I while ago I bought a vintage Akai GX-F80 cassette deck, which was sold by the seller as “working fine”. When it arrived it was not working fine, at least not to my standards, but I anticipated this already: a deck that’s over 30 years old will need some work on it before it shines again.
The problem with the deck was that all belts (three of them in total) had gone slack, but the biggest problem was the idler tire: it had become a little bit hard (which can be fixed), but it also had a dent in it from sitting unused against the reel motor wheel too long (this, imho, is actually a design flaw). This could clearly be heard in the form of flutter on playback. Since this can not be fixed, I had to get myself a new idler tire.
Spare parts for cassette deck are difficult to get, but idler tires are an exception: for many decks you can still get them. Unfortunately, not so for the Akai GX-F80 deck. Most companies and people who sell idler tires, don’t have any for this deck. After extensive searching I contacted an ebay seller named n4229k, asking if they have this idler tire. To my surprise he replied he did. Just to make sure, I asked him about the measurements, and he replied that he didn’t have an idler tire with the original specs (19mm outer diameter, 14.4mm inner diameter, 2.3mm thick), but that he did have an alternative (that measured 20x14x3mm), which he sold many times and worked well for other Akai GX-F80 customers. Although the thickness had me worried, I decided that in the worst case it would be 7.5 euros down the drain and to take a shot, and ordered one. The item was delivered within a week, which was fast especially considering shipping costs were only $3, and the item had to make its way from the US to Europe.
When it arrived I immediately tried to put it on the idler wheel. I had a tough time doing that, but I managed to get it in there. It was not until three weeks later that I had the time to work on this deck, also because I still had to order new belts for it. These came from Germany and were delivered within a few days.
Unfortunately, the idler tire was too large. I measured the tire with a caliper, and it’s measurements were 20x13x3mm, so the inner diameter was a millimeter less than what the seller had told. When mounted on the wheel, the outer diameter was stretched to 21mm, and this caused the tire to touch another part, preventing the idler wheel to rotate (see this video on Youtube, and this video about the old idler tire).
I contacted the seller to ask him if he had any recommendations about how to solve this problem, hoping he would have expertise in the matter. He told me some people use a tool such as a dremmel to take down the width. I was first a little disappointed by this suggestion, because you don’t expect to have to work on a new item with tools to make it work, and also because if you make an error you end up with an idler tire of imperfect shape, which will translate into audible flutter. But I again decided that the worst thing that could happen was a loss of € 7.50, and although I didn’t have a professional tool such as a dremmel, using fine sandpaper and my girl friend’s manicure kit I managed to take down the width to 2.5mm and increase the inner diameter so that the outer diameter was 20mm when fitted to the wheel. Now the tire no longer made contact with the part it was touching before. In fact, after cleaning the rest of the mechanism and fitting it with the new belts, the deck performed exceptionally outstanding. I don’t think I have ever heard a single capstan deck that was that low on wow & flutter. It surpassed my expectations on my “Mozart Clarinet Concerto wow & flutter test”! I was glad that working on the idler tire didn’t translate into flutter.
As to the belt kit: considering the outstanding wow & flutter characteristics, this obviously was a good belt kit, although I of course do not know how it will perform in a year or two from now. I would like to mention though that the belt that drives the counter does not fit as tight as new counter belts I have experienced in other decks. Its diameter is not very much smaller than the belt that probably has been in there for over 30 years. It works well right now, but I can imagine it starting slipping if only going just a little slack. On the other hand, since it is not putting much pressure on the take-up reel, this might actually be a good thing in keeping wow & flutter down the way it does. And in all truth, I could care less about the counter, especially since wow & flutter is way more important to me. For now, I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt.
Aftermath
As far as I was concerned, matters were resolved and it was time for me to give my appraisal for both the idler tire as well as the belt kit. I mean, there is a moment when matters are closed and you have to give one.
The idler tire, as explained above, was not an all 100% positive experience, but since the seller communicated reasonably well and the item was both low cost and shipped fast, I decided to give it a neutral appraisal. I then received two emails from the seller, one where he offered a refund (which I considered unnecessary), but apparently this was sent before he read my ebay appraisal. The message was followed by another one where he retracted his offer of a refund and expressed his dissatisfaction with my appraisal, which sounded rather angry to my ears and also included what I considered a threat to block me as a customer. Now it is true that my comment on ebay did not express my appreciation for the way the seller handled the problem, but such an expression was impossible, since ebay allows you only 80 characters to put in a comment, neither does it show the ratings I gave on the individual aspects of the transaction. The seller also commented publicly about me on ebay by saying “Quickly issued a neutral before asking for a solution to his problem”. Apparently he also was limited to those 80 characters that didn’t allow him any nuance.
I personally believe that I had a genuine right to put in my appraisal as neutral, because all ‘n’ all the experience with the tire itself was not 100% satisfaction, despite the service the seller offered (of which I think it was okay, but could have been better, e.g. by making it clear the idler tire he had on offer did not have the original measurements, or by making it clear from the moment I reported the problem that a refund, which was not what I was after, was one of the alternatives). I can understand that a seller wants to defend their reputation, but in my opinion, not respecting the overall evaluation of the buyer is a faux pas. Even after my appraisal, he could have turned my public comment into an opportunity e.g. by saying: “Sorry the tire did not fit your deck, you’ll get a full refund.” That would have been far more professional and good self-promotion. Instead, he put the blame on me, the customer. Again: faux pas! Anyway, after a couple of emails going back an forth we both had to opportunity to express our opinions.
So would I recommend buying from this seller? His intentions are fine, he certainly seems to be willing to take full responsibility for his products. But in my opinion he does not manage the customer very well. When inquiring about the availability of an idler tire, I had to explicitly ask for the tire measurements to find out it was an alternative, and a refund was not offered until after I myself considered the case closed, because the problem I reported to him was dissolved as far as I was concerned. Long story short: it’s safe to buy from him, but do expect to have to manage the problem yourself in case there might be one.
By the way, as said idler tires for a GX-F80 are difficult to get. While searching on Google I found a forum post that suggested you could also try an O-ring for idler tire. Since I have these in stock myself, I tried a 19x13x3mm o-ring as well as an 19x14x2.5mm one which both worked well and with the same good results when it comes to wow & flutter. So you could try these as well, although I’m not sure it is a proper and safe long term solution.