Tascam M-216 concerns

Beck said:
You might have a bad solder joint on one of the pins mounting the trim pot to the channel strip. It would crackle from being dirty like the rest but will also cut in and out intermittently with a cold solder joint. It could also be worn out copper or carbon inside, or the copper contacts may not be making good enough contact with the carbon.

You take the channel cards out from the bottom:

Make sure the unit is off and unplugged.

1. Remove the bottom panel

2. Remove the metal support that runs across the channel cards (Two screws on each side)

3. Carefully pull off the Input Buss PCB from the eight channel cards in the section you’re working on (rock it slightly back and forth while pulling up). They are linked together by ribbon cable. In your case for CH 2 you remove the first one.

4. Unplug the 3-wire plug from the XLR PCB near the inside rear of the unit

5. There is a screw on the outside rear of the unit for each channel card. They are right next to the Line Input of each channel. Remove the one associated to the channel card you want to remove.

6. Desolder the three wires from the channel fader for that channel. Alternately you can also remove the two screws on the top panel holding the fader, but I find having the fader dangling while working on a channel card can cause the wires to snap from excessive bending back and forth.

7. Remove all the knobs, including the grey fader knob for that channel. Leave the buttons as is, as they don’t come out that way.

8. Remove the nuts from each knob preferably with a socket wrench. The channel will then drop out. It’s a good idea to put the mixer on its side so you can support the channel card with your other hand while removing the last couple nuts.

Reinstall the channel card following the above list in reverse order. If you can’t remember how a wire goes or something you have 15 other channels for reference. ;)

By the way, I use deoxit on the pots from the inside rather than trying to spray it from the top panel. Not sure how you are doing it.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask for clarification on anything.

:)
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Ohhhhh ... from the bottom! Ok I'll try that, thanks!
 
Beck: Thanks so much for the directions. After 5 years (lol), I've finally gotten to a point where I'm really using this mixer with a reel machine. Therefore, I needed to take care of the bad cue pot in CH 2.

I opened it up and checked the connections to the pot; they seemed good, but I sucked them clean and resoldered just to check. It still didn't work. So I just ended up taking the same pot from CH 16 and switching it with the CH 2 one. So now I have all the cues working except CH 16, which is ok, because with the 8 track I'm using, I won't really ever need to use the cue send on CH 16 (but did need it on CHs 1-8 because that's where the tape returns are).

Anyway, I don't know what's wrong with the pot, but is that something that can be serviced internally (inside the pot)? Or once they go, are they just gone?

If so, do you know anywhere where old parts like that are available? I searched ebay, but didn't find anything. I'm guessing Tascam wouldn't make them anymore.

Could I make another pot work maybe?

Anyway, it's not a huge deal, because now everything I need from the mixer is working perfectly. But I'd like to get it to 100% functionality if possible.

Thanks again!
 
Better late than never I guess LOL

The part number for the FLB potentiometer on the M-200 series is 5282014900. Tascam Parts may still have them. If not keep your eyes open for a cheap M-208 parts unit or something. The channel cards show up on eBay now and then.
 
I had no idea that Tascam may still have those parts. I'll check it out. Other than that, yeah I figured a parts unit would be my best bet, as I didn't see any 216 or 208 parts on ebay when I searched. Maybe I'll find a channel strip.

So is the pot itself not serviceable inside if you pry open those little tabs? Or is that even possible to do?

Thanks!
 
Yes and I've done micro surgery on a few pots with good success over the years. Most likely the little metal arm (wiper) is bent up and not making contact with the carbon resistive surface or the conductive surface, or both. Or there could be crud buildup you can clean off with a cotton swab and tuner/control cleaner, or corrosion on the wiper you can clean off with some super fine finishing sandpaper. Worse case is that the wiper is broken off. In that case pot replacement is the only option... well unless you're really really good with a soldering iron and have way more patience than I do. :p :)

cleaning-pot-potentiometer-open.jpg

What is a Potentiometer? Understanding Potentiometers
 
Beck said:
Yes and I've done micro surgery on a few pots with good success over the years. Most likely the little metal arm (wiper) is bent up and not making contact with the carbon resistive surface or the conductive surface, or both. Or there could be crud buildup you can clean off with a cotton swab and tuner/control cleaner, or corrosion on the wiper you can clean off with some super fine finishing sandpaper. Worse case is that the wiper is broken off. In that case pot replacement is the only option... well unless you're really really good with a soldering iron and have way more patience than I do. :p :)

View attachment 82210

What is a Potentiometer? Understanding Potentiometers
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Hmmm ... interesting. I may give that a go if I don't have any luck locating a replacement. Thanks for the info.
 
I've done the same thing (i.e. dissecting those ALPS pots) when I've got one with a broken shaft but don't have a replacement with the right specs...swap the element out of the busted pot into a good one. Like Beck says its really not too hard and kind of fun if you like that sort of thing...apparently I do.

If you end up hitting a wall with Tascam send me a PM. I have some M-500 and M-300 boards laying about and might have a matching pot I can pull and send.
 
sweetbeats said:
I've done the same thing (i.e. dissecting those ALPS pots) when I've got one with a broken shaft but don't have a replacement with the right specs...swap the element out of the busted pot into a good one. Like Beck says its really not too hard and kind of fun if you like that sort of thing...apparently I do.

If you end up hitting a wall with Tascam send me a PM. I have some M-500 and M-300 boards laying about and might have a matching pot I can pull and send.
Click to expand...

Thanks much Cory! :) I'll let you know if that happens.
 
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