I received this last night and it DID work for a few moments after I added the yellow rubber band - it was loading a program on my NEC PC-6001. Then it ate the tape. Thankfully I did not trust it with my good tape and it was just a junk tape. It has some sort of soft but not soft press button tape control system. I'm not sure how it works, but it does odd things. You can't hit STOP when REW or FF, but you can turn it off and then the STOP will take. There is a solenoid, but I have no idea what it does although it does seem to help facilitate the STOP somehow. I am attaching a picture and I put a red box around a movable part that has a long metal spring to another movable part that is attached the pcb. I think maybe it is attached to an optical sensor. If I try to press stop during FF or REV and then I activate that red box item, the solenoid will fire thereafter and the stop will then work. What I don't understand is should there be something going on on the bottom of that metal part in the red box? There was nothing attached to the end of it to activate it or move it. There looks like a nylon thing towards the top that might push it, but I sure don't see any movement in that part when I try to push on it manually. Some of the other nylon parts are very stiff like the grease has long dried up on them, so I am debating trying to tear it down, clean the parts, and relube them with some new grease, and hope I can get it back together. Looking for any tips on that. Also, I can see what the solenoid does. It is attached to a vertical metal pin that seemed like it was going through to the tape section, but it doesn't. I suspect it must actuate some other part of the mechanism. This is a NEC PC-6082 aka DR-320, but I can't find a service manual for it anywhere.
- VCF South West - June 14 - 16, Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center at University of Texas at Dallas
- VCF West - Aug 2 - 3, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA
- VCF Midwest - Sept 7 - 8 2024, Schaumburg, IL
- VCF SoCal - Mid February 2025, Location TBD, Southern CA
- VCF East - April 2025, Infoage Museum, Wall NJ
-
Please review our updated Terms and Rules here
NEC Tape deck repair
- Thread starter alank2
- Start date
I've also got some "proper" rubber belts coming from Amazon tomorrow in various lengths so I should be able to replace the rubber band with those. The secondary band (black) is also not working well, sometimes the wheel moves and other times it seems loose enough for it to not move.
I've replaced the belts, applied a little grease, and added one stronger spring and it is now working.
The only issue I have is that the speed is slightly slower than it should be. I don't have one of those fancy 3kHz calibration tapes, but I know it is slow compared to my other two decks.
The problem is that I don't see a way to adjust the motors speed. I pulled the pcb which is mounted upside down and I only found one pot and it doesn't seem to change the speed. The bottom of the unit does say 100V and the 50/60 cycles, so one would think the motor speed isn't related to the cycles.
Any other thoughts?
The only issue I have is that the speed is slightly slower than it should be. I don't have one of those fancy 3kHz calibration tapes, but I know it is slow compared to my other two decks.
The problem is that I don't see a way to adjust the motors speed. I pulled the pcb which is mounted upside down and I only found one pot and it doesn't seem to change the speed. The bottom of the unit does say 100V and the 50/60 cycles, so one would think the motor speed isn't related to the cycles.
Any other thoughts?
Chuck(G)
25k Member
Take a careful look at the motor housing. Some of these old brushed motors had a small screwdriver-adjustment pot build into the case.
It looks like there are motor replacements available, but I suppose the first thing I need to do is check the voltage going to it. It is model EG-510ED-9F2. I don't see an adjustment for it unless I am missing something. At least i know its RPM now with is 2400. I can try to measure that and see what it comes up.
Chuck(G)
25k Member
If it's spinning at 2400 RPMs, that's what the specs say it should be
I have it fixed finally!!! Chuck, you were correct (thanks)! I found a base resistor on the gate for the D882 NPN power transistor and put a decade resistor box in series with it so I could alter it. I added about 100 ohms of resistance to push it to 9V exactly, but to my surprise this did not change the RPM of the motor. I felt pretty good that I was able to change the voltage, but at this point it became clear that the motor itself isn't sensitive about its input voltage and must have some internal mechanism to control its speed. So I did what I did not want to do! I unscrewed the entire mechanism and pulled it from its case so I could get at the motor. The bottom of it which is completely inaccessible when it is in the case had a piece of tape over a hole for adjusting! I cut the motor from the wiring and took it to my bench power supply - oddly at 9V it was running 2400 rpm, but I figured the load from a cassette must make a difference so I adjusted it 100 rpm high since it was 100 rpm low with a cassette. I then reconnected the motor and tested it with a cassette - now it is right on 2400 rpm under load! Somehow, I got the entire thing all put back together and it is working perfectly.
It didn't help that many of the pictures of the motor online did not show any adjustment, but I'm glad mine had one.
It didn't help that many of the pictures of the motor online did not show any adjustment, but I'm glad mine had one.
Last edited:
Chuck(G)
25k Member
There you go! Congratulations!
voidstar78
Veteran Member
I couldn't find a digital copy of the manual for this cassette unit yet either (just pictures of the cover page).
Anyone know what "NSPS" might mean? It is a label near the PLAY/REW/FF buttons, but also on a label on the top right near the volume controls (but next to a series of buttons 1/2/3/4/5).
I have one of these units, but only the REW/FF are working (and STOP/EJECT). When I try to do a CLOAD, after I press PLAY the device "cancels" the PLAY (pushes it back up). At least the cable is working, since I can CLOAD using other cassette decks. Just hoping to get this PC-6082 going.
Anyone know what "NSPS" might mean? It is a label near the PLAY/REW/FF buttons, but also on a label on the top right near the volume controls (but next to a series of buttons 1/2/3/4/5).
