Nakamichi 480 (I've been a bad boy!)

[VintageShadow]

I also have Vol 78 Sep!
I always thought the recordings Daren made on that walkman were amazing!

So you have two of them Pat? You lucky man . I've heard too that he made some great recordings with his walkman, obviously not just the quality of the device but also the passion he put in his work helped him a lot to achieve great results.

 

[Elite-ist]

I keep in touch with Daren by email as recently as today. I hope he has a chance to view what we are up to on Phoenix.

Nando.

 

[pennysdad]

I'm gonna have to get a 480 now...
I feel left out!

 

[VintageShadow]

I keep in touch with Daren by email as recently as today. I hope he has a chance to view what we are up to on Phoenix.

Nando.

That's great Nando, i keep in touch with him too from time to time, it will be great to see him here around after awhile, who knows.

 

[derek92994]

I'm gonna have to get a 480 now...
I feel left out!

They are easy to work on. The two basic naks I have bought both surprised me as they performed so much higher than my expectations. A little fine tuning and they are just beautiful. I certainly did not expect the 480 to record like it did, it beats my JVC TD-V661 and that deck calibrates to each tape, the Nakamichi does not, I guess they were right when you said you could not beat nak heads. Playback of its recordings on other decks is also spot on too, especially the Alpine Car deck TDA-7552E.

 

[pennysdad]

They are easy to work on. The two basic naks I have bought both surprised me as they performed so much higher than my expectations. A little fine tuning and they are just beautiful. I certainly did not expect the 480 to record like it did, it beats my JVC TD-V661 and that deck calibrates to each tape, the Nakamichi does not, I guess they were right when you said you could not beat nak heads. Playback of its recordings on other decks is also spot on too, especially the Alpine Car deck TDA-7552E.

do you drive a Toyota by any chance?

 

[derek92994]

do you drive a Toyota by any chance?

No its a hyundai excel which I found for $250 that needed minor mechanical repairs. The alpine deck I found at the dump market for $5 and also happened have a compatible controller for my Minidisc in dash stacker. It had only played a couple of tapes and required re-wiring of the line in/outs as they had been cut off. Brilliant deck with all the features (music scan/blank skip/full logic/dolby b).

 

[pennysdad]

Well, I'm over the moon happy to announce, I got my 660ZX working again. Yeeeee Haaaaaa!
.... but not without some minor ongoing problems. The meters are stuck!
Not to worry. Don't need to record anything (yet). Just playback will be fine for now.

Simply put:
All the pots have had a drink.
Belts have been 'restored', with the ol' brake fluid trick.
Capstans thoroughly cleaned.
Bit of grease to some of the cogs, a minuscule drop of oil here and there, and a bit of a clean to the face. (... must get something to get a bit of a shine happening.)

All's good....


ps: thanks for the inspiration 'Derek'.

 

[derek92994]

Well, I'm over the moon happy to announce, I got my 660ZX working again. Yeeeee Haaaaaa!

That's great to hear mate, congrats. Must have been a bit of a mission but I know how determined you are. Did you track down the clunk clunk noise? Was it a gear or just an idler "chattering"? Also with the belts did you re-surface them/take them off to do this?

On the other hand my 480 has stopped recording. I was playing back something recorded in it and the sound got really trebbly and tinny like it was over biasing, then gradually I started hearing the previous recording on the tape fading in like it was not erasing properly, with a crackle and pop of what I was recording stuttering along in the background. There is nothing wrong with the transport and the heads are perfectly clean so its not mechanical. The record switch on the circuit board has been de-oxed and worked back and forth 100 times. I think this problem is electronic related, can't be bothered fixing it as have too much to do this weekend recording wise, so will record with the trusty JVC TD-V661. First time a Nak has given me trouble like this

 

[VintageShadow]

I was playing back something recorded in it and the sound got really trebbly and tinny like it was over biasing, then gradually I started hearing the previous recording on the tape fading in like it was not erasing properly, with a crackle and pop of what I was recording stuttering along in the background.

You mean like under biased, that's how it sound when the bias not enough, are you sure the bias and eq were correct when recording? It was a typeII?

 

[derek92994]

You mean like under biased, that's how it sound when the bias not enough, are you sure the bias and eq were correct when recording? It was a typeII?

