Tape deck problem

Evening chaps.

Got a bit of a problem with my new to me Tape deck (cassette).

There is a quite audible high frequency whine, from the unit itself, not through the speakers, that goes up and down in frequency as you turn the pitch control knob up and down.

This happens even when the unit is just switched on, with nothing at all plugged in. When you seitch it off the sound decays slowly in both volume and frequency.

Any ideas ?

Sounds like the motor, as many decks have motors that run all the time as soon as they’re powered up. When you switch off, the motor spins down and stops.

What deck is it?

Nak 300

If it was the motor, would the frequency alter in line with turning the pitch control ?

Yes. When you alter the pitch, then you’re speeding up or slowing down the motor.

Ah, OK, that makes sense, thanks Adam.

Motor sounds expensive. Is there any other way of checking ?

Could be a belt on its way out, or the motor needs a bit of lubricant.

The pitch control is effectively the motor speed controller, so adjusting the pitch makes the motor run faster or slower according to what you’re doing with the pitch control. (apologies for the man-splaining Mike, I’m sure you know this anyway).

I’m putting a cassette deck in for a service tomorrow shall I ask the guy his opinion for you?

The official service agent for Nakamichi is Bowers and Wilkins. They do a great job but they are spendy, a good indie can do the work a lot cheaper.

Don’t worry about the man-splaining mate; appreciated. Yes, please ask your techie his opinion, too :+1:

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Will do mate.

Btw, cheers for the razor, used it today. I’m not at all surprised you had trouble with it, it’s very, very “efficient” :grinning:
No injuries to amuse the forum with though.

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The motor can be expensive if a service agent insists on replacing it. If, however, it can be stripped down and serviced it won’t be so bad.

I’ve checked he’s willing to take on the job,so I’ll be sending you a message shortly with Mr Cassette Guru Repairman’s details…

Pardon me sir, but do you repair tape decks? Not for myself mind, asking for a friend :smile:

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Hi, my name is Mike and I own a cassette deck.

No I haven’t ( :confused: ), I’ve initiated a learning process in parallel with a wealth redistribution exercise.

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I finally got round to putting my deck in for repair yesterday, and asked about yours. Fairly predictably he said he’d need to look at it first…

Cheers @Rob998, just going to have to bite the bullet, methinks :frowning: