Tascam MS16 problem

[James K]

Hi,
I've just bought a Tascam MS16. I was assured it was in perfect working order but I've already found a problem :/ Basically, the playback from the sync head is intermittent. By that I mean that all the tracks may play back fine, some may not play back at all or some might fade in and out. I can't work out any reason for it. The head and amps are clearly okay as it plays back a lot of the time. It just seems to randomly drop tracks. Any ideas what this could be?

Cheers
James

 

[digidoon]

Hi,
I experienced something very similar today with a Fostex E-8
It was a new 911 Tape. Some of the Channels 1-4 would cut out or get very distorted. I realized that it was always at the same time on the Tape.
I noticed a dark streak on the Tape itself ! I spooled forward on the tape untill I could no longer notice this defekt. After recording a 1khz signal for several minutes the it was ok again. I think the previous owner oiled the tape tension roller on this E-8 which I also recently purchased.

Try a different Tape to be sure.. maybe?

 

[James K]

Hi,
I did suspect the tape at first but I'm pretty sure that's not causing the problem now. It plays back fine on the playback head but on the sync head, the channels come and go seemingly randomly :/

 

[RandyRhoads1981]

Hi,
I've just bought a Tascam MS16. I was assured it was in perfect working order but I've already found a problem :/ Basically, the playback from the sync head is intermittent. By that I mean that all the tracks may play back fine, some may not play back at all or some might fade in and out. I can't work out any reason for it. The head and amps are clearly okay as it plays back a lot of the time. It just seems to randomly drop tracks. Any ideas what this could be?

Cheers
James

I had the same exact problem.
The problem with my was that the Sync Relays
were defective. They are Omron G2V-24S(something like that)
Anyways, you cannot find these anywhere, so you
can use Omron G5V-2-24VDC Relays.
This solved it completely.
Also try cleaning all multipin connectors w/ Deoxit G5.
Good luck.
Tom

 

[James K]

Hi,
thanks so much I've got a great technician near me so he'll be able to sort it. Just a few questions: Where are the relays situated? How many are there (16 I presume) and are they socketed or do they need soldering? I've found that part on Rapid for £1.90. Does that sound about the right price?

Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers
James

 

[RandyRhoads1981]

Hi,
thanks so much I've got a great technician near me so he'll be able to sort it. Just a few questions: Where are the relays situated? How many are there (16 I presume) and are they socketed or do they need soldering? I've found that part on Rapid for £1.90. Does that sound about the right price?

Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers
James

Hey there,
The Relays are located on each Channel Card.
16 Sync Relays and 16 Record Relays.
Each card has 2 relays, one for Sync(K1) and one for Record(K2).
K1 and K2 are the names on the circuit board.
K1 is the one next to the side of the card.
The Relays are soldered(8 pins) to the PCB Circuit Board.
The Relays have a metal casing around them which is
separately soldered to the PCB.
Do you have a manual?
Since there are 8 pins to be soldered/de-soldered, you
will need a desoldering tool to remove the Relays.

Here is where I purchased my Relays from.
Great products at an amazing price. 25 Relays for $13.00!
25 Omron G5V-2 24V DPDT PCB Low Signal Relays - eBay (item 200590650103 end time Apr-23-11 17:00:55 PDT)

Good luck

 

[James K]

Hey there,
The Relays are located on each Channel Card.
16 Sync Relays and 16 Record Relays.
Each card has 2 relays, one for Sync(K1) and one for Record(K2).
K1 and K2 are the names on the circuit board.
K1 is the one next to the side of the card.
The Relays are soldered(8 pins) to the PCB Circuit Board.
The Relays have a metal casing around them which is
separately soldered to the PCB.
Do you have a manual?
Since there are 8 pins to be soldered/de-soldered, you
will need a desoldering tool to remove the Relays.

Here is where I purchased my Relays from.
Great products at an amazing price. 25 Relays for $13.00!
25 Omron G5V-2 24V DPDT PCB Low Signal Relays - eBay (item 200590650103 end time Apr-23-11 17:00:55 PDT)

Good luck

thanks, I've got the manual and I'll get the technician I know to do the job. Is it worth replacing all the relays or should I just replace the dodgey sync ones?

 

[sweetbeats]

The ones that aren't dodgey will become so soon...I'd replace them all.

 

[James K]

The ones that aren't dodgey will become so soon...I'd replace them all.

That's what I was thinking, I'll get them all replaced. Is it common for relays to wear out like this?

 

[RandyRhoads1981]

thanks, I've got the manual and I'll get the technician I know to do the job. Is it worth replacing all the relays or should I just replace the dodgey sync ones?

Replace them all.
Cory(Sweetbeats) helped me through all of this.
I couldn't figure out what the problem was for the life of me.
He's a great source of help. Thanks again Cory.

 

[alex_figueira]

Just to be sure, this AMAZING link you posted, can I use the same relays for the Tascam 58? This price is unbeatable.

thanks

 

[James K]

Just thought I'd let you know that I got the machine back today. It's working fine now It took ages for the relays to arrive as they weren't in stock anywhere but I've had them all replaced. Thanks very much for the advice.

 

[RandyRhoads1981]

The ones that aren't dodgey will become so soon...I'd replace them all.

Hey cory, I wanted to ask you something...
My new MS-16 runs signal pretty well at 1khz pretty well, but when
I get up 10khz and 16khz it starts doing the fluctuation thing.
Do you have any ideas on this problem?
Should I replace the relays in my new one too?

 

[GCalo]

Mouser and Digikey have the relays in stock!

 

[James K]

Mouser and Digikey have the relays in stock!

I'm in England though

 

[jpmorris]

I'm in England though

They seem to have a UK presence. Or there's Farnell.

 

[GCalo]

I'm in England though

We won't hold that against you.

There are 32 relays at $2.76 each totaling $88.32 plus postage to you. Not a ton of $.

Let me know if I can help.

 

[James K]

We won't hold that against you.

There are 32 relays at $2.76 each totaling $88.32 plus postage to you. Not a ton of $.

Let me know if I can help.

Just thought I'd let you know that I got the machine back today. It's working fine now It took ages for the relays to arrive as they weren't in stock anywhere but I've had them all replaced. Thanks very much for the advice.

I've got it fixed now. Both Rapid and Farnell were out of stock for ages. I got them for £1.80 each.

 

[stank]

Hey Thomas,

First time poster, long time stalker. On this forum, that is...

Sorry to awaken this old thread. Butt... You and Cory have so much great info on here for the MS-16. I applaud you both for sharing your research and making it happen. I do have a question though. When you replaced your relays, did you use the Omron G5V-2 24V relays for both Sync and Record? On my amp cards, it looks like there there's the Omron relays for Sync and an NEC MR62-24S Relay for Record. Will The Omron Relays work for both??

 

[James K]

Hey Thomas,

First time poster, long time stalker. On this forum, that is...

Sorry to awaken this old thread. Butt... You and Cory have so much great info on here for the MS-16. I applaud you both for sharing your research and making it happen. I do have a question though. When you replaced your relays, did you use the Omron G5V-2 24V relays for both Sync and Record? On my amp cards, it looks like there there's the Omron relays for Sync and an NEC MR62-24S Relay for Record. Will The Omron Relays work for both??

Mine were all replaced with the same relays. The old ones that came out were different (I think one had more shielding than the other)