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Vintage Tape (Audio), Cassette, Wire and Magnetic Disc Recorders and Players Open-reel tape recorders, cassette recorders, 8-track players etc. |
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3rd Jun 2021, 8:15 pm | #1 |
Diode
Join Date: Jun 2021
Location: Barcelona, Spain.
Posts: 1
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cassette deck mechanism with large diameter flywheel
Attached are the photos of a tape drive mechanism that was widely used in the middle-class Soviet tape decks. It seems quite unusual, using a heavy large-diameter flywheel (implying a 220V motor taken from a reel-to-reel machine). The only idler is used for playback mode; in forward/rewind mode, corresponding pulleys are pulled a little bit back and come into direct contact with the flywheel, resulting in a very noisy (and sometimes tape-tearing) but rapid rewind. My sources claim that this is not an own development and that it was hugely inspired by one of the SONY decks; however, I was not able to find anything like it. Has anyone seen a similar mechanism? I would be very grateful to see an original implementation of this idea.
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3rd Jun 2021, 9:33 pm | #2 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 1,965
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Re: cassette deck mechanism with large diameter flywheel
I think various companies used AC motors for their earlier mains only powered decks: Sony, Akai and Pioneer to name three.
An interesting feature in this one is that what looks like a metal take up spool idler seems to gain its traction by riding directly on the rubber flywheel belt. I've not seen that before. |
3rd Jun 2021, 10:53 pm | #3 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 1,965
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Re: cassette deck mechanism with large diameter flywheel
Clarification: the idler seems to connect with the belt as the belt is wrapped around the flywheel. Not necessarily the best way as there would be only a small surface area of contact between idler and belt. More common for the belt to "wrap" around the idler for better grip.
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5th Jun 2021, 2:18 pm | #4 |
Banned
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Morpeth, Northumberland, UK.
Posts: 936
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Re: cassette deck mechanism with large diameter flywheel
The Wollensak mechanism had a large flywheel, AC motor and rewind by idler pressing against flywheel. Used in Wollensak, Advent and NEAL decks amongst others. Actually works very well, if rather "agricultural".
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5th Jun 2021, 4:30 pm | #5 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Posts: 1,965
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Re: cassette deck mechanism with large diameter flywheel
Probably a similar heavy duty setup was used in their high speed cassette AV 2770 duplicators. Unfortunately a good overall design marred by the reel tables with their integral felt and plastic clutches which tended to increase in torque over time, leading to damaged tapes.
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5th Jun 2021, 4:48 pm | #6 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,788
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Re: cassette deck mechanism with large diameter flywheel
As Tim says, synchronous AC motors were used in most early Japanese HiFi decks. DC motors only became common in about 1977.
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