Portastudio 424 Mk I - Channels "dropping out" in playback - please advise

Beardmoss

New member
Hello,

I own a second hand 414 Mk I, which served me well while recording a project recently. However, it's time to do a mixdown, and I've noticed a concerning problem.

At random moments certain channels suddenly lower in volume. Usually it's just channel 2. It drops to "very quiet" for a while, then slowly comes back up to normal volume. I know this is a playback problem and not on the actual recording, as it happens at unpredictable moments.

My band's songs are 7-10 minutes in length, so I dread the prospect of running the signal out to the master tape, then all of a sudden at 8 minutes in a channel drops out.

Is this a common issue? Is this something I could fix myself? I have very limited mechanical/electronic experience but my gut feeling is that a connection somewhere is compromised. There is an a/v service place in town but I know the tech has a huge backlog and I'd like to also avoid the $75 it might cost me (which is what I paid for the machine in the first place).

I appreciate your input!
 
not an expert but if it you demag the heads and clean everything including deoxit output cable plugs and faders, pots etc than it may be something internal going bad which would take an a tech to repair unless you are electronics savvy. I have a 424 but have never had this issue-anyone else have any ideas?
 
The fade and return would indicate a capacitor failure characteristic. Connections and other parts that fail do not do so in easy transitions they either are off or on. It is a strange issue and could be particles on the tape getting in the way and then getting moved along. Depends on the condition of the tape and how thick it is. I have repaired these deck and other Porta Studios back to 1985 but have not heard of this kind of failure.
 
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