'New' Tascam 238 - Makes a whirring sound on power on...

S

sr71rules

Member
Hello all,

I have received a Tascam 238, which is excellent. I opened up the box plugged it in and pressed the power button. The motor for the tape transport, of course, starts to spin. I know that it's common (inevitable?) for these units to develop an issue with the speed of this motor so my question is, how do I know if my unit is spinning at the right speed?

Robert
 
I know that it's common (inevitable?) for these units to develop an issue with the speed of this motor
Click to expand...
So, you have read other threads about a known issue, yes? Have any of those threads stated what the actual problem was? Voltage issue? Servo issue? Failing motor issue? Has anything been stated?

If you had a calibration tape with established test tones and a frequency reader, it would a pretty simple matter to see if its playing at the correct speed. Or is there a different issue your concerned with such as the wind speed?

Cheers! :)
 
I'm not sure what you're getting at Ghost. I read in a lot of places about the motor spinning the tape too fast which is fixed by replacing the motor unit or, in some cases, soldering on a few resistors. Since I've never seen or used a 238 before, I don't know if my unit is working properly or not. I have no calibration cassettes or any cassettes that have been used in a 238 previously. I'm just looking to find out if anyone here knows of a simple way for me to test if the speed my machine is running at is correct or if mine is broken. The posts online are of people who had a unit that worked but then started to work differently.. but I have no frame of reference.
 
Record a tone of known pitch on a regular cassette tape recorder.Since the 238 runs at twice the speed-3 3/4ips vs.1 7/8 ips.If the 238 is running at the correct speed,the playback will be 1 octave higher.
 
wkrbee, I tried it t'other way 'round, simply out of convenience, and it worked a treat.

I recorded a tone, 440hz, to all 8 tracks of the 238 and played them back on a regular cassette deck. The tone, in playback, is 220hz.

If you'll excuse the pun... I give the Tascam 238 an A!

Thanks gentlemen!
 
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