Update 31 January 2020
The BleusNak 680ZX Project
Rehabilitation & Maintenance of a Legendary Nakamichi Cassette Deck
Above is a photo of the Nak 680ZX partially undressed. Preliminary evaluation of the insides about to commence.
Since the last update, the 680ZX has fallen into further disrepair with recordings maladies, requiring professional
attention and possibly major rehab effort. Stay tuned for further updates after sending to a trusted techy's scrutiny.
Refer to the BleusNak CyberSpot main page for additional info on this deck and other Nakamichi cassette decks.
As the project continues, including expert assistance from friends and seasoned professional service technologists,
we will post photos showing progress of the BleusNak 680ZX cassette deck rehabilitation. We hope that this page
of photos and explanations will intrigue and help you understand what goes on inside the mechanisms
of a classic Nakamichi cassette deck. Enjoy the view, ask questions if you wish!
A view of the cassette bay with partial transport frame pieces removed to allow inspection of reel hubs erase, record & playback
heads, and head adjustment mechanism. That's how clean and dust-free your cassette deck transport should appear !!!
Above photos are a glimpse of the 680ZX stripped open to reveal array of adjustment controls; top photo is from above showing
transport and auto-azimuth mechanisms, lower is a view of the solid-state preamp circuit boards and wiring harness underneath frame.
A lot of electronic components packed into the inner frame of this deck, as is common for classic Nakamichi decks!
Photos above of the 680ZX transport mechanism partially disassembled to evaluate critical components for wear and tear status.
This is a clear view of the critical capacitor and preamp circuit boards. Note the orange colored capacitors,
often these little orangies are the cause of audio output performance problems due to age and leakage.
That's where reference to the term electronic capacitor 'Orange Cap Disease' (OCD) originates.
Big work tearing down, diagnosing, adjusting, replacing, testing and reassembling a rig as sophisticated as the Nak 680ZX cassette deck.
The photo shows use of the Nakamichi Tilt Check Gauge in operation. This gauge checks correct tilt position of the three magnetic heads.
(oops, this is a photo of a Nak deck generic tilt gauge procedure - to be replaced)
This maintenance adjustment is as essential as azimuth or other key alignment procedures. After doing this tilt gauge adjustment and verification,
the head top surface will be perfectly parallel to the tape surface. Since play and record heads are floating independently in a Nakamichi deck,
this step ensures tape path movement is ideal and correct for tape record and playback performance.
Interesting review of Nak 680ZX deck, with abundant photos and explanations
Chronological status of project activities & replacement parts cost will be posted here.......
Future BleusNak projects ~ Rehabbing the most esteemed Nak 550 Versatile Recording System Components,
Welcome to the Mohican Pass basement vault!
Return to KJ Bleus' Nakamichi CyberSpot
Created 26 March 2016
which is being planned for sometime during year 2016. Also, the Anatomy of a Mobile Nak TD-560 Cassette Deck.
Most Update 31 January 2020