Teac A-3440 Playback and Play Not working

[jbandes]

I purchased a Teac A-3440. The Capstan is not turning and the Pinch roller does not engage when I press play.

I gently pushed the Pinch Roller in and it engaged and when I turn the reels manually I hear the Audio but only if the OUTPUT SELECT is set to SYNC which according to the manual lets he hear the content on the tape through the record heads.

When I click PLAY on the OUTPUT SELECTOR and rotate the reels I hear no sound and the VU meters show no activity.

On this forum I found an old post from someone that said he had the same problem. He replaced the belts and said it works now. Can the belt somehow prevent the PLAY circuit from working properly?

I have ordered a new belt and will get the gunk out of the unit so the Capstan and Pinch Roller engage properly but I am curious why I can only hear audio in SYNC mode and not PLAY mode.

Does anyone have one of these units and can you confirm

 

[ecc83]

I have an A3440 but I am sorry but I am not in a position to either hook it up or work on it at the moment but I can give you some pointers?

First off, it will take some searching but you CAN find schematics and a full service manual on the web. I did years ago and will try to find my download and attach it.

Since the machines are very old now the switches and controls have tarnished up and become crackly and noisy. A blast of De-Oxit helps for a time but if the recorder is left unused again for some time, it needs blasting again. It is possible that YOUR switches have gone beyond saving?

Mind you, hard to see that a dirty switch would kill ALL four tracks? Could be a relay or the supply to a relay.

I have to say that these old tape decks must be getting to the end of life? Without a supply of new spares and some expert (and dying!) technical help they must really be regarded as 'had it'. They were well made but not up to Studer (say) quality and spending a fortune keeping them going is questionable if indeed possible?

Ah! Jusfort (only on Joe One atmo!) When you press Play do you hear a 'clunk'? If not the pinch roller solenoid is not engaging, could be a missing supply. If it is an open circuit solenoid coil that could be hard to find and replacing it will be a job for an expert I would think. Getting the mechanics, roller pressure, brakes etc, setup is a skilled job on any such machine, you also need kit such as 'pull weight' gauges.


Dave.

 

[thewonders]

If the capstan is not turning that probably means that the belt is defective. Pull the back off the unit and see if the capstan belt is laying at the bottom of the unit.
Also, the pinch roller mechanism can get slow/sticky after not being used for awhile.
If you only hear sound out of the sync head, then check the output connectors on the back. I believe that that model had connectors for DBX or some other noise reduction unit. Those connections should have jumper on them so that the unit can be used without the noise reduction unit. If there are no jumper there, use patch cables to jumper those connections and see if that allows you to hear the play head.

 

[ecc83]

Unless it has snapped it is topologically impossible for the belt to completely fall off. You have to take the bottom bearing plate off to replace it.

If the belt IS intact you can often get them working again FOR A SHORT TIME! by dropping them in a pan of boiling water. This at least means the capstan will run until a new belt is sourced. Just to add to you happiness! Here is a list of stuff you really need to maintain an OR tape recorder..

Analogue scaled (dBu &dBV_) milliVoltmeter with an FSD of 1mV and a top range of 300V at least.
Audio oscillator (aka Audio Generator) F range 10Hz to at least 100kHz, output at least +20dBu and with a precision dB attenuator (but be aware of loading effects)
Test tape(s)
Head defluxer.
Big bottle of ISOPA

'They' were NOT called 'Recording Engineers' for nuffin!

Dave.