounded fantastic.
Franko Walker that’s all Matsushita. Not a mix-up at all, really.
@@danieldaniels7571 It's not REALLY a mixup, but kinda IS too. National,Panasonic,and Technics ARE all Matsushita brands, But Chevrolet,Buick and Cadillac are likewise all General Motors brands. There HAVE been people who built Chevy El Caminos with Buick Regal front clips and power components, Here's just one: www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/news/a31413/buick-grand-national-el-camino/ If one did THAT and dropped a Cadillac engine in it, That would cover it! LOL.
@@danieldaniels7571 True, but to see all those brands and logos plastered on it looked realy wierd.
You only needed to throw Quasar into the mix.
(not to talk of some rebranded Technics, like some Optimus components, etc...)
Reminds me of taking apart Volkswagens. A lot of "what the **** were they thinking when they built this thing!?" and a cheery service manual that simply says "installation is the reverse of disassembly".
To be fair, a lot of more modern cars renders you scratching your head.. Try changing the spark plugs on any newer Subaru, for example. The lateral crash beams go right past the cylinder heads, so the whole engine needs to come up about 10 cm to get to them. And FIATs! Jesus! It took me two full days of work to replace the start battery on our RV, where the cab is a stock FIAT Ducato -99. Not that new, but still.. FIATs!
@@Tjita1 VW, always an industry leader, has been leaving mechanics confused since the 70s.
@@Tjita1 i mean, its really understandable for subaru because of the flat four design, but some car with inline-4 that make changing spark plug is a pain, they deserve to go to hell
Yep, like the alternator having to be removed to get to the thermostat on my Passat! Thank goodness they are generally reliable because when they do break down you regret owning one.
It's still writen as this in all of cars service-manuals !!
I've Got One Of Those, It Still Kicks. Thanx For The Info.
I've came across several of these at my workplace. Recently, in a bid to compete against most thrift stores, we started making anything in the DIY section $5, no matter what it is.
God, the six pence cover of there she goes takes me BACK
When I fitted out my 28 ft sloop sailboat I bought a Panasonic cassette player and am/fm radio bought around 1976. It looked very much like this unit but of course no gauges, no mic jacks but a radio frequency display and the dial to adjust. I had two Polk speakers to have great tunes. It was powered with a 12 volt dc tp 110 volt inverter. I gave it to a girlfriend in Key West when I removed it for more storage.
A time where entry level equipment was still decent and made fun.
And sometimes unserviceable xD
@@JohnStopman back then sometimes unserviceable, nowadays almost always unserviceable.
@@bluef1sh926 True :D
Panasonic may have made cheap stuff, but they never made junk. I've owned at least 100 different second hand components over the years, and the Panasonics always worked, no matter how cheap or nasty they were.
It's an exact replica of a RISING Japanese Stereo I used to have in Baghdad, back in the 1970's - Same power buttons, piano keys and selector switches & VU meters....
this is great. my introduction to cassette tapes, recording songs off the radio and so on was on this exact deck (or one nearly identical to it)! thanks for the memories, and thanks for sharing!
14:18 Love that vintage legal ID/jingle from WAEB 104.1 Allentown/Easton/Bethlehem PA !
Agreed, I wish radio stations still sounded like that.
@Tone. Those days are pretty much over.
My hometown!
I used to have the Technics version. I bought it from a yard sale in 1993 for 10 bucks. Great tape deck!
I have the exact same model. Still works. Recorded lots of tapes!
I'm glad you rescued it.
I recently bought a Panasonic rs-635 at a Salvation Army for $7, looks very similar to yours but has a removable top
It's a nice looking deck from the front but oh, that layout to get into it for a service - madness!
Great and informative video! Thanks, I would NOT want to try and replace belts in that machine!
I had Hitachi's version of this style deck, (I think Radio Shack had a similar looking model too) and I enjoyed it very much.
I completely agree with you about the tactile feel, appearance and ambiance of a piece of equipment! Some of the stuff that came out in the 1970's had great styling! I'm thinking the Pioneer 707 R2R or Akai GX77 R2R decks, for example. Great styling!
