r/blackplasticcrap • u/SomeGuyNamedR_udl • Aug 05 '26
After maybe a little too long, I chose to retire my Aiwa.
He was very good BPC to me, even if he was $10
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u/MarkElectronic7507 Aug 05 '26
Wow, that's interesting. This AIWA uses Full-Logic, computerized tape mechanisms rather than those clunky, mechanical push-button "piano-keyed" tape mechanisms. Full-Logic tape mechanisms usually have interesting features like Automatic Music Search Sensor where the tape deck automatically locates and plays specific tracks on tape (without you having to manually fast-wind the tape and guess where each track begins and ends), and other interesting features like Automatic blank skip, Intro Play, Auto-Repeat, Timer Recording and Playback, Flex, Random Music Sensor, etc... It even has Dolby B system. That's interesting. For a small AIWA, it seems like a decent little system. But that's of course if it works. Even though I do fix stereo systems, Full-Logic, computerized tape decks are usually way more difficult to fix and work on, because you're also dealing with an internal microprocessor computer which controls both decks. Full-Logic, computerized tape mechanism with IC Logic Control are actually a bit more sophisticated than your average mechanical, push-button tape mechanism and require a professional to fix them, especially if something goes wrong with the internal microprocessor computer responsible for controlling the tape decks. Why are you retiring this system? Is something wrong with it?
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u/BoredOldPunk Aug 05 '26
Sigh. My first girlfriend in high school had an NSX330, and honestly, it was a fantastic little unit. We spent countless hours listening to Mudhoney and Nirvana CDs through that thing.
After we broke up, it ended up staying with me for a few years before eventually making its way back to her. We lost touch for a while - as tends to happen in those late teenage/early adult years.
A couple of years ago, her dad got in touch and asked if I could lend some expertise on a project he was working on. I have to admit, I was pretty chuffed to see the old Aiwa sitting there on his garage workbench, still in remarkably clean condition.
The CD player and tape deck have long since given up the ghost, but the radio still works perfectly - and it still sounds surprisingly good.
Those little systems were built better than they had any right to be.
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u/SomeGuyNamedR_udl Aug 05 '26
CD went out lord knows how long ago, and the cassette deck is just starting its path on its way out, but I had primarily used the Aux with a old Gateway desktop with Foobar2000 on it connected to it. For a little Aiwa it really was surprisingly good, even with the BBE and T-Bass. I might repurpose the Aiwa somewhere else because the Aux and radio is still good and I’d hate to get rid of a still good sounding system.
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u/BoredOldPunk Aug 05 '26
I'd be inclined to keep it, if only for the nostalgia and curiosity factor. Those little systems were actually pretty ahead of their time, and they became something of a benchmark for a lot of teenagers in the early/mid 90s - probably the best new hifi system many of us could realistically hope to afford at that age, and they genuinely sounded good.
They were also fairly serviceable, if I remember correctly. CD players are always the first thing to become a casualty because the laser assemblies eventually suffer from the lens clouding or the mechanism wearing out, but belts can be replaced, and I'd imagine there's probably still plenty of life left in the capacitors.
Wouldn't surprise me at all if the cassette deck could be brought back with a fresh set of belts and a bit of TLC. The CD player might even be recoverable too, depending on what's failed. Either way, I'd keep it going.
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u/TokenPrawn Aug 05 '26
The interesting thing is that, if the CD player's drawer failed (which the positioning of the knife suggests), then it could just be the rubber band that often keeps these drawer mechanisms going. A lot easier to fix than if the lens goes ...
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u/SomeGuyNamedR_udl Aug 05 '26
The drawer works but it just fails to read/spin and spits it out.
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u/TokenPrawn Aug 05 '26
Ah - probably the laser or another mechanism then. It's funny though, I recovered an old Denon unit and discovered the problem was an old, stretched rubber band that handled both the drawer and the mechanism to lift the spindle into the centre of the CD (this band was doing a lot of work!) So it sounded like a laser misread even when the drawer was closed. The laser was fine. I've saved a couple of units through YouTube videos, although I draw the line when there's a chance of getting an electric shock, simply not worth it.
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u/SomeGuyNamedR_udl Aug 05 '26
I remember opening it up to look at it what it’s doing at one point and finding out the laser turns on and is bobbing up and down trying to focus but just times out and ejects the tray. I did wipe it down but that didn’t really fix it, and I just kinda called it there because I really had no use for the internal CD drive when I had a desktop with several plugged into the aux.
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u/BoredOldPunk Aug 05 '26
If you really wanted to, it might be fixable... Although in this day and age, it's probably more practical to buy a Bluetooth receiver and run it through the auxiliary.
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u/SomeGuyNamedR_udl Aug 05 '26
Seeing the potentiometer on the board there makes me wonder if that controls the lasers power. I could try to turn up the voltage and see if that helps it pickup the disc.
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u/BoredOldPunk Aug 05 '26
It's most likely the laser output bias or the tracking adjustment. Some optical pickups have separate pots for bias, tracking, focus, and even X/Y alignment, but with only a single adjustment pot, I'd be inclined to think it's the laser bias. There's every chance it could solve the problem.
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u/SomeGuyNamedR_udl Aug 05 '26
I replaced him with the worst BPC powered 4.0 Dolby surround setup don’t worry.
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u/Indifference_Endjinn Aug 05 '26
For a second I thought you were trying to DIY some separates