Aiwa PX 457 portable cassette player belt change ends in tears

Mostly, when I’m fixing old audio gear, I prevail. However, on this occasion my luck ran out.

Aiwa PX457 portable cassette
Aiwa PX457 portable cassette

I very nearly got this one working.

This was another cheap boot sale purchase. A little tatty, compared to most of my gear, but cheap at £1.50, so worth a go.

Aiwa PX457 circuit removed
Aiwa PX457 circuit removed

Compared to the Sony machines I had previously worked on, this was a more complex repair. The belt was, as expected, rather lose and needed replacement. In order to gain access the circuit board needed to be removed. Several screws released most of it. Final freedom was only achieved by un-soldering several components. This included the motor, solenoid and tape detect switches.

De-soldering is one of those things which becomes straightforward with practice, a decent iron and good quality braid. be sure to learn on scrap before tackling living electronics. It is very easy to create a mess and fry the electronics with too much heat.

Aiwa PX457 Belt and gears
Aiwa PX457 Belt and gears

Having gained access the belt looked like it might be the same as used on the Sony’s. It isn’t. My usual eBay supplier, mihokm, did not know what size to supply. We helped each other out. I measured the old one as best I could and was supplied with the two nearest sizes to chose from. I then advised mihokm which was the best fit, to facilitate future sales.

While I had access I cleaned up and re greased the mechanism. When re assembled it worked! Sort of.

Aiwa px457 pinch roller
Aiwa px457 pinch roller

Trouble is, it only worked in one direction. The problem seemed to be that one of the pinch rollers was not quite in alignment, so the mechanism was too stiff to operate properly. I removed the spring and managed to straighten the mechanism by careful manipulation with pliers.

When putting the spring back in, it made an escape bid. Successful too. It vanished to some far flung corner of my garage, never to be seen again.

So, this nice little Aiwa is un likely to see active service again and has been relegated to the spare parts box. Hopefully it’s death has not been in vain and will one day contribute to the cure of another Aiwa portable.