tape recorder

The Original Tape Recorder  (realistic model CTR-39)

I still have the original Radio Shack tape recorder and tapes that I purchased for use with this machine.  The transformer was shot.  Wires were broken and the case was held together with masking tape.  I threw it away.  At this moment I am using a bench power supply that I have handy to power the tape recorder.  It still mostly works, but badly needs a new belt for the tape drive.  The original belt slips badly.  Even with the slipping belt I've been able to read old tapes and write and read new ones.  I'm on the lookout for an appropriate replacement belt or a way to create one, which should make running the machine vastly easier.

Tape Recorder Update 12/29/2005

I pulled the old tape recorder out again and used a trick I recently learned in dealing with a jamming HP Laserjet printer.  I simply wiped down and cleaned the slipping belt with acetone.  This seems to have helped quite a bit and I'm no longer looking for a new belt.  The auto-stop feature still doesn't work, which could be related to the loose belt but I'll leave that for some other time.

Tape Recorder Update II 12/28/2006

To my surprise I found that  realistic CTR-39 model tape record I had, was occassionally listed on ebay.  I found one that included the box and purchased it.  This gave me an original "wall wart" power supply to go with my old recorder.  However the most interesting aspect of this ebay purchase is that I found that the power supply was not included as part of the package with the original unit.  It was purchased as an accessory.   The bad news is that auto stop didn't work on the new unit, either.  I spent some time digging into my older unit, and discovered how the mechanism worked.  Turns out that a lot of force is needed to operate the autostop mechanism and the old belts and rollers inside the unit are not up to the job.   During this process I tried replacing the main drive belt with a plain rubber band.  It worked great, but other belts and rollers slipping inside the mechanism prevented the auto stop mechanism from working.  Maybe someday, I will again try to debug this the autostop mechanism..

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