Fisher CR-W 9040 Repair
After (more or less) successfully repairing my old Boom Box by replacing the decayed rubber belts I today did the same to my component stereo system's cassette recorder: My good old Fisher CR-W 9040 has not been working for some years now. And just because I feel in the mood today this article will be in English. Because I can! 
And because I think I might be able to reach a broader audience this way.
I started out removing the two screws on either side of the case: Two in the back, two on the left, two on the right, which makes six over all. I placed them in one of my many, many empty film containers, just so I don't lose them. I know there are dedicated plastic cases for exactly this use case, but I found that a simple film container is good enough for me. Inside I was greeted with the the main PCB and two cassette mechanism that look practically identical, except that the right one can record while the left one is playback only. I started with the playback one and removed it from the case, just because it was easier to reach all the screws. The right one is blocked by the transformer and I first needed to find a shorter screwdriver.
In the above image I have marked the screws I removed in order to first get the whole mechanism out of the case as well as the backplate with the motor off the assembly with the flywheel. First I removed the screws on the outside, marked in green. Note that screws 1 and 2 are a bit longer than numbers 3 and 4. Also, screw number 4 holds down a ground cable which connects the mechanism to the case, so be careful to reattach that one when reassembling the whole thing.
Now I was able to get the mechanism out of the case without too much fuss. I only had to unplug one of the cables from the main board and I was able to reach the second set of screws which I have marked in red in the picture above. Note here screw 2 that holds down a little plastic coated metal cable binder. Quite tidy in here, all the cables are neatly packed and don't get in the way too much. Also, screw 5 again holds down a grounding cable, so remember that when replacing the screws.
Now it was time to get rid of the gooy residue that was left behind by the decayed belt. I don't know what these rubber bands are made of, but I think this is the most disgusting stuff you can get on your fingers: It's sticky and pitch black and leaves stains everywhere. I hadn't been too successful with alcohol and cleaning petrol when I tried to get rid of it repairing my boombox, so this time around I brought out the big guns: Paint thinner! That stuff is really effective, but you have to be really, really careful not to get it on anything plastic or the acetone in it will eat away at it until there is nothing left! And you - unlike me - should remember to use the stuff only in a well ventilated room or risk the headache from hell!
Anyway, I got almost all of the stuff off the flywheel and the motor spindle by using a combination of cotton swaps, toothpicks and toilet paper. After I was finished they looked almost OK, only really deep inside the groove there still was some black stuff left. I just assumed that if I couldn't get at it to clean it off neither would the new rubber belt! I picked a slightly more tight band than I assume was in there originally but the next size up was too loose.
The belt only holds on to motor and flywheel when the backplate is reinstalled on the mechanism, so I put in the screws and then tested the whole thing and to my amazement it worked and even sounded all right after I used a bit of alcohol to clean the heads and the pinch roller and the capstan. There was quite some abrasion from all the tapes I have played over the years in here. Now it sounds almost perfect, but I think I have to realign the heads a bit, I miss some treble. Or maybe it's just my hearing that has started to go downhill...
Then I did the same thing on the right mechanism, except the flywheel wasn't that badly affected. I guess the old rubber belt snapped before turning into this tar-like substance I had to clean off the left mechanism. It was mostly concentrated around the motor shaft where I again used a healthy dose of paint thinner. After reassembly it was almost OK, but I guess I missed a spot somewhere. There is some noticeable jitter in this mechanisms output. Guess I have to open it up again sometime and get to the bottom of this. But for now I can listen to some old tapes for the first time in something like 20 years!
Together with the other components - the CA-9040 amplifier, AD-9060 CD player, and FM-9050 radio - it still looks pretty good for something that was build in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I don't know exactly when I bought this, I think i was about 16. There are stickers on the motors and they have a 1991 date on them. The other motors are from 1990 and the plastic of the mechanisms was moulded in 1988, so I guess these were produced some time around 1991-92, I guess. I don't think they are particularly valuable, it's mostly sentimental attachment to this hi-fi system. I even thought about getting a matching turntable, but those things are really expensive these days.