Technics and Pioneer turntables, the new linear tracking machines, all showed style and a technological grace that was palpable.
I believe that part of the pleasure of owning a stereo component system is seeing it -- and feeling a bit of a technological thrill when you do. The case , the lights, the tactile rotary or slider controls and switches, the satisfying "clunk" of a depressed and locked in position key or switch -- these all made for a unique and sensory pleasurable experience.
I remember in the mid-70's there was a minimalist push to make components -- which cost more than even the high end Technics products -- look like plain matte black boxes. The claim was that all the money went for quality components and superior engineering and sound instead of "eye candy".
I sampled some of these components, but did not find the claim to be accurate in the listening room at the stereo show/listening room (remember those?). The slight improvement in sound didn't make up for the total loss of any eye-candy.
I.e. their radio tuner had no dial scale or station indicator. Instead the tuning knob and face place had a legend for the radio stations engraved upon it. ONE light showed if you found a stereo station. It was almost impossible to tune and -- with no eye candy, it was "blah". Didn't sound very good either!
On the next shelf was an Onkyo receiver with so many lights and switches, it looked like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise! And it sounded BETTER (more punchy) than the minimalist component system that cost so much more.
Guess which one I bought?
One to beam up...
I have one of those. Been in storage for the last 35 years. I think it should still work.
elegant
In my experience gear from the National/Panasonic/National Panasonic/Technics stable in the 70s and 80s was reliable and built to last. I'm still using an amp and speakers from them from that era that I bought new. I suspect that the engineers didn't design with servicing in mind because it usually wasn't needed.
Rubber belts can break and do stretch. I think the poor serviceability was more due to meeting a specific price ooint while delivering a solid entry-level product. Which would also explain why they really packed everything into such a small chassis.
Thank you for your video review! Nice Panasonic deck,and very old but it is still working!👍
My dad got one on the late 70s and I've used it a lot. Never gave belt problems, but one day I had to open it to calibrate the playback speed and noticed that it was indeed, upside down. it is still here. Once had to change the head and that was it.
Thanks for the look inside & excellent song choices too...😄
I like that it isn't longer than it needs to be. Some of the newer devices intentionally make it bigger when they're just adding more air inside it. even going through the trouble of separating the power supply when they could've just put the brick inside and add a figure of 8 lead connector, hell some manufacturers grab an external brick and screw it in and that's fine imo
I have never encountered a bad belt in any Panasonic device. The worst I've encountered was a cracking belt in a 1986 Panasonic-manufactured Sylvania VCR, but it still worked fine, just a little bit of audio wow and flutter that still didn't go away after replacing it. On the other hand, every belt in my 1979 Phillips 5171 cassette deck was bad with the lone exception of the flat main drive belt.
Well, have had to replace thousands of belts in Panasonic/Technics equipment over the years. Sometimes you just get lucky?
@@martinda7446 I got lucky four times out of four, then. ;¬)
My favorite is the unique "Foot" mounted to the plastic access, where the other 3 are normal, reminds me of my 1st cassette deck 1981 JVC, which lasted about 3-4 years.
Me (at the start of the video): What's so upside down about this? Looks normal to me,
Me (later on) : Oh.
Panasonic also made the MCS branded stuff (JC Pennys). I had the this same deck branded as MCS.
That's vintage disposable/planned obsolescence.
albear972 yeah but at least it's a cheap low end thing. Now we have planned obsolescence in equipment that costs 10k+.
I must disagree. My experience is that Panasonic stuff is basically immortal. This 40 year old cheap ass tape deck is an example of that.
It's designed for the type of consumer who will simply throw it out and buy a new one when it no longer works properly, rather than investing in time and money to get it repaired. This kind of design undoubtedly cuts down on production costs, allowing the unit to be more affordable to consumers reluctant to pay extra money for an easily serviceable cassette deck.
@@paulhite7851 Panasonic stuff rarely ever came back into my shop for warranty repairs. Hitachi/Sony only rarely. They built good. British and european made stuff might have looked good but they were maintenance department queens. As I learned to my cost. I WANTED to buy British
BS I used to repair Panasonic products. He just doesn't know how to service3 it.
