The 8-channel, 4-buss, Fostex cassette multitracker

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A Reel Person

A Reel Person

It's Too Funky in Here!!!
The Fostex 460. Rare & hardly seen. Not a bad looking unit, FWIW.

I'll stop short of calling it a Portastudio, (Tascam trademark).

:spank::eek:;)
 

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Cool! Is that giant brick beside it the power supply???? Is it yours.?
 
Nice!

Sure love to have a pic of that without the flash and without the bottom right corner cut off! :p

Is there phantom power on that sucker too?

Cheers! :)
 
Not mine.

The brick is the power module.

It runs Dolby B and C, High & Low speeds. A pretty capable mixer with Aux Snd/Rcv patch points, (2) Aux Send submixes (1 mono & 1 stereo), and Solo.

Neat.
 
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Phantom...

WAIT! About 10th in a series of pictures, I see that it DOES have phantom power! (I guess I missed it in the 3rd photo).
Surprise, surprise!
:spank::eek:;)
 

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Wow! Truly loaded then!

Thanks for the info.

Would have liked to add this one to the wallpaper thread but after doing an image search yesterday, I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. :(

Cheers :)
 
A Reel Person said:
The Fostex 460. Rare & hardly seen. Not a bad looking unit, FWIW.

I'll stop short of calling it a Portastudio, (Tascam trademark).
Click to expand...


Did I miss something ? Is this for sale or something you are now
the proud owner of ?
 
Very Cool. I've seen these for sale online before, but not too often. Very nice that it has Phantom Power, I'd always thought the Tascam 488mkII was the only cassette based Multitrack with it. The Eq Section looks great too. I assume this is a 4 track unit?
 
There were 2 up on eBay this week.

This one's still available:
Fostex 460 Recorder Mixer | eBay

It's a cassette 4-tracker. Maybe the best/most capable Fostex cassette multitracker ever made. YMMV.

I don't own one. Some other day, maybe.
:spank::eek:;)
 
Yeah, I saw that on the bay. Couple of things. I'm sure it's a fantastic unit , but I probably don't NEEEED another 4 track recorder at the moment. However, If I didn't have a few already, this would be a great model considering all of it's features.
 
I now have a Fostex 460 I got it cheaply, untested / no power supply. I'm the kind of guy who has a hundred power supplies in my basement, so I figured I could get by, or maybe even buy one if needed. Boy was I surprised and saddened to see that power connection!
It's an Atari 2600 joystick connector! I can't remember what those things are really called.
Anyhow if anyone knows anything about the power supply / pinout, let me know.
I don't need phantom power mixer or digital display to work. I just want to transfer a box of of old tapes to my computer. Transport with sound to the direct outs is all I want. EDIT: oh jeez, even the transport controls are digital on this... I'm afraid I boned.
 
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That connector, if it is like the Atari 2600 joystick connector, is a common DSUB 9-pin connector or DB9...same is a 9-pin serial port connector type. So the connector is not a problem. Reverse engineering the pinout is another problem. I can't find a service manual for that thing anywhere. If it was me the first thing I would do is pick up the phone and call Fostex parts/service and ask if them have it. You can also inquire at servicemanuals.net to see if they can get it...they don't have it in their catalog but you can inquire with them if they can get it. Outside of that its opening the unit up and seeing if the boards inside are screened/labeled with markers to identify what is carried by each pin. I suspect +12VDC, -12VDC, +5VDC, +48VDC, possibly a separate +12VDC rail for the transport motors, and then 0V rails relative to each.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
 
Thanks sweetbeats. the DB9 is direct soldered to the PCB with no labels on it. I'll try to get in touch with Fostex. Their website doesn't seem to have much outreach to DIYers.
Thanks again.
 
Right, you’re not likely to get any tech support from Fostex, I was only speaking to the possibility of getting a service manual from them.
 
sweetbeats said:
Right, you’re not likely to get any tech support from Fostex, I was only speaking to the possibility of getting a service manual from them.
Click to expand...

Any update on this? I grabbed one recently at a steal but 2 months of seriously vigorous searching and inquiring has gotten me no where. No substantial response from FOSTEX support.. out of 3 emails, only got one response the 2nd time telling me that no information was available.

Reached out to 2 custom power supply makers.. both were not enthused at all but promised that if anything was found they'd contact me.

Anyone with any information or one to sell.. shit, even a good picture lol - please dont hesitate to contact me asap. Thanks and happy to see the support alive and well for these gems.
 
Fostex 460 mtm service manual (power supply, belt replacement, transport assembly)

Hey folks, so I twisted some arms and trudged through the hellfire of many gatekeepers in the illusive 460 alliance.. this newb presents you.. the official Fostex 460 Service Manual.

"Fostex 460_service manual.pdf - Google Drive" https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XlHnkcCmBBFUcIrlgNRBqSgYo59MIw_2/view?pli=1

So many many thanks to the absolutely wonderful young lady at FOSTEX for answering me no, then after asking nicely again, she came through with the plug.. searched the archives and got it to me the same day. This manual is incredibly thorough and detailed. Hopefully nothing was left out.

I've sent it to a professional to get to the bottom of this power supply mystery and hope to have something powering up my 460 before the end of the year. But that's wishful thinking. Hit me up if you're holding, power junkies haha.


***I M P O R T A N T***
If anyone reading this decides to distribute by selling this as a pdf, electronically, or as an unofficial print out, I'll be the first to send any interested "customers" a direct link to download the manual for free. I obviously do not own this content but considering it's available for free by asking, there's no reason to take advantage of others just trying to seek information.

i.e. Do not sell this manual - it is free, archived information for educational and individual repair/restoration purposes.


Here's to keeping the 460 alive and well for another 30 years.



"Fostex 460_service manual.pdf - Google Drive" https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XlHnkcCmBBFUcIrlgNRBqSgYo59MIw_2/view?pli=1
 
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Wow.. this is a real blast from the past. I was using the 450 Mixer (no tape) in the late 80's for my bedroom studio and stage mixing our gigs. Beautiful piece of gear. I see there's a 460 on eBay now for $300 - that's a nice price even if the recorder section isn't working.
 
anybody hawe this file? please help. dewice is dead. new , but withaut power supply...
 
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