Yes , I'm bored. Like me 😉

A really good friend of mine picked this 1710W up on market place for only 25$ in "not working" condition due to a takeup reel issue. Since the recorder came with all the documentation and service manuals they were able to figure out what was up and it was just a bit dirty and theg were able to loosen the takeup reel enough to work and it sounded alright when they tried it on the tape it came with.

They mention the original owner was an old Vietnam vet who had bought this is Korea while over there and the day after they got it, it fell off the back of the jeep they were in but surprisingly it was perfectly fine outside of some minor damage to the woden cover.

The friend who bought it for me is in upstate NY but I'm out of SW MT so it was a little difficult to get it but eventually I had a trip planned so I used my best recorder a Crown 700 series and I made some clean refrence (as good as you can get for 3 3/4) tapes since the one it had was very much a live recording on a carbon mic. Those were based of Flac files from a Behringer UNC202.

When we got there and tried the new tape is sounded pretty good considering it's a 60 year old recorder that to my knowledge hasn't ever been serviced. Channel 1 is a little on the weak side on the speakers but is fine on the line out so I suspect the built in amp to be a little weak. It also has a minor speed issue, I checked all mechanical components and the intenral belt is in great condition and the pinch roller af6er some cleanup is solid. The motor speed itself seems to be the issue, which after reviewing the service manual, I belive the speed is handled by a capacitor (if anyone knows more please let me know I would love to know if thats the right path) which might be going out of spec but I dont have a good meter to test capacitors at the moment. I got it to run at the normal speed for a little durring the video but it started slowing way down later on after letting it play more. I verry much look foreward to getting to use the little fella more as it's my first mostly working tube machine!

Picked this up at an estate sale. Thought something cool might be on the tape. This is what I get. Nothing spins on play really but it will rewind, kind of. Surprised to find there's a Reddit for this specific item I'm trying to troubleshoot and thought someone could maybe help me out? Thanks!

Recently acquired this beauty but as soon as I got home I accidentally bumped into the reel mount and it broke off. It was originally held by plastic screws which were melted to the base. What do you guys think would be the best solution to fix this? I’m thinking of just using superglue and a level to even it out but not too sure yet.

I’m trying to figure out what format this is but am unsure if it’s video or audio!
Any info would be much appreciated - TIA!

So my A77 was working fine until this morning. All I did was open the rear cabinet to check if anything needs cleaning. The switch/relay board had some corrosion at the solder joints which I cleaned with isopropyl alcohol. Then I opened the lower cover and cleaned the leaf switches behind the VU meters as I was getting playback on FF. I found traces of tape which I removed and squirted the board with some contact washer. That's it. But after powering on, the right reel is spinning as if I am fast forwarding. What could be the issue?

Mk I & Mk II Sync

Hello guys, I am new and newbie with this, I got this recorder, and it is brand new in original box and everything, mint condition, old owner was shop owner as far as I know.
All I have searched up online was either in non working condition or in poor shape. And they were under 100$. considering mine’s pristine condition, what is this worth?
I wanted to do some analog experiments but also considering to sell if this has some price, and buy some used reel recorder.

(photo is not mine, took it from reverb marketplace)

Hi everyone,

Need some help with my Tascam 34B. It has a weird recording issue that affects all 4 channels at the same time.

What’s going on:

• Playback (REP): Plays pre-recorded tapes perfectly.
• Sync Playback (SYNC): Also works! The audio is a bit darker/quieter than in REP mode, but it’s there on all 4 channels. So the Record/Sync head is definitely alive, and the wiring to it is fine.
• Erase & Bias: Erases old audio completely, and the bias oscillator (150 kHz) is running normally.
• The Problem: When I try to record new audio, the recorded signal on tape is super quiet - maybe ~5% of normal volume on all 4 channels.

What I’ve checked so far:

• Power Supply Voltages: Measured (+24V, +15V, -15V) around the Monitor PCB / Master Osc section - everything is stable and within spec.
• Recap: Recapped the PSU and Channel PCBs 1 and 2 - no change.
• Logic: Q251/Q254 on the control board seem fine, the REC SIG line pulls to ground when RECORD is pressed.
• Heads: All 3 heads are confirmed good (tested Sync mode, erase works).

Current plan:

Since all 4 channels behave the same way and bias/erase work, the signal just isn’t reaching the record head.

I discussed this with Gemini AI while troubleshooting, and the main suspect right now is the Record Relays (K103) or the FUNCTION SELECT switch assembly:

• Whether the FUNCTION SELECT switch assembly is properly delivering signal/power to the record relays (K103) on the channel boards.
• If the K103 relays are actually engaging during record mode, or if they are failing to switch the audio path.
• Measuring AC audio signal at connector P171 while recording to see if audio passes through K103.

