Mindless Mayhem #11

             The Beastmaster's WALKMAN Repair Clinic

               by none other than The Beastmaster



DISCLAIMER: YOU FUCK UP, IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT, DON'T COME SCREAMIN 
            AT ME!  


     Well here we are again, reading this fine publication.  Well
almost everyone has a walkman, and, well it just doesn't seem to
work quite as good as the good home deck, eh?  Well here are some
tips for tuning up you walkman for optimum performance.  I think
walkman is a trademark of Sony, but THEY CAN GO FUCK THEMSELVES. 
More hate for Sony later.


DOES YOUR WALKMAN PLAY A LITTLE SLOW (OR A LITTLE FAST)?

     Well the walkman speed is set at the factory.  If you play
mostly pre recorded tapes, you SHOULD be ok, but if you play a lot
of dubs, chances, are it sounds a little slow.  If you have a SONY
walkman, I would not suggest this repair, as Sony with their fuckin
attitudes, MOLDS ALL THEIR CASES SHUT! That's right, no screws,
except for the loose ones in their heads.  If you can get it apart,
you won't be able to get it back together.  Aren't they nice (not)?

     First get some fresh batteries or an ac wall adapter, and a
good tape you can adjust the speed to (VAN HALEN!).  Get a small
screwdriver (preferably jeweler's size screwdrivers or equivalent,
Radio Shack has em, cat #66-1959 or get the better one if ya have
any $$$, or get some Craftsman tools from Sears, warranted forever-
cool, eh?).  Now open the case very carefully.  There should be
anywhere from 2 to 5 screws on the back, usually you'll find 4 of
em.  There may also be screws where the batteries are.  Now that
it's open, look for a trimmer pot.  A trimmer pot is a variable
resistor, that is, it controls the voltage going from the power
source (batteries, ac adapter) to the motor that turns the tape. 
The trimmer pot is a small device that is mounted on the pc board
either near the batteries or near the motor, both of which should
be easily recognizable (batts & motor that is).  The trimmer is
usually about 1/8" thick, 1/2" high in size and has three leads
coming out of it going into the pc board.  It has a small opening
in the middle for a SMALL screwdriver.  Now play your tape and
adjust the trimmer with your screwdriver as you would a volume
control, until you arrive at the preferred speed.  Then VERY
CAREFULLY put everything back together as you took it apart.  Make
sure you have kept track of all screws, which went where, etc.  If
you are unsure, make notes as you take it apart.  IF YOU FUCK UP,
DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YA! Ha.. Moving right along......

THE HEADPHONES SAGA

     Well this happens to everyone so don't feel bad.  After a
while, your headphones only play thru one side or are scratchy when
you touch the plug.  This is unavoidable as the manufacturers all
use tinsel wire, which as the name implies, is like the tinsel for
your xmas tree, i.e. small shit wire.  After getting touched, bent
etc, the wires inside the insulation don't make perfect contact
after awhile, and thus the problems occur.  This usually happens to
the wire within a few inches from the plug.  The only thing to do
is to replace the plug (get em at radio shack, make sure ya get the
stereo plugs and not the mono ones) and cut the old one plug off +
3" of wire.  And keep replaceing plugs as the problem reoccurs,
doing this until you run out of slack on your headphones.  Note the
same plug can be reused unless you melt it down with the soldering
iron.  I've gotten so good at these, it takes me about 2 mins to do
one now, heh.  
     There is a slim chance it could be the jack on the walkman
itself which is a bitch to find a close replacement for and change.


DO YOU GET MUDDY SOUND FROM YOUR WALKMAN AND YOU HAVEN'T GONE
CAMPING LATELY?

     Well if you went camping and got mud on your walkman, clean it
off.  If that's not your problem, read on.  Assuming you always
clean the heads, etc. with a cleaning cassette (if you don't clean
and floss (heh) regularly, START NOW) and get 'muddy' or not clear
sound from your tapes, your azimuth probably needs adjustment. 
'Wass dat?' you ask.  Well the tape head is secured to the
mechanics of the deck with two screws unless the deck was made in
Poland (hence the two screws=name dual azimuth, which they
advertise, cause it sounds important, and no one knows what it is). 
So anyway, there are two screws holding the tape head in place.  If
you look at the tape head there is a dark spot in the middle of it. 
That's what reads the magnetic signal from the tape.  Now there is
a tiny spring under each screw that hold the tape head down.  When
you turn the screws either way, it affects the position of the tape
head and how level it is and in which that 'dark spot' reads the
signal from the tape.  If it is out of line, you will get a muddy
sound (as long as you know the tapes are good, and not fucked up)
from your tapes.  So to adjust these, get out your smallest
screwdriver (the jeweler's ones again).  You should have to press
play on the tape for the tape head to pop out so you can access
these screws.  Now if you have a walkman in which the tape slides
into the lid, and the lid then closes, carefully slide the tape
underneath the guides on the lid (this IS possible) and then press
play.  Now you should be able to access the screws as the tape is
playing.  Adjust the screws clockwise or counterclockwise until you
achieve the best sound.  This MAY take a while to get the perfect
sound.  Be VERY CAREFUL not to unscrew the screws all the way or
you will have a VERY difficult time putting them back in.  Now once
it's perfect, stop the tape, take it out carefully, and apply
LOCTITE or any good thread fastener to the tops of the screws (or
even super glue) as this should keep them from moving.  In time
though, from getting stopped, started, dropped, the screws do get
out of place and need to be adjusted.  Or maybe they weren't set
right to begin with.  


LALALA AUTHOR'S NOTES (U MUST READ)

     Well you should now have a premo walkman.  If you have a Sony,
dump it and get something else, and don't buy any small end Sony
stuff cause it's shit quality.  If you are having ANY problems with
any of the above discussed FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS OR
ADVICE.  You can catch me on Destiny Knights, home of all Mindless
Mayhem releases at (708) 307-3768, New User Password: Fourth
Dimension.  Make sure and tell the sysop you got the # from this
tfile.  You can also catch me on Castle Grayskull (CALL!) at (708)
790-2665.  If you feel uncomfy with any of the above mods, don't do
it, as I don't want ya to screw up your walkman.  Watch for other
GREAT Mindless Mayhem Tfiles and collect em all. Later!

 -The Beastmaster

Gee, this was longer than my term paper. Muhahahaahahahahaha

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EOF