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

[Gregadeth]

I opened up my head unit expecting to find a damaged flex cable because my display wasn't showing the digits completely (you would only see parts of the numbers). But the flex cable looks good with no issues. Does this mean the display itself (the tape door) might be bad?

[DMC-81]

I opened up my head unit expecting to find a damaged flex cable because my display wasn't showing the digits completely (you would only see parts of the numbers). But the flex cable looks good with no issues. Does this mean the display itself (the tape door) might be bad?

Hi there,

I haven't delved into the display yet, but I found this article: http://www.dmcnews.com/Techsection/radiodisplay.html
to get me started. I would suggest verifying the flex cable integrity with a magnifying glass if you haven't done so yet, as it seems really small.

[iflights]

My Craig radio works, but tape drive won't accept a tape. Is there a place this braintrust knows of who I can ship it to that would do the work? I don't feel comfortable attempting to do it myself.

I realize cost to repair could likely exceed cost to replace with a modern unit, but I'd like to keep original if possible.

[DMC-81]

For the benefit of people that want to attempt a drive band / belt replacement, here is what I learned:

1) there is 1 drive band
2) it is accessed via the bottom cover
3) the below picture shows where it goes
4) be careful of the small spring under the middle screw on the pulley cover (aka flywheel base)
5) the Service Manual is found here.

Here in the US, I got my drive band from Studio Sound Electronics. They were described as a small square belt, part number SBS10.5 ...less than $3 each. There was another web store - turntableneedles.com that had them, but Studio Sound had the best price.

image.jpg

Cheers,