Hi There

Having recently purchase a Sharp GF-9090...last night it decided it was very hungry and decided to chew up some of my beloved tapes from long ago !

Unfortunately one tape was lost whilst another is in need of some serious repair, seriously pissed !

Can anyone here advise how to stop it chewing my tapes ! I've checked the capstan and pinch roller and everything seem aligned and flushed. Trying to understand whether the main drive belt needs replacing and whether this is the cause (can't turn with enough force and hence is out-of-synch with the pinch wheel) ?

How much of a job / effort is it to dismantle replace the belt in a Sharp GF-9090 ??

Any advice or experiences would be much appreciated - hate to take a hammer to it (just yet!)

Thanks, Kidofthe1980s

If the 9090 uses the same transport as the 9191/9494/9696/9595 etc it MAY be the typical age-old problem that afflicts these models; the capstan metal spindle has rubber tyre on it that drives the take-up spool, this tyre either wears away or the rubber goes all goooeey and disintegrates. The result is little or no drive to the take-up reel and the associated chewing.
Other members have successfully repaired this problem and can give more detail than me, but I would guess that's the cause rather than a belt.

i did this repair years ago, just a bit of small rubber tubing from something or other that fit. its a bit of a ***** to do as the tape mechanism comes apart in a million different bits of odd shaped plastic, so its "fun" to get it back together. fixed it nicely tho!

Sometimes it can be the cassettes themselves. When you open up a cassette, notice the two plastic liners inside the shells. They are supposed to act as a gliding mechanism to prevent friction while the tape is moving.

With some brands (Maxell for example), you'll notice a slight lubricating feel to them. Over a period of time, (30-years in my case) these things become coarse from all the playing, recording, FF, & RWNDNG!!! And can cause only one reel to spin, and therefore, your BOX decides to get hungry for something else besides BATTERIES!!!

These plastic liners are to promote a smooth tape action, to keep the motor from working so hard, which saves on battery power!!!

'NUFF SAID