15-02-2020, 02:59 PM
I got one of these recently from Ebay after verifying it was really a Sangean ATS818CS.
I think it was cheap because the seller described the cassette deck as having a fault with the pinch roller and having a mismatched replacement volume knob. Nice to see an accurate description.
I ordered it because I thought my ICF2001D had died and I liked the idea of a full SW coverage Dual conversion receiver able to receive SSB/CW (BF0) and record on the Cassette. I know you can get some radios with built in SD card record/Play, but all most all are VHF only, or VHF/DAB and rubbish. DAB is supposed to be mostly closing here anyway, and is less than 46% coverage with only RTE stations in most areas with coverage. Too poor bit rate anyway.
I've added a few notes here: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/roberts_rc818.html
It wasn't too difficult to open back, loosen off main PCB (only volume knob needs to come off), and dismount the deck.
The Pinch Roller had no spring tensioning it against the capstan. Also it seemed loose, it didn't retract. I lifted it off and put it on again. I put a cassette and there was no audio. I realised the head wasn't engaging.
I realised the peg on the rear of the Pinch Roller ought to be between the head transport and a spring, rather than in front. This fixed the loose Pinch. But the head transport still didn't go far enough in. Operating the buttons with no cassette revealed a metal cam on the plate was on the wrong side of a plastic hook on a lever moving a cog to the take-up spool. I levered the metal cam like hook over the plastic part and then Play was fully engaging the head.
The tape though was very slow. So it all came apart again to access the speed hole on the motor. The case moulding suggests that an earlier version may have had an access hole in the solid part of the speaker grill. However the main issue seemed to be dirt on the roller.
The volume knob is incorrect (as advertised in the listing). It's maybe about 1cm of shaft to engage with the recessed volume pot, so none of the knobs I have that look right engage with the pot shaft.
It's not the level of quality of build as the Sony ICF2001D I have, but it's not bad. The 3" speaker performs better than I'd imagine. The Sangean ATS818 without cassette has a larger speaker.
Sadly while the cassette is stereo play/record and AC bias, it seems to only have magnet erase, unless I'm mistaken.
Stereo on phone jack.
Using the same keypad for frequencies, SW band select, memories and time entry is nice. Why can't every larger radio have a numeric keypad?
Anyone know where I'd find a volume knob that matches better?
I think it was cheap because the seller described the cassette deck as having a fault with the pinch roller and having a mismatched replacement volume knob. Nice to see an accurate description.
I ordered it because I thought my ICF2001D had died and I liked the idea of a full SW coverage Dual conversion receiver able to receive SSB/CW (BF0) and record on the Cassette. I know you can get some radios with built in SD card record/Play, but all most all are VHF only, or VHF/DAB and rubbish. DAB is supposed to be mostly closing here anyway, and is less than 46% coverage with only RTE stations in most areas with coverage. Too poor bit rate anyway.
I've added a few notes here: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/roberts_rc818.html
It wasn't too difficult to open back, loosen off main PCB (only volume knob needs to come off), and dismount the deck.
The Pinch Roller had no spring tensioning it against the capstan. Also it seemed loose, it didn't retract. I lifted it off and put it on again. I put a cassette and there was no audio. I realised the head wasn't engaging.
I realised the peg on the rear of the Pinch Roller ought to be between the head transport and a spring, rather than in front. This fixed the loose Pinch. But the head transport still didn't go far enough in. Operating the buttons with no cassette revealed a metal cam on the plate was on the wrong side of a plastic hook on a lever moving a cog to the take-up spool. I levered the metal cam like hook over the plastic part and then Play was fully engaging the head.
The tape though was very slow. So it all came apart again to access the speed hole on the motor. The case moulding suggests that an earlier version may have had an access hole in the solid part of the speaker grill. However the main issue seemed to be dirt on the roller.
The volume knob is incorrect (as advertised in the listing). It's maybe about 1cm of shaft to engage with the recessed volume pot, so none of the knobs I have that look right engage with the pot shaft.
It's not the level of quality of build as the Sony ICF2001D I have, but it's not bad. The 3" speaker performs better than I'd imagine. The Sangean ATS818 without cassette has a larger speaker.
Sadly while the cassette is stereo play/record and AC bias, it seems to only have magnet erase, unless I'm mistaken.
Stereo on phone jack.
Using the same keypad for frequencies, SW band select, memories and time entry is nice. Why can't every larger radio have a numeric keypad?
Anyone know where I'd find a volume knob that matches better?
