Tascam 388 won't play or record

I

IanShearer

New member
I have acquired a beautiful Tascam 388, tweaked the pots to get the rewind / fast forward function working, and I need to replace the capstain drive band.

My main problem is the play and the record/play function does not work, pressing record does not bring on the record light, and pressing the play button also has no response whatsoever.

I can download the user manual, is there a repair manual available?

Any help with what to look for with the play/ record function would be gratefully received.

I would love to get this brilliant piece of kit working in my studio
 
If the capstan drive belt is broken, stretched or missing all together, that would explain why PLAY wont engage. For the record light to come on or flash in standby/ready mode, you have to "arm" the tracks you wish to record on first. If you've done that and its still not working, I'm not exactly sure of what to suggest. Also it follows suit, that if the play mode is disabled because of the belt issue, the REC function would also not kick in if the tape can't move.

About the service manual, I'm sure I've seen download links to that on this forum in the recent past so do a search for "tascam 388 service manual" and that should bring up multiple responses,




Cheers! :)
 
The captain drive belt is very stretched and keeps falling off, so possibly was off when I tried play/ record. I did try it with a track "armed" . I guess first thing is to get a belt.
I will also search for the service manual.
Thanks for responding.
Ian.
 
Good point, fuses checked with a meter and all ok. I've ordered a capstan belt. When that comes I'll also try shorting the remote control "play" contacts in case it's something with the top panel buttons
 
IanShearer said:
Good point, fuses checked with a meter and all ok. I've ordered a capstan belt. When that comes I'll also try shorting the remote control "play" contacts in case it's something with the top panel buttons
Click to expand...

Only try that if replacing the belt doesn't help. It's most likely the belt anyway, that's a common problem with these machines.
 
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