On Fri, 10 Apr 2015, gareth wrote:

Insofar as the tape deck is used to record reception of amateur radio,
what's the best approach to repairing tape decks where the nylon-ish
band used for take-up has gone completely squishy (and resulted in
a build-up of tape inside the deck instead of on the take-up spool)?

I wonder if anyone has attempted a long-term solution by using the
miniature timing belts that are available these days?

If I was stuck, I'd just pull another tape deck off the pile of garbage.

They are now being tossed out, "nobody wants them", so they are readily
available cheap.

But the only need for keeping such a thing is to play existing tapes.

A computer can record fine. So can an MP3 player.

A few years ago, I came upon a reel to reel tape deck at a garage sale,
only ten dollars. It was a better grade than the language lab type tape
deck. I got all excited, then I realized that no matter how much I wanted
one decades ago, I have no use for it now. The other things are better at
recording, and take up less space. So I couldn't even be bothered
bringing the thing home merely to look at.

The 8track recording deck next to it wsa only five dollars, even less
practical use, though a novelty since 8track recorders were never a big
part of the market, most just wanted players.

If you really want to fix it, look for hints (there must be stuff about
cassette decks) at http://www.repairfaq.org

Michael