Tascam 38 Reel Motor Cleaning/ VU meter LED mod

A

Abominable ID

New member
Hello,

There is an old post about cleaning the brushes and bearings in the reel motors to improve performance (mine are acting strange and I'm sure this will help). It is recommended that one re-lubricate the bearings in the motor. Anyone know what type of lubricant to use, and on that point, any other lubricant I should have on hand for the maintenance of this machine?

Also, I would like to replace all the VU meter bulbs with LEDs. This is because finding the right type (axial), and the correct rating, is a pain in the elbow...not even sure what the correct rating is 6v? 100ma? Anyone have any info on this particular mod? I've already installed the WRONG rating 6v 150ma, and I'm just tired of the whole issue.

Always appreciate everyone's 2 cents! :)

-Ash
 
This is all from memory...it’s been a decade or so since I’ve had one of the 38/48/58 motors open...

The bearings are not meant to be lubricated...DO NOT oil them. I think the bearings are standard 608ZZ type bearings. You can verify when you open up the motor. The bearing type is etched on the bearing shield. Do NOT use “skate” or cheap import bearings. Do not be fooled into getting cheap bearings even if they have a high ABEC rating. Do NOT skimp in this area. Get SKF, Nachi or some equivalent product. I don’t care if you can’t even find an ABEC rating on it. You can have an ABEC 9 bearing that is still mechanically noisier than a good old SKF 608ZZ bearing. Period. The nice thing is on the Teac motors you don’t have to use a puller to get the bearings off the motor shaft. You should be able to slide them off. Be careful and aware there is a spring washer in there that properly pre-tensions the bearings and it MUST be reinstalled as it was prior to disassembly.

Regarding the brushes you cannot clean them. The area you clean is the commutator, the part of the winding assembly the brushes contact. You have to carefully scrape the buildup from in between the contact areas, and then flush with some electrical parts cleaner. Make SURE you label/mark which brush came out of which socket and make SURE they are each reinstalled in the same orientation. I also recommend marking the motor case sections so that they are also reassembled in the same orientation.

I thought I detailed some of this on my old Tascam 58-OB thread.

Hmmmm...
 
Yeah...here is a dirty commutator...see the crud in the slots?

9F681064-EE46-49C4-992E-5C00A99F7835.jpeg

And here it is after cleaning:

3CAFE045-6FBC-470B-BDDC-ED13E7C88AA7.jpeg

Regarding the LED mod, I’ve never done it. You’ll need to add a resistor to attentuste the voltage to each lamp site. I don’t know what value you’ll need to use. Do a search for VU meter LED on this forum...somebody did it to their M-300 mixing console IIRC. Or do a Google search for Teac Model 15 mods...I recall somebody did a raft of mods to their Model 15 mixing console including VU meter LED illumination.
 
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