Opening a Panasonic 5080 and how to get the cassette to play

I recently acquired a Panasonic 5080 off of ebay and was having trouble opening the case. Can anyone offer any tips on how to open it? I unscrewed all the screws in the back (including the one inside the battery case) and when I try to pry it open the bottom seems to be completely stuck. I can't seem to get it to separate and I don't want to break the plastic tabs on the bottom row.

Anyhow once I do open it up, I'd like to look at getting the cassette deck to play. Currently it reverses and fast forwards but it refuses to play. The seller of this box on ebay claims that it played before it shipped (although I should be upset, I am not since I payed a good price for it). Does the cassette not playing mean that the motor is dead or could it just be a loose belt? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

hi and welcome most pannys in that series the front is what comes apart you have to remove all buttons and knobs and open the cassette door and yes it might seem that its stuck if it never been open they tenn to be that way , but it will come apart

It makes more sense when you think of it this way:

The back cover does not come off. The front cover is what comes off. As for the cassette -- if it FF's and RW's, it's not gonna be a motor problem. Rather, it's gonna be something else, probably a slipping belt.

Awesome thanks for the quick replies. I got it open pretty easily this time. I took a video of the cassette deck trying to play. It seems like it can actually move a bit but it does not seem to have enough power to actually turn a cassette. FF and RW on the other hand seem really strong (and even sounds just like it did back in 1986). Thanks for the help so far.

Video
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/178780/5080-cassette.mp4

Pictures
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/430 ... 366c_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/430 ... 64ff_b.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4064/430 ... 028d_b.jpg

Welcome aboard, agallisa. I would bet money that the long, flat belt is loose and not turning the large flywheel.

Hmm getting closer.. I think. I took the metal plate off and reseated the belt on the flywheel and it now spins with the rest of the unit. But now of course the reel (the part that actually turns the tape) does not want to turn in play mode. It will however in FF. I tried to capture all of this on video but I couldn't show it play. It either stops right away (as if it thinks that the tape has ended) or it turns for a bit but still does not have the power needed to actually turn the cassette.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/178780/5080-largeflywheel.mp4

I just got a 5085 (very similar) that had the same problem. The issue appears to be with the fast forward/rewind. After using either function, a bar in the back gets stuck to the stop contacts. I pushed it away, and the cassette deck works again. I can post pictures later.

I'd love to see pictures as I was never able to get it going.

before anything make sure all belts are in good shape remember a bit loose belt will tend to slip under load so you want to make sure they are all ok ,, another thing i always do is remove the plate in front of deck to reveal any other belt or o-ring that might be shot ,,if everything is ok then you know you have to look for other problems,, you will be surprized sometimes that a good mayority of problem come from worn belts or any other rubber part

after fast forwarding, and stopping, this bar was stuck, causing play to not work


after moving it down, play works


however, this problem comes back whenever I fast forward or rewind. The belts look good, so I'm not quite sure. Here's a picture of the front with the other side of the rocker: