Many Technics/Panasonic tape decks utilize a specific gear for tape transport. These gears were made from semi-flexible material, which tends to crack over time, especially since they were manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s.
You can identify a problem with this gear when you hear a ticking noise during playback. Eventually, you may find that you cannot play the tape at all, or you can only play it in one direction if you have a reverse deck.
To address this issue, you can download the service manual and follow the disassembly steps provided. It should not be too complicated. Typically, the gear is located in this area, which is detailed in RDG5772ZC.
Broken gear can look like this:
Then you can replace broken gear with my 3D printed one. It is also made from semi-flexible material that is similar to the original one. It was tested in many machines and it operate smoothly without noise.
You can see function demonstration bellow:
Part is compatible with following devices:
MS20, MS600, RS-CH550, RS-CH700, RS-CH900, RS-T9023, RS-TR210, RS-TR232, RS-TR252, RS-TR252PK, RS-TR262, RSTR262PK, RS-TR265, RS-TR311, RS-TR333, RS-TR515, RS-TR535, RX-CT990, RX-DS05, RX-DS35, RXDS620, RX-DS790, RX-DT07, RX-DT5, RX-DT501, RX-DT680, RX-DT690, RX-E250, RX-E300, SA-CH11, SA-CH150, SA-CH150PPK, SA-CH455, SA-CH455PK, SA-CH52, SA-CH55, SA-CH72, SA-DH66, SA-VC10, SU-CH80, SU-CH82, SU-CH90, SU-CH92, RX-DT501, RX-DT505, RX-C300, RS-TR157, GX-89CD, RX-DS620, RS-TR355, RX-DT707, RX-DS30P, SA-CH33, RS-B55, RS-955, RS-TR165.
It might work also with other devices – just check your service manual.
Available for purchase – go to shop.
Here is video created by Mr. Enrique Andres showing how he has fixed his tape deck using this gear.
https://youtu.be/LwveMhn2PxE
Ciertamente es real..conseguí reparar mi deck con esta pieza..revivir el sonido de antiguos cassetes y por supuesto mi equipo de audio..muy agradecido por el trabajo de precisión que conlleva hacer semejante pieza…seriedad y envio rapido…ánimo a quien posea un deck technics/panasonic que incorpore este engranaje a repararlo…es sencillo de hacer y la satisfacción es enorme
Hola, como conseguiste la pieza?, tienes el archivo para imprimirlo en 3D, estoy buscando ese piñon para mi technics, si puedes ayudarme te estaré agradecido
La pieza fue modelada en 3D de acuerdo con la pieza original e impresa en 3D.
Hello. I am about to replace this gear on my panasonic rx dt680 but the two screws left and right of the head just wont get loose. They’re glued in their place. Even experts say they just cant open it. Is there a way to take off the metal plate with the head on it without having to take the head off of the metal plate?
Hello, I am sorry but I have no advice how to remove these screws. Maybe you can ask a question at tapeheads.net?
Use a strong (tough) srew driver, longer in size and which perfectly engages in the star groove. Put sufficient effort with a jerk to unsrew them. Once slipped and made a mark (spoiled head) cannot be removed. In such case use a wire cutter to hold tightly the head and turn (unsrew).
Hello, it’s me again with the stuck screws on the Panasonic rx dt680.
After stripping one of the screws I gave up on the whole thing until recently someone finally told me that these might not be normal philips screws. And they might be right, it could be a special kind of japanese screw that can be only opened with the right screwdriver that is able to apply more force without spoiling the head. I wanted to try the wirecutter method but there is no space for that unfortunately. At least the one I have is too big. For anyone who has the same problem, one should try this aswell before the screw will be damaged like in my case. So I will try with the proper tool soon and hope it will work.
Hello! I have the same problem that you had as you wrote your message some time ago. Could you finally solve the issue? If so, what did you do, please?
Kind regards.
This gear is also compatible with Denon DR-M07 tape drive. Pictures bellow show the gear in Denon tape drive. Thanks to Abraxasaudio for this information! He was able to fix his Denon DR-M07 using this gear.
https://fixament.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Denon_DR-M07_01.jpg
https://fixament.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Denon_DR-M07_02.jpg
Today I have replaced both gears p/n RDG5772ZC to my Technics RS-TR333. The cassette deck works perfectly on play, reverse play, fast forward and rewind. The gear is mounted on a small black plastic spindle. As per the service manual I also added some special white grease for plastic into the gear’s hole which is in contact with that spindle. I am very happy! Thank you Martin!
Hi Cristian,
I am happy to hear that you are satisfied. Thank you for your comment!
Where do I buy RDG5772ZC ?
I think it is discontinue parts.
You can buy RDG5772ZC replacement part in eshop.
https://fixament.com/product/rdg5772zc/
Hola buenas tardes necesito un piñon de esas mismas caracteristicas de una unidad deck technics modelo RS-TR 232
Hola, este equipo es compatible con la pletina de cinta RS-TR 232.
I’m very satisfied with the purchase of 4 gears RDG5772ZC . Two months ago I replaced them in my RS-TR232 and RS-TR313 and now I’m enjoying music from my old tapes. So far so good the cassette decks works perfectly and I hope this replacement parts last for a long time. It was a pleasure to deals with you, Martin, and I give thanks to you.
Hi Roberto,
Thank you very much for nice comment! I am glad that you are satisfied.
Kind regards
Martin
Hello, I need one of these for Technics RS-TR232
Yes, the gear is compatible with Technics RS-TR232 and you can buy it in the eshop – https://fixament.com/product/rdg5772zc/.
I think I need this gear for my own Denon DR-M07. The gear in question is missing 2 teeth, and was making a clicking noise during playback.
While investigating, I was fiddling with mechanism, and placing tape in place to play, to see if any other solution was possible. But somehow…the playback mechanism become “stuck” in playback mode. Now whenever the deck is powered on, it immediately starts spinning at what seems like fast forward speed…with playback mechanism/head slider engaged…goes for 10-15 seconds and then stops. No buttons work at all. So I have created a new problem I have to solve first, before the simple gear problem can be addressed. 🙁
Hi Tom,
I am not an expert for these drives. It looks like the drive mechanism is not in stop position to me. Maybe you can try to rotate the reel gears to move mechanism to stop position? You can try to ask a question at tapeheads.net forum…
Good luck!
Martin
Dear Martin,
I’m not sure how you do it, but the replica gears work perfect. The individual teeth on the part are so small I needed a magnifying glass to see them.
Thank you again, you saved our Technics tape deck at a very reasonable price.
Kind regards,
Mitch B.
San Diego
After buying 3 Technics/Panasonic RDG5772ZC Gear, i played 30 cassetes on my Technics RS-TR265 and it works
nice. Don´t forgot to lubricate the gears.
I have used one of Martin’s RDG5772ZC 3-D printed gears successfully in my Denon DR-M07 cassette tape deck. The deck is quite old and was functioning perfectly apart from an annoying mechanical “clicking” noise on playback. On investigation I found that one of the plastic gears, about 1 cm in diameter, in the tape transport mechanism was missing two teeth. Martin’s 3-D Printed replacement gear fitted exactly and the deck now works perfectly again. Thus I can thoroughly recommend Martin’s 3-D printed parts. I am indebted to him for providing a small part, no longer available from the manufacturer, which has given my cassette tape deck a new lease of life.