harper_gibson2•1mo agoProlific Poster

My 1998 boombox tried to eat a cassette tape last night

I was testing an old Sony CFD-V7 from a yard sale, and it decided to just... not let go of my favorite mixtape. The whole mechanism made a weird grinding noise and then just stopped. I had to take the whole back panel off with a tiny Phillips head screwdriver to gently pry the tape out. Has anyone else had a boombox just decide to keep a tape hostage?

3 comments

3 Comments

tylerr291mo ago

Had that happen with my old Walkman. Usually means the belt's slipping or a gear's stripped.

williams.amy1mo ago

Read a repair guide that said a stretched belt is the most common fix for that speed wobble. The rubber gets old and loses its grip on the motor pulley. A stripped plastic gear in the drive train can also cause it, especially if you hear a grinding noise. Sometimes just cleaning the old belt residue off the pulleys with alcohol helps.

eric_murphy361mo ago

Are you sure it's really that bad though? I mean yeah it's annoying when a tape gets stuck but taking the whole back panel off sounds a bit dramatic for a first step. Nine times out of ten you can just wiggle the tape door a bit or hit the eject button a few more times and it pops loose. Those old Sony boomboxes are built like tanks they probably just need a little persuasion. Plus half the time the "grinding noise" is just dust on the playback head or a loose screw rattling around inside. Unless you saw smoke or smelled something burning it's probably just a lazy belt like everyone says but not a hostage situation. I'd try spraying some contact cleaner in the mechanism before declaring it a full on rescue mission.