I have one of these units, but only the REW/FF are working (and STOP/EJECT). When I try to do a CLOAD, after I press PLAY the device "cancels" the PLAY (pushes it back up). At least the cable is working, since I can CLOAD using other cassette decks. Just hoping to get this PC-6082 going.
From the NEC TREK User's Guide:
The NSPS Feature
The NEC Search and Play System (NSPS) makes loading a tape even easier than just described There are many times where you have five or six programs stored on one side of the tape. To find the program you want easily, the NSPS can be used.
...
Press the NSPS Reset button, then select the desired program search number 1 through 5. If you select 1 you will load the program that is second on the tape, selecting 3 will load the fourth program on the tape and so on.
The NSPS Feature
The NEC Search and Play System (NSPS) makes loading a tape even easier than just described There are many times where you have five or six programs stored on one side of the tape. To find the program you want easily, the NSPS can be used.
...
Press the NSPS Reset button, then select the desired program search number 1 through 5. If you select 1 you will load the program that is second on the tape, selecting 3 will load the fourth program on the tape and so on.
voidstar78
Veteran Member
Neat, that makes sense.
Well then a related question, how do I just CLOAD "the next program on the tape"? On the IBM PC, I recall being able to just do
CLOAD " "
That is, CLOAD with a blank filename (maybe it was just "", no space). I tried this on the NEC-8001, and it just begins reading the tape and starts listing the filenames it finds ("Skip: STAR 2", etc). So at least I can get the set of names on a tape. But some of the tapes, the filenames are in Japanese, so a little harder for me to type. CLOAD on this systems seems to be case sensitive, I do have to enter cload "STAR 2" to get that file loaded (the commands can be lower case).
The whole system (PC-8001) feels like a hybrid between Commodore PET/VIC-20 (character set, F-keys at top, numeric keypad with the OG PET style "arrow keys") and a base IBM PC 5150 (BASIC with IN and OUT keywords). I haven't opened it yet, but the PC-8001 main unit case feels way heavier than it should (contrast to like the CoCo1 is not at all heavy).
EDIT: Once the filename is on the screen, I can move the cursor around and inject a CLOAD in front of the name.
Well then a related question, how do I just CLOAD "the next program on the tape"? On the IBM PC, I recall being able to just do
CLOAD " "
That is, CLOAD with a blank filename (maybe it was just "", no space). I tried this on the NEC-8001, and it just begins reading the tape and starts listing the filenames it finds ("Skip: STAR 2", etc). So at least I can get the set of names on a tape. But some of the tapes, the filenames are in Japanese, so a little harder for me to type. CLOAD on this systems seems to be case sensitive, I do have to enter cload "STAR 2" to get that file loaded (the commands can be lower case).
The whole system (PC-8001) feels like a hybrid between Commodore PET/VIC-20 (character set, F-keys at top, numeric keypad with the OG PET style "arrow keys") and a base IBM PC 5150 (BASIC with IN and OUT keywords). I haven't opened it yet, but the PC-8001 main unit case feels way heavier than it should (contrast to like the CoCo1 is not at all heavy).
EDIT: Once the filename is on the screen, I can move the cursor around and inject a CLOAD in front of the name.
Last edited:
voidstar78
Veteran Member
I've gotten one of these PC-6082 also - and the only issue I'm having is when I press PLAY, then PLAY doesn't stay down. It's like something is inducing the STOP button to get pressed shortly after PLAY is pressed.
Mechanically inside nothing stands out as missing or wrong (and consistent with the OP image). FFW/REW are working fine, which makes me think the belts are fine. I suppose maybe the system has a feature where if you do PLAY, then at the end of the tape maybe it does a STOP? So perhaps something is making the system think it's at the end of tape? I've checked the EJECT and tape enclosure, and tried both sides of the tape - nothing seems snagged (and again FFW and REW roll the tape fine).
Of course now with the right cables and DIN connector, I can use essentially use any cassette deck (or a modern PC) as a proxy source for tape playback. But hoping some simple suggestion might resolve this PLAY issue. Could it be grease (or lack of)?
Mechanically inside nothing stands out as missing or wrong (and consistent with the OP image). FFW/REW are working fine, which makes me think the belts are fine. I suppose maybe the system has a feature where if you do PLAY, then at the end of the tape maybe it does a STOP? So perhaps something is making the system think it's at the end of tape? I've checked the EJECT and tape enclosure, and tried both sides of the tape - nothing seems snagged (and again FFW and REW roll the tape fine).
Of course now with the right cables and DIN connector, I can use essentially use any cassette deck (or a modern PC) as a proxy source for tape playback. But hoping some simple suggestion might resolve this PLAY issue. Could it be grease (or lack of)?
Attachments
mark0x01
Experienced Member
Been a very long time since my audio repair days so I might be a bit rusty.....
The bar across the front latches the mechanism for each different function (PLAY, FF, REW), and is released by the STOP function (or possibly a different function)
Check when play is pressed that it latches correctly.
The solenoid may well be STOP. Sometimes the tape tension was used to detect the end of tape, and stop, others have a rotary switch detecting tape motion.
Worth cleaing up any dryed out lubricant that could be causing the mechanism to bind.
The bar across the front latches the mechanism for each different function (PLAY, FF, REW), and is released by the STOP function (or possibly a different function)
Check when play is pressed that it latches correctly.
The solenoid may well be STOP. Sometimes the tape tension was used to detect the end of tape, and stop, others have a rotary switch detecting tape motion.
Worth cleaing up any dryed out lubricant that could be causing the mechanism to bind.