TWO Rpelacements For My Long Lost Hitachi TRK-8130!

[MyOhMy]

Hi All,

I was once the proud owner of a new Hitachi TRK-8130E throughout the 1980's but seemed to have lost it somewhere, I was travelling around quite a bit in those days so it could have ended up almost I'd been to although I think it's still (or was) in the UK.

Anyway.......getting quite nostalgic in my old age I bought two replacements via eBay "for parts not working" but they are both mainly OK, each with just a few problems. Total cost including postage was £48,89 for both and about £5.00 for a hard copy Service Manual (all different sellers) so not too bad a price. No real battle scars to talk of although showing slight signs of wear with a light scrape or two here and there. There's a few bad things on one which are good on the other and vice-versa but mostly they're OK.

The two worst aspects are:

TRK-8130 #1
This has someone's postcode etched right through the surface paint into the plastic casing into the top, tuning wheel side with the full address etched on the base - and we're not talking discrete characters either, it was meant to be seen - this is what I call sacrilege!

TRK-8130 #2
The sound coming through the speakers is VERY 'growly' or 'coarse' so I'll be looking into this, they may be past redemption but I'm no expert.

TRK-8130 #1 & #2
Belts need replacing ( see my post here asking how to effectively remove old belt 'Liquorice' goo).
Both need a deep clean inside and out, there's enough fluff in them to make a critters' nest!
Both quartz clock do not appear to work although one has a partial LED display and the battery contacts on the other have green corrosion on them which may be the cause of the failure..

I've made a start by opening one of themup and this'll be a careful approach, photos a every stage, connectors marked before unplugging etc..

I think my biggest disappointment was to find the speaker 'grills' appear to be moulded/formed as part of the case so may not be detachable but I'll know more as I get a little deeper. I never realised this 'back in the day'!

Anyway, here's a few photos to make the post prettier:

Hitachi TRK-8130



In comparison to my Sharp GF-9000 the TRK-8130 looks so...........80's grey!



These three just because I had to!




Critter Central


Work begins on the first one


I know I'll get at least one good BB out of these two but a working-ish 2nd BB will be a bonus.

 

[baddboybill]

Yikes that's tiny. Good luck with resto!!!


Bad Boy Bill

 

[T-STER]

Nice to see you digging in and doing some repairs, this for me is all part of the fun. Nine out of ten Sunday mornings i'm sat at the kitchen table with cofee, a boombox on playing and one stripped for repairs. Its so much part of my life style now I'm not sure what would happen if I had none in the queue for repairs!

 

[MyOhMy]

Yikes that's tiny. Good luck with resto!!!


Bad Boy Bill

Tiny compared to the GF-9000 indeed, gawd knows what I was thinking back in the day but they're starting to feel really heavy at my age - and that's without the batteries!

Nice to see you digging in and doing some repairs, this for me is all part of the fun. Nine out of ten Sunday mornings i'm sat at the kitchen table with cofee, a boombox on playing and one stripped for repairs. Its so much part of my life style now I'm not sure what would happen if I had none in the queue for repairs!

I think I'm developing Early Onset Boomboxia! I'm starting to enjoy this now although I'll never grasp the intricacies of PWB's and the like, I've never been that way inclined 'cos it's all waaaaay too technical. (Been thinking of putting some shelves up in a spare room though, you know, just in case......)

 

[SLO]

The SHARP looks great! And good luck on the Hitachi project Oh and yes get some shelves up, you'll be needing them sooner than you might think The collection adds up oh so quickly!

 

[MyOhMy]

Progress! I now have one nicely working, clean TRK-8130 and I'm really pleased as this is my biggest step so far. I put my efforts into the BB with the post code etched into it in 3 places (although I haven't taken care of this yet, that's for later) because this had fewer internal issues. The priority was to get one of the 8130's functional and clean as part of my learning curve.

I've opened the BB, took LOADS of pics to make sure I could put it back together all ship shape with fastenings labelled into parts trays etc., removed the fluffy stuff, cleaned and sprayed the pots (well now, is that starting to sound professional, is it - huh?!), straightened out and secured the loose aerial using a small poly-something-or-other washer to take up the slack within the mount 'cos this will also cushion against any potential slackening through movement/vibration. I cleaned out all the gungey liquorice from the old belt and put in place two new belts then cleaned anything else I could access.

It then all went back together without any problems, I cleaned the tape heads and roller, demagnetised the heads (TDK Demagnetiser from eBay, "TDK HD-30 HEAD DEMAGNETIZER (Made in Japan) ©1990", £34.99) and now it looks far better than it did previously and works nice and sweet. My tapes now sound so much better since the demagnetising, even the one that I've had for over 30 years and used to sound all 'muddy'.

The LCD clock/timer isn't working yet and, searching for other Hitachi's on the web with similar clock/timers, it seem many haven't stood the test of time. It's not a life or death matter but it'd be nice to have this working at some point in the future. So then, just etchings to remove/fill followed by a paint job and I'm done.

This is the scary bit for a first timer - dear me, what am I getting into?!


Pics at every stage and every angle! Using a bright pencil to clearly identify leads to be unplugged and their surrounding.


Belts exposed! Why are they so difficult and awkward to get to?


New belts in place.


