The service kit from www.echofix.com arrived today. As you can see, a couple of replacement parts are included:
On the picture below you can see a RE-201 in its orignal state. As a first step we are going to replace the tape and the green felts you can see on the picture.
In addition, on the other side of the gear the feed bearings as well as the pinch roller will be replaced.
Hint: Keep the original/old roller, as you might find the old one produces more wow and flutter which for some scenarios might be more wishfull than a “clean” running new pinch roller.
As an example of what I’m thinking of:
So, first, remove all the parts to be replaced and then do a full clean of all the complete surface, specifically all parts the tape gets in contact with. I used aceton for all the metal parts. Needless to say, take your time, as all the dirt you remove, is dirty that will not find its way to your tape later on.
Once cleaned, mount the new parts, tape last. The re-assembly is straigth forward. After adding the tape, make sure all the felts are correctly positioned to keep the tape clean.
Please be aware that the new tape loop is significantly shorter than the original one.