Cassette deck signal really weak

Rich_S

Rich_S

Member
I have a few old cassettes around, demo tapes that I or my friends played on in the '80s. I'd like to transfer them to digital through my Scarlett 2i4. So, I dug out my old Denon DRM-710 cassette deck. I bought it new in the late '80s IIRC, it was at the time a mid-to-high-end consumer grade deck. It had very light use, then got boxed up as we started a family and moved around a lot in the '90s and '00s. I seem to remember using it briefly in around 2003 to digitize a couple cassettes, it worked fine then and has been in its box since then.

Today when I fired it up, it plays very quietly. If I use headphones and crank the output level all the way up, I can hear the songs very faintly, and a bit distorted. (At least they sound like they're at the right speed, so that's good.) My first though was dirty pots, but then noticed that no level is showing up on the VU meters while the tape is playing. That suggests the loss of signal is somewhere between tape, heads, or early amplification stages, NOT the headphone output.

An additional problem is that I can't eject the tape once it's in. There seems to be a mechanical interlock between the transport and the eject button that's not clearing when I press Stop. To get a tape out, I have to turn the power off, then back on again, and I can eject the tape as long as I don't move the transport.

Ideas on where to start? Or just scrap it and mooch a deck off somebody else to rip these three tapes?
 
the door maybe just a loose spring or something like that, anyway, have you cleaned the heads before playing the tape? or played any other tapes?
 
The eject problem is most likely a slipping belt or idler that doesn't have enough grip to retract the heads. First place to look for low output would be the heads and tape path, make sure they're clean with no built up oxide. Some old tapes have been known to shed oxide badly.
 
Quite possibly the tapes themselves depending on how they have been stored have decreased output and they are partially demagnitized. Otherwise clean your tape path.
 
I'd be looking at the heads first. They should be spotless. Even on a wide-format open reel machine the smallest speck can have a significant impact on signal transfer. On a cassette machine? It can take you from something to nothing like that [snaps fingers].
 
sweetbeats said:
I'd be looking at the heads first. They should be spotless. Even on a wide-format open reel machine the smallest speck can have a significant impact on signal transfer. On a cassette machine? It can take you from something to nothing like that [snaps fingers].
Click to expand...

Oh the irony. I hadn't used my deck for a few weeks. It had worked fine.....till today.

Hit play and wtf????? Output super low, like half. Meters are barely registering. Scrubbed the heads a few times with 91% isopropyl and it all seems back to normal.

It took a few cleanings, as they "looked" clean, but levels and meters were still down although better. Third time was the charm.

Output and meters back to normal.

Just to be safe, I'll clean them once more.

:D

I wonder... the tape i was trying to play was old and had been sitting in the deck for a few weeks. With reel to reel, I never leave tape on unless recording and playing back, but with cassettes I get lazy. Hmmmm.
 
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Is it set to the correct tape type & the appropriate noise reduction system on?
If the eject problem is common to all tapes you've played since pulling the machine out of the cupboard then it may be the case that the cassette isn't sitting properly and isn't running across the heads properly either thus giving you a poor signal.
IF possible take the door off and insert the cassette directly.
If that isn't possible. test the door without cassettes to ensure that it's not the springs etc.
IF possible don't put a cassette in but engage the Play, FF, REW, Pause, Stop & eject buttons a few times to find out if it's something transport related rather than the tape.
Check & clean the heads and capstan as well as the pinch roller (use cleaning fluid on a cotton bud and gently press against the roller & then the pin whilst they are running - without the cassette obviously & take care that the pin doesn't get wrapped i cotton.
It could be the tapes shedding or rusty if they've been stored properly. they should be run through at least once a year & stored in their case on end. I have cassettes from the early 70s that still work well. Taped material is likely to last longer than CD, DVD, digital and LP storage mediums can be guaranteed to.
Finally, demagnetizing the heads is always useful. When 4 tracking I used to demagnetize before every session just to have optimum response but that's probably overdoing it. It will make a BIG difference if you've not done it in years.
Good luck
 
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