I have a Nakamichi Dragon that will fast forward/replay but will not move the tape when PLAY is pressed. Any ideas as to what the problem is?

Sounds like bad news -- I woudl guess that this unit has separate motors for ff/rw and play, and something in the play chain is broken -- maybe the motor itself.

Best to ask on a Nakamichi forum


http://www.naks.com/

Jesus Christ ... that tapedeck must be some 15-20 years old by now ...

My first guess wouldn't be the PB motor (from what I remember, the Dragon had 3 motors ... 2 for both capstans and 1 for PB/FF/REW) ... maybe it's the PB switch that is broken - did you test whether the PB LED still light up when pressing ?

Can't be all that tough (or expensive) to replace a motor, though.

Man oh man, a Dragon... *drool*

Nice trophy, whether or not it works.

If it's a 3-motor deck then the capstan drive motor has failed or isn't getting power. If it's *not* a 3-motor deck then the drive belt for the capstan is missing or broken. There are other more subtle possibilities but these are by far the most likely. Essentially, the capstan isn't turning so the tape goes nowhere. Fast forward and rewind don't use the capstan drive so they'll still work.

The mechanism is driven by a motor via a rubber belt. When this belt gets old, the resistans from the mechanism gets to high and the motor just spins on the belt. It is very easy to replace and cost is very low for a new belt. Good luck!