Two questions regarding the GF-9494.

[928GTS]

So I've been working on getting a few issues sorted with my GF 9494 before it is 100% perfect. I repaired a small tear in one of the speakers and the glue left a slight stain in the speaker. I know they make fabric paint but I'd like to hear from people who have had experiences repainting speaker cones. I was wondering what products you used and how you applied them.

Secondly how do you adjust the tape deck door so that it closes more tightly? When mine closes it leaves a small gap which just gets worse with a tape adapter in the deck as it causes the heads to not line up very well with the tape adapter thus causing a channel inbalance.

 

[Superduper]

I recommend flat spray paint. White is a hard paint to use because it doesn't cover well. Flat covers better than gloss, and dry's faster. Also, it doesn't have to go on as thick. Fabric paint actually has to be applied quite thick. Good thing Sharps are typically quite brassy to begin with. Because if there is a change in the sound with a heavier cone, it is that it reinforces the sound at the expense of high hz's and sensitivity. Since you have separate tweeters any loss of high hz's won't matter too much.

As for door adjustment, there really isn't any. On any boombox. The head alignment is taken care of with the azimuth screw adjustment. What is a cassette adapter? A MP3 input device? A simpler solution and much better solution is a phono to line-level amp adapter. That way, you can use the auxillary device in the conventional manner without running the cassette motor ad infinitum and wearing it out.

 

[928GTS]

Yeah I might as well just fabricate a phono adapter for it. It'll make a good weekend project. I'll have to keep a lookout for cream coloured paint as the many years of UV exposure and has changed the white speakers cones to more of a cream!

I'll take some pictures and videos soon of the 9494. I want it to be as close to perfect as possible before I do so. It had an unfortunate run in with a rather large amateur radio antenna. A few of my friends from my school's amateur radio club had a field day and so I brought the 9494 with me. The wind was pretty high that day and then,without any warning,the antenna(which was suspended from a long metal pole)came crashing down on the table where the 9494 was sitting. It fell to the grass but thankfully there wasn't any structural damage at all but just a few nicks of paint missing here and there which I'll touch up with some Tamiya model paint that I hear is a match for the stock Sharp colour. It's a tough box but needless to say it's not going near any antenna installations anymore. Yeesh.

 

[Fatdog]

Hey Mike, I'm guessing you have a GF-9494X. If you go with spray paint, don't go with a bright white. I highly recommend using Krylon Fusion Satin 2422 Satin Dover White. It can be found easily at Wal-Mart.

 

[Superduper]

That's funny. But I'm sure it didn't seem that way at the time.

Are you planning to just touch up the speakers or repaint them. Because if you are repainting them, then why not just get white?

 

[928GTS]

It's a really small part of the speaker but if I can't find a good match I may just go with repainting them totally. We'll see what happens. The event *was* funny in the sense of the "how many times does this happen?" factor and I'm quite happy the box landed onto grass and is as sturdy of a box as it is.

After to that it's just down to replacing one of the rollers in the deck and it'll be 100%. Apparently there is another roller in the deck that disintegrates besides the capstan roller as even after having that replaced it still won't go. Oh well,one thing at a time.

 

[jaetee]

Yeah I might as well just fabricate a phono adapter for it. It'll make a good weekend project. I'll have to keep a lookout for cream coloured paint as the many years of UV exposure and has changed the white speakers cones to more of a cream!
[ /quote]

Hi there 928GTS! Good to see you in these parts!

Hey, I'm not sure what your time is worth to you, but I have one of these and it does the trick just fine on my GF-9x9x boxes...

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/50-7240

And if you don't mind running your tape deck (or have a box with bad belts, but want to use the tape deck anyway, you can try this:

[ebay]400108623734[/ebay]

Both solutions are under $20.

See you around!

