Vintage Technics M18 cassette deck...

[gdv]

The M18 works fine     , aside from one channel not playing (nothing on the led meter)... 

I cleaned/demagnetized the heads...

Possibly a quick fix?  Ideas?

TIA,
George

[MacGeek]

I assume it's a playback problem and since you cleaned the heads, it's not dirt.

I suggest checking the cables (reverse the leads to see if the problem changes channels).  Check the tape monitor and input switch controls on the receiver/pre-amp.  Try using headphones, if the deck has a 'phone jack, to confirm if it's the rear panel outputs, or all output.  Exercise all switches and knobs on the deck, especially output volume and tape monitor buttons, if any-listen for any intermittent operation and clean accordingly.

If you open it up, there might be fuses for each channel, but I doubt it.  Otherwise, it's a trip to the shop, unless you are handy with a soldering iron and have test equipment.

[SunnyDaze]

Cleaning the heads shouldn't have an effect on playback as the heads only read the magnetized tape. Plus, typically the tape doesn't come in contact with the playback head as it travels through the capstan / rollers.

I looked on HiFi Engine and couldn't find the manual for your deck George. Perhaps you can disassemble it to the point where you can find the output leads from the playback head. If you can get a multimeter on them, it may be worth testing to see if the two outputs from the playback head are both the same voltage.

You may also want to test to see if the output voltage is the same for L and R channels. Also very easy.

If neither is the case, then depending on how accessible the internals are, you may want to start tracing back from the playback head and see if you can find anything using the multimeter.

I know this is a bad thing to say, but, you can also do bad things by demagnetizing if you leave the demagnetizer on the heads for too long. I'm assuming you know what you're doing and this isn't the case.

Best of luck fixing that thing! It's a cool looking deck for sure!