GadgetUk is back with another Commodore repair video, this time tackling a VIC-20 or C64 Datasette refurbishment. The unit arrived with a faulty eject button, but that turned out to be the least of its problems. Upon initial testing, the Commodore 1530 Datasette showed no signs of life—completely silent, no movement, nothing. Given its age, a broken belt seemed like a likely culprit, but further inspection suggested something more serious.
The first step was opening the case. Right away, the interior looked rough—dusty, grimy, and in need of a thorough cleaning. The cable was the first suspect, as a simple wiggle caused the unit to power up briefly. This pointed to a possible break or poor connection in the wiring. A few centimeters were trimmed and resoldered, restoring consistent power.
With the power issue sorted, attention turned to the mechanics. The belt, despite its age, was still functional. The heads and pinch roller were cleaned with IPA, revealing heavy grime buildup, which was likely affecting performance. After reassembly, a test tape was inserted. It was running, but not reading properly. Further troubleshooting suggested the azimuth alignment might be off. A slight adjustment helped, and after another test, the tape loaded successfully.
Beyond electronics, the physical cleanup was extensive. The exterior had accumulated years of dirt, scratches, and even strange circular marks that required polishing. The buttons and counter mechanism were also scrubbed clean. Surprisingly, despite its age, the original belt remained intact, eliminating the need for a replacement.
One lingering issue was the eject mechanism, which wasn’t lifting properly. It turned out to be a slight misalignment in the internal lever. A minor adjustment—carefully bending the metal slightly upward—solved the problem, allowing tapes to eject smoothly again.
After multiple successful load tests with different tapes, the restoration was complete. The Datasette, likely from the early VIC-20 or silver-label C64 era, was now fully functional.
