Ely Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Hey all, I've just received some new Tandon mech drive belts from Best Electronics in the hope of getting my old 1050 drive up and working. The original belt failed in 1989 and I've used a friends 1050 every since. The problem is the belts I've gotten seem too long (see pictures). Anyone know what length they need to be? Perhaps these are for a different mech :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMartian Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Crappy... I'd like to the know the proper belt length too, to see if I can get something anywhere else, as buying one or maybe two from Best would end up costing me far more in shipping than anything... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bob1200xl Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 About 12.2 in. They fit loosely on a 6-inch steel rule. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1050 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 My best repeated measuring comes out at 3 x 323 millimeters from that same style of mech. Can't find my really old one that has the entirely exposed flywheel which IIRC was a good deal larger, I'll bet those belts are for that model. 20 plus years ago, I forget entirely who made that mech, but it was my first drive and I wore it completely out. Zero stretch on these very specialized belts no matter which size is needed. I don't think it's going to be easy to find a source outside of Best, but best of luck anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ely Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Thanks for the information. I'll contact Best and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 I wonder - if you used an oversized belt could you just drill a hole in the casting and put an idler pulley in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ely Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 You probably could, but I wasn't really expecting this to be that type of a job :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 My best repeated measuring comes out at 3 x 323 millimeters from that same style of mech. Can't find my really old one that has the entirely exposed flywheel which IIRC was a good deal larger, I'll bet those belts are for that model. 20 plus years ago, I forget entirely who made that mech, but it was my first drive and I wore it completely out. Zero stretch on these very specialized belts no matter which size is needed. I don't think it's going to be easy to find a source outside of Best, but best of luck anyway. To my knowledge the only brands of mechanisms used in the 1050 were Tandon in the ones from Singapore, World Storage Technology in the Hong Kong version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon375 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Personally, I broke a belt in a 1050 about 4 years ago and replaced it with a 1/4" wide rubber band, the drive has worked since. While I appreciate the purist need for proper replacement parts, I just know this worked for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ely Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 In 1989 I tried a rubber band, it didn't work and I found the brittle remains in there last night when I tried fitting this replacement. From memory the band I used was too tight and I could get the RPM to the required speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1050 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Nice to know that Dragon375, thanks. Then it wouldn't really hurt so much to get some regular drive belts of the right size and give it a try. At least they would be readily available as opposed to the special no-stretch type which are no doubt pricey as all get out when you can find them. Ely relates the problem with too much stretch, it's a real power hog and that little motor has it's limits. Thanks, BillC, the name of the other supplier of mechs was far away from the grasp of my too often feeble memory. All the while, the 8-bit FAQ is not that hard to find and would cover that like a blanket, should have gone there before posting, but it didn't occur to me. So now I can just start looking at the label on the bottom instead of adding to my collection of case screws in my quest to re-connect with an old friend and see how long that belt is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ely Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Hmm, just measured the 2nd belt I got and it would appear to be about the 12.2inches suggested. So I'll give that a go and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillC Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Hmm, just measured the 2nd belt I got and it would appear to be about the 12.2inches suggested. So I'll give that a go and see how it goes. There are many sites that sell belts for VCRs in different profiles of varying lengths. The sizes I found that are close are: Square belt: SBO-11.7 11.7 X .039" SBO-12.2 12.2 X .039" SBS-12.1 12.1 X .046" SBM-12.0 11.8 X .062-.07" SBL-11.7 11.7 X .075-.079 Flat Belt: FBS-11.7 11.7 X .025 X .125-.15" FBS-12.1 12.1 X .025 X .125-.15" FBM-11.7 11.7 X .025 X .18-.235" FBM-12.1 12.1 X .025 X .18-.235" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ely Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Well I've successfully fitted the 2nd belt and it fitted fine and once I'd tweaked the VR2 speed pot a bit the drive is in perfect working order. Not bad for having been sat unused for 25 years. So I'm guessing I just hadn't seated the 1st belt correctly, there's no way I'm taking the working one out to test that theory though :-) Thanks for all the helpful posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMartian Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Thank you for the suggestion of the rubber band, wish I had thought of that months ago when I wanted my Archiver so that I could check the format that my Rana was putting down.... Now to find a proper belt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockdoc2010 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 I just bought a replacement belt last week from Best and the clerk asked me if I had a tandon mech or the "chinese" one. . Took about thirty minutes to install it and no it does not stretch! Fixed two 1020's and the 1050 for 39$ but the 15$ a pop for the 1020 gears is a killer!! But they worked and at an average of 40$ for the 1020's I get to roll the dice on ebay the fact we still have a source for New Atari parts has me giggling every time I hear that tiny thing squawk away interupting itself to auto load a fresh pen.. oops sorry fresh working pens are hard to find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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