tape deck repair

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>>1015162
Here is a picture pointing out the motor in the middle, and the spindles for both decks.

>rubber band
just, no - if, by some miracle, it started out with appro the right tension, wouldn't retain it very long - just going to slip, break,fall off, whatever.

Proper replacement actually cost you fuck all (literally, $1-$3) - need to know what size you are looking for (service manual for tape deck model if poss to find) or get a pack of various sizes (prob. about $15) ebay, whatever.

>>1015171
I found the service manual online as a $5 download, but hesitated to buy it unless I really need it. The tape deck is probably from the late 80's or early 90's. Even if I can find the manufacturer recommended replacement part, will they still make it 26 years later?

The thing is, I only need this thing to make a handful of tapes. I'm never going to use it for anything except copying music from my mp3 directory to the 5 or 6 blank tapes that I already have. Moreover, I just moved out of state and am still looking for work, so budget is a big concern. If finding the proper replacement part is the only way to do it then I'll get the manual and find a replacement belt that will work, but I was kinda hoping to just jury rig it to work for one night to copy these tapes.

>>1015181
the belt certainly dont need to be 'original' just, something halfway designed to work as a TD belt be nice, you only need the approx. size/length. Try it with (anything) - probably slip tho, also, post model damn thing, someone here may know approx size to get.

>>1015184
Thanks anon. Atleast I won't make the mistake of using a rubber band.

Incase anyone else out there knows anything about it, it's a Sherwood DD-1030.

>>1015184
This, belts are a pretty generic thing, just need to get them in the right width, length, and thickness.

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::update::

I got the motor off and scraped away most of the remaining belt. You can see the remnants of the old belt near the bottom right of pic related.

After some approximation, I figure the old belt ran a path of 12", so I'm looking for a replacement that has a diameter of just under 4". My goal is to just get one side working; namely the side that records. I'm definitely going to try to rig this thing up tonight, while I still remember where all the screws go.

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>>1015208
Guess what I found that has a diameter of just under 4"

It's a thick ass hair tie.

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i've made my own belts using this blue plastic tubing. you can cut it to length then weld it with a soldering iron or a lighter. it's very resilient, but it does tend to go stiff after a year or so.

Or you could get an o-ring matching the requirements, sometimes i get into these things and think that is what they actually are.

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So, the hair tie works great. I've already recorded a 90 min tape. The only problem is that the tape deck seems to run just a little bit fast. As a result, when I plug the tape in to the car, the audio is a little slow.

Instead of tracking down the speed control in the circuit, or having to modify the belt any further, I just adjusted the play speed in media player from 1.0 to 1.05, and that seemed to clear it right up. Basically im just playing the audio a little faster on a tspe thats moving a little faster, and it lines up correctly now. I also ended up tweaking the graphic equalizer a little to emphasize the high frequencies a bit, just to brighten the sound. Now it sounds great in the car!

Just 4 or 5 more tapes and I'll be done with this for a while.

>>1015258
Good idea increasing the source playback.

>>1015258
There will be a speed adjustment on the board somewhere. I'm not sure how you will calibrate it easily without a reference tape. The only thing I can think of is a store bought tape with a track of a specified time on it. You may find the car deck is wrong too.

>>1015272
I was thinking about this too. I can generate any arbitrary frequency, and I beleive it's 3khz that is the standard test frequency, so I was thinking generate the test frequency and record it on a tape, then play the tape and record the output in to the computer, then compare the output to 3khz and find the difference, then multiply my test frequency by the ratio of (new freq)/(test freq) to come up with a higher frequency, then generate the higher test frequency and record it on to a tape, then play the tape with a frequency counter on the line out, then adjust the tape speed until I get 3khz on the output. Seems simple, right?

On the other hand, it's already matched to the car tape player when I speed up the source to 1.05X, so I'm probably not going to bother. If it is the car tape deck that is out of spec, that would be a lot harder to correct. At this point, I'll just count this project as a win and keep moving.

>>1015328

i once had a deck that played too fast so i just stuck a 10-ohm wire-wound pot in series with the motor and increased the resistance until a song i knew well sounded right.

>>1015361
Some decks already have a trim pot for this. I too just play a song I know very well and adjust from there.

Also OP, I've used neoprene O-rings before in a pinch for replacement bands.

>>1015258
>The only problem is that the tape deck seems to run just a little bit fast.
The hair tie may be fatter than the original belt.
If it rides up higher in the pulley it will cause the increased speed.
Look for something that goes all the way to the bottom of the drive pulley.
Most of the decks I've worked on have either flat or square belts.

