PC-5 Deck Intermittent Drag

[429CV23]

Recently picked up a PC-5 system. Replaced the 3 belts, lubed the capstan and capstan motor shafts. Still has an intermittent drag when playing tapes.
Curious about the capstan motor mounting; fairly wide slots, held in place by rubber mounts.

Are the rubber mounts available? I may replace the motor and would want to replace those rubber pieces as well.

 

[stynger007]

Recently picked up a PC-5 system. Replaced the 3 belts, lubed the capstan and capstan motor shafts. Still has an intermittent drag when playing tapes.
Curious about the capstan motor mounting; fairly wide slots, held in place by rubber mounts.

Are the rubber mounts available? I may replace the motor and would want to replace those rubber pieces as well.

Hello, The back side of the motor has an adjustment attentuator, a number 1 flat jewellers screwdriver can gently punch through the small square sticker . The attentuator is very delicate you`ll find it behind a sticker in the middle. You`ll need to punch the sticker gently , and spray a very small amount of switch and contact cleaner in the hole. Insert the jewellers screwdriver . Gently insert the screwdriver as it`s in play mode , tickle the insides by finding where the screwdriver will drop into the slot. Gently work it until it plays faster, slower, repeat several times. Find the proper speed ( There`s a phone app for that) . Never press in hard, funky things will happen. My thoughts are, the attentuator inside the motor is oxidized and needs cleaning.

Don`t be a stranger- report back with your findings, and post pictures of this and other units you have. The community appreciates giving back. Good luck, looking forward to your next post.

 

[429CV23]

Thanks stynger007, great info!

I ordered and received a replacement capstan motor. When apart, I powered the original motor a few times and it def had a bearing issue. Making plenty of noise. I removed the pulley, then put a couple drops of synthetic machine oil on the shaft. After a few power ups, she is spinning fine without any noise. I decided to roll the dice and keep the original capstan motor in it for now.
What a difference! Initially the W/F was >0.12, tapping 0.5 when it would momentarily drag. After oiling the motor it is now a very respectable 0.06-0.08, and spinning 3001Hz on a 3000Hz cal tape.

One word of caution on adjusting motor speed. Always use a ceramic or plastic shaft screwdriver, or wrap tape around a metal shaft screwdriver to prevent shorts. Ceramic shaft drivers are extremely cheap, like $5 for a set of 3 or 4. Well worth the cost.

Pretty impressive little deck. I may take the time in the near future to run a frequency response test on it with my Nak T-100, see how good the heads & electronics are. Still not too hopeful on that considering the drop in signal quality when going from an 8kHz to 10kHz cal tape, but, still might be worth graphing it.