Nakamichi ZX-9 Azimuth Adjustment Wire

That's a nice tape deck.  I have the Nakamichi Dragon, but don't use it anymore. TDK MA series tapes are very hard to find (all I ever used) and have gotten spoiled to streaming.

This may help!

Precision in Details: Azimuth Wire Repair for Nakamichi ZX-7 - Bing video

Check out the tapehead.net forum. It has a wealth of info on cassette and RTR players

Yes I saw that video and the others in the collection, they were useful.  What is missing from the video is how he punches the hole through the flat wire that is already there at the start, the jig is a good idea.  The flat wire is fragile and I am concerned about damaging it should I attempt to create a new hole.  I need to cut back the blue sleeve by about 1/2 inch (and reduce the effective length of the flat wire by the same amount) as it has damage (cracks) as it comes out of the nylon connector you can see in the background.  I'd guess he had the same problem as I have.  Any suggestions?

Meanwhile I have replaced all of the belts, a far more involved process than I had anticipated but the videos helped.  I really hope I don't have to pull all of the circuit boards and replace the 'orange' capacitors many talk about.

I'm looking for a source for a replacement Azimuth Wire assembly should I destroy the existing one punching the hole.

And yes, I will look at tapered.net over the weekend

Thanks guys

Damn auto correct, tapehead.net

ddzstereo OP: I would just use a very sharp metal drill bit and use cutters not of a scissoring action.  I have no idea about a replacement though.  Most of that stuff is unavailable.  You could contact a place like Mouser Electronics and perhaps they'll guide you in the right direction if they don't have it.  I used them before while searching for obsolete output and power relays as well as obsolete super capacitors and had good luck!  They have a large selection and helpful staff.

I set up an account with Tapehead and got some useful suggestions there.