Tascam 246 pinch roller question

I should fit the proper tyres on my machine I guess - but I always worry about losing (or breaking) that tiny circlip - and the one for the roller! I wonder if there is any place you can buy them?

I've just spent a day digitising some of my 34 year-old 244 tapes. I am astounded how good they sound. I feel that the digitised copies aren't so good somehow - there is something about the sound directly from the tape that blows you away! By the way, I checked the freq response of my 244 from test tape I made 30 years ago and get ruler flat response from 40 Hz to 16kHz from a recording made back then at 0dB. I've seen results from studio machines running at 30ips that aren't that much better!I don't buy the lo-fi tag they are often given.
 
I think the lo-fi tag is part of a self-fulfilling prophecy. But it's also most likely because of what I call the "amateur effect." Most people (back in the day) started off with a cassette portastudio because it was the only thing they could afford. The majority of them also were most likely:

1. Not very good musicians.
2. Completely ignorant about recording/engineering techniques.
3. Outfitted with crappy gear (instruments/mics/etc.).

If you put all those things together, you're gonna get shit out of any studio. Most good 4-track machines are clearly way more capable than the typical hiss-filled, muddy-as-all-getout recordings that they often produced in the hands of such people. Yet they became associated with that low level of quality because that's what most people heard from them.

As musicians got better, learned more, and acquired better gear, they felt the need to "upgrade" their recorder as well, when in truth, it still had quite a bit to teach them! ;)


Oh, and regarding the circlip for the idler tires, I know what you mean. I was just very careful and made sure to keep my finger on it while removing it. But I did search on line before I removed it and found some places that made me think I'd be able to get something close enough to replace it.

SEEGER® Snap Rings (circlips) DIN 5417 | Circlip Manufacturer

https://www.springmasters.com/circlips.html
 
Well put! Couldn't agree more.

Thanks for these links. Next time I strip mine down I'll measure them up and post the dimensions (so long as they don't fly off and get lost in the carpet!). Only snag is the minimum order of 500 or so of the little ones........... plenty over to share here I guess.
 
Findlay said:
Well put! Couldn't agree more.

Thanks for these links. Next time I strip mine down I'll measure them up and post the dimensions (so long as they don't fly off and get lost in the carpet!). Only snag is the minimum order of 500 or so of the little ones........... plenty over to share here I guess.
Click to expand...

I didn't look closely enough to see the minimum orders. That's a bit of overkill, I guess. :)
 
Did you guys see that box of assorted clips? The fine print says that ordres from the US are subject to an additional charge of $100!? What?
 
Well, I got the pinch roller back today and installed it. The good news is that the visible wobble is gone. Or at least, if there is a wobble, it's too minor for me to detect it, where as earlier it was plainly obvious.

The bad news is that I recorded the 3kHz sine wave, and the playback results are pretty disturbing. Check it out. The "source" file is straight from Reaper, so you can hear what it's supposed to sound like.

I'm so sad at this point. I've tried for so long to get this machine in usable condition.

I can't figure out how to use the WFGUI program. I tried both the "6" version and the "beta" version. And I can't find a way to load a wav file on either of them. There's one pull-down menu (on both versions), and the only choice in it is "Microphone (Soundmax)." Do I have to somehow run the signal into my computer's crappy 1/8" microphone jack? (I'm assuming that's what "Soundmax" is referring to, because that's my built-in soundcard.)

Anyway ... <sigh>
 

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  • Tascam 246 wow and flutter - source 3k wave.mp3
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  • Tascam 246 wow and flutter - track 1 3k wave.mp3
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  • Tascam 246 wow and flutter - track 2 3k wave.mp3
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  • Tascam 246 wow and flutter - track 3 3k wave.mp3
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  • Tascam 246 wow and flutter - track 4 3k wave.mp3
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Hi FB. Sorry to hear this. I'm away from home until Monday so can't help much until then but as soon as I can I will run your files through my version of WFGUI. I had a quick listen and they sound just like mine did when I first fitted the new roller. I can't see how long they last - I need at least 60 seconds for WFGUI. Meanwhile stay hopeful - my machine suddenly came in under spec after running for a couple of hours. I used an empty cassette shell for about an hour or so to save head wear. Suggest you try this. I will also try to send you a link to my version of WFGUI when I get back. I couldn't get those other versions to work!


PS - just found the link to the WFGUI that you can use with wav files : http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/Tape_Recording/Service/wfgui.zip

I tried your track 3 file and got a result of about .7% RMS and 1.1% peak - about 20x spec! I had to convert your file to mono wav and 44kHz sample rate so there may be some errors. But this is more or less what I got at first with the new roller on the latest 244 I repaired. But it later suddenly settled to 0.025 RMS, 0.04% peak after running for a few hours. At one stage I applied a bit of pressure to the roller while in play mode which made the wow even worse than your figures but it settled to the better than spec figure after a half hour or and has stayed good since.

Hope this helps! Good luck.
 
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Findlay said:
Hi FB. Sorry to hear this. I'm away from home until Monday so can't help much until then but as soon as I can I will run your files through my version of WFGUI. I had a quick listen and they sound just like mine did when I first fitted the new roller. I can't see how long they last - I need at least 60 seconds for WFGUI. Meanwhile stay hopeful - my machine suddenly came in under spec after running for a couple of hours. I used an empty cassette shell for about an hour or so to save head wear. Suggest you try this. I will also try to send you a link to my version of WFGUI when I get back. I couldn't get those other versions to work!