I'm like 90% sure I owned one of these. I like it. Very solid. Reliable
I have the same deck. For a 40 year old deck, it works like a charm.
Very nice looking deck, the TEAC A-100 is very similar, feature wise.
Decks like these just have that classic look.
I found one of these in a Goodwill about 10 years ago. Awesome mixdown deck, and used to to transfer a lot of music back and forth from a computer, and as a mastering deck rom my Tascam 4 track. It worked until the day it didn't.
This was probably sold as a stack. I remember the "Technics Supersystem" ads in the 1980s from local HiFi dealers. My first deck was the next gen version of this, the Technics dolby C / "microprocessor" control panel deck. Worked great for years.
“There She Goes”
was *not* “new” from Sixpence None The Richer.
It was a cover, a much inferior cover, of the original song by The Las
Stupid radio DJ from decades ago!
It was the first version that had ever been played on mainstream radio. The original version didn't even reach the Top 40 in the U.S.
@@vwestlife don’t you dare badmouth The Las like that!
;)
Im being silly.
It was a college rock radio thing, I know. From around the same time as like, The Sundays. Before my time but somehow I came across that little corner of music, very late 80s early 90s college… I think REM was the biggest to come from that scene but I’m just guessing.
It is the better song, though.
It's a nice looking deck, I like the analog VU meters in these older cassette decks. My guess is the design was optimized for easy assembly instead of ease of service.
Great video!!
In the stereo in my living room I have a nice Technics rs-m24 from 1980 and it supports type I,II,III and IV.
Sounds awesome and I can't believe recorded off the radio really good job and they've held up well for their age the tapes
This model isn't that bad compared to the final boss of service unfriendly tape decks: the Alpage AL300.
Trust me, this thing is a whole new level, a true nightmare to take apart, and even vorst to put back together. The wiring is insanely complex, and entierely made of wrapped wires (only a few modls were produced with detachable connectors). This means it's almost impossible to separate the mecha from the main board, because the wires are so short. The electronic part is allo incredibly complex (almost no IC, everything is done with discrete components and some logic gates for deck control) and spare almost impossible to find.
But at least the Alpage is worth the suffering of fixing it
I had one of these in 2002 it had a great Dolby
"The look and feel i just as important as it sounds"
Exactly! That's why my high end '90s deck sits in my attic studio to make the recordings, and my nice and shiny piano key AKAI low-end deck has a prominent place in the living room.
It's also why Crosleys are so popular even though there are cheaper products that sound a lot better. Crosley and Victrola really have mastered the nouveau retro design. Their equipment often looks even cooler and more retro than the originals. And with that look, who cares how it sounds?
The separate left and right record level is interesting. My similar Technics RS-M7 has a dual concentric knob. Fortunately the RS-M7 has screws on the top of the case, although I haven't been inside it to service it (yet). Nice video.
National Panasonic RX-C100 have dual concentric record level knobs.
When I was a young teen back in 1980 I got the Technics M6 model as a birthday present. It lasted over 15 years. Good basic machine.
I still have my Technics deck...works like a charm
I have a lot of vintage components and cassette decks (Sony, Akai, Pioneer, Tascam, Bang & Olufsen, Nikko, Aiwa, Harman Kardon, Toshiba, etc); too many actually, but I love the industrial design aesthetic of vintage decks (silver faces, VU metres, chunky buttons, etc.) and other equipment that have no match these days in term of cool, tactile design. :)
I couldn't tell you when I subscribed, but I've watched a ton of your videos over the last day. It brings back so many memories seeing and hearing so many recordings from radio stations I grew up listening to in NJ. One thing I can't get over though is the way you pronounce Technics. As a former "local" DJ that has worked in many clubs and bars, and have met hundreds of other DJs from around the world, everyone else pronounces it "teck-NEEKS", not "TECK-nicks". It honestly weirds me out hearing the way you say it. lol
That's the Japanese pronunciation. Some people prefer to say it that way to make themselves sound more worldly and sophisticated, but the rest of us feel free to Anglicize it, just like virtually every other foreign brand name which has adopted an easier English/American pronunciation.
