HELP - Belt Positions on a Hitachi TRK-8190E

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1984Lives

Member (SA)
Dec 14, 2016
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Fellow Boomboxers, I desparately need your help.

As a teenager I had and loved a 8190E. I recently purchased one to rekindle that affair and as usual the tape deck isn't operational.

Actions Taken:
  • Three new belts purchased from Germany;
  • Downloaded Hitachi service manual ($4.99 from Owner-Manuals.com); and
  • Cleaned away all the perished rubber glop from spindles and drive wheels.
Problems:
  • The service manual doesn't show how to position replacement belts! and
  • There is nothing currently on the Forum or internet that I can find for the 8190E.

Help Needed:

Can anyone tell me how or post a photograph showing me how to position the belts.

I do have two photographs, showing belts and mechanism, but don't know how to load as I cannot find the usual 'paperclip' symbol.

Thanks for reading my post and for any help offered.
 

Fatdog

Well-Known Member
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May 3, 2009
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Welcome aboard, 1984Lives! I have to admit that I was skeptical that the service manual didn't show how to belt the mechanism, but when I looked at the manual I was gobsmacked. :blink: They don't show you how to belt it. :thumbsdown: The 8190 was apparently a popular boombox. I'm sure someone here can help.
 

1984Lives

Member (SA)
Dec 14, 2016
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All, thanks guys for the positive welcome to the community. :-) I just need to work out how to post the photos (cut and paste doesn't post), so stick with me. The mechanism isn't similar to anything I've seen from other Hitachi boomboxes boxes, so hope that the photos will help, so I can stop... :bang:
 

baddboybill

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Jul 14, 2009
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Ok so here's pic of most likely position of belts. Belt 3 largest goes around 3 pulleys at top marked in red but either 1or2 go under around 2 pulleys marked green. The other is for the counter. You have to see which is correct belt for each.
 

hopey

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Dec 28, 2014
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[SIZE=medium]I would have thought the flat belt sits on the fly wheel and only the motor pulley.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The other two go under the flat belt maybe both under the fly wheel if there are two pulleys. If not one may go to the Motor pulley if there is a spot under the flat belt?[/SIZE]
 

baddboybill

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Jul 14, 2009
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hopey said:
I would have thought the flat belt sits on the fly wheel and only the motor pulley.

The other two go under the flat belt maybe both under the fly wheel if there are two pulleys. If not one may go to the Motor pulley if there is a spot under the flat belt?
You could be right but a side view would make things much easier
 

1984Lives

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Dec 14, 2016
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Thanks all, especially ​Boomus Fidelis, however, the cramped working space inside the machine doesn't allow for any better angle shots than that posted.

The top spindle has a lower groove, so one of the belts will, I assume connect that way. I'll try it out based on belt length and let you know.


Further to my previous post, in addition two plastic wheels are at slightly different heights, I'm assuming for clearance purposes, both grooved.
 

Superduper

Member (SA)
I've rebelted countless decks and except for only a couple, all were pretty much done simply by observing the pulleys, their sizes and locations, and the pulley heights. Typically, each belt path is parallel so it's fairly easy to determine which pulley's are on the same belt which is simply common sense. If you go this route, you'll either get it right or wrong but I suspect that you'll be about 70% right. And if it's wrong, you'll know because either it doesn't work right, the spindles are going in the wrong direction, or something in which case, just juggle them around until you get it right. Also, if you purchased the correct sized belts, common sense basically tells you that flat belts goes around the flywheel and wide pulley(s). And if a belt is stretched too tight, it's routed wrong and if it's so loose that it's useless, once again it's most likely wrong.

Bottom line is that if you just go at it, get your hands dirty and give it a try, you can probably get it figured out in one evening, as opposed to waiting on these threads for an answer. Plainly speaking, if someone here has photos they snapped and stored in their hard drives, I'm sure they would share it, but if they don't already have those pictures, it's highly unlikely that they will strip down their example so that they can snap photos to share with you. Not saying they won't, some members have done it before. And if your deck was sitting in front of me, I would offer suggestions based on what I observe. But clearly, the best person to determine proper belt routing is you since you have the actual deck before you and can see the unit in 3-D and can rotate, feel, spin, do things that we can't based on a single 2-D image. BTW, you may wish to remove the deck from the chassis which will give you far better view of things. Sometimes, it's absolutely necessary in order to remove the flywheel backing plate which you'll need to do in order to route belts around that flywheel. And if you lift that flywheel off, 80% of the time, the routing becomes so much clearer since there is probably another pulley under that flywheel that is hidden from plain view. So just dig into it and see what happens. I know it's scary but you might be pleasantly surprised to see it wasn't as difficult as you thought.
 

1984Lives

Member (SA)
Dec 14, 2016
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All,
Season's Greetings. Gave it a go and connected main drive belt as you'd expect. Then belt from main wheel (groove below the main belt) to back pulley wheel and finally belt from white bully wheel to brass spindle below the main belt. Put it all back together and got thirty seconds of play. However the 'REW' works really well, so one of either the black or white bully wheels is set up OK. Will keep at it and if successful will post a photograph for other 8190E users.

However, if someone out there does have the answer, please post. :-D

All the best Boomboxers for 2017.
 

superlew

Member (SA)
Apr 22, 2012
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Possibility (Just a thought):

Perhaps the square belt idles on either the black or white pulley - In other words - Either one of those pulleys turns on the outside of the belt, rather than the inside. It looks like the white pulley has a clutch on it and is engaged by the transport somehow, which could drive the take-up reel. :hmmm:

Is it eating tape, engaging the auto-stop, or both???

Like I said, this is just a thought. I've worked on a lot of decks, but never this particular model.
 

baddboybill

Member (SA)
Jul 14, 2009
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I had to replace belts on Crown CRS 850 when there were no belts on it and had to change it a couple times before getting it right. And superlew is correct that sometimes a belt instead of fully going around a pulley it needs to go to one or other side ;-)
 

snufkin

Member (SA)
Aug 16, 2011
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1984Lives said:
All,
Season's Greetings. Gave it a go and connected main drive belt as you'd expect. Then belt from main wheel (groove below the main belt) to back pulley wheel and finally belt from white bully wheel to brass spindle below the main belt. Put it all back together and got thirty seconds of play. However the 'REW' works really well, so one of either the black or white bully wheels is set up OK. Will keep at it and if successful will post a photograph for other 8190E users.

However, if someone out there does have the answer, please post. :-D

All the best Boomboxers for 2017.
Hi did you ever get a chance to take those pictures trying to re belt mine now :)
 
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