Tascam 4-track with bad head coils?

sweetbeats

Reel deep thoughts...
Hey all.

So I’m tinkering on a Tascam 244...really like it by the way...built like a tank compared to the 424 I’m used to. Anyway, the machine has a problem with no signal getting to tape or off of tape on tracks 1 & 3. I’ve gone through typical troubleshooting to verify in fact nothing is getting to tape and nothing will reproduce off of a known good recording from tracks 1 & 3, and this is true for any input or output pathway on the machine.

I verified the Control A PCB was sending proper control signal to the play and record amp boards, bypassed the dbx board to make sure it wasn’t that...so then I checked the wiring to/from the record/play amp board and guess what? Open coils on #1 and #3. The head *looks* fine...this doesn’t appear to be a high mileage machine and the head condition reflects that...can’t see any open gaps...anybody have any experience with this? I’ve not encountered this before. Cassette heads tend to last a pretty long time. Is it possible for the coils to be damaged in some other way besides wear?
 
I’m also having weird recording issues with my 244. My tech said maybe it needs a new head.
If it’s worth experimenting, you can use a head from (not certain). They are the same part but different part numbers.
 
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To explain: each overdub gets a copy of the first tracks on it. Track one ends up in any new overdubs, it’s weird. Then track 2 and 1 end up in 3, and same with track 4. Track 4 will have 1,2,and 3 on it. It’s not track bleed—it’s really loud.
 
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