>>1015258
>>Not putting on another hair tie, or adjusting it to 2.0, to find out what Hendrix says in Third Stone from the Sun

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>>1015162
Wow of course I miss the one thread on /diy/ that I know anything about

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>>1017120
I wish I knew more about it. I bought this as a project to do up but had to take the whole thing apart to get to the drive and transom bands...wasnt so easy assembling it all again. I might have another go today

>>1015258
>As a result, when I plug the tape in to the car, the audio is a little slow
Sounds like an easy way to listen to some home-made vaporwave in your car :^)

>>1015162
I applaud you for your desire but will not be joining you in the rush back to tapes, I love my MP3 playing car stereo, it will take a USB drive or an AUX line and play from my phone, I can get more music on those than if I filled the car with tapes.

>>1015162
rubber band wont last very long
i still use cassettes in my car just go on ebay and buy an assortment of cassette belts and try to find one that fits since you dont have one to match it too or you can try looking up the model number

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>>1017212
Yeah.. I've had this problem as well. Everything is built so sandwiched together that if you want to get to a really internal component you have to remove almost every piece.

>protip:
tapeheads,net is a very useful and entertaining imageboard just for tape/vinyl/old audio systems. If youve googled anything about tape decks a link to it has probably already come up

>>1015361
>>1015372
speed trimpot is usually in the motor can itself. Look for a small hole.

>>1017626
I was a bit surprised that to do something like replace a drive band would require taking the whole thing apart and even once the motor housing was free that had to be dismantled as there was no way to get the bands around the motor and drive cogs without removing the motors.
Also after unplugging each separate board from the main most of the wires were too short to give you enough room to do anything

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>>1017120
>>1017212
Nice decks guys. I have a sony k890 es. And that tascam is bitchin. Realated to the op, i had a pair of nakamichis that i needed to fix, and the bottom one was missing the casette counter belt. So i split a rubberband and cut it down and its working great as we speak.

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>>1017803
I hope I can get this Tascam up and working as it seems to be in really good condition.
So I've dismantled everything around the drive and transom motors and replaced the bands with new ones, resoldered a wire back onto the motor that had come loose while trying to get everything apart.
Time to try and put this fucker back together again...I'm not all that optimistic about that part!

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>>1018403
Its just patience man. Most of those connectors are color coded and will only fit in one place. Im very sure that thing has a service manyal on hifi engine or somethung, if you cant find it under tascam look under teac, because thats who makes it. And it probably has a breakdown, thought it looks like you have thr whole transit assembly together which is the hardest part

>>1018440
Thanks. I have the service manual. I'm somewhat worried that I'll get it all together and find out I've fucked something up. I took a lot of photos when taking it apart so hopefully I'll know where everything goes. Wish me luck

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>>1018446
Good luck! And just so you know, that tascam deck had an msrp of 920 dollars, so even if you fuck up, its worth a shitload. Hopefully you pulled out the capstan and cleaned out that bearing, and its worth it to pick up a nicer demagnetizer for that thing. They solve alot of tape hiss problems, and you have a degausser for whatever else, like screwdrivers for sensitive electronics use. And remeber, always clean the heads before you record, and use decent tape that hasnt sat in a car forever, or bake the before usingthem. You solve alot of issues with head wear when you do that.

>>1018450
>Hopefully you pulled out the capstan and cleaned out that bearing,
No I just changed the belts. I was told by the lady I bought it from that her husband used it to record in his studio and then it was packed away. Its in really good condition other than the band perishing so I'm hoping I'll get away with not cleaning the bearing.

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>>1018450
Demagnetizing is bullshit. The capstan and tape guides are made of materials which can't be magnetized.

Nice Sony r2r here a picture of mine when I was repairing it

>>1018450
>>1018450
Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty new to this, so will look into what you suggested. The heads were totally clean, unlike the heads on my space echo when I got that! Also have some new decent tape.

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>>1018450
Well it's all gone back together and it powered on OK, but there seems to be something wrong with the controls. I'm not getting anything with any of the playback controls?

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>>1018549
Have you tried the controls while you have a tape in the deck? They usually have some switch to detect whether a tape is loaded, and it it does not sense a tape it wont do anything. If that does not work, reseat the connection for the control wherever it can be detached from.

