Tascam 246 eats tapes, melted pinch roller

[amizel]

After replacing the belts of this craigslist beauty I got about 4 hours into my long awaited archiving project and lost a tape to a fusion between the capstan drive and pinch roller. After some clumsy troubleshooting I now have 2 spots burned into my pinch roller rubber.

I need some mentoring on this project to get my new baby fixed. Shipping this heavy unit and waiting is not an attractive option.

?1) I called tascam for the pinch roller and they said 8 bucks but with a 30 day backorder. Anywhere I can get one sooner?

?2) Should I replace the pinch roller or can I just replace the rubber (and are there delicate adjustments to mind?)

?3) I have read about lube but never tried it. I think I know which kind to get but where should I apply it?

Any directions and tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time and expertise.

 

[cjacek]

OK, first of all, you're on the right track. You MUST replace the pinch roller. It's long overdue. You should feel extremely privileged to still have the chance to pick up a new original part from TASCAM, unlike just about any other manufacturer, for long discontinued analogue gear. I say patiently wait for that pinch roller and replace it when you receive it.

If you're still in a hurry, Terry @ http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/ can put new rubber on it for ya. Ask him about your specific situation.

Here's a great tutorial from the great Dr. Zee:

http://www.mzentertainment.com/studio_workshop_tascam_244.html

Click appropriate link for pinch roller replacement.

 

[sweetbeats]

Way to go Daniel!

+1 to all he said.

Terry just recently started re-rubbering cassette pinch rollers and if his work with cassette pinch rollers is anything like open reel rollers the work will be top-notch, but expect to pay somewhere around $40 for that re-rubbered pinch roller including shipping, and it may not turn around to you much quicker than waiting for the backorder to come in to Teac. Nothing against the Terry option at all...he does phenomenal AFAIK, but I just recently received a new pinch roller assembly for my 234...it is probably the same as the one for your 246 (which is a super cool Portastudio BTW)...I also paid something like $8 for mine but that is cheap IMHO and, as cjacek said, a privelage to still have parts and tech support from Teac for this aged and disrespected gear. I think it is greatly taken for granted.

So I recommend ordering from Teac and waiting it out.

Dr. ZEE's tutorial is awesome.

 

[amizel]

Thanks for the awesome response!

I have to say I couldn't even look at my computer when I got to the Dr Zee page I was giggling and so overly gleeful that I had to look away and collect myself.

I have been reading a lot of previous posts that support TEAC parts and I'm now a believer. I do a lot of custom cutting edge electronics installations and troubleshooting and it didn't even hit me when I was on the phone with a person that actually knew the part I needed and was willing to sell it to me on this unit that isn't even listed as a a legacy product on their website. My fast food, generation of entitlement, ocd tracking, high pressure, willingness to stress out everyone about things that can't be controlled tendencies are going to have to take a break on this one. And I at least owe TEAC the couple dollars to be had in this transaction.

Thanks again for directing my path here I'll be sure to post my success story