› ›

New drive belt on a +2.. er.. problem!

SpiranthoSpirantho
edited February 2014 in Hardware
Hi again,

still working on my +2s.. I replaced the belts and it's good, it's working. However, now, the drive is very noisy, erratic and slow.

I've tracked it down to the the pause pin.... it's pressed against the main spindle, and looks like it's meant to be that way as it's got a spring and everything. Because of the added friction, the speed is compromised. If I disable the pin, the drive works fine.

Is this supposed to have grease or oil on it, or is it just wrong at the moment?

Attached is a piccy of the pin in question...

Help please! :)

PausePin.jpg
Post edited by Spirantho on

Comments

  • rwaprwap
    edited April 2011
    Does the pause button work though? I just wonder if the spring has been overstretched, so it is not releasing the pin.
    Supporting Sinclairs since 1986 !

    www.rwapsoftware.co.uk
    www.sellmyretro.com
  • SpiranthoSpirantho
    edited April 2011
    All works just fine.. except for the speed and the scraping noise!
  • gtsamourgtsamour
    edited April 2011
    Hmmm I know exactly what you mean. Had the same issue with one of my +2s. I dont think this white plastic was like that originally. I mean coming to contact with the spinning disc.
    I think it was supposed to be buttoned somehow and not in contact. But now its probably cracked and it doesn't get buttoned down.

    I solved it by removing it first and putting a small drop of araldite glue in it's hole. This glue is really strong and takes quite a while to become hard so you have enough time to put it back in place which isn't easy believe me.
    I used tweezers, its really tricky because you need to also keep the spring in place and insert the whole thing under the metalic disc.

    After I did that (with a lot of trying I must admit), i inserted a piece of plastic (you can use whatever you see fit) to keep this think down untill the glue does its magic. After that you remove whatever you used and voila!!!
    Pausing still works fine...
  • john58john58
    edited April 2011
    I had the same problem with mine; I think I must have disturbed it when fitting the small drive belt. I used super glue but gain access I pulled off the main spindle. If you do the same keep an eye on the pause pin, spring and cam because mine flew off and I spent ages on my hands and knees looking for them.

    john
  • SpiranthoSpirantho
    edited April 2011
    Still puzzled by this. Might have to get (yet) another +2 to see how it should be originally as I can find very little anywhere about this machine for some reason.

    I found, however, that you can push the pin down and it sticks, about 1-2mm away from the spindle as it should. As soon as you press it slightly, though, it pops back against the spindle.
    I'm currently loading Ghostbusters on the machine and it's fine... but last time I tried this it popped back after a short time loading stuff. It's like it's missing something to keep it in place but goodness knows what. I don't want to remove anything and start gluing stuff up because it mustn't be necessary.. there must be some way to make it work, as it did before I changed the belt!

    Arrrghhh, basically.

    Edit: Just done the same to my other +2 - exactly the same happens. Can't be a coincidence, must be something. Maybe it's just held there and the first time it popped out I hadn't pressed it in properly. Or something.
    Edit2: Nope, this one just did the same - pin popped out. I repeat: Arrrgghhhh.
  • gtsamourgtsamour
    edited April 2011
    No your machine doesnt miss anything. This plastic thing (that you say it sticks down) probably developed a crack and doesnt stick for long anymore hense the need for some glue.
  • SpiranthoSpirantho
    edited April 2011
    That doesn't make sense though...

    both my machines affected identically? Yet both were fine before I changed the belt? There's something here we're missing....
  • gtsamourgtsamour
    edited April 2011
    You said it yourself, when you press it down it sticks.
    All I know is that my +2 is working and loading flawlessly now.
  • SpiranthoSpirantho
    edited April 2011
    So why do my ones keep popping back up, I wonder....

    Very strange!
  • MaccMacc
    edited February 2014
    Hi Ian, did you ever sort this one out successfully? Ive got the same problem here with one of mine!

    PS Sorry for thread necromancy!
  • balfordbalford
    edited February 2014
    Posting on this thread instead of yours, Macc, just so people searching for a fix get the right info :)

    My +2 I mentioned on the other thread had a similar issue, and at the time I just pulled the pin out.

    Your posts made me think, and remembering I had a spare scrap tape mech, decided to look at this again.

    So once the tape recorder mechanism is off, remove the large flywheel. The part looks like the following:

    12705356635_5bed4cfe70_z.jpg

    (We're looking at the white plastic piece with a circular piece inserted to the right).

    Removing the circular piece gives us the following:

    12705352865_9836f9e9a3_z.jpg

    The circular piece is intended to be a push fit over the black spindle, and the spring in place beneath it helps the longer piece (the pause latch) 'float' in the correct position.

    What seems to be happening is that the push fit is no longer tight enough, so the strength of the spring pops the circular retainer upwards and against the flywheel, causing enough friction to stop movement.

    I can confirm that a little dab of glue on top of the spindle is enough to retain the circular piece, stop it being forced against the flywheel and allow the pause mechanism to still work. Using the plastic pieces from my scrap mechanism, my pause functionality is now working again :)

    Hope this helps!

    B
    The Spectrum Resuscitation Thread - bringing dead Spectrums back to life
    zx-diagnostics - Fixing ZX Spectrums in the 21st Century (wiki)
    Sinclair FAQ Wiki
  • MaccMacc
    edited February 2014
    How do you get that flywheel off B?
  • balfordbalford
    edited February 2014
    It's a push fit too, a good grasp of either side, pulling the wheel should see it come off with a bit of effort.

    Depends on the mechanism - on the donor mech it was fairly tight and had to be levered off with a pair of screwdrivers, on the recipient it pulled off fairly easily by hand.

    Oh, and don't forget, the tape capstan spindle (on which the flywheel mounts) will drop out the other side when the flywheel is removed, so be ready to catch it and any little washers within :)

    B
    The Spectrum Resuscitation Thread - bringing dead Spectrums back to life
    zx-diagnostics - Fixing ZX Spectrums in the 21st Century (wiki)
    Sinclair FAQ Wiki
  • SpiranthoSpirantho
    edited February 2014
    The flywheel is held in place by the little metal circle thingy on the cassette side ... remove that and the flywheel falls out.
    The problem with the switch is that the plastic white circular bit breaks along the length of it. If you put a bit of glue on the crack in the white bit, it fits back on (and will stay on) again! Problem solved! :)
  • MaccMacc
    edited February 2014
    Using balfords method did the trick! Another fault has reared its head though, keeps auto stopping on play, with pause on it doesnt, release that and it clicks off
  • balfordbalford
    edited February 2014
    Nothing springs to mind, you could try running the cassette mechanism outside of the case, should be easier to see if anything's dragging that would cause auto stop to kick in that way?

    B
    The Spectrum Resuscitation Thread - bringing dead Spectrums back to life
    zx-diagnostics - Fixing ZX Spectrums in the 21st Century (wiki)
    Sinclair FAQ Wiki
  • MaccMacc
    edited February 2014
    Took it out and it still did it, had a good look and all I could see was whats circled in the photo, put a tiny drop of oil on it and worked it in, seems to have done the trick!

    IMG_0843.jpg
Sign In or Register to comment.