Well known classic cassette deck: Nakamichi 480

One of the best examples of still much appreciated cassette decks is the Nakamichi 480. Besides the 600, with its’ unconventional wedge shape, the Nakamichi 480 evokes vivid memories with persons old enough to have seen the heydays of the compact cassette format. I will describe a common problem within this type of deck, found in a sample of the more expensive version, the 482 with three discrete heads. This sample was put into use after years of rest and would not function according to the previous owner. After some lubrication (applied externally !) the 482 did seem to function again, but sounded dull.

The recorder was sent to me. At at arrival the unit apparently suffered mishandling during transport. A corner of the frontpanel had suffered a blow and that blow had had also effects internally. One of the 4 mounting posts of the transport mechanism was broken and the transport sat askew in its housing.

Researching the reported problem

This specimen of the 482 was very well preserved by the previous owner, who had obviously handled the deck with respect over the years. All wear and tear items were serviced so no problems with belts were responsible for the malfunctioning. Putting the deck through a test proved it worked unexpectedly. Putting a tape into the transport worked OK but soon the left channel started to sound muffled and finally the tape was rippled. Typical signs of tape path guiding problems. The diffused resonance double capstan transport of this type of Nakamichi is exemplary in tape guiding, so something had to be wrong.

After a thorough cleaning of the transport I detected the left captan roller and associated tape guide that was well out of adjustment. The shared carrier for these components, rotating on a shaft, was pushed outwards and hitting the head assembly. The tape guide needs to be adjusted precisely to keep the tape traveling the correct path so this was obviously causing problems and needed readjusting. Problem detected. Quad Erat Demonstrandum.

Trying to readjust this type guide I found the range for adjustments was totally insufficient. Then I saw an additional problem. The carrier for guide and pressure roller was glued to the shaft it sits on in such a way that rotation was impossible. But the powerful mechanism still moved the carrier by force, which had resulted in the shaft to loosen from the transport frame, causing the shaft to turn in the polyester base and coming out of position under the strain of an associated spring. This had developed the problems with tape travel, but also blocked the mechanism from working when the carrier hit the head assembly. This blocked the head assembly to properly engage and so intermittently prevented the play function.

Repair

The glued tape guide carrier could not be unhooked from the shaft. Applying force resulted in the removal of the complete assembly out of the frame including the loose shaft. Once out of the deck I could force the shaft away from the carrier. The two were glued together with some old grease used for lubrication. This old grease acts as a remarkable strong glue after the intended lifespan. After cleaning out the gummed grease the carrier and shaft worked as usual. This time the shaft has been glued into the frame of the transport to avoid similar dislocations in the future.

Finally the reassembling of components was done in sequence: Pressure Roller, head assembly, moving parts of the cassette holder, back plate of the cassette compartment, cassette holder front cover, display with meters, front, top casing and the bottom. Meanwhile the little damage on the front was repaired as well as the 4^th mount of the transport. All standard mechanical and electrical adjustments needed to maximize performance and interchangeability with the other decks were routinely performed. After this the unit proved well worth the effort and sounds quite nice.

This Nakamichi can possibly last another 20 years and has joined his next of kin of the 480 breed in my collection.