Tascam TSR8 Channel Cards

trancedental

trancedental

New member
Anyone had trouble with the channel cards on the Tascam TSR8?

My playback levels are intermittent & lower on the first four channels I have air dusted & cleaned the cards with PCB cleaner & it made a difference although the same problem is still there. Also if I leave the machine on for longer hours they start working slightly better.

Do the relays or any other parts give out on these cards, do they eventually need replacement parts?

The manual I have is not a very good print so I can't make out the schematic & which relays / parts are responsible for playback, recording levels are OK it just seems to be a playback issue?



Cheers JK
 
I don't really know, but out of interest, have you tried flipping the tape over so that the lower 4 tracks are played back by the upper 4 channels (albeit backwards)?

Also, have you tried recording and playing back with and without DBX? I'm not sure what that might indicate, but if it makes a difference it might help narrow things down.
 
Swapped the cards around & the problem is with the individual cards, the channels are recording OK it's just a playback issue, when I got this machine I had similar problem with reproduce / playback which went away after the machine was used for a few days

I've cleaned the cards again but will probably order the 2 new relays which is enough for one card & fit them, as the cost is only about £2.50 so I'll see if that cures the problem?
 
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If the problem follows the card I would suspect the relays...are those relays mechanical? If they are then yes the contacts can get dirty. Had all kinds of problems on my 58 before opening the relays up and cleaning them. Turned it into a new machine.
 
I've never had relay problems on the TSR/MSR machines, but yeah, if the problem follows the card when switching them around the relays are a good place to start. Also make sure the contacts on the cards are bright and shiny. If you have a little oxidation built up the problem will follow the card as well.
 
Yeah...Beck, you also made the suggestion for my 58 issues some time back to (in addition to checking the quality of the contacts) re-weld the solder joints for the card connectors which I also did. Not sure if it was the DeoxIT on the connectors, the refreshing of the solder joints or the cleaning of the relays that ultimately resolved my issues, and maybe it was all three, but it licked the problem.

I would prioritize this way:

  1. Check the quality of the connections (a little piece of Scotchbrite pad moistened with DeoxIT D5, NOT Faderlube, works wonders if the connectors are oxidized and then hose down with the DeoxIT after the polishing)
  2. Check/clean/replace relays
  3. Check/re-weld card connector solder joints

Sincerely, good luck. Hope you get it resolved.
 
Yep, I remember that... you posted pics of the card with the relays and those are different than the TSR-8, but relays can always get ya sooner or later if they aren't the sealed type. I've been lucky so far with mine... knock on wood. ;)

If they ever do start acting up I’ll think about replacing them with a sealed equivalent. But if you only have to clean them once every 10 – 15 years that’s not such a bad deal. I might just leave them as is.

Probably the most problematic are the relays on the Otari’s. Otari still sells a sealed type as a replacement, and those will probably outlive the owner.

:)
 
It's a bit better after my cleaning efforts, only a couple of channels are lower than the others I've ordered some Deoxit to see if that will make things any better. According to the Caig description it's supposed to be better than regular contact cleaner, hence the price!!!!

The relays look like sealed ones to me, similar to I've used on my DIY projects so they might not be the problem. I can't find any dull or broken solder joints on these boards so far.

Here's the exact relays

http://www.jameco.com/Jameco/Products/ProdImag/187418.jpg

http://product.ic114.com/IMAGE/PRODUCT/IMAGE1/E-22.jpg

Should I spray the deoxit into the connectors that mate with the channel boards on the underside PCB as well, what about the small adjustment pots (used for alignment & calibration) on the card sides?

I suppose I should be using the deoxit on all connections, pots & moving parts anyway!

Thanks for the replies
 
I've used the Deoxit which seems to have bought the channel cards back to life, channels still 1-4 are slightly down 1-2db on playback after recording some tones compared to the other channels. I don't really want to start messing with the calibration & level / EQ settings until my tape arrives by mail from MRL but I will probably have to wait until next week until the postal strike is over.

I've noticed that there is some tape debris from one side of the tape that appears on the erase head area after playback, I can't really see any worn spots on the tape guides, but the small thin tape pole / guide just before the erase head does have some grooves the width of tape which could be causing some friction against the tape? The lower edge of the groove looks like it might be scratching against the tape going past! It appears to have some sharp edges which might be a problem
 
Have the maintenance manual? If so, look at the instructions for setting up/adjusting the tape path. You may need to tweak the tension arm heights so that the tape sits nice in the tape path. Sounds like it might be riding too low, and also I'd rotate the tape guides depending on how worn the heads are. Can you put up some pics of your tape path?
 
postal strike? gad that sounds awful... how do you even deal with such a thing? sorry to be a little off topic... just blows my mind that something like that can be allowed to happen:confused:. I was aware there were problems with the unions in your past (eg British Leyland striking itself out of business), I just figured it was restricted to private industry(i'm assuming your postal system is not privatised).
 
Seems like the shredding problem & other problems I've mentioned above was, at least in some part due to a slightly bent 3M 996 Gold precision supply reel I was trying out which was scrapping against the side of the RMG SM911 tape I was using recently. I've replaced the 3M with my usual BASF reel & played the same tape for a half hour with negligible shredding. I'm not 100% sure about the RMG tape so will keep it for non critical recordings!

Some of the debris was probably on the guides for ages, it wasn't until I looked at all the tape path with a jeweler's loope which is higher detail than most magnifying glasses & an 3 LED flashlight that I could see minute tape dust. Just goes to show that even the smallest particles can cause problems & dropouts

The 3M flange reel sides are now getting flattened out by a very heavy weight, for a week or so.

I've tried to get decent pictures but they usually come out too
blurred, I'll try to take some in daylight but here's one of the heads

Now I've got to wait for my MRL tape.............................................................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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