I have an Akai CS-M01A from the same era (1980) that competes with this Panasonic 608D at the entry level with Dolby B NR & Metal tape recording, both have the same feature set minus the line/mic switch (the Akai switches to mic when a microphone is plugged in) and both have plastic front chassis with simulated wood panel. However, the Akai has RCA jacks and a fiberboard back panel instead of the plastic unibody this Panasonic has. The Akai on the other hand is more user-serviceable because the top/side chassis can be removed and serviced from above rather than below like this deck.
I have CS-702DII, and the autostop system is a disaster! Two whole pages of the service manual to explain it's utterly ridiculous over complicated dual belt speed comparison system. God help you when it needs belts because you have to split the deck mechanism in two after removing about 30 screws and hoping to god your memory doesn't fail you.
It's all good because it looks nice though. :)
“Genuine Walnut Woodgrain Vinyl Veneer”. I still remember puzzling over that little sticker on my Sound Design Quadraphonic 8-Track system around 1977. I worked all that summer to buy it. I found two quad 8-tracks that interested me, Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon and the Yes album with Roundabout (I think it was titled Fragile). It sounded good through the speakers with lots of volume but the headphones that came with it were amazing. Just another example of a format that didn’t last, but it was cool for awhile.
Had the Tandy version of this deck and it worked perfectly for nearly 25 years.
It was so good to see one of these. I have one of these stored in my basement somewhere. I love older tech audio equipment too. My collecting peaked when I started buying Realistic stereo equip.The STA-2300 receiver, 4 Mach ones, Lab 440 turntable and their SCT-32 metal tape deck. I used the Panasonic deck to play tapes and then make copies on the SCT-32. I never liked carrying original tapes in the car because of heat. The most amazing thing to me is in 1978 I bought four 120 minute Supertape cassettes. They strongly recommended to not use then in car decks because the tape was very thin. I went to my friends house and recorded those tapes full of albums on a Marantz deck. Carried them around in my car for years. To this very day they still play with only a slight degradation in sound quality. So many people made fun of Radio Shack stuff and cheap Panasonic stuff but I still have mine in working order to this day. That includes my Panasonic dynamite detonator 8 track player. Lol
Yes, I agree. I have three machines and one is a LX1 made for Sears by Sanyo that is an almost exact clone of your Pioneer/Tech from the same period with identical color schemes except with easy to gain access to interior components.
I too like to use it over my more advanced machines because it too sounds good even though it has a chrome setting but no Dolby. The tape transport is really robust too. It's mostly all metal from huge fly wheels to the metal frame the door is hung on. I think it would be cool to find a higher end machine from that period too given I am impressed by the lower end stuff.
Back in the day I had that exact tape deck! It served me well. After I completed my transition to CD I threw it out.
I had an older version of these that I found on the street and tore apart when I was a kid. The mechanism did have problems but I used the electronics as a mic amp. Did the job quite well.
Good to see your drive belts are still solid. Mine went to liquid and what a mess. I was able to get a repair kit on line and replacing them is a treat. Also, Mine had the feature where you could set it up for a timer. The controls could be set to record but the mechanism wouldn't close until the timer ( deck plugged into wall plug /light timer) came on and then the drive wheel would engage. That way you didn't get a flat spot on the drive wheel.
Wow! I had one of these 30 years ago. It was a good piece, recorded well if you got the gain just right.
OMG! Those who designed these units, seriously, what were they thinking?
You have to completely disassemble the Deck to be able to replace the belts if necessary.
It's not bad that they leave a hole if one wants to adjust the speed of the engine, but from there, to have to disassemble the unit almost completely to do simple maintenance ....
That thing sound very good, primarily because I now use hearing aids and tape his is only a distant memory. :)
The looks and feel are important, I agree. They're a matter of taste.
National,National Panasonic, Panasonic,Technics all of one roof Matsushita of Japan so they make identical Prices with slight changes
sweeET 🍃thank you for sharing this one!! New Orleans Louisiana..have a Magnificent weekend🦋StephopalOpal
Nice Compaq Deskpro in the background!
