VZ-2000 Left speaker dead?

Hello everyone! Complete novice here, but i'll try my best

A few days ago I got the opportunity to to buy my first Boombox. I spotted a VZ-2000 being sold just a 15 minute walk away from where i live and just had to have it! needless to say I carried it home I've wanted one of these for years, so I'm excited to finally own one!

It looks to be in good condition, albeit missing half the sliders and the Record player makes a grindy buzzing sound when i try to play a Vinyl (I'm guessing that means it needs a new belt?) but the main issue i want to tackle is the left speaker appears to be almost dead.

Things to note-

• I've tried Fiddling with the Balance Slider - It does what it's supposed to, but the left speaker barely emmits any sound (at max volume and my ear to the speaker, I can just about hear some coming through)
• I plugged my computer speakers into the Phones Jack and flipped the switch at the back to external speakers. The same thing happens with my computer speakers, with sound only coming from the right side of them.

I've read all the VZ-2000 topics on the forums here, and gather that most sound issues are solved by opening the unit up, and spraying the switches with contact cleaner. I've got a copy of the disassembly guide with images from here, so I'll give that a try when i get some, along with a new belt, but thought i'd make a post here to double check just in case it could be anything else.

So, can I fix it? :'-( I'm in London (UK) If anyone knows someone who might be able to help, if It's something you think a novice won't be able to deal with.

Thanks!

Its most likely bad contact in the function switches .
I have 3 of these and if I let them sit long enough. Have the same problem , I have to fiddle with the function switches to get them to play on both channels.

Another thing you can try is pressing play and record on the deck several times in a row to work the record bar , these can also cause output issue's.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Just to add, the sound only plays from the right side both while playing a cassette and the radio, though the faint hiss while powered on is present from both sides. Both the left and right signal lights work when a cassette is playing too. I've turned it on again and started cycling through all the buttons repeatedly. No luck so far, guess I'll have to order some of that contact cleaner and open her up soon. Anything else i should buy beforehand?

Might be a bad main amp. The pre amp may be ok if the VUs work ok on both channels.

Thanks for the input!

That sounds like a more serious issue, would it be possible to fix? :'-(

Its the switches or a blown speaker......service all the switches thoroughly with contact cleaner....do Not power that speaker on loud volume, or you WILL blow the amp...the amp is a ha932 i believe and there is 2 of them i think


also try her on headphones and report back

A newbie who has actually read all the stuff on the forum and downloaded the disassembly guide?!!...wow I’m impressed, most people ask the questions having done no research. Top marks to you dude!

With any box contact cleaning can resolve any number of serious looking problems so always do that thoroughly first. I’ve had boxes that did literally nothing but buzz work perfectly once I’d gone through it with contact cleaner.

Follow the disassembly guide slowly and carefully and it’s not hard, might need an extra pair of hands at a couple of stages as this thing is so huge.

Good luck

Having restored over 10 VZs, about 5 2000s among them, I can tell you this is 99% the balance slider!
No bad amp, blown, speaker or function switches.
You have to take the front off which is fairly easy but them you gotta un-thread the tuner string, screw off the slider board and carefully desolder the balance slider. Then you bend open the little metal tabs, open it, and just glue the loose brush back in place with super glue. Most likely it is still hanging on there but it might be just kicking around in the slider so be careful not to lose it.
This will fix your problem.
Had VZs that were completely dead on both channels (or barely emitting any sound like you described) and found the slider to be faulty.

Good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement! I actually got a PM from a member here who linked me to a blog/guide in french mentioning the balance slider. I've got a soldering iron, but have little experience with it, and past attempts at soldering work have had mild success at best :nugget: I think the thing runs too hot. I might take that piece down to someone local who can do a better job then me.

By the way, I've read a few posts about people 3D printing replacement sliders, and some old ones mentioning a member called Bredgeo too. I don't have access to a 3D Printer, so has anyone got a lead on where i can get a set?

Hey all! things got stuck in the post over Easter, so a little late on the update, but i have some good news. I got the VZ-2000 working!

This thing was filthy on the inside, it took a whole box of tissues (dabbed in diluted handwash) and loads of cotton buds to clean! Despite that, everything was in really good condition. I sprayed/worked the function switches for half an hour or so. It felt like there was a slight click when passing the middle of the balance slider, I wasn't sure if it's supposed to be like that to indicate the centre, or if something was broken inside it, so decided to look into that too.

I didn't want to desolder the entire balance switch unit from the board though. I took it slow and carefully lifted up the tab at the end of the switch, and snipped it off to allow the slider to come out of the end. I did this using my hobby knife at an angle, while applying gentle pressure from above to keep it in place and avoid damaging the board.

Both metal brushes were intact, but one was lifted too high to make contact on the rail, so i bent it back into place and reinforced the mounting area with JB Weld epoxy, as i dont trust how brittle superglue is. I slid the slider back into its unit, and used epoxy to reattatch the metal tab i'd snipped off. After smoothing it over it looks tidy

I had to open the boombox up again to replace the woofer padding though, as it had a really strong foul smell of cigarettes, when playing music. Luckily i had a duvet i was about to throw out on hand, so i used the stuffing from that. It came out in nice woolly sheets, which i had to play around with the thickness to get the sound right, as using the same thickness as the old stuffing just made the bass sound hollow.

Unfortunately i couldn't get to repair the record player, as 2 of the 4 mounting screws to detatch the pcb layer refused to unscrew. :judge:
I'll revisit that problem later, but for now I'm super happy with the results of my first adventure inside a boombox.

I've connected it to my computer using a Din5 adapter, Blasting out retro tunes now, and it sounds great!

Thanks for all the helpful posts everyone! I'm looking forwards to my next project, which might come sooner then expected, as my mother dug out something i'd completely forgotten about. A tiny red Sanyo twin cassette MS500K. It counts as a boombox, right?

StarWolf said:

Hey all! things got stuck in the post over Easter, so a little late on the update, but i have some good news. I got the VZ-2000 working!

Click to expand...

These are the best kinds of posts in the tech section! Congrats on bringing new life to the VZ. But... don't forget to go back at some point and repair the record player. Then, you'll be like