FAQ Q) You should send it to….they’d/I’d fix it. A) It really is not worth anyone’s time. This cost me £44 - bought as 'Junk' just to use in this video. The disassembly was recorded across two days. The section at the end where I throw in the towel was shot after I’d spent the afternoon of day two stripping down the tape mechanism to get the belts in place. This involved removing multiple split washers and e-clips the size of a pinhead. Once those parts were reassembled a couple of the vital ones were no longer securely held in place. It’s likely some microscopic, important and irreplaceable components pinged off during disassembly, never to be seen again. Whatever the reason though - the mechanism is a write-off. Whenever something broken appears in a video I understand the desire to see the thing fixed but this is a heavy, compromised personal stereo cassette player that even if functional would be destined to sit unused. Given that the mechanism relied on dried up rubber friction wheels it’s unlikely it would be trustworthy. I'd rather play my cassettes using something else. If anyone wants to take on the challenge of swapping the belts on one of these - the RX-2700 appears on eBay quite frequently. I believe other early Panasonic models are equally complex internally. If you bought one of these at least you’ll be starting off with a complete unit, with all the parts intact. You don’t want to go into something like this following on from someone else’s half-finished repair - you don’t know what damage has been done or irreplaceable parts lost. Rather than start with a bag of assorted bits, probably not all the bits, you'd be better to start from scratch with an unmolested example. Good luck if you do, but there are way way better personal stereo cassette players out there far more worthy of your time. MARCH 2023 UPDATE: The disassembly was shot a couple of months back and the remainder of this video was completed weeks ago. Since then I passed the bag of bits on to someone who wanted to have a go at fixing it. He couldn’t get any further and I believe it was stripped to use for parts to repair other machines.

I can see the RX-2700 being one of those rare devices where the Techmoan Effect is inverted. Good on you for showing that not every repair video on KZfaq results in sunshine and unicorn farts, Mat.

It's good that you show things don't always work out. If you only show your successes, people will assume that vintage audio repair is easy, because you keep saying you're not much of a mechanic, but even you manage to repair anything you lay your hands on. Sharing your failures as well demonstrates that things aren't always that easy, and there is a risk involved. Keeps people from overspending on broken devices in the hopes of an easy repair.

We've all taken apart something and then realized it was going to be a complete nightmare and not worth our time. Glad you didn't delete the video because it is still interesting even if it didn't get repaired.

I was in college in 1979 and a friend of mine from Japan brought a Walkman back. I was blown away. I remember walking around my neighborhood at 1am listening to Allman Bros Band blaring away in my ears in full stereo with full dynamic range like my home stereo had.

Hey Mat ... I work on vintage electronics all the time (mostly recording equipment) and I have to commend you on the patience you've shown here. There were a few moments where I would have probably just tossed the thing against the wall. Clearly, Panasonic had no intention of this little thing being repaired. It makes the Sony look like a breeze to work on. Good on ya!

Wow, I LOVE your idea to print out a photo of the back of the unit and then tape the screws to the appropriate locations! I’m starting to think they really didn’t want anyone to take one of these apart.

I used to fix things like that in a repair shop and even then the real labor time had to be reduced because then the customer wouldn't want to pay for the hours spent . Now it just wouldn't make sense to fix it even if you could. Good for you Techmoan for giving it your best effort and also for telling the true story 👍

I honestly struggled to imagine how they assembled this in the first place, especially with that short ribbon cable between the two halves. Given the nest of wires taped down on the back of the board, it really feels like this thing was kludged together to ship something as quickly as possible.

If nothing else, this video demonstrates that making difficult to repair electronics is a long standing tradition that continues to this day. I can only imagine the nightmare of a time the people who originally assembled this thing must have had. Thanks for sharing your failures, it helps others.

This video is amazing. Rather than focusing on how difficult something is to repair, my mind kept thinking how staggering it would have been to have an efficient assembly line for this kind of thing in the 80’s. These obviously sold and sold well, but putting it together with such tight tolerances always blows my mind.

