Thank you. I was able to repair my DR2 with help from your video. The belt on mine had turned into a gooey lump of tar on the capstan. Took forever to clean it all off.
man theres no way i woulda attempt to work on a machine that complex !!!!! you went into that jungle and completed your mission good job sir !!gives me confidence to take on fix it repair jobs that seem too much great video !ive learned that drive motors in tape decks can just dry up seize up also go in open em up oil the bearings check an change belts can bring these older machines back ti life .
Ah Nakamichi!! With the resurgence of cassette, (like vinyl) getting your hands on a used but we'll maintained deck will bring you great joy and excellent sound quality.
I always watch your video.This video also is very nice.I think this is the first video on belt replacement and motor lubrication of DR 2 NAKAMICHI CASSETTE DECK. There is no other video of this deck belt replacement except for one Indian techie whose video is not a real time video, it is a fast video. Thank you very much for uploading this video.
We need more videos like that, so well done. I just get a DR-3 for 50$, never serviced. The most delicate thing for me is popping the motor cover. If I understand, with a cutter you ply the side wall to create space where you can put a screwdriver with bricking the circuit board inside.
I think this is the first time I have the exact model you work on in a video. I bought mine a few years ago for a very good price and it seems to work but AFAIK I haven't actually hooked it up to anything. I'll definitely keep this video around as it might need similar servicing and there's not much repair info on this model around. Oh, and while I haven't actually used it I have run the transport through its different functions a couple of times to prevent anything from sticking in place.
Smashing, a quality tape deck working spot on again :-D It looks like the owner didn't bother to clean the heads/rollers ever, nasty :-( He wants a slap with a wet fish :-D
Thank-you so much for this video. I have managed to successfully service a nak cassette deck 1.5 which has a similar mech. You're videos are brilliant.
Hope you reinstalled the washer that fell off from the back of the transport at around 8:41. It goes between the back plate and the flywheel and It's still visible at the 23 minute mark, after you installed the back plate and the control circuit.
Hello gentlemen, Thank you for this great video! I have just opened my DR-2 and I have found myself with extra bits : two of these copper washers! So they go between the plate at the rear of the mechanism and the back of the flywheels, do they? Should I add Molykote grease on top?
@@mariogambrelli I believe they are spacers that go under the backplate for the two screws that hold the main motor (with the brass Knob) onto the other plate in front of the capstan wheels. They are off centered. The left post is higher and the right is lower. He puts the screws in the spots where the spacers should go underneath at 22:08. He didn't put them back in it seems? Maybe he did it afterwards. The spacers should go under the backplate, balanced on the posts, then the backplate followed by the screws.
I used a Dragon and loved the machine except the auto adjustment function. I much prefer the Pioneer CTF-1250 where that function was manual on the front panel. It also allowed you to tweak the high end for better sound on Normal Bias tapes.
Hi Dave , thanks for the vid , I am borrowed internet at the moment at a freinds house ,hope to sort it out soon , I am missing CZcams for sure . Thanks for the vid !
Can you do a 3 head alignment on a Tascam 122 mk2? The previous owner had played with the head alignment and it's difficult to align the record playback : ( Maybe in the future you can explain how to process this in a video. Thanks ! : )
I just had a look at a Nakamichi DR1 on our local Craigslist. This one features a manual azimuth correction, by a separate knob in the front, similar to the Dragon but not fully automatic. The thing is, the deck is being sold as is but according to the seller it is indeed working. But I still hesitate since those decks seem to be a nightmare to service for us common folks. :) thanks for your videos! Cheers from Europe
@@12voltvids now you are making me curious. Is it because there are better and cheaper decks or because the brand is crap? Have another Nak where the idler tire is slipping, fortunately those are rather easy to fix.
@@12voltvids Well you're the expert Dave, so I won't buy that one. Is there a particular deck you could recommend besides your trusty JVC (cannot find that in the part of the world I live in)
I noticed on my CR-3 there is black grease where the very back of the capstan flywheel meets the metal cover the motor is attached to. Any suggestions on what oil or grease to use there?
I've just stripped my DR-1 down to replace the belts and I ended up with two copper washers where I don't know where they came from. You have the same issue as one suddenly appears in the frame below the mechanism at 8:42, but suddenly disappears just after you reinstall the motor at 20:05. I think another washer appears later on in the clip. Do you know where they came from? Looking at the video closely, I suspect they dropped out from between the back plate and the mounting posts. Can you confirm as these will affect the height of the back plate and how much pressure it exerts down on the capstans.
