Belts replaced, flywheel freed of gunk, mechanics lubricated. We’re getting somewhere. Needs lots more cleaning and lubrication to work more reliably still but so far things are very promising! Even the lights still work, except the one behind the cassette compartment. #Sansui#SC1100#TapeDeck#Repair#Restoration#VintageAudio#VintageHifi
@Wrdlbrmpft The belts wearing out is a very common problem and usually it’s not too difficult to replace them. The motors are pretty reliable, sometimes a little oil here and there helps. Maybe a nice winter project? ;)
Spent the better part of last night using up all my cotton swabs and gallons of different lubricants and isopropanol. Got the mechanism working nicely now. The motor could use some lubrication on the back bearing but I didn’t dare taking it apart yet. I also need to get myself some proper test tapes to set everything up eventually. Very happy with the progress so far though! Just needs one lamp replaced and more new caps. #Sansui#SC1100#TapeDeck#Repair#Restoration#VintageAudio#VintageHifi
I tinkered some more and made my own seasonal ornament yesterday evening. The plastic holder for the 12V lamp lighting the tape from the backside was missing altogether. I solved the issue with several layers of heat shrink tubing and a small cable tie. Works like a charm! #Sansui#SC1100#TapeDeck#Repair#Restoration#VintageAudio#VintageHifi
I also went ahead and replaced all the electrolytic capacitors on the main PCB. Many of the old ones were bulging and/or leaking electrolyte. These older caps often leak through the rubber seals on the bottom so the damage is invisible until you remove them. I used polyester film caps to replace the very small value electrolytic caps below 1uF. #Sansui#SC1100#TapeDeck#Repair#Restoration#VintageAudio#VintageHifi
Side note: it’s such a nice experience working on 70s/80s tech that was actually build to be serviceable! Didn’t even have to take the circuit board out or remove any other parts except for the top cover and the bottom plate. Everything is easily accessible after that. #Sansui#SC1100#TapeDeck#Repair#Restoration#VintageAudio#VintageHifi
That concludes the first part of this restoration/repair and I have to say I am very happy with the result. I’m going to have to revisit and do some adjustments when I have some proper test tapes. Works fairly well already though (and it looks absolutely magnificent in my opinion)! #Sansui#SC1100#TapeDeck#Repair#Restoration#VintageAudio#VintageHifi
@BGOllie It’s a deep rabbit hole. Currently looking for test tapes to be able to set everything up properly and maybe a new pinch roller for this model. 😅
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