 

[928GTS]

I am currently using a cassette adapter,the problem is that with the input cord sticking out of the deck door the deck door doesn't close tightly enough. This causes the heads to not align well with the cassette adapter thus causing a channel inbalance. I think I'm just going to fabricate a phono adapter since I remember running through it before and attempting to compensate for the RIAA curve by making a reverse image of it with my MP3's EQ. It worked....sort of but it still sounded a bit rubbish.

 

[928GTS]

Also,I need to replace the infamous capstan wheel. How does one remove the shaft the wheel slides onto or at least the steel housing that houses the capstan wheel so that I can slide a piece of fuel tubing in?

 

[Fatdog]

I have some pictures from when I took my old GF-9494X apart. I even have some shots of the goo. I'm about the head to dinner, so it'll be around 6:30pm CDT.

 

[monchito]

Also,I need to replace the infamous capstan wheel. How does one remove the shaft the wheel slides onto or at least the steel housing that houses the capstan wheel so that I can slide a piece of fuel tubing in?

you have to pull the capstan wheel out like if you were going to replace the belts so the plate that goes on top of the capstan wheel needs to come off make sure you take a real good look before desmantleling
then pull out the wheel just a bit then put your tube in the hole try using silicon tubing from your hobby store it will last a lot longer....

 

[928GTS]

Okay,how does one go about removing that cover?

 

[Superduper]

I think Ramon made it sound oversimplistic. The plate that holds the flywheel will need to be removed. I'm not looking at one right now but if it's like 99% of others I've worked on, you just remove a few screws and lift it off. One (or more) of the screws might be spring loaded. If that is the case, count the turns so you can return it to the original position. That would be the freeplay adjustment, and you'll have to have some sealant afterwards to secure the screw. Also, those plates often have brass spacers. IF that is the case, make sure you note the location and don't drop it. BTW, the plate that secures the flywheel is on the backside of the mechanism so you'll have to remove the mechanism to get access to it.

When that capstan needle bushing deteriorates, it turns to goo. Like sticky la brea tar pits type of goo. Be prepared to use an entire pack of 100% alcohol soaked Q-tips to clean everything prior to reassembling. As I just keep dipping the Q-tips into alcohol and stuffing into the hole and recess until it comes out clean. It will take a very long time. Eventually, I can roll a small piece of paper towell into the hole and pull it through.

Finally, when reassembling, just put a small piece of the silicone hobby tubing into the hole and push the capstan needle through it. It will make it work 100% again.

 

[Fatdog]

I finally found my old post on S2G and posted it here with extra stuff and pics.

viewtopic.php?p=70785#p70785

The tricky part is actually getting the darn boombox open. After that it fairly simple. Lots of screws.

 

[928GTS]

Fantastic,thank you very much for the explanation. It's good to know as much as I can before I go working on parts that you really can't replace if you make a hash of the job.

 

[jaetee]

For some added piece of mind, I'd have a camera close by and shoot pics of the disassembly... It's real easy to get some of those parts in just a bit wrong. Those pics can be lifesavers!

 

[928GTS]

I have the flywheel cover off and I'm wondering what to do next. Does the flywheel need to come off first or does the plastic drive wheel that sits atop the metal housing that contains the capstan wheel need to come off?

 

[Superduper]

Not sure I know what you're talking about but the drive reels aren't attached to the flywheel. The other side of the flywheel is typically just a needle and you can see it from the front side near the pinch roller. Normally, just pull the flywheel straight up and it will come off. Be careful. There is usually a small plastic washer that falls off on the front side that slips over the needle.

 

[928GTS]

Yeah no worries,I have it off now. On the side of the deck that faces you there is a small plastic wheel that sits atop the capstan wheel housing and that has a belt around it so I just carefully slid that up and off. The flywheel was being a right pain to get out and reason being the entire shaft was covered in black which I assume is the remains of the capstan wheel.

I should have chosen my words better and not have used the word "drive wheel" as that small plastic wheel isn't driving anything.

 

[Fatdog]

The flywheel was being a right pain to get out and reason being the entire shaft was covered in black which I assume is the remains of the capstan wheel.

Yep. That's the black goo from hell.