23-02-2013, 05:01 PM
Part of a computer job lot, much to Mrs H's annoyance, this Boots badged cassette player was showing some signs of wear to the keys and case generally. Playback of a cassette was poor, crackly and rustly, and no amount of application of a tape cleaner would remove the noise so it was off with the back.
Made in the 80s the recorder was well built, with a metal internal chassis holding the mechanics and a screw on circuit board. Once the circuit board was removed from the chassis, contact cleaner lube was applied to the volume control and playback/rec switch. Re-assembly produced a good clean sound but the tape counter was not working so off with the back, this time removing the chassis to find the belt drive to the counter a sticky mess. No spares in stock so a short length elastic band was fitted instead. Refit the chassis and circuit board, test and the rustling was back. Further cleaning with contact lube removed the noise, back replaced and then tested by loading computer games.
One thing of note, why is it that a 30 year old tape recorder can playback games with no issues whatsoever, but a 2012 Philips AQ1001 just struggles poorly, even with an azimuth adjustment to get the best treble out of the player. Put the same commercial tape in each player and the Boots wins hands down for clarity whilst the Philips is just poor and muffled. Both are badged units but there appears to be something lacking in quality on the Philips player.
Made in the 80s the recorder was well built, with a metal internal chassis holding the mechanics and a screw on circuit board. Once the circuit board was removed from the chassis, contact cleaner lube was applied to the volume control and playback/rec switch. Re-assembly produced a good clean sound but the tape counter was not working so off with the back, this time removing the chassis to find the belt drive to the counter a sticky mess. No spares in stock so a short length elastic band was fitted instead. Refit the chassis and circuit board, test and the rustling was back. Further cleaning with contact lube removed the noise, back replaced and then tested by loading computer games.
One thing of note, why is it that a 30 year old tape recorder can playback games with no issues whatsoever, but a 2012 Philips AQ1001 just struggles poorly, even with an azimuth adjustment to get the best treble out of the player. Put the same commercial tape in each player and the Boots wins hands down for clarity whilst the Philips is just poor and muffled. Both are badged units but there appears to be something lacking in quality on the Philips player.