Hey great videos on tape decks! I’m trying to fix my Mitsubishi double cassette deck and the transformer is not putting out the 84 volts required.So my question is how would I go about finding a replacement? Any suggestions?Sure would like to get in running.Mitsubishi M-T5310/4320
I have that exact model, had the same problem, a belt change fixed it. My motor came up to speed but the belt was slipping. I could have easily stopped the capstan by pinching it with two fingers. On a rare occasion I would lose a channel when switching from type 1 to type 2. Some contact cleaner in the switches seem to fix that.
Well I did change the belt. The motor was stiff and when spun by hand stopped immediately so the bearings did need lubrication, because it would have seized up in a short time.
@@12voltvidsnice, if I notice any speed issues in the future will try that motor lube. The belt I got was same width but about 7mm shorter on the entire lenght. I use the deck maybe once a week now. So far it works good enough for me.
i have a nakamichi rx 202 that needs a little help since it wont play rewind or anything of the sort but will reverse nicely. it was slowly having rewind and fast-forward issues then it got worse and wont rewind or fast forward. if it plays it spews tape and stops. nice deck though. i wont let it go.
Great deck. It has a Sankyo transport in it and the rubber idler tyre goes bad, which needs replacing. You can order a new idler from webspareparts or similar websites. Fairly easy to install.
@@64bakes i could but certain complex stuff is harder for me to work with then to just have someone fix stuff up for me since i always fear i may end up breaking stuff even more then it already is. its just some issues i have sadly. i work better with easy stuff then more complex stuff though
Hi! I have a Hitachi Hi-8 8mm VM-H620/VM-H720A that I picked up in near mint and unused condition. Everything seems to work except for the fact that the viewfinder screen is fuzzy and dark. The menu appears and all the buttons seem to work. The lens appears to be in good condition, and it even appears to record albeit there being nothing viewable. Do you (or anyone) know what this may be? And how can it be fixed?
Nice deck. Just wonder what would cause a tape deck to play tapes great but when recording to a tape the right channel is very low volume with a slight hum. Otherwise playing tapes it works perfect? thanks
So my big question is, why is Nakamichi priced like 3 times more then any other brand of cassette deck? It looks to me like it's made no better then Tascam or other decent machines.
@12voltvids I have the same deck but it currently developed an issue with one of the motor I believe. The unit plays a couple of seconds and then stops. Same with FF and RW. I tried tapping the motor in question and it played a bit longer once and then went back to playing a couple of second. Could this be a motor dead spot issue and can you recommend where to get a replacement motor? Thanks.
@@12voltvids Solved the issue. It was the motion sensor with intermittent fault. I changed the shut-off PCB board with a used one from another deck and now working properly. Glad it wasn't the motor dead spot. the reel motor looks very tough to disassemble.
Dave, I noticed there was a capacitor inside the motor. Being that this cassette deck is probably a few decades old, is there any reason to replace the motor capacitor? Or any of the capacitors on this tape deck for that matter?
@@12voltvids Jejeje I repair one that the guy that was trying to repair put it wrong and he was so __ _ _ _ that he remove the left capstan spring because he never thought that the belt was in a wrong way lol.
Could you please give me some information regarding shipment of equipment to you for you to repair.? I have some equipment In need of repair. Thank you.
The sinter bras bearing do not need any lubrication because they are specially designed to be not lubricated never ever and the bearing material containing powder of dry graphite lubricant. Your problem was in the tape transport not into the motor.
When the artist used to make money out of selling physical media they put in much more effort hence better records. Now streaming gets them bugger all hence the dross we've had for the last twenty odd years and the vastly overpriced concert prices that must be paid.
