Help With and Info. About My Teac A-1500-W

[Ink N. Face]

I have a semi-working Teac A-1500-W reel to reel that I can't find any information about at all. Does anyone know anything about it? It says "Transistorized Automatic Reverse" on it. What does that mean? Does the fourth head have something to do with that?

When I press play, the thing holding the tape on the left doesn't move freely; the one on the right does. When I give it slack, the right moves right along. Also, the pinch wheel doesn't move unless I do it by hand. Does anyone know how to fix these things? The belt on it is really horrible and I know that I need to replace it. Is that all that's causing the problems I'm having with it?

Also, it has stereo echo. What is that? Is that like Sound on Sound but stereo? Does it bounce two tracks on to the other two while recording new music as well? That would sure be awesome.

One last thing, the dials on it are extremely noisy when I turn them. Is it a problem with the actual circuitry or is it something easy to fix like dirt or something?

Thanks a lot for taking the time to help me.

[sweetbeats]

Tried to find a manual for you...sorry, no luck on a quick search.

Somebody like Vintage Texas will likely have more detailed info for you, but here's my 2p...

It says "Transistorized Automatic Reverse" on it. What does that mean? Does the fourth head have something to do with that?

The transistorized bit just means that there are solid state electronics that handle the transport...marketing...lots of stuff from that day used the term transistorized or transistor...the 4th head is likely a repro head for the reverse direction, and is also used for the echo function (more on that below).

When I press play, the thing holding the tape on the left doesn't move freely; the one on the right does. When I give it slack, the right moves right along. Also, the pinch wheel doesn't move unless I do it by hand. Does anyone know how to fix these things? The belt on it is really horrible and I know that I need to replace it. Is that all that's causing the problems I'm having with it?

Without pictures and more detail about what you are experiencing I simply say replace the belt, and the "thing holding the tape"...are you talking about the tension arm? The lever that the tape goes under to keep even tension on the tape? My advice for you on that is the same as for the pinch roller. I'd start by taking those components apart and cleaning them. Grease and/or lubricant ingeneral can get hardened over the years and dirty, both of which impeded smooth free movement. Clean parts with fresh lubricant work much better.

Also, it has stereo echo. What is that? Is that like Sound on Sound but stereo? Does it bounce two tracks on to the other two while recording new music as well? That would sure be awesome.

I have a Sony TC-630 from around the same era that has the echo function. My brother and I had more fu with that growing up than I can describe. I don't think it is actually re-recording and reproducing the signal...it takes advantage of the distance between the two repro heads and reproduces from both, and the delay or echo rate is fixed based on the tape speed; the amount of time it takes a given point on the tape to reproduce from the first head and then the second head. The Sony deck has a feedback circuit as well to regulate how long the delay repeats.

One last thing, the dials on it are extremely noisy when I turn them. Is it a problem with the actual circuitry or is it something easy to fix like dirt or something?

More than likely it is contaminants or oxidation in the pots, and often times it can be rectified by spraying an electronics cleaner into them and "exercising" them (i.e. turning the pot from stop to stop rapidly a healthy number of times...using a shoelace wrapped around the knob helps with that process). Many of us here tout DeoxIT from Caig Laboratories as the stuff to use for this process. Works great. Check with your local electronics supply house.

[Ink N. Face]

Thanks a lot for answering all of my questions and trying to find a manual for me. What I meant by the thing holding the tape is the actual spindle that you put the tape and take-up reel on that spin and move the tape over the heads. I'll try all you said to fix it. Thanks again.

[sweetbeats]

Ohhhhh okay...

I get it now.

That's called the reel table. The tape reel conneca to the reel adapter (10.5" reels) or spindle (7" or smaller reels), the reel adapter or spindle conneca to the reel table, the reel table conneca to the reel hub, the reel hub conneca to the reel motor shaft.

It sounds like something is funky with a brake then. You have to take the dress panel off the front of the deck and look and see how the brakes work in there...usually the brakes are a felt-lined metal band that goes around the reel hub or the internal part of the reel table...a solenoid or some sort of actuator loosens the metal band when shuttling tape...when power is cut to the solenoid or actuator it is no longer keeping the band loose and viola! The springs in the linkage can work, the band tightens and the reel comes to a stop. If the solenoid or actuator is stuck or isn't getting power the brake won't release, or if the brake band or some other component is tweaked or maladjusted that'll cause problems too.

If you are comfortable with it, I'd remove the dress panel (the face panel of the deck) and then turn it on and just observe how things work in there. You might be able to identify what's happening or not happening that's causing trouble.

[Ink N. Face]

I took off the face plate and the belt was completely broken. To replace the belt, do I actually need to buy a reel to reel belt or are there any alternatives? Also, how do you put a belt on? It seems like you'd have to break it to get it over the motor it turns.

The brake does seem to be the problem; it's not releasing. The thing that pulls it back looks like an electromagnet or something and isn't working. Do you know what might be stopping it from getting power? I also noticed that the pinch wheel won't lift when I hit play or record and it also seems to be because of a faulty electromagnet.

[Vintage Texas]

Seems that deck has been sitting a long time right ?
What you describe you need a new drive-belt: parts@teac.com
You replace the belt thru the back where the fly-wheel brace is, 2 screws.

#I bet the brake pads has falling off, if they still good, glue them back on the metal band.

#Solenoid is probably OK, but linkage engaging the brakes need to be taken apart and cleaned + lubed again.

# Pinch-roller linkage same scenario, old gummed up lube on the linkage's pivot-points needs cleaning and a small drop of light machine oil to engage properly again.

Hope this helps