What are the most common failures?
With age, on two head machines and the 481, 581, and 681 record playback switches fail as they get old and dirty. A simple chemical cleaning will help for 6 months or so, but a replacement is the best answer. Expect the service to run $40 + parts ($20). Recently, the pre-1983 machines are showing signs of idler wear. This is identifiable as chatter at the end of a rewinding. The tape stops but a strange noise comes from behind the cassette well. Occassionally, they even stop taking up tape. While this problem can be temporarily fixed by tightening a spring, the problem will return and the machine will suffer increased motor wear. The best bet is to tolerate the noise until the machine quits taking up tape. At that time, accept the $100 + parts ($25) service. The machine will be set for the next 10-15 years. …And, yes, there is the biggest “oops!!!” of all in Nakamichi history. The BX and CR idlers are much smaller and fail every 2-3 years. Idler replacement is $50 + parts ($10). The
