Craig W460 repair help

[DMC-81]

Hi there,

I'm refurbing and modding my Craig W460 radio. I already replaced the drive band, and I'll install an AUX/iPod jack using Todd Nelson's great instructions.

Question: does anybody have a picture with the bottom cover removed that you can share? My unit has a black spring that was loose/disconnected (above the pencil). It was still hooked to the black metal post at one end, but I'm trying to determine if there is supposed to be a plastic extension where the pencil is pointing, to secure the other end of the spring.

image.jpg

Thanks for your help!

[Elvis]

Just bend the hook of the spring and hang it into the white plastic piece where the plastic hook broke off.

make sure to bend it so that it can move

common problem

[DMC-81]

Thanks Elvis!

I did that today and now I can get the tape to change directions. But I think the spring tension was affected/disrupted by moving it slightly further away, as it either didn't change sides, or changed sides constantly. Have you run into this problem?

I added different sized lock washers to the other side of the spring to compensate. See picture. The best performing one was a 3mm size. I got it to work perfectly one time while the unit was upside down with the bottom cover off... (so I could evaluate plus marvel at 80's tech. ). But then I put the cover on and tried it right side up, and it changed sides constantly.

image.jpg

Any suggestions? A picture of the full unbroken plastic piece would be very helpful. I looked at the exploded view in the Craig Service Manual, but it wasn't clear enough.

I must say that being able to play my old cassettes briefly today in the car added to the allure of the D for this GenX'er. I already tested my new iPod connection and it sounds good....but it's not the same as fast forwarding to the next song on slightly stretched tape, pressing the Loud/Dolby/Metal buttons to find the best sound, and hearing the cassette eject when you turn off the key.


I'll keep testing...

P.S. Does anyone have a great condition plastic part to sell? If so, PM me. Thanks.

[Elvis]

just bend it as I described it and you're good. again - it must be able to move, if you bend it wrong it will not move - it's self explaining !
no shims
no new plastic piece needed

[DMC-81]

Thanks Elvis!

Well I fiddled with it again tonight, and in my case, without shims it was close to spec, but changed directions 2-5 times on tape insertion before settling down. After more trial and error, I tried a 5mm lock washer and it was perfect! Go figure!

Here is a picture of my repaired and modded Craig:

image.jpg

Although I still need to change my original front speakers, the tape deck sounded great, and all buttons work.

However, I'm not out of the woods yet.... My previously working display suddenly doesn't work.

I must have disturbed it enough while I had it apart. It looks like I'll have to fix the flex cable. Any suggestions on this task?

I must say, the price of having somebody fix these units is well worth it, as I have spent a few hours on it, and it is easy to fry something if you're not careful. Many years ago I decided to fix the OEM radio on my Fiero project. Within minutes I had fried the boards. So I spent the next few hours scanning the circuit boards with a magnifying glass and repaired several breaks.
I was lucky to have repaired it. Lesson learned.

Resurrecting the Craig is a trip down memory lane.

[Elvis]

now you know why I need around 10 hours to update a radio and why I don't sell
my AUX-Input PCBs asa a kit as it is too much work and complicated.

The spring problem must be done in 70% of all radios and I never used a shim.

have fun with the display