Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!we13!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!parsec!ctvax!uokvax!rctracy From: rctracy@uokvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.audio Subject: Re: RE: Medium price cassette decks - (nf) Message-ID: <6114@uiucdcs.UUCP> Date: Fri, 9-Mar-84 22:57:16 EST Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.6114 Posted: Fri Mar 9 22:57:16 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 11-Mar-84 01:22:54 EST Lines: 65 #R:vice:-130600:uokvax:1000006:000:3117 uokvax!rctracy Mar 8 13:26:00 1984 (This reply is directed primarily to hound!rfg, whom I would have replied to via electronic mail if possible, but since this is my only independent way of getting outside the local network... I apologize in advance to readers of this group if discussing Sony cassette decks doesn't appeal to you :-). I received your letter concerning possible problems with the head on my TC-152SD. It sounds like it would definitely be worth checking out, IF I can find a qualified individual in the Norman-Oklahoma City area to do it... Maybe some further details might help track the problem down: The quality of the tape definitely matters. I can play Maxells, TDKs, DAKs "forever" without running into the motor speed regulation problem mentioned in my previous note. On the other hand, after demagnetizing the head, the problem will set in rapidly (approximately 2-3 hours of playing time) when I'm playing commercially pre-recorded tapes. MOST of the time, I can then play a Maxell tape right afterwards without any head maintenance being performed and the problem goes away until the pre-recorded cassette is reinserted. The head alignment was checked out and corrected by a dealer in OKC that is authorized to do warranty work for Sony. Assuming that the deck was checked out thoroughly (BIG assumption, but it seems to hold up since the guy checked out several things I didn't specifically ask him to) nothing was found that the dealer thought he should call to my attention. The alignment job was done correctly, so I have no reason to doubt the man's competence. The battery consumption problem MAY have been exaggerated slightly. I can get more than enough time out of fully charged batteries of any type to make it worth my while to use them. Ni-Cads and I just don't get along well at all, unless they are in a calculator. Sony's battery pack for my deck used to cost $15.95, and it lasted all of two months before one of the cells developed an internal short. After rigging up a Ni-Cad "zapper" similar to that described in a past issue of Popular Electronics (does anyone remember that magazine??? :-), I managed to salvage an additional month out of the battery pack before deciding that heavy load applications and Ni-Cads are less than a perfect marriage. Defective cells? I considered that and rebuilt the battery pack using size C Generous Electric Ni-Cad cells. These lasted about nine months before one of the cells failed in a manner similar to that described above. The price/performance ratio is just too high for me. As little recording as I do that requires batteries, I'm better off biting the bullet and sinking megabucks into a good set of alkalines when I need them. In any event, I haven't started to despair yet! Even with all its problems, my Sony still turns out better quality tapes than decks costing three times as much (SUBJECTIVE OPINION, which has been taking quite a beating in this group as of late, hence this explanation, because I can't afford an asbestos suit :-)! --Bob Tracy AT&T Technologies, Inc. - OKC Works ...!ctvax!uokvax!rctracy