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Need Help With CTR80A Cassette Recorder Belt

M

Mochatea396

Experienced Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2021
Messages
106
Location
Hudson Valley, New York, USA
Hello fellow enthusiasts,
I need to replace the drive belt in my Radio Shack CTR80A cassette recorder. Would anyone recommend a known good source for this belr? I see a few vendors have a 6.7" belt they list for the CTR80, but I haven't seen a specific listing for the CTR80A. Is there a different belt for this or are they the same? Secondly, I wasn't able to find any type of documentation (including video) on the procedure to replace the belt. Theres a large bracket over the large wheel that appears to need to be removed to let the belt slip off, but it looks like the whole assembly needs to be removed from the case to access the screws for the bracket. If that large bracket wasn't an obstruction the belt removal would be straight forward, just remove it. I'm hoping someone has replaced this belt and could offer some guidance.
Thank you
 
You just reminded me that I need that belt! When I restored my Model III (had since I was a kid) I also went through and recapped the tape deck that came with it. I actually cut a section of the old stretched belt out to shorten it and crazy glued the ends together. Surprisingly it worked. A new belt has been on my to-do list.

I bookmarked this site ages ago:

SMC ELECTRONICS - VCR Repair Parts - Square Belts

SMC Electronics, Suppliers of Surplus Electronic Equipment including Repair, Replacement, Experimenter Parts & Accessories.
www.smcelectronics.com

Old fashioned site with with thousands of models listed in one page. Use your browser search function for CTR-80A. The A is definitely different. There was also something odd about the original belt where I could not get any belts from my generic kits to stay on.

I just ordered one. $10.95 with shipping.
 
Thanks Torch. I'll comb their site. Yeah it is a bit tough to pinpoint what your looking for. The link you posted goes to square belts. Mine appears to be flat. Never the less thank you for the link and if you ordered one then I just have to find it in his list. Do you remember off hand the correct length of the belt? he seems to have them all listed in order of length so perhaps that could narrow my hunt for it.
 
Just use your browser search function and put in ctr-80a. The dash is necessary. Or use the stock # below.
It's about half way through the page.
From what I recall, it was a wide square style belt vs round like an o-ring. I guess technically you could call it flat too.

If you want to wait, I'll let you know if mine works out.

Description is:
IC = 7.500".
THK = 0.079".

Stock #: VCRBLT140
 
Yep that’s the one I found. The one that’s on my recorder may be incorrect entirely. It appears to be flat and about 5mm wide. The VCRBLT140 is .079 wide which is 2mm. Was the width of your original belt closer to 2mm? I guess buying used electronics anything is possible. I did find the belt for the CTR80 on the site as well and it concurs being 6.7” in length as the other vendors who had them, but you are correct the A model belt IS longer. Thanks for helping me with that. Yes I’d appreciate letting me know if the belt worked for you.
 
I can't remember the details, it's been several years since I had it apart. I had a heck of a time finding that model and glad I bookmarked it.

Hopefully it comes in sometime next week and I'll let you know how it goes.
 
I removed my original belt tonight to get a measurement and following the websites instructions, I came up with an IC of 10.88. No possible way a belt with an IC of 7.5" is going to work. Maybe that number he's got is for the counter belt, but it clearly isn't the correct IC for the drive belt. I guess I'll have to take my number and subtract 10% for stretch (would make it 9.79") and search by size. With the length clearly wrong, I'm questioning if this belt is even a square belt at all like he says, and maybe i'll just replace the flat belt thats on there with a shorter flat belt.
 
I buy the multipacks from amazon and usually have pretty good luck finding one that works, but YMMV
 
I took mine apart this evening and it's definitely not the belt.
I tore it all down and there's another hidden belt that goes under the flywheel, around another pulley and then a spindle. That one measures a bit over 3.5". X2 and that's the belt advertised on that site. Damn.

I hope that belt is good on yours as it was a major PITA teardown to get it out.
 
VERAULT said:
Is it the belt for the counter?
Click to expand...

No, the counter is a smaller 3rd belt, which also has to come off to get to that hidden belt.
Mech assembly and circuit board need to be removed. Retaining rings around all jacks need to be removed along with some small stubborn screws that didn't want to come out because they had loctite on them. Remove spindle, pulley assembly and flywheel.

Not designed for easy service.

The large drive belt can be done in under a minute.
 
I figured you were going to be annoyed when you measured your belt. Take a look at VCRBLT413 and VCRBLT53. Ones got an IC of 9.7 and the other 10.0. (My sloppy one measures 10.75-10.88) The width on both is .120 (which is 3.05mm) the width on my original is about 4mm.
 
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