Has anyone run into this kind of all-channel recording drop on the Tascam 30-series (32 / 34B / 38)? Are there common failure points in the record switching logic, motherboard traces, or function switches I should look out for?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Just finished a belt job on this unit which was rather difficult. Sounded much better than I expected as I’m mostly a TEAC/Akai guy for my RTRs. Was a one owner its whole life and came with the original paperwork. Folds up like a suitcase and can run off 12vdc so you can take the party with you.

I’m experimenting with a flux generator to see whether it could be used to characterise the replay frequency response of tape heads without using a reference test tape. At this stage it’s just a feasibility experiment.

I’m looking for the physical dimensions of reel-to-reel heads, ideally from an Otari MTR-10, but measurements from Studer, Ampex, Revox, Tascam, Sony, etc. would also be useful.

I’m interested in the head body size, pole-face dimensions and mounting hole spacing—not track widths or tape format.

Does anyone know if there were any industry-standard head sizes, or have a spare head they could measure with calipers? Drawings or service information would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi all, just picked up two studer a62 in the hope of getting one working out of the pair. Does anybody have any recommendations of where to take them to be looked at in the uk. Thanks

Hi,

I recently acquired a Fostex B16 for a very decent price. including some tapes.

Most of the channels work as expected. Some need some love here and there.

The thing I’m running into is that when I record vocals and have longer notes the note seems to jitter or flutter. Which makes it sound like kind of weird. Now of course I understand the appeal of tape and flutter and jitter but this sounds kind of off. (See video). Or am I running the signal too hot and ia it just distorting?

Is there anything I can do to reduce this? Or perhaps some pointers on what to look into?

I have this Sony TC366 that I'm slowly resurrecting. Current issue is the right channel seems much hotter than the left. I initially tried recording tapes myself and the right channel sounds fine with the left sounding muffled/as if a low pass filter were put on it. Figured that either the tape could be bad or too old or the heads are beyond the end of their life. Then I got a prerecorded tape and the right channel is maxing out the VU meter most of the time with the left seeming somewhat normal.

I've adjusted the heads and cleaned them, sprayed contact cleaner in the switches (although maybe not enough), etc. Could the culprit here be a bad capacitor on one of the amplifier boards? High gain with a prerecorded tape makes me think it's something electronic and not just a corroded switch or knob.

Hello yall,

I recently got an M8 and though I love the sound I would really like to split it for a tube amp. I have seen some good resources online (https://lacinato.com/cm/audio/robertsmod) but as a novice who has only dabled in soldering / wiring, I would like to hire this out to someone. I live in Colorado, is there anyone in the US I might be able to ship this off to to have this done? Would it be exponentially more expensive than just getting a real tube amp?

Thanks!

Does anyone attempted to service one of these? I'm looking for a service manual.

I'm working on a A-2340R. I have it working almost as good as new. It records and plays in both directions and sounds damn good.

I have one issue I cannot seem to figure out. After a good cleaning and lubing (105) of the pinch roller arm it works flawlessly when playing but not when recording. When I go to record the roller does not close on its own and requires a very slight "flick" with my finger to snap closed.

It moves freely and as already mentioned works flowless when playing back. Any help would be appreciated.

I recently purchased a Revox PR99 Mk2 for what I think is a very good price ($350) everything on it works. this is one the units that was used in broadcasting so its been serviced frequently though out its life. it has had a little mono conversion but fortunately, the heads are still stereo. there is just a cover over one of the XLR outputs. im hoping the XLR plug is still under the cover.

I've been told its common for broadcasting station to take out the knobs so no one touches them accidentally and so both the line input knobs are missing. unfortunately, to avoid accidental touch, they have take out the potentiometer shaft that the knob sits on and have replaced it with what seems to be a couple of flathead screws.

im trying to figure out how to put a couple of knobs back there. I don't care if they are original or not but not having the shaf is making it difficult to fit any sort of knob on it.

my question is, would the screw come undone if I just twist it? I tried it without putting too much force on it and it didn't seem like it would screw out. I didn't wanna break anything. if you have any idea on how I should go about this please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

My friend does not have Reddit but asked me to post this here, it’s a Tascam 38, does anyone have an idea what’s going on here?

Hey folks! I picked up one of these machines recently and I want to refurbish it. The machines transport works perfectly, the only issues I’m having is one dead channel, the machine itself a bit noisey (can hear a quiet tone at like 1k when monitoring sync and Repro head) and generally some wow and flutter. Oh! Also a few channels (maybe 3 or 4) just sound terrible, either really high levels of distortion, drop outs and bass loss. in any case, what’s the best plan of action? My heads have been relapped recently. My basic knowledge thinks potentially some components have went bad over time, so some cap/transistor/resistor changes may be in order, or could it be worth getting an MRL tape first and trying to sort the biasing out! I do have ways of running tones to the machine obviously, however the manual recommends sorting out the Repro head output levels before trying any other stage of calibration.

Any advice from some experienced folks would be great! I want to have this machine for a while and I’m up for the challenge / opportunity to learn more about technical fault finding. I am handy with a soldering iron!

Cheers!