Sony TC-366 issues

[jbasralian]

Hello!
I recently got this reel to reel player from a family friend, despite having no experience with reel to reel or audio recording in general. I got a tape running through it, but the machine seems to have a few issues. First, it seems to be playing the recordings fast. I switched it to a slower speed to check if that was the issue with it, but then it was obviously too slow. In my experience with cassette machines like Walkmans, there is usually a little screw to adjust the speed; is there one of those for this machine? Also, sometimes when I turn it on it sounds like its taking a while to get up to speed, is that norma? The second issue is that it won't rewind or fast forward for more then a second before the motor seems to give out; it just stops in its tracks.

I'd really love to get this fixed so that I am able to listen to some of the recordings that were sent with it!

Thanks so much,
Jon

 

[gecko zzed]

It looks like you're going to have to get inside it to do some servicing. That machine will be about 40 years old, so you would be looking for worn out belts and similar.

 

[Duncan Hutchins]

I have one of these machines. I can't recall how many motors it's got, but it would be a good idea to check them anyway, especially since you mention that it takes time to get up to speed. Their bearings eventually dry out and become very stiff, which was the condition of mine when I bought it, and it hadn't been used for years and years. From memory the bearing(s) is a sintered bronze bush, which is porous and is oiled when new. I seem to recall that I drilled a tiny hole in the bottom of the motor casing (I think there's a bulge in the centre to accomodate the bush) and I used a very fine syringe to put in a couple of drops of thin Singer sewing machine oil, which is well known and widely available (NOT car engine oil! Much too thick! Not WD40 or similar because it doesn't last). After it had soaked for 24 hours and given some light taps the motor spun freely. I don't recall if the motor had a sintered bush at each end, or maybe the top one had a tiny ball race; same remedy applies. I think the pinch roller can be oiled after removing a cap (I could be wrong), but the merest smidge of oil is enough, otherwise it will get onto the tape and heads with disastrous resulk. The slow wind / rewind might badly adjusted reel brakes dragging. These machines are well worth a bit of trouble because their recording quality is much above the average low end consumer reel to reel, and in particular they have 3 heads like professional machines, meaning that you can monitor the recording for over level, etc, as it's going down. It's likely any rubber drive belts will have dried out too, replacement is easy. One other tip: if you need to adjust the bias, the screws on each circuit board are rather difficult to access. You MUST use a PLASTIC screwdriver (and I mean one entirely made of plastic, or a metal one that's got heat shrinking wrap right down to its tip), because a metal one will short out and blow a transistor, which is what happened to me!