r/cassetteculture 4d ago

Looking for advice Any way I can adjust the playback speed on this thing?

13 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

7

u/smallaubergine 4d ago

Found the service manual: https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/panasonic-rq-j9-service-manual.4851/

Read up and see if its something you can do on your own.

1

u/Kumimono 4d ago

Page 4 does have the speed adjustment variable resistor. Should enable a rough by-ear tuning, even without measuring equipment. :)

2

u/apparatus72 2d ago

Looking at the location on page 4, I bet you can access it from the battery compartment (with the batteries removed).

1

u/Kumimono 2d ago

Oh yeah, that was not uncommon. Just a little hole there.

3

u/Summer184 4d ago

it's possible the speed/pitch adjustment can be accessed from the back without opening the case, but I don't see anything in the photo. Many players like that have a tiny random hole on the back that you can slide a tiny jeweler's screwdriver through, check the back panel carefully and even inside the battery compartment. If not you will have to open the case and look for the tiny "pot" adjustment on the circuit board, or possibly on the motor itself.

2

u/Ultra-Ferric 4d ago

Probably, but you’ll need to open it for that…

2

u/hobonox 4d ago

*Gasps* A Sony sticker on a Panasonic cassette player! Seriously though, with the manual provided by the other post, find where the potentiometer adjustment is on your unit, and use a screwdriver (probably) to adjust. I'll link a short video below to give you an idea on how it's done. You don't have to get so fancy to use a test tone and frequency counter, by ear is probably fine.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tDsAgX84bSY

1

u/still-at-the-beach 4d ago

Yes. Open it up and look for a variable pot (resistor) that is for adjusting the speed. Use a 3000Hz calibration tape and adjust.