Jump to content
IGNORED

1050 Belt Lengths (Tandon mechanism)


Ely

Recommended Posts

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 :-/

post-30373-0-93247700-1391726281_thumb.jpg

post-30373-0-11867300-1391726288_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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"

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...