I'm feeling more confident now. I even looked at all the technical diagrams in the Service Manual and, even though most aspects are way above my understanding, I traced the connections I'd unplugged/plugged back in and now understand these particular aspects and a few others in the diagrams. Just don't expect me to figure out all the hieroglyphics, though!!! For all you experts on the forum (you know who you are: I found a gnarly lookin' BB in a junk yard at 1000hrs this morning, gave it a bath, did the pots, changed the belts, resprayed it inside out out and had it switched on and fully working by 1005hrs!!!) this may seem like pretty basic stuff but it's a first for me, I'm really pleased with what I've achieved so far and look forward to doing much more. The BB now sits proudly on a prominent shelf and It's been on all day - it's now getting the much needed lurve!

[edited for a spelking tismake]

 

[Northerner]

Excellent work....so rewarding to get them booming again, well done

 

[SLO]

Awesome job! Very impressive

 

[MyOhMy]

Excellent work....so rewarding to get them booming again, well done

Thanks, Northerner. I understand about this being so rewarding, as soon as the first tape (Toyah) starting playing, I was mentally back in the 80's with a big grin on my face at the result. I think the Hitachi TRK-8130E's were first produced in 1981, I bought one new at the time and it seems like no time at all had passed once Toyah was giving me a bit of earache this morning!

 

[MyOhMy]

Awesome job! Very impressive

Thanks, SLO - much more of this and I'll not get my head through the door!!!

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Awesome job! Very impressive

Oh that feeling after you have stepped back and looked at your pile of spaghetti and the first thought "OH GAWD, WHAT HAVE I DONE "



Great work MyOhMy
(ha, just realized that is M.O.M.)

 

[Hisrudeness]

Thanks, Northerner. I understand about this being so rewarding, as soon as the first tape (Toyah) starting playing, I was mentally back in the 80's with a big grin on my face at the result. I think the Hitachi TRK-8130E's were first produced in 1981, I bought one new at the time and it seems like no time at all had passed once Toyah was giving me a bit of earache this morning!

Toyah Wilcox? Spot on correct era!

 

[MyOhMy]

Toyah Wilcox? Spot on correct era!

Strange you say that..........I was going to keep it to myself so as not to be thought as.....well, weird but.......once the machine was up and running again I promised myself it would be 80's music only to start with 'cos it seemed, well, 'right and proper', respectful in a strange kinda way!

 

[T-STER]

This thread warms my cockles. So glad to hear another one saved and booming again. Great read and well done!

 

[MyOhMy]

Oh that feeling after you have stepped back and looked at your pile of spaghetti and the first thought "OH GAWD, WHAT HAVE I DONE "

Ha, spot on! I'll also readily admit to opening up the BB, doing exactly as you say then having a cup of tea first!

This thread warms my cockles. So glad to hear another one saved and booming again. Great read and well done!

Thanks for the welcome support, T-STER. I'm not so sure I'll be doing half a dozen before breakfast any day soon, though!

 

[trippy1313]

Yikes that's tiny.


Bad Boy Bill

Umm.... That's what sh.... Nevermind...


Glad you got your old radio back, ×2!!

 

[k2j]

Totally awesome. Been fun reading your stories of adventure in boomboxery land. That Sharp is insane looking. I like the speaker grills on the Hitachi too. Nice set you have there!!

As you get used to taking them apart, although they are different you can use the same learned skills to make your life easier.

For instance. When I disassemble a box for the first time I do it in stages. I may have a bit of adhd but this works really well for my skill level and memory or lack there of. I take off the back cover then put it back on remembering which screws go where if they are different. Sometimes I will lay them out on the table in the same pattern as they were removed. Next time I just take it apart a bit further. For example a sony CFD-99 take the back off and then the cassette deck, and pop it back in and together. Rinse and repeat each time adding a layer. It could help to do certain tasks between each open/close to like give the back a nice scrub while its off the first time...then rebelt/clean the cassette deck..

ALSO be sure to take pictures!!!! Don't use the excuse that my phone is in the other room...go get it and snap pics of detailed wiring positions, where plugs and wire hold downs go etc. This has screwed me in the past but hopefully not in the future!

Can't wait to see where your collection leads you!!

 

[trippy1313]

Can't wait to see where your collection leads you!!

Probably in the mental hospital or "BA" meetings with the rest of us. Lol.

 

[MyOhMy]

Umm.... That's what sh.... Nevermind...


Glad you got your old radio back, ×2!!

Totally awesome. Been fun reading your stories of adventure in Boomboxery land. That Sharp is insane looking. I like the speaker grills on the Hitachi too. Nice set you have there!!

As you get used to taking them apart, although they are different you can use the same learned skills to make your life easier.

For instance. When I disassemble a box for the first time I do it in stages. I may have a bit of adhd but this works really well for my skill level and memory or lack there of. I take off the back cover then put it back on remembering which screws go where if they are different. Sometimes I will lay them out on the table in the same pattern as they were removed. Next time I just take it apart a bit further. For example a sony CFD-99 take the back off and then the cassette deck, and pop it back in and together. Rinse and repeat each time adding a layer. It could help to do certain tasks between each open/close to like give the back a nice scrub while its off the first time...then rebelt/clean the cassette deck..

ALSO be sure to take pictures!!!! Don't use the excuse that my phone is in the other room...go get it and snap pics of detailed wiring positions, where plugs and wire hold downs go etc. This has screwed me in the past but hopefully not in the future!

Can't wait to see where your collection leads you!!

Thanks, k2j and, if I may say, very wise words for a learner like myself to adhere to. I understand the memory problems as mine is quite bad but that's an improvement on it being absolutely atrocious a few years ago as I suffer from PTSD. My memory sometimes skips class looking for my concentration which didn't even turn up for the lesson (again!), this is another reason why I need to take so many photographs. I'll get there, I've started work on my 8130E no. 2 so will be starting a new thread to share the panic!