Help! Tascam 424 Won't Play Cassettes

[dedheshna]

Hello, friends. I picked up a Tascam 424 from someone recently and I am unable to play tape. I opened it up and it seems I've run into many issues.

Check out my video:

The positive:
-Capstan belt and Take-up reel belt seem okay
-Mixer operates fine
-Solenoid seems okay. The metal core was actually loose in the machine when I got it... I popped it back inside the Solenoid.

The negative:
-When I press PLAY, FF, or RW, it only spins for a few seconds. Sometimes it takes multiple presses to even roll.
-The capstan motor isn't spinning (wrong name? the black wheel on the inside)
-The tape heads do not engage
-When I manually lift the heads and press PLAY, it plays extremely fast.



So what is wrong with this thing? Does it come down to replacing one part or many?

Thanks for reading

 

[SkywaveTDR]

The capstan motor is important to spin as the manual I have which is the Mk II shows it is a flywheel cam operated deck. You are not going to find a single simple thing to fix this as the cam wheel needs to come off and be degreased and the capstan motor must be able to rotate- this could be power supply to motor. I can not tell you exactly what is wrong with it remotely as I will need to see the unit to make a proper diagnosis. Tomorrow I should have 203 unit at shop so I can not even take it in at this point.

 

[dedheshna]

Thanks for replying. I paid $75 for this, is it worth sending out and getting repaired? I can't find any techs near me. I live in the Hudson Valley in New York.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Russ Bachmann a past Teac service manager is in New Jersey repairing decks.


New Jersey Factory Service, Inc.

Mays Landing NJ 08033
609-625-2598

 

[dylnet_industries]

Did you ever find a resolution to this issue?