Sony WM-FX290 Cassette Lid

The Sony WM-FX290 cassette lid is extremely thin and flimsy consisting of thin plastic hinge stops. Consequently, this part usually broke over time, and I do not think I have ever seen one with an intact front lid. It is a nice design from the outside, but not very practical as you cannot see the cassette hubs very clearly. A square clear window would have been better, instead of this over-designed eye-candy.

Underside

The underside of the cassette lid has an interesting design; however, nobody is going to see it though.

Hinge Mechanism

This is the part where they should have spent more time designing. The lid hinge mechanism should have been more robust.

There is just one spring that will snap-shut the cassette lid down when the cassette is in. The spring usually comes off, but even worse the plastic hinges to the lid are very thin and they snap right off sometimes if not handled with care.

Spring

This image shows how the spring installs to the lid before you attach the lid back to the case. This is how they probably do it at the factory. The nice woman at the factory who assembled this probably took 5 seconds or less to fit the cassette lid. For most of you, out there it will take the terms of your natural lives to figure out.

I managed to fix this with some strong super glue as you can see. Another problem with this lid design is that the metal spring, which helps to keep the cassette lid pushed down often becomes loose. Consequently, this will result in damage to the cassette tape, with one edge of the tape chewed.

I just love Walkmans and MP3 players.

Cassette Compartment Lid

The cassette lid can detach and return in place with the spring in the correct position, without having to open the whole Walkman. If you decide to open this, be VERY careful, as the hinges will break, especially if the plastic has become brittle due to heat.

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