PS - just found the link to the WFGUI that you can use with wav files : http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/Tape_Recording/Service/wfgui.zip

I tried your track 3 file and got a result of about .7% RMS and 1.1% peak - about 20x spec! I had to convert your file to mono wav and 44kHz sample rate so there may be some errors. But this is more or less what I got at first with the new roller on the latest 244 I repaired. But it later suddenly settled to 0.025 RMS, 0.04% peak after running for a few hours. At one stage I applied a bit of pressure to the roller while in play mode which made the wow even worse than your figures but it settled to the better than spec figure after a half hour or and has stayed good since.

Hope this helps! Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Just so I'm understanding, you suggest just putting in an empty cassette shell and letting it play for 2 or 3 hours uninterrupted?
 
Hey FB,

I can't listen to your files right now, so I'm not sure what your going through, but I had a similar problem recently with the 244.
After replacing the belts and pinch roller, I laid down a drum track and tried to play along with it. It was all over the place. My solution was to take it back apart and use deoxit on the pitch control potentiometer. Worked it a dozen or so times and it ended up coming back nicely.

.....maybe or maybe not.... just a thought....

Brad
 
bachelorb said:
Hey FB,

I can't listen to your files right now, so I'm not sure what your going through, but I had a similar problem recently with the 244.
After replacing the belts and pinch roller, I laid down a drum track and tried to play along with it. It was all over the place. My solution was to take it back apart and use deoxit on the pitch control potentiometer. Worked it a dozen or so times and it ended up coming back nicely.

.....maybe or maybe not.... just a thought....

Brad
Click to expand...

Hmmm ... thanks for the info. I'll put it on the list of things to try if necessary! :)
 
famous beagle said:
Thanks for the info. Just so I'm understanding, you suggest just putting in an empty cassette shell and letting it play for 2 or 3 hours uninterrupted?
Click to expand...


Yes - maybe checking the w&f with a proper tape every hour or so. I also pushed the roller a little bit harder onto the capstan than the spring pressure for a minute or two before I started the uninterrupted play. Sound weird I know but it worked! There was a very sudden drop in w&f to the spec.
 
Findlay said:
Yes - maybe checking the w&f with a proper tape every hour or so. I also pushed the roller a little bit harder onto the capstan than the spring pressure for a minute or two before I started the uninterrupted play. Sound weird I know but it worked! There was a very sudden drop in w&f to the spec.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks. I want to make sure I understand everything before I proceed, so could you please elaborate on a few things?

1. When you say you "pushed the roller harder onto the capstan," from where exactly did you push it? I assume you did this with the front cover still removed?

2. When you say "checking the W&F with a proper tape every hour or so," do you mean using the same process described with the WFGUI program?

I tried the new version of WFGUI you sent me, and unfortunately it's not working for me either. I click on the "WAV" button, but as soon as I select a wave file to load, the program crashes on me. It did it three times in a row. Am I doing something wrong?

You mentioned earlier that you had to convert my file to mono and 44.1k, but it should have been that already. I rendered them as mono, and as far as I know, my Reaper program is set to 44.1k (although I need to verify this).

3. I want to make sure I've installed the roller correctly. If you look at this picture of my roller (before it was reconditioned -- it looks brand new now), you can see how the little pin sticking through the roller is sticking up out of the top a little bit. It does not stick out through the bottom like this. In fact, it's not even really all the way flush with the bottom of that gold housing. It's just kind of pushed against the inside of the bottom lip. I couldn't push it through easily, and I didn't want to risk bending anything with pliers or anything, so I didn't push it. It seemed stable, so I just went ahead and installed it like that. But do you know whether or not that pin is supposed to be sticking all the way through both holes in that gold housing? And if so, how did you get it to do that?

Thanks for the help!
 

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    246 pinch roller A.jpg
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Maybe I can help you on this.... Here is a pic of one I redid... I was really careful to matchup the pin and bracket to how I had took them apart.
image.jpeg

This one is below flush with the brackets

This photo is from one that I need to do (it's sticking up)
image.jpeg

This one is above
(I know these are upside down, but I'm old and technology is not kind to me.......)

Just fyi
 
I believe that one end of the pin is flattened a bit. I made sure I punched the pin out from the bottom (since I wouldn't ever use it upside down).

When I punched it out, I put the pin and hole over a set of vice grips, with the jaws just wider than the pin, and used a nail and a hammer to punch it

On the next one I do, I think I'll do the same, but when I reassemble it, I'll flare each end of the pin better by tapping it with the hammer while the other end is on a hard surface. The flare should make it near flush. Looking at the mechanism, I think there is clearance so the pin doesn't have to be flush on both ends, just captured.
 
Hmmmm ... ok thanks. I guess I'll open it back up and try reinstalling the roller to make sure the pin is flush with the brackets. I don't know if that could be contributing to the issue, but seeing yours, makes me think it couldn't hurt.
 
.....actually, this has me a little worried too on the one I did. I might open mine up and flare the pin on the first picture better......
 
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