famous beagle
Well-known member
Ok, so as some of you may remember, my old friend just recently gave me his 388. When I fired it up, all the lights seemed to work, but the transport was dead. The capstan belt was stretched out and loose, so I replaced that. Now the capstan spins, but it still won't play, rec, FF, or RW.
Here's what I've done so far (in order):
1. Replaced capstan belt (as noted above)
2. Checked fuses with DMV (all good)
3. Tried using my RC-71 remote (which I know works because it works with my 246). Initially, I got nothing; all the transport buttons were still dead. However, when I unplugged the remote, both reels started spinning (no tape was loaded). I couldn't get them to stop no matter what I did, so I had to turn off the machine. This gave me more hope because it seems that the motors still work.
4. Removed transport panel, unplugged all ribbon controllers, applied Deoxit, and replugged them: At this point, I was initially getting nothing again. But when I messed with lifting the tension rollers and/or the pinch roller, it started to get a mind of its own. A reel would begin to spin seemingly on its own and maybe stop when I would lift the tension roller (which was odd I thought). Eventually, both reels started spinning again (in opposite directions) without the tension rollers lifted. At that point, when I lifted the right roller, that reel would stop. When I lifted the left one, that reel would stop. When I released the rollers, their respective reels would start spinning again. As before, I couldn't seem to get them to stop, so I had to turn off the machine.
Another symptom is that the tape counter is wacky. It goes from showing nothing to some 2's or sometimes 0.00, etc. And some of the transport lights are wacky. For example, the "REC" light might come on, or the "Repeat" light, etc., and they won't respond to pushes.
I feel as though it's close, but I don't know what to try next. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Here's what I've done so far (in order):
1. Replaced capstan belt (as noted above)
2. Checked fuses with DMV (all good)
3. Tried using my RC-71 remote (which I know works because it works with my 246). Initially, I got nothing; all the transport buttons were still dead. However, when I unplugged the remote, both reels started spinning (no tape was loaded). I couldn't get them to stop no matter what I did, so I had to turn off the machine. This gave me more hope because it seems that the motors still work.
4. Removed transport panel, unplugged all ribbon controllers, applied Deoxit, and replugged them: At this point, I was initially getting nothing again. But when I messed with lifting the tension rollers and/or the pinch roller, it started to get a mind of its own. A reel would begin to spin seemingly on its own and maybe stop when I would lift the tension roller (which was odd I thought). Eventually, both reels started spinning again (in opposite directions) without the tension rollers lifted. At that point, when I lifted the right roller, that reel would stop. When I lifted the left one, that reel would stop. When I released the rollers, their respective reels would start spinning again. As before, I couldn't seem to get them to stop, so I had to turn off the machine.
Another symptom is that the tape counter is wacky. It goes from showing nothing to some 2's or sometimes 0.00, etc. And some of the transport lights are wacky. For example, the "REC" light might come on, or the "Repeat" light, etc., and they won't respond to pushes.
I feel as though it's close, but I don't know what to try next. Any ideas?
Thanks!