Manual cassette release on Sony 10 CD car player

[Licensed to Quill]

Got a CDX-52 10 CD changer for my car which wont release its cassette. I
have the top off and still cant find any way of manually releasing the CD
cassette

Does anyone have any experience with these? The repair shop got it stuck in
and I seem to remember manually releasing the cassette last time but this
time it is stuck tight. Is there a manual release or is it SUPPOSED only to
release electronically? (It wouldn't do that either)

I don't think that the tray is open in any way and the CD doesn't seem to
have moved any distance inside the machine so cant see why I cant release it
mechanically.

I bought another one with only the female plugs on that panel on the side of
the unit to switch over (which I presume us fairly easy?)

Licensed to Quill

 

[Jeff]

The magazine can be released by gently pressing one
of the levers at the bottom if the trays are all in.
Jeff

 

[Licensed to Quill]

Hi Jeff

The trays are all in but pressing on any lever on the bottom (at the front?
On a side? Or at the rear?) doesn't do anything: The only one which moves
at all is the thin upright brass bar at about the centre of the cassette
which goes from the top all the way to the bottom of cassette at the rear
and into a white plastic piece at the bottom. This bar moves about two
millimetres to the left but also doesn't seem to do anything. (It LOOKS
like it should go further but without forcing anything, it doesn't)

Nor does pressing any of those levers with my finger on the cassette release
button at the front?

The full story is that I was accidentally sold a wrong cassette and put it
in. The trays wouldn't slide into position and the error message told me to
reset it continuously. But at least I could press the release button to get
it out easily

I took it into the local Sony repair station while it was under warranty and
don't know what they did with it but they reported it as having the wrong
cassette in it and gave it back to me with the cassette completely jammed
into the unit. I did manage to release that wrong cassette easily on taking
the top off the unit.

Now I have another unit (but with a broken off front flap and the wrong
connecting panel at the side????) and obtained a correct cassette with it.
SO I took the cassette out of the new unit and tried to put it into the
older unit where it is now jammed.

I now want to release the cassette so that I can either repair whatever the
Sony repair station broke in the unit using parts from the other unit OR
test the other unit (which isn't as simple as it sounds as the connectors
are all wrong: But I am hoping that the connecting panels as well as the
front panels are both the same size and shape and the connecting panel seems
to connect with what looks like the same internal flat multi-connector
cable: So they might well be interchangeable and I should end up with one
working unit)

L2Q

 

[Jeff]

Now your loosing me, is the correct magazine jammed?
The lever is under the magazine it raises up to lock,
just look at the other one!
However if its the wrong magazine it might just be
stuck elsewhere.
Do not push on the "bar". If you removed the chassis
top it may be assembled wrong and jam.
If both units are UNI-style connector they may be
interchangeable, if not they are not.
Jeff

 

[Licensed to Quill]

Hi again Jeff

Yes, it is the correct magazine which is now jammed (the wrong one came out
easily). I will try your suggestion on that lever under the cassette which
I have to admit I didn't find initially. It SEEMS you are suggesting that I
should be able to press that lever DOWNWARDS without taking the unit apart?

Both units have the same shaped connector panel with the same single screw
attachment to the outer casing. But one has the Sony style power
DIN-looking plug alongside two RCA connectors while the other has a round
DIN looking plug with multiple pins in it. (as I said, the panels seems to
connect with the same flat non-soldered multi-pin connector which seems to
push in and then lock into the panel)

L2Q

 

[Jeff]

Hi again Jeff

Yes, it is the correct magazine which is now jammed (the wrong one came out
easily). I will try your suggestion on that lever under the cassette which
I have to admit I didn't find initially. It SEEMS you are suggesting that I
should be able to press that lever DOWNWARDS without taking the unit

apart?

Hi, yes something flat like a credit card but longer
just slide it under the magazine.
Its like left of center about 4" back.

Both units have the same shaped connector panel with the same single screw
attachment to the outer casing. But one has the Sony style power
DIN-looking plug alongside two RCA connectors while the other has a round
DIN looking plug with multiple pins in it. (as I said, the panels seems to
connect with the same flat non-soldered multi-pin connector which seems to
push in and then lock into the panel)

L2Q

Different 13 pin din and Uni style, I assume data
is different.
Jeff

 

[Licensed to Quill]

Well, that assumption scotches my idea completely! Now to try to repair my
original machine