radio cassette deck failed

[Lefty]

When i drive my old shit i like to pretend its still 1992 so a fancy radio kills the vibe.

They do make cassette things with a cord you can plug into your phones headphone jack. Got one on crapazon for like 10 bucks. I use it for phone calls so i can hear the person

Funny. I feel the very same way about the radio. while I can appreciate a good sound system, I've heard that records and record players are coming back again. same vibe.

I've never tried to play the cassette players or the CD player, but I still gotta lot of old music stored that way. My wife has already suggested we play the old stuff next time we make a road trip.

 

[Angry Possum]

Records and cassettes have been coming back in the last 8 years or so. I got an early start about that time. I actually found about 100 records lying out in the garbage in a crate about 9 years ago in mint condition, and it started my frenzy.

The albums I found were classic rock. Zeppelin, Yes, Who, Styx, etc. it was a huge score for me. I'm glad I rescued them. I then started purchasing more records on eBay and my local flea markets here in NY for great prices.

I then picked up a defective Sony Walkman on Ebay for about $10 and repaired it with the help of YouTube. All it needed was a replacement belt to drive the motor to the tapehead.. I already had a hi end home stereo cassette deck, and I continually record my latest records onto the tapedeck.

I found some reasonable high end blank cassettes on eBay, both new and used. As you may or may not know, you can record over already recorded cassettes, and they sound just fine.

 

[4x4junkie]

Records and cassettes have been coming back in the last 8 years or so. I got an early start about that time. I actually found about 100 records lying out in the garbage in a crate about 9 years ago in mint condition, and it started my frenzy.

The albums I found were classic rock. Zeppelin, Yes, Who, Styx, etc. it was a huge score for me. I'm glad I rescued them. I then started purchasing more records on eBay and my local flea markets here in NY for great prices.

I then picked up a defective Sony Walkman on Ebay for about $10 and repaired it with the help of YouTube. All it needed was a replacement belt to drive the motor to the tapehead.. I already had a hi end home stereo cassette deck, and I continually record my latest records onto the tapedeck.

I found some reasonable high end blank cassettes on eBay, both new and used. As you may or may not know, you can record over already recorded cassettes, and they sound just fine.

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Thats cool how you fixed that Walkman.
Back when I was into LPs and cassette tapes, I found that brand new (a.k.a. "virgin") recording tapes usually led to the best recordings, the reason being there weren't particles of dust or dirt, score lines, etc. on the tape from previous use that would cause noticeable dropouts during re-recording. Keeping tapes in their cases certainly helps with this (as does storing them fully-wound to one side), but the cases are never 100% dust-tight. So I always went with new (unused) unless it was for something not real demanding (a speech recording for example).

 

[Angry Possum]

Thats cool how you fixed that Walkman.
Back when I was into LPs and cassette tapes, I found that brand new (a.k.a. "virgin") recording tapes usually led to the best recordings, the reason being there weren't particles of dust or dirt, score lines, etc. on the tape from previous use that would cause noticeable dropouts during re-recording. Keeping tapes in their cases certainly helps with this (as does storing them fully-wound to one side), but the cases are never 100% dust-tight. So I always went with new (unused) unless it was for something not real demanding (a speech recording for example).

As for me, my recording media and go-too's were Maxell and TDK cassettes. Maxell (XLIIS) and TDK (SAX) they use dual layer Super Avilyn magnetic particles, which are cobalt adsorbed ferric oxide, and the recordings are better than the original standard tape. All of my home recordings from the 80s on this media still sound amazing, like I just recorded them today. I'm not sure why, but they still sound as good as the day I recorded them from the actual album. I'm still enjoying them,,, and a time capsule no doubt...

 

[dvdswan]

You can have mine. Radio is starting to fade though. I never used the tape player.

 

[1991 Blue danger ranger]

When you say it will "load" (what I assume you tried to type) but that it won't depress, do you mean the cassette tape drops into place inside the deck, it just won't play? Or is the tape coming back out of the slot on it's own when you take your finger off it?


Won't fit, 1991 has a single-din setup (2002 would be double-din).

yeah sorry lol, but what I mean is that it'll slide in like normal, and it'll stay in the radio, but that's all it'll do. the housing? for the cassette deck will just stay there. it'll just stay upright like the electronics don't know I just put a cassette in.

 

[1991 Blue danger ranger]

Just buy another, if not from ebay then a upul yard.

its where I got this one, so I'm not trying to rule that out, just hoping for a fix before I spend any money

 

[1991 Blue danger ranger]

You can have mine. Radio is starting to fade though. I never used the tape player.

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oh my lord, thank you so much! I've been hoping for one with the xlt style knobs. please let me know if you want my email or phone number.

 

[1991 Blue danger ranger]

One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is a modern sound head in a old dash.

I spent 150 bucks on my radio...when i coulda got a cheap CD player for like 50...just cause i cant stand it. Lol.

same here, that's why I'm trying to fix this one. totally throws me off for my radio lights to be a totally different colour and style.