Next up is my Walkman. I don't know if I can get in there to replace the belt, but I really think this would be worthwhile. It was one of the better portable stereos I owned and it was still working perfectly the last time I used it. Well, we'll see...
And because I think I might be able to reach a broader audience this way. I started out removing the two screws on either side of the case: Two in the back, two on the left, two on the right, which makes six over all. I placed them in one of my many, many empty film containers, just so I don't lose them. I know there are dedicated plastic cases for exactly this use case, but I found that a simple film container is good enough for me. Inside I was greeted with the the main PCB and two cassette mechanism that look practically identical, except that the right one can record while the left one is playback only. I started with the playback one and removed it from the case, just because it was easier to reach all the screws. The right one is blocked by the transformer and I first needed to find a shorter screwdriver.
In the above image I have marked the screws I removed in order to first get the whole mechanism out of the case as well as the backplate with the motor off the assembly with the flywheel. First I removed the screws on the outside, marked in green. Note that screws 1 and 2 are a bit longer than numbers 3 and 4. Also, screw number 4 holds down a ground cable which connects the mechanism to the case, so be careful to reattach that one when reassembling the whole thing.
Now I was able to get the mechanism out of the case without too much fuss. I only had to unplug one of the cables from the main board and I was able to reach the second set of screws which I have marked in red in the picture above. Note here screw 2 that holds down a little plastic coated metal cable binder. Quite tidy in here, all the cables are neatly packed and don't get in the way too much. Also, screw 5 again holds down a grounding cable, so remember that when replacing the screws.
Now it was time to get rid of the gooy residue that was left behind by the decayed belt. I don't know what these rubber bands are made of, but I think this is the most disgusting stuff you can get on your fingers: It's sticky and pitch black and leaves stains everywhere. I hadn't been too successful with alcohol and cleaning petrol when I tried to get rid of it repairing my boombox, so this time around I brought out the big guns: Paint thinner! That stuff is really effective, but you have to be really, really careful not to get it on anything plastic or the acetone in it will eat away at it until there is nothing left! And you - unlike me - should remember to use the stuff only in a well ventilated room or risk the headache from hell!
Anyway, I got almost all of the stuff off the flywheel and the motor spindle by using a combination of cotton swaps, toothpicks and toilet paper. After I was finished they looked almost OK, only really deep inside the groove there still was some black stuff left. I just assumed that if I couldn't get at it to clean it off neither would the new rubber belt!
I picked a slightly more tight band than I assume was in there originally but the next size up was too loose. The belt only holds on to motor and flywheel when the backplate is reinstalled on the mechanism, so I put in the screws and then tested the whole thing and to my amazement it worked and even sounded all right after I used a bit of alcohol to clean the heads and the pinch roller and the capstan. There was quite some abrasion from all the tapes I have played over the years in here. Now it sounds almost perfect, but I think I have to realign the heads a bit, I miss some treble. Or maybe it's just my hearing that has started to go downhill...
Then I did the same thing on the right mechanism, except the flywheel wasn't that badly affected. I guess the old rubber belt snapped before turning into this tar-like substance I had to clean off the left mechanism. It was mostly concentrated around the motor shaft where I again used a healthy dose of paint thinner. After reassembly it was almost OK, but I guess I missed a spot somewhere. There is some noticeable jitter in this mechanisms output. Guess I have to open it up again sometime and get to the bottom of this. But for now I can listen to some old tapes for the first time in something like 20 years!
Together with the other components - the CA-9040 amplifier, AD-9060 CD player, and FM-9050 radio - it still looks pretty good for something that was build in the late 1980s or early 1990s. I don't know exactly when I bought this, I think i was about 16. There are stickers on the motors and they have a 1991 date on them. The other motors are from 1990 and the plastic of the mechanisms was moulded in 1988, so I guess these were produced some time around 1991-92, I guess. I don't think they are particularly valuable, it's mostly sentimental attachment to this hi-fi system. I even thought about getting a matching turntable, but those things are really expensive these days.
Next up is my Walkman. I don't know if I can get in there to replace the belt, but I really think this would be worthwhile. It was one of the better portable stereos I owned and it was still working perfectly the last time I used it. Well, we'll see...