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Curious if they work. Cleaning out a closet today, I dug out my old Phillips Stereo CD/Cassette Player (model AZ1005). I cleaned it up a bit and the CD player works great but noticed there's a drag in the cassette player. Wanting to make sure it was the player and not the cassette, I tightened up the tape (using the old pencil twist trick) but it didn't make much of a difference. I tested the cassette in the car, and it plays perfectly so I know the problem lies in the portable player.
Just wondering if those cassette cleaners would work on this. Maybe the ones that demagnetizes heads and cleans the entire tape path. I don't remember if I've ever cleaned it before so, hence, my question. Anyone ever found them to work? It's a great little unit and I enjoy listening to my old CDs and cassettes when I'm working on a project in the garage. I don't want to get rid of it, if all it needs is a cleaning. I haven't attempted to take it apart to see what's going on. Want to try the path to least resistance first.
Thanks I ordered a cleaner kit (didn't realize those were so inexpensive) and will give that a try. If it doesn't work, this old thing will probably end up in the donate pile. Someone will fix it and sell it. I don't need it any longer but it's fun attempting to diagnose problems in electronics.
Cleaning the heads won't do anything for the drive mechanism. Those rubber belts lose their elasticity with time (generally for the tape decks I've had, just a few years) and start slipping.
Experiment with rubber bands until you find one the right size for the drive, for the reader head, a pencil eraser works wonders. Thats what I used to do in the 70's.
Thanks everyone The tape cleaner arrived and I used it a few times on the player but it's still dragging so, as a few of you here have said, it has to be the bands. They must be stretched. I'm not taking this thing apart because the CD part and radio still work fine and it's just something I use in the garage when I want to listen to music as I work on a project. I didn't get the electronics gene in my family. That would have been my oldest brother who could build/repair anything electronically-related.
Although, I've been known to delve into something I'm not completely comfortable with and have it turn out okay, I don't think this is one of those times. Call it intuition. I do appreciate everyone's input, though. Really. Thanks again.
I hadn't even checked other tapes. Upon your suggestion, I checked a few more and they're all dragging so that narrows it down to where the problem lies. I don't have that many cassettes left to warrant tearing into this thing. But my natural curiosity may get the better of me and I'll end up performing exploratory surgery on it. With my lack of experience, I'm afraid the patient might not survive.
if you have a stretched belt, no amount of tightening tapes will fix it. look up the belt size and replace. there is a catalog with a crap ton listed, if that does not help, look at the capstan drive - it will 99.9% be flat or square, and buy the assortment for a couple bux from amazon and take the current belt minus just under 10% and voila.
If the motor is adjustable via servo - onboard or offboard - and you dont have the test stuff and a reference tape, find a copy of the thompson twins 'into the gap' and play 'hold me now' - you will hear what I mean if you have any ear for music. slightly harder to hear, but easier to find is supertramps 'breakfast in america' and play 'take the long way home'
Thanks RetireinPA. I never did tear into it to see if I could repair it. I decided it should be donated and if salvageable, someone more experienced than me could do the repairs and sell it. I know my limits and I'm pretty sure I'd have messed it up. It served its purpose for me but there comes a time when you need to let go and move on. I appreciate your input though. And I know what you mean about listening quality. I equate poor quality in playback to fingernails on the chalkboard. yikes!
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I ordered a cleaner kit (didn't realize those were so inexpensive) and will give that a try. If it doesn't work, this old thing will probably end up in the donate pile. Someone will fix it and sell it. I don't need it any longer but it's fun attempting to diagnose problems in electronics. 
Upon your suggestion, I checked a few more and they're all dragging so that narrows it down to where the problem lies. I don't have that many cassettes left to warrant tearing into this thing. But my natural curiosity may get the better of me and I'll end up performing exploratory surgery on it. With my lack of experience, I'm afraid the patient might not survive. 