Thank you for showing the attempted repair. Nice to know that we sometimes must accept that there are things made in such a way that it gets either prohibitively expensive or too difficult to repair yourself, unless one happens to run an actual advanced electronics repair shop. Good content, I like the way you share your findings. Thumbs up to this video as well as all of the others.

I love videos that include a "failure" part. It shows us that everyone has their limits, which are not so easy to overcome. That's why I say thank you for this great video!

I had an early Panasonic "walkman" as my first portable in 1981, a gift during a long hospital stay. It was almost as therapeutic as the medical care. As I recall, it had the radio but no speaker. It lasted several years.

I was working in the Middle East in the early 1980s, and one of the great pleasures was to wander around the tax free 'electric souk', have a look at all the new gizmos, and even buy a few. I do recall walkmen of all makes becoming increasingly sophisticated and thinner with all sorts of new features, such as a cassette you inserted that was actually a radio plug in. (Panasonic or JVC?) 'Peak walkman' seemed to be about 1984 or 5, a few years later CD versions came along. Cassette walkmans then went into a fast decline, but somehow a few cheap designs, often with integral radios, lingered on into the noughties, a sad shadow of their former selves. But thanks for an interesting episode - a reminder how frustrating fixing stuff can be. I'd certainly love to see more stuff on how sophisticated walkmans got!

I always admire your bravery when it comes to ripping stuff apart and trying to fix it. Honestly, seeing a repair not work out makes me feel a little bit better about myself :-)

I never get fed up of Techmoan. I'll watch all the way through thanks and will love every minute whilst doing so 😃 no skipping for me.

They can't all be winners but I certainly enjoy the journey. Thank you for sharing. I've definitely been down the rabbit hole of trying to repair something beyond my skill and I can relate to your frustration.

My first personal stereo was a Sanyo M4440 from the early 1980's. This model had a couple of features I never saw in later machines. It had a built in microphone, not for recording as it was just a player, but so you could have a conversation with someone in the room without having to take the headphones off! The 2nd feature was a pitch control.

I'm still going to give you props for attempting the repair. I remember how trepidatious you used to be about doing this kind of thing! Also want to mention (as evidenced by the pinned topic) that it's been such a joy to see a renewed interest in repairing old tech, and how many people have started to get into it, as well as modding and retrofitting, etc.

This sort of video is exactly why I have a membership to your Patreon. Albeit the entire universe might not be so pleased, but if you just constantly did old tech repairs/repair fails, I'd be a happy guy forever.

I have been restoring such equipment for many years, and I have completely restored many interesting devices as your National. Yes, this thing are very difficult to repair. I am writing this to the fact that it would be nice for you to find an experienced craftsman nearby who can handle such an apparatus. Having a fully working device like this is a great achievement.

This was definitely a nightmare to fix. As someone who likes to dabble in fixing stuff, the moment you showed that centimeter long ribbon cable, i thought that even this repair is beyond me

I really appreciate seeing when things don't work out. That's how things are sometimes, and this is a good reminder for everyone that it's not only happening to them.

You don't know how many hours I spent, at my father's side, as he repaired (and tried to) my audio components from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s. You are a gifted repair technician and I considered it my privilege to watch this. Unfortunately, in the last 45+ years, my own ability to maintain information hasn't improved at all. I should have taken notes all those many years ago. I had to watch this video, through your using several processes of elimination, that shows that you have the gift. Thank you!

I am just glad someone finally brought up the early 70's Panasonic portable cassette machines. As a kid I used one starting in 1973 to take around and listen to music. Mono, who cares as mono is still better than silence. Many friends always asked where I got that, we used it plugged into amps and whatever we needed to do to listen to my tapes. It made it all the way across the pond to Europe and the middle east and into my first years in the Air Force. I wish I still had it but it was quickly replaced with a smaller Walkman that lasted only a few years until the Discmans and well the rest is a fantastic Techmoan series.

