Tascam 38 motor issue

Jmoog

New member
I own a Tascam TSR-8 and a Tascam 38. The 38 never gets used so I've recently decided to sell it and pass it on to someone who has more use for it than I do.

Even though I don't use the 38 I would try to set it up every 6 months or so and roll tape on it just to keep everything lubricated and moving. Unfortunately I haven't gotten to do that the last couple of years.

I set it up yesterday to roll some tape on it and noticed a problem playing the tape. The 38 will fast forward and rewind the tape with no problem. However when the play button is pushed the motor will engage normally then slow down to a stop within 5 seconds or so. I tried it three or four times with the same result, everytime the play button is pushed it will start at normal speed then slow to a complete stoppage.

Any pointers on what this issue could be? If it's a simple fix then I would like to repair it so I can sell the unit as a working deck. It was gone over by a great tech in the area about 10 years ago and the heads are in great shape. If it's not a simple fix then I'll try to sell it as is. Thanks in advance for your responses.
 
Thanks, that doesn't sound like a complicated fix.

Not really, no. The 30-series can be a bit of a fiddle to get the faceplate off of, owing to the weird way the varispeed control fits together, but after that it's fairly straightforward. The exploded diagram in the service manual helps a lot in taking it apart.
The process for the TSR-8 sounds extremely complex as described in the manual, (even though the faceplate is easier to remove) but there's a video of someone doing a belt-swap on one of those, which I followed last year, and it wasn't all that bad.
 
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