Saving my Tascam 246

[canakas]

Dear all,

I have a beautiful 246 that I had to send away to service in place that supposedly knows about Tascam here in Norway. Why? well because the monitors arent working and theres a hum on the phone outs.

After having a look at it he calls me and tells me about all the screws he's going to have to unscrew to get to where he thinks the problem is located(in the IC or some cap he thinks) and about how this is going to cost me more than buying a "new" 246(like he knows how hard it is to get 220V Tascam gear)

Anyway. I have a line of doubts in relation to all this, and I know this forum holds people with great skill and intuition on Tascam gear.

1. If I'm not to buy a new one, is there anywhere else in Europe I can send it, like TEAC in Holland, and have it fixed? (where they won't whine about all the screws they'll have to unscrew and how phat the bills going to be on my part...)

2. Would it be possible to use only the transformer section from a 220V 246 and stick it in a 110V 246, or do the components differ in operating voltage and such.( I thought about the external transformer solution, but they make a lot of noise on the line, and if Im not mistaken this is bound to end up somewhere in the mix)

3. Lastly. If my Tascam has only these symptoms; no monitor, slight hum on phones(could be my phones are the wrong imped), and one busted VU meter light bulb - Is it probable that it has a lot of other faults as well? (go with you gut fellas)

I mean the unit looks spotless on the outside, except for a little bump in the plastic on the front, but this looks to be from production and not by falling.
The faders and knobs are smooth and clean, I also recorded a little bit and the head seems to be in good shape, there were not alot of humming on the tape and with the dbx on it was just the way I like the tape sound.

So tell me what you think people.
Thank you for your time.

best regards Canakas

 

[A Reel Person]

That's the question you always struggle with, with this type of gear,...

and this post offers no clear solution.

The first thing I thought was,... 'like duh,... you have to assume up front that there's a lot of screws and disassembly, and it makes me wonder if the tech was intimidated, or maybe he was trying to dissuade you from fixing the 246 for some other underlying reason'.

The only clear thoughts I can offer on the subject is that Ebay is a gamble when it comes to older gear like this. You may indeed be able to score another 246 for less money than your tech repair costs, but you never know if you'd end up with another set of issues that require tech time.

I'm sure the locale and 240V spec makes replacing the 246 all that much more difficult, so I'm trying to take that into consideration as I post this memo. *I'm not sure if there's a 110/240V setting inside the unit, but there may be.

Your description of your 246 as otherwise very clean but needing repair kinda makes me lean toward the idea of getting it fixed despite it all, but perhaps seeking another tech who may make it seem like more of a "piece of cake", over the (para) "oh my god" reaction of your first tech.

This also points up the reason a lot of old analoggers do many repairs DIY-style, but this monitor problem is worthy of professional tech service. Belts and cold solder joints on jacks is more of a home repair than this.

So,... given that your 246 is in otherwise v-good condition, (like-new?), and the prospect of sourcing another proper 246 in similar condition with no problems is uncertain,... I'd just say "stay the course", and get your original 246 repaired. These units originally cost upward of $1350, and it blows most of the other existing 4-trackers out of the water, so I think that also has to be considered.

Or,... you could just look for the easy answer, like "go digital"!

 

[canakas]

Good to hear

Good to hear there are other people out there with some preservatistic goals.
Yeah the fact that the tech was complaining, even mentioning, the fact that some screws had to be unwinded, left me thinking exactly what you suggested; that there were other motives behind his speach...

And thank you A Reel Person, this whole thing is becoming clear to me - I should really take my 246 elsewhere, cause I have the whole shabang of circuit and parts documentation, so it shouldnt be impossible for someone skilled ( even not tascam indicated) to help me out, and maybe show an ounce or two more of enthusiasm for my Tascam "gorgeous piece of art" 246...

Go digital.... hehe.... thats a good one...


When I have some news on the subject I'll do some posting to let anyone that is going through this, hear my experiences.

again Thanks

best regards Canakas

 

[canakas]

News

I just thought I'd post back for the fun of it.

I found the error not too long ago. It was a broken leg on the monitor master pot...some solder and voila!
The phones hum is likely an impedance issue (see here for a custom connector for low commercial low impedance phones), and the VU-meter with no light had a loose contact...

Now my unit works just the way it should with demagnetized heads and quantegy 472 tape...

I am thinking about trying to change the NJM4560s in the preamps for some lower noise opamp... Anyone have any thoughts on that?