WOW, I love those types of challenging mechanisms... my biggest adventure I had is to reassemble an early 80s Hitachi tape mechanism that dropped off my hand on the floor and I had to chase all the springs and the pieces to guess their places back in the thing. it was around 11pm and I had to get it done before the morning, so my dad won't notice!! LOL.... lots of stress but so proud I was able to put it back with the same original issue :D

The people who designed tech and electronics back then were on some other level. It's hard for me to wrap my head around how they managed to fit that many components in such a small space. Good on you for trying to go up against that! I've tried repairing things that ended up the same way, and it's disheartening. But it's important to learn from those moments.

It was the lack of speakers that was the most revolutionary thing in it. That was what caught my eye at the time. It made music truly personal instead of social like it previously had been

Is impressive to watch a teardown of these devices, all of those mini parts compress in such a little device compared with what we have today is simply amazing. Thank you for your patience and love for these devices, having a working one is having a piece of art and hystory.

I'm glad you decided to air this video after all. It's fascinating to see you attempt (and usually succeed) repairing these intricate devices. But even more, I like getting a glimpse of this earlier technology and how it was manufactured. Finally, I enjoy your narrative as your describe these wonderful gadgets. Thank you!

I have a Panasonic RQJ6, bought from Lewis's in Birmingham. Its still in full working order. I used it to record live gigs very successfully. The mics worked well or if I was engineering a gig I would use the phono line ins from the desk. Also used it for demoing songs before recording in the studio. It had many uses and stood on its own as recording quality was excellent. Only downside was no noise reduction, it is quite heavy and it ate batteries. Other than that, the quality was remarkable at the time. It was certainly well built and a one off in design.

Smart hat prices in eBay are skyrocketing. That techmoan effect...

I love nothing better than to watch techmoan repair audio equipment with my saturday afternoon coffee.

My first exposure to a Sony Walkman was a gift from my uncle in the early 1980s. He was a runner and decided either to upgrade his walkman or that he didn't like the one he had. I forget. But he gave my siblings and I his SRF-40. This walkman didn't have a cassette player and in fact only had FM radio. But I was blown away by how amazing music sounded through the Sony headphones. The gift was intended to be shared by 5 kids between the ages of 5 and 14, so unsurprisingly there were arguments over who got to use it when. I was both the biggest and oldest of the kids, so I usually won the arguments. In addition to listening to music, I would also listen to Dr. Ruth Westheimer's late night radio show, Sexually speaking. That was a show I didn't think my mother would have approved me listening to and I was fairly certain she would object to me listening to where my siblings could hear. I know it's hard to believe a 14-year-old boy would be so interested in sex, but somehow I doubt I was the only one. I see from Wikipedia that Dr. Ruth is 94 and still alive. According to the article I just read, the 4 foot 7 inch sex expert is a Holocaust survivor that was trained as a sniper by the Israeli army. She is an amazing woman. But reflecting on that Walkman has me thinking about buying an SRF-40 on eBay. Apparently they are available for $50 + shipping. The only issue is I don't really listen to the radio anymore.

I'm surprised you went as far as you did, well done. As for the ribbon cables, if you did want to re-assemble you could just use individual flying leads with enough length to allow you to move things around. Heaven knows how you establish the belt path.

It's actually surprising that Walkmans didn't appear until 1979, given that reporters and secretaries had been using similar mono dictation machines for years. I really think Sony, Panasonic and the like got distracted by the whole boombox craze around. It was all about carrying around a big, loud player that people could share rather than individuals shutting themselves off in headphones. That change has clearly pushed the industry (and society) in a different direction.

Love that you showed us the nightmare that is opening this device. Hopefully no one else gets caught off guard thinking it be an easy fix!

What this video shows me is why miniaturization is so amazing. Nowadays a portable stereo has, roughly speaking, a circuit board with some chips and surface mount components, a cassette mechanism, a spot for batteries, and that's about it. (Although they still don't want you to fix this stuff.)

Nice to know I'm not the only one who occasionally screws up a repair and consequently the device ;-) I wonder how companies assembled devices like these back in the day: probably partly automated, partly by hand?

Why would anyone want to skip the best part of the video? I've always enjoyed watching you repair devices.

Have enjoyed this video immensely dear Techmoan, glad you hadn't deleted it.