This deck does not have bias adjustments, just tape selector/eq. The deck is stuffed, it wont record. Plays ok though. The first time it did it towards end of tape, not it just doesn't record properly at all. There is a "component" blown somewhere and I cant be bothered fixing it right now, I have backup

 

[VintageShadow]

This deck does not have bias adjustments, just tape selector/eq. The deck is stuffed, it wont record. Plays ok though. The first time it did it towards end of tape, not it just doesn't record properly at all. There is a "component" blown somewhere and I cant be bothered fixing it right now, I have backup

I know it has no bias fine, i meant the correct bias position on the knob, maybe something wrong with that tape? Good you have backup anyway and hope your 480 will be fine soon

 

[derek92994]

I know it has no bias fine, i meant the correct bias position on the knob, maybe something wrong with that tape? Good you have backup anyway and hope your 480 will be fine soon

Thank you for your help there, it has done it with two tapes, a Type 1 and Type 2. At least it still makes a great playback deck.

 

[VintageShadow]

Thank you for your help there, it has done it with two tapes, a Type 1 and Type 2. At least it still makes a great playback deck.

I'm sure it will be a great recording one too quite soon, i keep my fingers crossed for that matter.

 

[20tajk7]

That's great to hear mate, congrats. Must have been a bit of a mission but I know how determined you are. Did you track down the clunk clunk noise? Was it a gear or just an idler "chattering"? Also with the belts did you re-surface them/take them off to do this?

On the other hand my 480 has stopped recording. I was playing back something recorded in it and the sound got really trebbly and tinny like it was over biasing, then gradually I started hearing the previous recording on the tape fading in like it was not erasing properly, with a crackle and pop of what I was recording stuttering along in the background. There is nothing wrong with the transport and the heads are perfectly clean so its not mechanical. The record switch on the circuit board has been de-oxed and worked back and forth 100 times. I think this problem is electronic related, can't be bothered fixing it as have too much to do this weekend recording wise, so will record with the trusty JVC TD-V661. First time a Nak has given me trouble like this

Hi, I've had the same issue with mine, it's a common problem called "orange cap disease".
You need to replace the two 4700pF caps in the bias oscillator circuit.

 

[derek92994]

Hi, I've had the same issue with mine, it's a common problem called "orange cap disease".
You need to replace the two 4700pF caps in the bias oscillator circuit.

Can you take a picture or guide me to where these caps are? Thats really good advice, thank you =).

 

[derek92994]

Can you take a picture or guide me to where these caps are? Thats really good advice, thank you =).

I found a thread with detailed instructions and pictures. I need to make a phone call to see if my local electronics store has these caps.

 

[derek92994]

Ok I have ordered the caps, just the waiting game now and will install them next week. There are also a couple more which it would be wise to replace. I found these pictures to guide me, this may be useful for others here on the forum.

Pictures show old and new caps, and position on circuit board where they are placed.

 

[derek92994]

I hate my camera today, its taking the worst pictures and just cant be bothered screwing with it, hand me that hammer please george

Couldn't help myself, had to change a few things around in the cabinet. I really wanted to see the two Nakamichis Together. The BX-1 is used to transfer tapes onto my secondary PC, it has been flawless in operation since fixing the Idler tire and re-surfacing the capstan belt. Probably played around 50-100 tapes in it at least. Also added a sony dual well deck for when I am busy and just want to let two cassettes rip in auto reverse relay play, not the highest quality deck but serves a purpose, full logic controls at least. Counted all the decks owned, got to 16, ok I think that's enough for now Many are put away and need a bit more fine tuning.

 

[pennysdad]

Jeez 'Derek', so sad to hear of your 480 being up the creek without a paddle.
I've actually heard about that problem you're having.
The hard part is being able to find a supplier for those missing bits that will supply without having to put an order in for a 100 of each. (they're starting to get that way these days)

I'm gonna start up my 660 in a minute to see if THAT's still working, or was it all a dream....

The 'clunk' was a hardened tape counter belt, that had a 'bump' in it. As it went round, it 'clunked'. Who woulda thought?????
All the rubber, was 'treated' without disassembly with minuscule amounts of Dot 4 Brake fluid, allowed to soak in, then cleaned off with acetone. Brake fluid has a rubber rejuvenating additive, being for seals etc., in the brake system, and is an old trick used by many speaker repairers to restore drying speaker foam surrounds, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Well it worked. You just have to be extremely careful that you don't get it on anything else, as it's highly corrosive too!
Anyway, no parts necessary.

Damn, it's already after 4pm.....
.... better make some breakfast.