I Have one I bought it new and still use it everyday I love it
I bought mine new a Woolco in Canada when i was 14....cool to see it again
This is from an early PC system "plastic crap" this is when the companies in the late 70s started making them almost non serviceable. Though they sounded and looked good, they started to get cheap in making them to make up for the better sound.
Those input/output leads would drive me nuts, mounting RCA chassis sockets would be my only remedy 🤣
2:18 Holy shit, nostalgia hit hard there. Wow 1999 was a long time ago.
Party like it's 1999...
Back in the day Panasonic components were usually the previous year's entry-level Technics with a few cosmetic changes. That deck looks so cheap, though, that I'm surprised there was a version with the Technics name on it! As a rule of thumb, anything from the 'silver face' era with a plastic front panel is probably best avoided.
That said, the mechanism is sound as long as you don't misuse it. Panasonic/Technics belts seem to be indestructible - I have an RS-M14, an RS-M17, an RS-B608R and even a cheap-as-chips SA-K2 casseiver and they're all going strong on their original belts, as is a Panasonic SL-H350 (Technics SL-3) linear-tracking turntable.
i'm up to the belt challenge advice, de solder and mark wires to the writing on the board at connection points disconnect the 2 plugs from technics bias board one is record (small 2 wires) other is probably the motor and record switch (bigger plug 4 wires) they were zip tied preventing tape mechanism from coming out. play head would also be soldered to the big board (grey harness of wires) along with the tape sensors for metal record and tape detection (white harness of wires) and motor is that long wire set that meets by the black and white set . i'm just trying to help i love my Pannys , done a RS-801US 8 track from 1972, 3 RX_DT20's from 1990-92 , RQ-309s 1972 and a RX-DT690 1995 i'm waiting to get my new RX-DT75 cobratop to tackle next. i love the challenge of making old school stuff work again. Btw love your channel.
Once again, you have created a very good video of something of my interest!
I find it to be very interesting as how its being built, not very service friendly but I guess it doesn't have to be very service friendly!
I've got a NIKKO ND-390 II cassette deck from 1980, it has analog vu meters, dolby b, and manual mechanic controls like your deck! The belts in it are still fine, alltho they are starting to get loose, luckily replacing the belts on mine is easy to do. And despite the fact it's head is worn out, resulting in weirdness in the treble, I prefer to use it to play back tapes more then my much newer better decks, just because of the looks!
My deck also shares some similarities to yours, for example a microphone input, permanently attached cables as well as to be one of the very first decks to support metal tapes!
It does have some differences like separate record bias and equalization controls and support for ferro-chrome tapes!
This would have been a dream cassette deck back in my childhood! It would have been I mean it is a dream cassette deck now with that serious early 80's look (silver front, piano keys, vu meters.)
I have a Sanyo that is almost identical to that one. It was serviceable though. I replaced the dried out belts already. Oh man I like that song!
Back in the 70s and 80s I owned 2 or 3 Panasonic brand electronic items...a combination radio/record player that ran on batteries ( big "C" batteries) or you could plug it in, and 2 different tv sets. If nothing else, they were all VERY durable and reliable.
That said, I "gave up" on the brand because I went to Japan in the mid 80s and found many brands that were cheaper yet had more features (so I began to feel as though I was paying for the better brand name). And, I began to get better educated about electronic components in general and some of the things that I felt were unique features were downright odd.
Bromeister, that was a common discussion/debate in the 1970's also, about how a guy could work on his American made car engine, but that's why people didn't like Japanese cars until the trade agreements changed to include right cylinder imports from Japan.
My dad has a tape deck like that!
I remember this era of cassette decks although I didn't stock this specific model.
We stuck to the higher priced Technics and Sony decks.
J Travis formerly Teletape Marble Arch London
Indeed. As I recall, even Comet didn't stock anything lower-numbered than the Technics RS-M10.
Had one was great record in stereo via mic. Loved it.
