Yes I do fix the SONY Walkman pro WM-D6C …but this & only this model!.

Read on for the issues you get with this model and what can be offered about them.

(I can’t/don’t do other portable models sorry… not even Sony ones)

I’ve fixed over 200 of these now over the past 10 years or so and most can be got going again. I can service the mechanisms, to get all modes working, sort out the no play or record problems. I have a number of spare machines for parts and can sort a dozen different issues that crop up.

One key problem is Warbling speed.  It took many hours to work out why some of these warble in their speed. I noticed it more with the later SMT version. It turns out to be the rubber pinch roller.  It needs to grip really well. Even cleaning and scrubbing didn’t clear that. It needs the mass/momentum of the tape/spool to help keep the speed from hunting. The rubber used on the SMT newer production perished quicker than the older ones…  A new roller (not easy to find) is the best way to solve this problem.

Another common problem we see is If the speed chip has failed. This happens when you power it up with a different power pack…and the negative + positive are the wrong way round. Sony used 6Volt centre negative.  Most you buy are centre positive. These speed chips blow in seconds if you power the unit with positive & negative 6v reversed. Often you will also have blown the DC-DC converter block. These can only be found in scrapped WMD6C, but are sometimes available. The modern copy dc-dc converters you can buy don’t work..  They put so much radiated noise out you hear it on the music.

How do you know the  speed chip has failed? Normally if your D6 plays fast.. like 2or 3 times the correct speed – this is the symptom.  But occasionally the motor won’t run, or run very weak. Motors never fail.

World supplies of the original CX20084 speed control chip have run out.. but there is now a solution to this issue   SEE HERE It’s not cheap , and needs a lot of expert component removal/ fitting, but I can do this.

There are chinese knockoff copies  of the CX20084 though…which don’t work, so beware..  we know the difference.

New Capstan tyre.   If your deck has been left in PLAY for years, the pressure puts a permanent dink in the capstan tyre. . You hear that as a dunk dunk as it rotates. There are some new angled rubber tyres being made/sold on eBay- but NOTE:  These are much noisier running than the original, so in my view it’s not an improvement. Scrubbing out the original dink to minimise that is IMO better.

If your unit has had a knock and broken the record level control..This cannot be easily found either as a spare part, but I have a workaround. I have a source of new controls- but the knob is chunkier than I’d like.. though it is a fix.