 

[1991 Blue danger ranger]

Have you pulled the cover off the radio to get to the guts of it?

If the deck part isnt going down it sounds like something is bound up or something rattled loose inside around the tape deck and is jamming it up.

Did you use it regularly and this just started or has it not had a tape in it since 1993?

FYI 94 is when the faceplaee changed to the more modern style with volume buttons. But all the radios from basically any ford vehicle will work from like 86ish up till 93. I have one from a 90 bronco in mine.

Ive heard the 94-96/97(?) Ones will work too but i dont know for sure.

I've gotten into it, nothing I could find visibly. i had been using it for about 2 months almost daily, got it at the pick n pull from a 94 b3000. (still the same internally, it hooked right up and everything)

 

[dvdswan]

oh my lord, thank you so much! I've been hoping for one with the xlt style knobs. please let me know if you want my email or phone number.

PM me you address. I don't know how much shipping would cost. But I can send it out and have you send me what you think is fair.

 

[Roert42]

Jumping right into this derailment.

Tapes will degrade over time, also temperature sensitive.

Vinyl and digital are best way to record audio. They both are considered to be a very true undistorted sound. One is just mechanical vs digital.
I have a bunch of CDs and Vinyls. Both sound great.
I like the CDs because they are easier to manage than an iPod, don’t have to worry about batteries and cables and Wi-Fi. Just drop it in the player.

I still have a few cassettes bumming around the house, but no player.

 

[Angry Possum]

Jumping right into this derailment.

Tapes will degrade over time, also temperature sensitive.

Vinyl and digital are best way to record audio. They both are considered to be a very true undistorted sound. One is just mechanical vs digital.
I have a bunch of CDs and Vinyls. Both sound great.
I like the CDs because they are easier to manage than an iPod, don’t have to worry about batteries and cables and Wi-Fi. Just drop it in the player.

I still have a few cassettes bumming around the house, but no player.

My cassettes haven't degraded at all. Perhaps I was lucky. They still sound amazing. Maybe because they were stored properly in their plastic cases in my basement since the mid 80s, and in a cassette storage case similar to the one enclosed below.

The sound of my home recorded cassette tapes, that were recorded straight from the albums are still perfect today,, they sound like they were recorded yesterday.

In the 80s I used a Pioneer SL1200 with a good stylus and cartridge to record. The tapes were recorded on TDK and Maxell tapes on a high end Sony Deck, in which I still have all of those devices today.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

All my cassettes are old country. Sound quality isnt an issue

 

[4x4junkie]

yeah sorry lol, but what I mean is that it'll slide in like normal, and it'll stay in the radio, but that's all it'll do. the housing? for the cassette deck will just stay there. it'll just stay upright like the electronics don't know I just put a cassette in.

So it just won't drop down into position when you push it in?
If so, there should be a small tab, button, or lever at the rear of the carriage mechanism that kicks the carriage down when the cassette tape is pushed against it... If I had to guess, that tab or lever is gummed up or maybe knocked out of position (a broken/missing spring is also possible, though this is somewhat rare).
Having the unit hooked to power while you cycle the various functions of the mechanism (Eject, >>FF <<RR, etc.) could possibly make it more obvious where the issue is (some units rely on a motor or solenoid to kick the carriage down). Just be careful you don't touch anything on the circuit board with any metal implements (transistors and ICs are exceptionally unforgiving of too much current from a short-circuit, and can instantly turn the unit into trash).

My cassettes haven't degraded at all. Perhaps I was lucky. They still sound amazing. Maybe because they were stored properly in their plastic cases in my basement since the mid 80s, and in a cassette storage case similar to the one enclosed below.

The sound of my home recorded cassette tapes, that were recorded straight from the albums are still perfect today,, they sound like they were recorded yesterday.

In the 80s I used a Pioneer SL1200 with a good stylus and cartridge to record. The tapes were recorded on TDK and Maxell tapes on a high end Sony Deck, in which I still have all of those devices today.

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Recording tape made since the 1970s- forward uses a tensilized polyester-base film (unlike acetate-based tape from the '50s & '60s which turns brittle with age and breaks). Keep them away from dust and magnetic fields (also periodically demagnetize your tape head(s) and other drive components) and the recording should not degrade to any noticeable degree over time.

Heavy use however can be a different matter (and this is true of vinyl records too)... Roert42 is correct in that digital media is basically immune to wear from repeated use (as well as time too), and should last indefinitely. An exception is certain CDs... there have been some cases of the metallized data layer corroding and/or oxidizing. Usually they will show visible signs of degradation before they become completely unplayable though, giving you time to copy it to a .WAV file or similar if you catch it in time. CD-Rs also quickly degrade if exposed to sunlight. These should be stored well away from any windows to the outside, as even bright indirect sunlight can ruin them too (ask me how I know lol).