I have a garage rack set from Technics, around 1987,, the deck is labeled RS-D250, it has leds instead of VU-meters, the cheapest looking leds you can imagine for the matter, but the dimensions look quite simular to this deck. And surprise, surprise the deck sounds quite good for what it is. I asume internally it is identical to this deck, they must have updated this design a few times so they could run it as their entry level deck to go with all their entry level amps and receivers.
That is similar to the RS-B12 which I did a video about: ua-cam.com/video/JChB0y1l6Tk/v-deo.html
Want a nicer meter readout? Look no further than their RX-C100.
That's what my dad used to have. The same exact one.
have the same but technics still work greets from linares Chile
I remember working on that unit before and what a pain to service
I owned one of the earlier (ferrichrome) models in the early 80's. I never liked the way it sounded compared to my Pioneer CTF-1000, so I sold it to a friend.
Not entirely surprising, given that the CT-F1000 cost about five times as much!
Oh crap! That’s the same cassette deck my father had for a long time and how I learned about them as a kid.
Nice! And cool Sony SRF-100. I have one if those, but no AM Stereo to listen to!
"what were they thinking?" You should try changing the belts on a Sanyo M9998 boombox from 79-81.... THAT is crazy, took me one day to dismantle and another to reassemble. Japanese guys were just crazy
I would solder in some connectors in line to wire leads that are keeping you from removing that board. Some of those wire pairs look to have the same color so I would mark one of the wires with a Sharpie before cutting the wire just in case polarity is essential. Make sure to put the wire twisting back in as you solder in the connectors as that helps to reduce interference. Those belts are probably going to fail eventually so being able to easily disconnect the wire leads will help a lot in the future.
Matsushita belts might actually survive the heat death of the universe. ;¬)
Looks is one of the reasons I restored a vintage akai recently when I wanted to get out my old cassettes again I like it’s vertical mounted volume unit meters over the standard horizontal. Also it was recommended online for its quality and easy serviceability.
I think this is a great study in planned obsolescence. It was a bit scary to witness the circuit board flexing, but I think these old analog machines could go through a little more abuse in their disassembly. My parents had a Sanyo or a Toshiba in a similar configuration, I believe it might've been a dual deck.
I never took those silver plastic faced cassette decks seriously. I saw them as the equivalent of the old BSR idler drive ceramic cartridge turntables. (I sold hi-fi between 1976 and 1082).
Interesting idea to disconnect the erase head in order to be able to make Sound On Sound recordings; it would be a simple task to cut one of the wires, and extend it to a switch on the rear panel (so as not to ruin the aesthetics of the front). One shouldn't make too many overdubs, though, since the bias current of the recording head would gradually attenuate the oldest recordings, and eventually render them inaudible.
EDIT: Oh and there's also the problem with getting the dubs in perfect sync, since it probably doesn't have separate record and playback heads! ;)
I still have 2 stereo tape decks. Technics and Yamaha. Both good condition and still work.
5:12 what a bummer! what have they been thinking? even if the cheap out on the jacks, they could have gone for color coding on the permently attached cables/connector would have caused no cost (at the assumed production volumes)
I am actually shocked seeing a Panasonic logo on this POS. (Not because it is a bad tape deck or a bad product even, but because) I have made a lot of great experience with servicing anything by Matsushita and never a bad one. This is pretty darn bad though.
15:32 - 15:43 PREACH BROTHER! I know my lossless audio files SOUND better with my eyes closed in an "A/B" test..., But Bah, That's only a PART of the experience! I will take my well recorded modern files and dub them to Open Reel or Cassette because the PHYSICAL interaction of playing a tape and the visuals of genuine analog VU needles bouncing are actually part of the PSYCHOLOGICAL enjoyment of listening. As one who is from the 70's, something is missing if I don't, And after music is EMOTIONAL, not just math!
I used to attend a local once a week auction of junk stuff and at one time accumulated over 20 tape decks ranging from Pioneers to Technics, Marantz etc going for $5 a time...…...they all suffered from the same thing......belt drive problems and a nightmare to get them apart to fix......gave them all away in the end.