It does indeed seem to be totally pristine with not a single scuff or scratch on it. Both of my Atari computers are "XL" models so the color doesn't totally match, but it still looks cool as hell.
Big chunky boy!
Unsurprisingly, the first tape I tried did not work. The cassette player seemed to advance the tape, but who knows if its the right speed.
Tellingly, I couldn't rewind at all. It seems the box did not magically make the belts immune to age.
Well, I see an intact belt but it's very loose. That red wire is basically no longer connected for some reason, so I'll correct that.
@Tristan nice find!
hope the belts aren't rotten
@gloriouscow
It seems they are, but I came prepared!
The screws were crispy factory tight, so I suspect this is a factory error. Someone sucks at soldering worse than me!
Okay, almost everything on this board was soldered badly.
Maybe this was sitting in the box because it was an RMA that never made it back to the factory.
Tons of flux on the board, some leads not snipped close enough to the board, almost every solder joint has either WAY too much solder or WAY too little.
I think this thing was made on a Friday afternoon at 4:59 while everyone in quality control was drunk.
We've got some caps in here:
47uf 10v x 1
220 10v x 1
4.7uf 25v x 5
I have all those on hand, and all but the 220uf as ceramics so I'll go ahead and replace them.
They're all nichicons except the 220uf, so they're probably fine but this is a really nice unit so might as well.
Edit: missed the 2200uf 10v sideways cap, oops.
Oh yea, that drive belt is stretched.
This pinch roller has a bad flat spot on it. We'll see if that causes any issues.
I am really struggling to get this assembly out of the casing so I can flip it over.
All four belts replaced.
Decided to reassemble and test before trying to wedge something behind that flat roller or messing with the soldering.
It rewinds now!
@Tristan where do you get your belts?
@gloriouscow
I try console5 if they have a kit for what I need, that's where I got them for this tape drive.
https://console5.com/store/atari-410-program-recorder-cassette-player-4-piece-belt-kit.html
Usually I have a bin of cheap assorted belts from ebay and just pick one close but a bit smaller than the original.
For weird sizes or really wide belts If they're not melting and just a little stretched you can microwave them in a glass of water and they are usually fine.