It’s fascinating how complicated that technology is. A look at the manufacturing process used to put them together would be very interesting I think. Is this something you could do, Mat? Or can you link to some site where this had been covered? Thanks for your great work, as always.

I'll take three Smart Hats, please!

Bollocks! Always a delight to watch you disassemble and reassemble products, and in this case I can understand why you couldn't get it back together. What a cluster-F. Many thanks!

I just love the honesty of your videos. If something doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. That's reality. But even if you're "unsuccessful", it's still always fun watching you doing your thing. Techmoan is my feel-good-channel. I'm ending every video with a smile on my face. Dankeschön! :) Greetings from Germany

How complicated should the Maintenance/Repair be? Panasonic: YES!

"Techmoan: Going to the trouble of dismantling and failing to put back together things, so you don't have to." Joking aside. All fascinating.

i rarely comment on any of your videos and you'll likely not see this due to the sheer number of comments, but i loved seeing you attempt to repair this. i am glad you did not delete it. i actually like when you are doing these types of repairs and i love your accent and vernacular.

It is such a privilege to watch a video made by Mat, the inventor or the Smart Hat!

That is such a good idea on taping the screws to a printed out picture of the component / device!! OMG!! I forget I have a camera a few inches away usually until after I've already started taking something apart even when I think of it before I begin... almost always like, oh crap, I should take a pic... lol Love the video as always!!!

If you have an FM tramsmitter thing that tramsnits stereo, like those ones designed to play a cassette via a radio, you might be able to find out if the speaker plays both channels or not via FM Stereo. It is a shame you couldn't get it working, but that was the drawback of minimising size back in the day when components were still too large for proper minimisation.

Using a photo of the device as a screw organizer is a great idea!! It beats some of the hand drawn maps I've made in the past.

I read the update that it was parted out but for anyone else (or you if you ever buy another one!) the cassette mechanism on these can be removed from the front without having to split all the boards apart to service and change the belts once the appropriate screws have been removed. It's been over 10 years since I last worked on one of these but there is no need to completely strip it unless you want to hunt down and change any capacitors etc.

There are quite good suggestions in the comments about where to send the unit off to get it fixed. Also that would make a good repair video. Alternatively you can send it to me. I was one of the major restorers of vintage audio equipment on eBay UK up until recently. I moved to the Czech Republic a year ago and the duty charges are stopping me from dealing in the UK. I'd be happy to do the work free of charge if you promise that you will do a video on the working unit. In fact I'd be happy to service both of the units

At least the belt wasn't melted and stuck all over the place

I get more from the history of the item, and the historical context, than i do seeing the item operate, so I am very happy!

HI Mat! Your frustration with this type of repair is universal! I repair a lot of electronic gear and when someone asks me to repair a device of this type, the answer is always...maybe, but you can't afford to have me even try! However, there are people who actually want it repaired at any cost (some profound nostalgia?) Even with a carte blanche budget, they are warned it probably is NOT repairable. The only way these are repairable is to install ribbon cable headers (sockets), pull one of the pulley's off its shaft, and then cut a chunk out of the case and cement it back. All that to say, you did a great job! Well done!

Great video Mat, as always.

Ah Well, Not everthing is easy, or even possible. Them's the breaks, as they say. Enjoy your videos, Matt. I've done some repairs on Sony MD Decks as a result of your video about eject mechanisms with a good degree of success, so thanks for that. Keep 'em coming, as Your videos are interesting and informative.

My foray into the Walkman type device started just after Sony released it in the US. Toshiba released a model that was about the same size but came with a cassette radio tuner. You just popped it in and tune to a station. My dad bought it but I used it most of the time. I was in a JVC phase a bit later and I bought a mini boom box where the cassette player part would pop out and you could use it as a walkman. When I moved back to the UK, Pioneer were the sponsor of my footy team. I went down to London and bought one of their all weather sealed walkman's. I loved that thing. Ear buds, auto reverse, etc. I got back into National/Panasonic/Technics in the early 90's and bought a fantastic Panasonic walkman. Black aluminium clam shell case, wired ear buds with a remote on the wire. I played the crap out of that device. Then the cd walkman's started coming out. Memories.