@@12voltvids Had the TD-V541 Dual Capstan, Direct drive, not without it's own problems in audio department. But if I could put two machines out of it, meaning the Capstan Direct drive into Nak (stable like Atomic Clock), that would make really good deck, as the Nak beat crap out of the JVC in audio department, especially in noise, playback freq resp and Dolby tracking. I measured 22kHz at -3dB, -20dB level with TDK MA-X. The Naks playback/recording was excellent, other than little extra boost, maybe 1.5-2dB in the low bass. But the regular Capstan drive on Naks stinks. I wonder what makes these Sankyo mechanisms so touchy and prone to speed instability - my crappy cheap 2headers are better. One big Enigma
Thank you. I was able to repair my DR2 with help from your video. The belt on mine had turned into a gooey lump of tar on the capstan. Took forever to clean it all off.
man theres no way i woulda attempt to work on a machine that complex !!!!! you went into that jungle and completed your mission good job sir !!gives me confidence to take on fix it repair jobs that seem too much great video !ive learned that drive motors in tape decks can just dry up seize up also go in open em up oil the bearings check an change belts can bring these older machines back ti life .
Ah Nakamichi!! With the resurgence of cassette, (like vinyl) getting your hands on a used but we'll maintained deck will bring you great joy and excellent sound quality.
And will have to sell a kidney as well
Tape is dead
I always watch your video.This video also is very nice.I think this is the first video on belt replacement and motor lubrication of DR 2 NAKAMICHI CASSETTE DECK. There is no other video of this deck belt replacement except for one Indian techie whose video is not a real time video, it is a fast video.
Thank you very much for uploading this video.
We need more videos like that, so well done. I just get a DR-3 for 50$, never serviced. The most delicate thing for me is popping the motor cover. If I understand, with a cutter you ply the side wall to create space where you can put a screwdriver with bricking the circuit board inside.
I think this is the first time I have the exact model you work on in a video. I bought mine a few years ago for a very good price and it seems to work but AFAIK I haven't actually hooked it up to anything. I'll definitely keep this video around as it might need similar servicing and there's not much repair info on this model around.
Oh, and while I haven't actually used it I have run the transport through its different functions a couple of times to prevent anything from sticking in place.
Smashing, a quality tape deck working spot on again :-D
It looks like the owner didn't bother to clean the heads/rollers ever, nasty :-(
He wants a slap with a wet fish :-D
Thank-you so much for this video. I have managed to successfully service a nak cassette deck 1.5 which has a similar mech. You're videos are brilliant.
Crazy W/F with that new belt....
Hope you reinstalled the washer that fell off from the back of the transport at around 8:41. It goes between the back plate and the flywheel and It's still visible at the 23 minute mark, after you installed the back plate and the control circuit.
Actually it was from under the mechanism. It came out before the back plate was removed and yes it was reinstalled.
Hello gentlemen, Thank you for this great video! I have just opened my DR-2 and I have found myself with extra bits : two of these copper washers! So they go between the plate at the rear of the mechanism and the back of the flywheels, do they? Should I add Molykote grease on top?
@@mariogambrelli I believe they are spacers that go under the backplate for the two screws that hold the main motor (with the brass Knob) onto the other plate in front of the capstan wheels. They are off centered. The left post is higher and the right is lower. He puts the screws in the spots where the spacers should go underneath at 22:08. He didn't put them back in it seems? Maybe he did it afterwards. The spacers should go under the backplate, balanced on the posts, then the backplate followed by the screws.
@@byrondrake703 thank you so muchas Byron!
I used a Dragon and loved the machine except the auto adjustment function. I much prefer the Pioneer CTF-1250 where that function was manual on the front panel. It also allowed you to tweak the high end for better sound on Normal Bias tapes.
Thanks for showing how to lube the motor bearings.
Hi Dave , thanks for the vid , I am borrowed internet at the moment at a freinds house ,hope to sort it out soon , I am missing CZcams for sure .
Thanks for the vid !
Can you do a 3 head alignment on a Tascam 122 mk2? The previous owner had played with the head alignment and it's difficult to align the record playback : ( Maybe in the future you can explain how to process this in a video. Thanks ! : )
may be good idea wipe capstan shafts before new oil?
I just had a look at a Nakamichi DR1 on our local Craigslist. This one features a manual azimuth correction, by a separate knob in the front, similar to the Dragon but not fully automatic. The thing is, the deck is being sold as is but according to the seller it is indeed working. But I still hesitate since those decks seem to be a nightmare to service for us common folks. :) thanks for your videos! Cheers from Europe
Honestly I wouldn't buy one.
@@12voltvids now you are making me curious. Is it because there are better and cheaper decks or because the brand is crap? Have another Nak where the idler tire is slipping, fortunately those are rather easy to fix.
