tascam 388

[wilc0048]

today i came home full of great ideas for a song, turned on my studio 8 and cued the tape up. then i pressed play only to find out that my capstan motor wasn't spinning. i quickly turned off the machine and refered to the manual (which offered no help). then i decided i might as well take the tape out so i turned the machine back on to find out that now my transport buttons don't work and my counter lcd is blank. is this all a result of a bad capstan or is it a larger, more costly problem? no fuses blown, everything working PERFECTLY before today.
thanks alot
chris

[wilc0048]

oh yeah, by the way, there is also a clicking sound coming from the head assebly/capstan motor area

[A Reel Person]

Open the top and check/replace the fuses.

I've seen this exact problem, and it was two fuses that had blown. Make sure you test the fuses with an ohm meter, as some older fuses can "break" and not be visibly "blown" on visual inspection.

[wilc0048]

i wished it was that simple too, but i checked the fuses again, all five of them, and they're all good according to looks and an impedence meter. the motherfucker is dusty though, i had no idea how much had collected in the bottom, so next step will be taking the bottom cover and crossing my fingers that all this dust is shorting out one of my boards

[The Ghost of FM]

If there's a drive belt for the capstan, it might have broken or stretched and fallen away from its pulleys.

If it's direct drive, (and I don't believe it is), there might be motor control voltage regulator transistors that have failed from age and will need replacement.

I doubt dust alone could do that much damage.

Let us know your findings once you open it up.

Cheers!

[wilc0048]

well, i opened it up and found the capstan belt lying beside the flywheel, put it back on, closed it back up and thought i was set. but, now when i turn it on, both reel motors spin, the capstan spins, i suspect the brakes are at least partially engaged, and the transport controls still don't work as well as the counter lcd is still blank. any ideas?
oh, by the way, thanks ghost for the good advice, it certainly was right on, i just wish it would have solved the whole problem.

[The Ghost of FM]

If the belt was loose enough that it fell off, it means the rubber in it has fatigued and should be replaced. A loose belt might still be at the heart of the problem here?

As for the time display being out, I would re-check the fuses by actually pulling them and then testing them. Checking a fuse in circuit can offer false readings because of other circuitry allowing a path around the fuse.

If the fuses all prove good, I would say its time for a professional eyes and hands to look it over.

Cheers!

[A Reel Person]

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[wilc0048]

man, i wish it was that easy, but i could pull those things and check them a million times and they would still conduct electricity.
i think i've narrowed it down to either the control pcb or the reel servo pcb (i'm leaning towards the reel servo). the cool thing about this machine is it's really easy to take apart. if only it was 15 years ago, and you could still get parts, you could just pop out a bad pcb and put in a new one as easy as switching out the sound card on your computer.
speaking of, can anyone point me to some secret parts distributers that only "professionals" are supposed to know about?
thanks for all the help so far
ps, reel person, are all of your 388's working?

[A Reel Person]

Good luck!