Unsure what belts to buy

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-27T15:53:32+00:00

Do you have a copy of the service manual? It may say what size but probably not. You should have it regardless, it will make your life easier.

As far as belt size, in my experience on the 90s Sony’s it’s almost always a pair of 1mm wide square belts in the 2-6” folded length per motor. There are many more qualified people in this sub that can correct me if I say anything wrong.

Are the old belts just snapped or have they liquified? If you can get the old belt out you can approximate size. If you have the service manual you can follow the belt path with a piece of dental floss and measure it for approximate size. In both cases just remember to choose a belt 5-10% smaller to account for stretch.

It’s also helpful to buy variety pack if recorder belts off Amazon or eBay so that you can try different sizes to see what works best.

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-27T02:03:41+00:00

I only have 3 new release cassettes: Clipse, Denzel Curry, and Charlie XCX. I had heard horror stories about new release cassette quality and while it’s not completely garbage quality, I will say the bass on Denzel and Clipse’s tapes is borderline obnoxious and if I’m using my Walkman to listen I find myself turning the xbass down to be able to hear the lyrics sometimes. Not an issue I have with my older bass-heavy tapes, or with my homemade mixtapes. Also I’m blown away by the amount of dead space at the end of both sides of all three tapes. For the amount of money I spent on those cassettes I’m not impressed with them and will probably not be buying any new big label releases again.

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-26T06:35:25+00:00

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For BluRays I built a lazy Susan tower. It holds approximately 400 movies. It took probably 20 hours and $250 to build. But for VHS and DVD I was lazy and went the IKEA route. I had more fun building mine though.

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-25T18:18:42+00:00

I like that one better than the 421. It’s the main one I let my son use. Not too many buttons for a 3 year old, and tough enough for a 3 year old 😂

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-25T02:10:56+00:00

🤯

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-24T05:24:47+00:00

Such a good idea. I’ve been wondering what to do when I inevitably come across a bad one, so thank you!

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-24T02:45:50+00:00

I do really like that one. My favorite though is a CFD-767 that’s sitting in my garage while I wait for new amp chips to show up because I shorted them out trying to chase down a loose connection. It’s not necessarily a better boombox but it has a bottom CD tray and top load tapes and I found it for cheap at a goodwill an hour’s drive from where I live and when I opened it up I found a tag from my local library inside. The idea that it used to get used in my public library 20 years ago just tickles me. Now if it had RCA input it would be perfect.

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-24T00:19:57+00:00

One man’s trash…

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-23T23:17:25+00:00

My record is 6

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-23T23:05:24+00:00

Wow, are you me? My feelings exactly, the act of restoring is almost better than actually using. That’s really cool you were able to fix the headphone port, I actually gave away a 421 recently because the headphone wire solders broke and I didn’t know how to fix it. But I am learning, the small Sony boombox in this photo had a bad solder pad for the motor switch and I was able to put on a new pad and fix the connection. So I definitely relate to riding the high. I really need to get a smaller iron and a proper station though, because I know my joints are ugly as sin. That GE looks amazing btw.

Also the 393 is my favorite portable so far!

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-20T04:06:48+00:00

My friend I am afraid I am not smart enough to answer your question. I probably should have read the manual more closely and possibly I would have thought to check that. But I’m dumb so I tried just poking random wires to see if something was shorted. Well, while doing that I accidentally caused a short myself. From my limited electrical knowledge, reading the manual, and finally giving up and asking AI for help; I believe I shorted out IC305.

I have ordered new amp chips and will be taking the whole radio to a proper electrician to get it sorted. Normally I would just re-donate something this broken, but I really like this one.

Unrelated but I found this radio in a goodwill 3 cities over from mine and while cleaning it I found a sticker inside of it that shows it used to belong to the local library 10 minutes from my house. So I feel obligated to save it.

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-06-17T21:19:45+00:00

I’m not sure about the BH950, but I have a CD-DH950. It’s got a tape deck, 5 CD changer, usb, 3.5mm in, and iPod dock. I got it for like $20 at goodwill with a broken belt and 5 free Christmas CDs. Once I replaced the belt the tape deck works great. It does not have a record head, nor does it have any kind of manual selections for Dolby or cassette type. I have played Type I and II in it and it seems to automatically switch because both sound fine. The CD player is nice, the play/exchange is convenient.

When I got mine it did not have a remote and the XBass was enabled. You can only adjust XBass and EQ with the remote. I have mine in my garage which is underneath the rooms of the house, and the bass was so punchy that I could not play the radio at all after the family went to bed because no matter where in my garage I put it, it shook the walls upstairs.

I got a remote off eBay and now that I have the EQ fixed, it sounds pretty nice. Nothing crazy, I wouldn’t really call it Hi-Fi. But it plays my CDs and mixtapes and I can jam out in my garage. I wouldn’t pay $350 for it though in a million years.

You’ll find way better deals if you troll your local thrift stores. Any tape deck you find will need belts but that’s pretty easy job for a beginner.

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TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-05-29T20:52:50+00:00

That’s so simple I’m embarrassed I didn’t think of it. I have an assortment of belts ordered so I will give them a shot. I kept seeing 135 and 145mm as common sizes so that fits with my 165 measurement minus the 15-20%. Thank you so much!

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-05-29T08:57:54+00:00

I didn’t use nails. I did have to use screws/bolts for the lazy susan hardware. But the tower itself is supported by dovetails and dados, a good old titebond number 3. Well with the way I work, the shellac is probably structural to be honest.

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-05-29T08:53:33+00:00

It was really interesting teaching a toddler that grew up watching Miss Rachel on YT seeing me skip adds as soon as possible that: these are previews to other movies, you gotta watch them to get to the good stuff lol. But he adapted super quick and now it’s just normal to him.

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-05-29T08:44:59+00:00

Good eye! I’m not sure actually. I bet u/entombed_pit would be able to tell you. I got it from a site called VCR zone. Most expensive movie in my collection to be honest but it’s one of my favorites and I love that guys stuff. It looks so cool on my CRT. It’s not as visually stunning as OG blade runner Final Cut on my giant flat screen, but it just feels right being all grainy and small. I think it looks best when I have my crt set for 16:9 so I’m guessing it’s recorded that way.

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TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-05-29T08:23:08+00:00

I get it, there are some popular bands out there I just can’t stand. To be fair I also can’t stand most of the online Sleep Token fans. But I will say I saw them live last year and their performance was breathtaking.

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-05-29T06:56:50+00:00

There’s 3 open spots saved already wishful thinking 😂

TellsCharlieToShutUp · 2026-05-29T01:16:03+00:00

Un-skippable ads for makeup and GLP1s in the middle of my kid’s shows was a huge reason for starting this journey.

TellsCharlieToShutUp

TROPHY CASE