>>1018464
Unless the tape guides and capstans are made of steel, in which they can become magnetized. And the head can also become magnetized, but they are far more pliable magnetically and can be demagnetized easier than any steel components. Still kinda important. And i have a tc 260 in the picture. Yours looks much nicer internally, i have a problem with tape tension on the idling wheel that causes the tape to bunch up sometimes at the head, and theres no adjustment for it.

>>1018473
Pics of the space echo

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>>1019191
Here...

>>1019186
Jesus Christ I'm a idiot, will give that a go

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>>1019212
>>1019186
Update...with a tape in the machine the controls sort of work now if the buttons are held down. On further inspection I've managed to snap the arms off the control pot, so I've ordered a new one which includes the control pot and arm. So I'm going to have to strip it all down again and put a new arm on the pot is this possible without replacing the pot as well, will it just pull off so I can put a new arm on? The seller also wrote this in the description of the pot and arm:
>The 112 uses a separate motor and assembly to engage the heads, it has to be set right or it wont work, wrong setting can cause this plastic arm to snap off
Could anyone elaborate on how to set it right? I thought I had it set up properly from reading on a forum to line up the 2 square holes on the cogs, but I'm guessing I've fucked that up somehow and that has caused the arm to snap

Here is the service manual. Create and account, it is free. Then read through it, and look closely at the sections converning the transit assemble, and the name of whatever that thing is that broke.
hifiengine.com/manual_library/tascam/112.shtml

>>1019235
Picture?

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I have this portable cassette recorder that needs fixing.
It slows down to the point where the tape stops turning at all during playback, rewinding or anything else that requires anything to spin so I assume there's just something worn out inside, maybe the rubbers or some bearings full of gunk and whatnot.

But the problem is, I'm very hesitant on opening the thing up.
I've removed the casing before and it's tightly packed with many screws and tiny mechanical bits, pieces and springs. More complicated than anything I have ever taken apart.

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>>1021048
Take off the case and take a picture

>>1021048

>marantz pmd 430

You can get a belt kit for this from Marrs Comunications or Superscope, Infact Superscope still repairs these.

lay it down on its face after you get the back/front covers off. you have to pull the record level knobs out (just pull em straight out) to get the front plastic piece off. then take all the screws holding the pc board out and just "hinge" the pc board up. theres a steel plate holding the two brass flywheels down, remove it. now you can get to the belts

I think there's a tutorial on youtube for how to put new belts in these

>>1021925
I'm very busy right now but after some better inspections of the device I kinda overestimated the complexity. Still, this thing is a mechanical marvel compared to modern electronic devices.

>>1021983
Thanks, I tried that and it's way easier than I thought.
Now, I haven't had much time lately to work on it so I only gave it a quick glance and put it back together.
Everything looked pretty clean inside, which kinda concerns me, I don't really want to replace any major parts like the motor for example.
But thanks, slightly relieved, I'll have to take a closer look over the weekend.

>>1022100

Also Superscope has new motors if it comes to that, they're not cheap if I remember correctly.

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Well, I have been inspecting and cleaning some parts but the problem remains unsolved. Pic related are the insides but I don't have a camera that isn't potato-quality.
The belts appear to be in decent condition, maybe they are stretched out just a tiny bit, especially the belt that goes around the motor two flywheels seems to lose it's grip easily but I think I've pinned it down the real problem.
When there's too much load on the belts, it seems to slip slightly out of position on the motor axle and then it loses it's grip and nothing turns except for the motor itself.
I made a little illustration I'll post it next.

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>>1023059
So here is a side view of the motor and the belt that it drives, when there is too much force pulling on it, the belt slips down and loses pretty much all grip.
I have no idea how I can keep the belt in place, I need to think this through a bit.

I really don't feel like ordering new belts, I saw them around for 15 euros, I simply cannot afford that kind of money for three tiny rubber belts.

>>1023059
>>1023062

Just replace the belts, they do that when they are worn out

>>1023062
How about jury rigging an idler somewhere into the belt system?

>>1023385
> nigger rigging a marantz
Get the fuck out.

>>1023384
This. It's a high quality deck and worth the investment if you are planning to use it. If not, sell it as is, note that it needs a new belt kit, and give it to someone who will appreciate it.

>>1023384
>>1023386
Well then, I guess I have no choice.
I might get the belts then when I am a little less tight on money.
At least I learned a few things about cassette recorders after taking it apart multiple times but I do really want to restore it and use it for some experimenting with tape.
I have a slight feeling that hipster are going to bring along a cassette tape hype sometime soon.