@@emkay692 Nakamichi were always overrated IMHO. They had their fanboys buy really they were no better than high end decks from other manufactures.
@@12voltvids Well you're the expert Dave, so I won't buy that one. Is there a particular deck you could recommend besides your trusty JVC (cannot find that in the part of the world I live in)
@@emkay692 what do you expect from a tape deck? Because that will define what you're actually looking for.
Congrats on 100K subscibers. Did you get your plaque?
I noticed on my CR-3 there is black grease where the very back of the capstan flywheel meets the metal cover the motor is attached to. Any suggestions on what oil or grease to use there?
I've just stripped my DR-1 down to replace the belts and I ended up with two copper washers where I don't know where they came from. You have the same issue as one suddenly appears in the frame below the mechanism at 8:42, but suddenly disappears just after you reinstall the motor at 20:05. I think another washer appears later on in the clip. Do you know where they came from?
Looking at the video closely, I suspect they dropped out from between the back plate and the mounting posts. Can you confirm as these will affect the height of the back plate and how much pressure it exerts down on the capstans.
Hey great videos on tape decks! I’m trying to fix my Mitsubishi double cassette deck and the transformer is not putting out the 84 volts required.So my question is how would I go about finding a replacement? Any suggestions?Sure would like to get in running.Mitsubishi M-T5310/4320
Interesting ! My DR-10 looks identical to the DR-2. Good to know when mine needs attention.
really good video, my DR-2 is eating the tape on the left side, what might be causing it? thanks.
I have that exact model, had the same problem, a belt change fixed it. My motor came up to speed but the belt was slipping. I could have easily stopped the capstan by pinching it with two fingers. On a rare occasion I would lose a channel when switching from type 1 to type 2. Some contact cleaner in the switches seem to fix that.
Well I did change the belt. The motor was stiff and when spun by hand stopped immediately so the bearings did need lubrication, because it would have seized up in a short time.
@@12voltvidsnice, if I notice any speed issues in the future will try that motor lube. The belt I got was same width but about 7mm shorter on the entire lenght. I use the deck maybe once a week now. So far it works good enough for me.
From this we can now clearly see how brushless motors helped compress all these bulky mechanisms..
i have a nakamichi rx 202 that needs a little help since it wont play rewind or anything of the sort but will reverse nicely. it was slowly having rewind and fast-forward issues then it got worse and wont rewind or fast forward. if it plays it spews tape and stops. nice deck though. i wont let it go.
Great deck. It has a Sankyo transport in it and the rubber idler tyre goes bad, which needs replacing. You can order a new idler from webspareparts or similar websites. Fairly easy to install.
@@64bakes i could but certain complex stuff is harder for me to work with then to just have someone fix stuff up for me since i always fear i may end up breaking stuff even more then it already is. its just some issues i have sadly. i work better with easy stuff then more complex stuff though
Hi! I have a Hitachi Hi-8 8mm VM-H620/VM-H720A that I picked up in near mint and unused condition. Everything seems to work except for the fact that the viewfinder screen is fuzzy and dark. The menu appears and all the buttons seem to work. The lens appears to be in good condition, and it even appears to record albeit there being nothing viewable.
Do you (or anyone) know what this may be? And how can it be fixed?
Lacks the charm of the 'classic mechanism'. Although it needs to be said that those mechs were made by Sankyo too.
wow not a camera ha ha cheers great vid
Nice deck. Just wonder what would cause a tape deck to play tapes great but when recording to a tape the right channel is very low volume with a slight hum. Otherwise playing tapes it works perfect? thanks
Maybe use switch cleaner on the long play/rec switches, they cause problems.
So my big question is, why is Nakamichi priced like 3 times more then any other brand of cassette deck? It looks to me like it's made no better then Tascam or other decent machines.
Because they could and people fell for it.
If all possible, can you please share us the capstan belt information and supplier? Thanks in advance!!!
I don't have that info because the belt I used I had in my supply bin for probably 10 years.
80mm D by 5mm width was the original. 25cm long or 9.9'' American. Back tension belt is 25mm Diameter (1") square section 1mm.
Where do you get rollers and belts for these?
Hi Great video Just curious what size of belt being install 2mm or 4mm?
