broken 388.

[hotel2tango]

ok,
i was going to record today on my 388. i loaded up a reel of 457.i pressed the load button and bang. the part you put the reel on broke. i don't know what it's called. it was the bottom part only.all three of the little prong things snapped off.the tape doesn't turn anymore. is there any way i can fix this? any help would be a godsend. thanx.

[antispatula]

I'm not familiar with the tascam 388, but it sounds like a simple hardware problem, corect? Something just snapped off? If so, this isn't a big deal, tascam has part support I believe, and shouldn't be all that diffictult to get fixed. Who knows though, I could be completely wrong.

[Herm]

Do you mean this part?

[EDAN]

The same thing happend to me with my 388. You need a new reel table. Call Tascam, I think it was around $50.00. In the mean time you could use velcro tape to keep the reel secured to the reel table, but you'll have to lower the reel table a tad to make up for the height that the velcro adds so the tape doesn't rub.

[hotel2tango]

yep,that's the part. just the bottom has snapped. i live in the uk, will i still be able to get parts form tascam?

[Beck]

If its any help it's the same reel table for the small TEAC X series consumer reel-to-reels (X-3, X-300 X-7, etc), as well as the Tascam 22-2 and 22-4. They cost about £28 in the states from Tascam. I see them on ebay as spare parts now and then for a lot less.

They can be tricky to search for on ebay because many people call them hubs, spindles -- about anything but reel tables.

It's Tascam part # 5600018100

TEAC UK Ltd
Tel 0845 1302511
techsupport@tascam.co.uk

[j-u--s---t--i-n]

hey, i noticed your name. i'm curious, do you have anything to do with "thee mighty hotel 2 tango" in montreal? or are you just a fan? i'm a big fan of godspeed you black emperor, a silver mt. zion, and a few other bands that have recorded there.

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by hotel2tango

yep,that's the part. just the bottom has snapped. i live in the uk, will i still be able to get parts form tascam?

Tascam's official parts reseller is Charles Hyde. You can get parts online here: http://www.chsinteractive.co.uk

To get to the menu, which has been made more difficult when they redesigned the site, ye must choose 'Original Manufacturer Replacement Parts', the dark blue one on the left, then choose 'audio spares', 'Tascam' (sometimes TEAC if you can't find the right part) and then the model.

Reel tables are under '388 STUDIO 8'.. curiously '388' doesn't have them, and the price is currently listed as £22.70 + VAT.

BTW, my TSR-8 spares turned up from them today. It also contained a small packet of sweets.

[hotel2tango]

ok, thanx for all yr help. i'll try and order the part today. oh and j-u-s-t-in, i'm just a fan of constellation and the like.

[technoplayer]

If its the takeup reel side, and the table is trashed anyway, you could glue (epoxy) a takeup reel ( one you didnt mind sacrificing) to the spindle. That way it would be the right height, and you would NEVER have slippage!!
Cheap fix.How often do you take off the right reel anyway, unless you "tails out" your tapes.

[hotel2tango]

no it's the other side,the reel you put on.

[technoplayer]

Damn.
OK, can you SWITCH the tables?

Any hey, anyway, have you figured WHY the tabs stripped off?
I would not think the capstan had enough torque to do this even if the brakes on the suppy table did not release.
Look for root cause of the problem before you put a new table on and trash IT!

[hotel2tango]

when the prongs snapped i could only find two of them. i had recorded at a friends the week before and now thinking about i'm pretty sure one of them snapped off then. could that be it?

[technoplayer]

What I meant was, why didi they break off at all? The only scenarios I can think on is either the reel was not fully seated on the spindle, or the brakes on the supply reel did not disengage. I was thinking the capstan motor would not have enuff torque in the second instance to spin the supply reel and break off the tabs.
They shouda made these out of aliminum anyway!

[EDAN]

Not sure there has to be an underlying problem, some times parts just get worn out and break. The same thing happened to my 388 and it was as good as new after I replaced the reel table.

[Herm]

I have made the mistake before of not putting enough tape on the take up side and when I hit play or fast forward the tape can slip and the take hold and jerk the tape.

[hotel2tango]

ok,
i got the part.now how the hell do i fit it? how do i take the old one off like in herms pic? i've taken off most of the front panel but don't want to go to far in as i don't have a manual. Help!

[hotel2tango]

ok,
i got my allen key to fit into a screw under the table on the shaft. but it won't bugde! it's so tight i think my allen key will snap.HELP!!!!

[Beck]

Heat the screw with 30 watt or higher soldering iron. Put the long side of the allen key into the screw, hold the short end with pliers for leverage and turn it counterclockwise with a quick snap.

[hotel2tango]

Originally Posted by Beck

Heat the screw with 30 watt or higher soldering iron. Put the long side of the allen key into the screw, hold the short end with pliers for leverage and turn it counterclockwise with a quick snap.

is that right? how do i heat up the screws, i can't even see them! won't they just melt?

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by hotel2tango

is that right? how do i heat up the screws, i can't even see them! won't they just melt?

Heat it with a soldering iron and no, it won't melt the screw.hopefully

Cheers!

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by hotel2tango

is that right? how do i heat up the screws, i can't even see them! won't they just melt?

Solder has a low melting point, something like 200°C, compared to steel which is in the thousands of degrees. Hence, unless the grub screws are made from solder, which is highly unlikely, they aren't going to melt if you use a soldering iron on them.

[hotel2tango]

ok i've done it. i NEVER want to do that again. i had to use a hairdrier. thanx for all your help.