TechMOAN has never been more appropriate as your channel name! I could feel your frustration as soon as you got that front cover off haha!

Wow! Incredible old tech... imagine having a printer?

Panasonic made some fine sounding Walkmans - I had 2 - the excellent RQ-P303, which was an early ‘chewing gum battery’ type - and which sounded superb, and a later RQ-S11 - both were of extremely high quality, and gave Sony a run for their money. I seem to remember that both Walkmans won ‘What Hi-Fi’ awards when launched.

Thoroughly enjoyed this video, as I do ALL of yours. I've been a subscriber for the past few years and I watch everything you release, regardless of subject or outcome. I just love old tech and the way you present it. Yours is the only channel I've got set up to actually notify me of new videos. Regarding the failed repair in this one, if you'd like to send it to me I'm happy to see if I can reassemble it for you? If I manage to do so I'll send it back to you. No charge at all for the attempted repair 🙂

One little tip to help with the screws is to take a photo of the area and then just edit numbers onto the photo in your basic editing software on your phone and then label the screws with tape accordingly, saves printing and having sheets of paper flying around. Also, I repair such devices as this and would be happy to spend time having a go and getting one into a working condition. I’ve just finished a belt change on a Technics RS-HD70 which is a walk in the park compared to this! If you’re interested Matt, just drop me a message via KZfaq etc. Great video, as always. Hope you’re well. Cheers, A.

The airpods look weird because they look like wired headphones that have just had the cable cut off.

What the magnificent details and quality of workmanship for these audio devices from mid-80 and mid-90. They are so beautiful!

You should send that disassembled one over to My Mate Vince, he often repairs things that others won't because he values the knowledge more than anything plus he always says he makes money from the videos so the total hours spent doesn't really matter.

Love it🤣 Started my TV engineering career in the Audio Department fixing tuning needle cords back in the early 90's... what a pain. Currently have an Olympus Pearlcorder S720 Microcassett Recorder with a pinch roller that has turned to nothing more than a blob of sticky oil... it will live again, one day, honest. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, please keep it up. 👍

My dad served in Naval Intelligence as a 20-year-old at the end of WWII. On a business trip as a Mead Corp Exec in 1972 he went back, through a friend and connection he brought me home a Sony Cassette Player, long before it was put into production in 1979.

You're a champ for continuing past the "de-solder" stage of disassembly. If I need to de-solder anything. It just goes into the recycling or to a thrift shop if I can reassemble it, that is.

I'm only 24, but have always been interested in old tech such as this. Your uploads are always a cool glimpse into the past!

I was a salesman when the Sony Walkman first came out. The original Walkman cost $199.99--rather expense at that time--but we couldn't keep them in stock.

I still have one of those first Sony Walkmans in a box somewhere. I remember my father bought it for me because I did well in a basketball game in high school. I was not an athletic person, so he told me if I ever made a basket he would by me one... and I did. A really hard shot too. :D

there is no perfect saturday "morning" without a cup of coffee and a new techmoan video. i remember being overly afraid of accidentally pulling out the plug from the headphone jack and the integrated speaker activating and blaring my music in bad quality all over the place. the integrated speaker was the worst anti-feature to me.

I learnt a lot today. I knew taking pictures were important but stick the screw onto the picture was a fantastic way of. Working out where things need to go. Great video

This was my first entry into portable stereo, attracted by the stereo radio and the record capabilty. I took out finance, being a poor student (it was about £105 in 1981 or that was the finance amount after deposit) Prior to that I used my ITT RC500 (mono) adapted with a 1/4 inch headphone socket (wired for mono!). The supplied headphones were not great so I got some Sony MDR50's, bit more bass. Thanks for this video, while I know where my RX2700 is, I can see it is not worth repairing, which is a shame. It has a permanent magnet erase head. I later bought a Sony portable stereo radio cassette, I'll edit this comment with the model and I used that for some field recordings, and I used a bit of card to stop the erase head making a noise on blank cassettes by holding it off the tape! I've had other Technics cassette decks (RSB-100) and amps (SUV10X) which can't be serviced or repaired either due to not being able to get the components. Seems to be a running theme with the brand family.

