Starting point

This 1530 (C2N) datasette does not look bad at all! Although, I have no idea if it works or not, but from the outside it looks to be in fine condition. It is quite dirty as it is quite full of dirt and grease. There is a small "K" badge (? - or fake tattoo?) on the front cover, and the covers are slightly yellowed.

There is a small label saying "09/88" at the bottom cover. Could it be a date code? I think so - September 1988.

It appears to be in good mechanical condition. That said, it could very well be that the mechanics do not work, but nevertheless I can´t notice any immediate mechanical faults. All push buttons appear to be working and the tap lid can open/close without any friction.

The cable and connector does not look too good. But it is (hopefully) cosmetic, and I really like the intention of wrapping the connector and ground wire together. The ground wire is not used on the Commodore 64, and the only thing it can do it to short circuit the machine if it accidentally gets into the user port.

A nice little extra: there is an old cassette with a copy of "Batman the movie". Does it still work? Let´s find out!

Below are some pictures of the datasette before refurbishment.

Refurbishment plan

To refurbish this 1530 datasette the plan is to:

- Clean and remove stains from exterior casing
- Clean the interior mechanics
- Check cable and replace strain relief
- Check PCB for corrosion and replace old electrolytic capacitors
- Replace motor- and counter belts
- Check, and if necessary, adjust R/W head for optimal tape reading
- Check, and if necessary, adjust motor speed for optimal tape reading
- Verify datasette operation by testing

Note that these steps are not necessarily done in the order described above, and several of these steps are done in parallell.

Disassembly

Disassembling the 1530 (C2N) datasette is done through three main stages:

• Disassembling the top- and bottom covers

• Disassembling the six function keys

• Removing the motor- and counter belt

Disassembling the top- and bottom covers

The first step is to remove the four Philips screws from the bottom side (3 x 12 mm).

With the four screws out of the way, the bottom cover is lifted away from the top cover. This reveals the interior for the first time. It looks to be in quite ok condition; there is the normal dust and grease and also the motor- and counter belts have lost their elasticity. But all that is to be expected. There is something I discover (later - but it is very present in this picture): one of the wires is actually making a short circuit between two of the pins. Is this intentional? I do not think so.

The interior is carefully lifted of the top cover. As can be seen from the picture below the top cover is in quite good condition. To release the top lid the two plastic "rods" are carefully pushed towards the center of the lid while at the same time the lid is pushed outwards.

It is not strictly required, but good practice, to remove the spring mechanic in the top right corner. This small assembly consists of a screw, spacer, spring and a plastic wedge. The latter part is also lubricated with some grease.

Banner picture credits: Evan-Amos