4mm
@12voltvids I have the same deck but it currently developed an issue with one of the motor I believe. The unit plays a couple of seconds and then stops. Same with FF and RW. I tried tapping the motor in question and it played a bit longer once and then went back to playing a couple of second. Could this be a motor dead spot issue and can you recommend where to get a replacement motor? Thanks.
Could be a dead spot on motor. Have no idea where to find parts. I salvage out or donor decks.
@@12voltvids Solved the issue. It was the motion sensor with intermittent fault. I changed the shut-off PCB board with a used one from another deck and now working properly. Glad it wasn't the motor dead spot. the reel motor looks very tough to disassemble.
Dave,
I noticed there was a capacitor inside the motor. Being that this cassette deck is probably a few decades old, is there any reason to replace the motor capacitor? Or any of the capacitors on this tape deck for that matter?
The old caps are better than any new ones made today that's why.
@@12voltvids Thanks for the quick reply, Dave.
You should take a close-up of the way the belt is correctly installed as both capstan wheels should rotate in the same direction
They most certainly do. If they didn't the tape would break as soon as play pressed
@@12voltvids Jejeje I repair one that the guy that was trying to repair put it wrong and he was so __ _ _ _ that he remove the left capstan spring because he never thought that the belt was in a wrong way lol.
@@luisrodriguez8639 you can't fix stupid.
@@12voltvids I revert all stupid things he did
What do you use to lube the plastic gears? I have seen a lot of different answers on that and no real help.
I use a tiny bit of Electrolube SPG (special plastics grease)
Hi, my dr2, when i play a cassette tape it usually starts fast but yours is slow... do i need to replace the belt and lubricate the motor?
Probably need a new motor. :(
Save the Nakamichis!
It's the new "Save the Naugas!"
14:50 ... Ok I'm awake again now. :D
Could you please give me some information regarding shipment of equipment to you for you to repair.? I have some equipment In need of repair. Thank you.
:))))))))))))))
The sinter bras bearing do not need any lubrication because they are specially designed to be not lubricated never ever and the bearing material containing powder of dry graphite lubricant. Your problem was in the tape transport not into the motor.
27:39 There's some serious flutter on that deck.
I noticed it too, thought my ears were playing tricks on me. What usually causes flutter?
@@SK-qu4wo Could be poor quality belt. Good ones are difficult to find.
Your watch is beeping every hour. I need watch like that too, every hour a good cup of coffee otherwise i could not do these jobs...
That was not a little better! That was a big better!
Cool..
Didn't know you can heat the pulley with a heat gun to remove.
You can use a soldering iron too. One of the first things I learned. Changed dozens of motors over the years.
Thanks. I had some fall apart pulling too hard.
I find these videos very interesting but, for the life of me, I can't imagine a situation where I would want to use a tape deck for any reason.
Well to archive old tapes. That's the only reason. There is no reason to ever record. There I said it and offended tape heads.
@@12voltvids I'm not offended, just saddened. There is joy to the art of making excellent tape recordings that rival the source.
@@rodantkapoor9721 The days were fun making mixed tapes, but now it's file based. Just drag and drop.
The sound quality of a cassette tape especially if you play it in a nakamichi is still warm and near vinyl quality....actually sometimes better!
When the artist used to make money out of selling physical media they put in much more effort hence better records. Now streaming gets them bugger all hence the dross we've had for the last twenty odd years and the vastly overpriced concert prices that must be paid.
O f..k. same problem as mine - changed whole bunch of parts and no improvement. One of the worst Naks one could buy.
Little slow...
NAK was never my favorite brand. There are many others, like my JVC TDV1010 that will smoke this one every day and twice on sunday.
@@12voltvids
Had the TD-V541 Dual Capstan, Direct drive, not without it's own problems in audio department. But if I could put two machines out of it, meaning the Capstan Direct drive into Nak (stable like Atomic Clock), that would make really good deck, as the Nak beat crap out of the JVC in audio department, especially in noise, playback freq resp and Dolby tracking. I measured 22kHz at -3dB, -20dB level with TDK MA-X. The Naks playback/recording was excellent, other than little extra boost, maybe 1.5-2dB in the low bass. But the regular Capstan drive on Naks stinks. I wonder what makes these Sankyo mechanisms so touchy and prone to speed instability - my crappy cheap 2headers are better. One big Enigma
I dont think this motor needs lube.
Sure does.
Zulfiqar pitafi 🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