Panasonic shockwave was my fav cassette player ever. Strong build up, great sound.

idc if its has bad ending, i've satisfied enough about how you neatly disassemble this old brick

I would have given up with the screws. You are still a better man than I.

I got yesterday one of these recorders from a friend. It had no function on batteries but the radio was working with an external power supply. No wonder: the batteries had leaked and one terminal of the cable was completely corroded => easy fix. There was another problem: the play rew and ff buttons didn't stay locked when pressed. I decided to access the mechanics by removing the black plate with the orange sticker. After 30 minutes trying to understand how it works I spotted one tiny spring which was a kind of worn (slack). I slightly bended the spring and .... well it works now. Thanks to your video I didn't make the mistake of dismantling the whole thing. Thanks.

My father had one of those National portable tape player/recorder in the early 70s. It was a great novelty to record and hear your own voice. And could be used with a home hifi to do 2track bounce downs as the mono head would combine both channels. And it had a level needle dial on the top so you could avoid distortion.

Still salivating over those early 80s Panasonic brochures. Quality stuff.

Good to have a video out there for anyone looking to repair one of these. Rest in pieces

I get annoyed changing belts in full size decks. Just watching that repair attempt was giving me anxiety. Good on you for taking it as far as you did and still making it interesting. And for not smashing it with a hammer, haha.

Thoroughly enjoyable video Matt. The fact you were not able to fix it did not detract from the video at all. More like this one please.

My first (and only) portable personal cassette player was the Panasonic Model RQ-J50 that I bought new in '83 I believe. I owned it for about 8 years before I passed it along to a younger cousin and it was still working fine. Listened to a lot of music on that little machine. I replaced it with a Panasonic SL-NP1 XBS (I think) portable CD player.

Gonna nick that idea of tape the screws on a photo of the device, i do this kind of repair a lot and supriced i haven't even thought of doing that myself! Another great and interesting video as usual (and yeah, i watched the entire repair attempt session) 🙂.

If a failed repair attempt results in an entertaining and interesting video it's a win. Like this one.

I have a coulple of these. It’s a pain to replace the belts but doable. Worth the effort.

I never get bored with your videos, Matt! Even the unsuccessful repairs! Fascinating video!

The Sony Walkman was my favourite device of the 80s, I used it daily and never left home without it, a spare pack of batteries was a must.

I really enjoyed the attempted fix. Really takes me back to my repair days. Thanks for sharing.

this must've taken so long! just know we appreciate your efforts for the almighty content

The first so called “Walkman” that I ever saw was something called a “Cybernetic” and made by a Canadian company back in the very early 1970s, probably 1972 or 73. It wasn’t very small either but would fit on a belt, but still very bulky. It was in stereo and sounded very good with it’s supplied mini headphones. It was very “substantial” in weight and played cassettes only.

In 1977 I used to walk around with one of those mono dictation recorders in my denim jacket large inside pocket that looked like a Walkman blasting music over the small internal speaker wishing it was in stereo and I could use headphones while walking around. Before that I even used used a small portable stereo boombox with a shoulder strap, cassette, and 8track combo with smaller over the ear stereo headphones on outdoors with one home recorded 8track and one cassette inside I took with me. It was the closest thing to an 8track Walkman too LOL. It could have also been the first dual cassette player boom box with the 8track to cassette adapter I added to it. I'm sure that this was thought up by many users of portable stereo transistor radios before it was a thing.

Panasonic RX 2700: Repair man's hell but project builder's heaven.

Mat: “This next section goes on for a while. You might get fed up.” Me: “I can’t freakin wait!”

My Nan (Grandmother) still has an early 80's Panasonic AM/ FM/ Cassette player that she won from a local rasio station in the early 1980's from the local radio station 2TM (single speaker, and has 240v + a number of "D" Cells to make it portable). Still works well- my Uncle replaced the speaker with a better Kevlar type speaker, gave everything a clean up, had to replace a Transistor and made a new 240v cord. Tape, AM & FM work well, and she still has great selection of cassettes