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If you've got the console and need a PSU for it, might be worth asking at Studio Systems - The Soundtracs of Your Life - see if they can make you a compatible Blue Dog power supply.

TASCAM ATS-500. The Otari runs as master, just providing timecode. The TSR-8 follows. I usually record the vocals and bass on the TSR-8 using its auto-punch-in features and dub it to the Otari when I'm happy with it, using the synchronizer. Way back when I was using two TSR-8s, but having to...

Yes, those three huge ones are the motor capacitors.

Nice! Rather Supertramp, especially during the second half. It's been a while since I've posted something, so here's a thing: YouTube

Lots of attempts and punchins. If I'm really struggling, slow the recorder down and switch key. On one occasion the bassline was so far beyond my ability that even that didn't help, so I broke it into two parts and recorded it over two tracks. YouTube (I actually captured this happening on...

Heh, I was going to suggest washing-up liquid, that's pretty good at breaking down grease. Good to hear it worked!

Looking at a picture of the transport, it looks like the brake spring has several holes to vary the amount of force as is done on the Revox machines. I caused myself a big problem on the B77 by putting the spring back in the wrong hole, so you might want to try adjusting that. Another usual...

Good luck. It had occurred to me that it might be worth checking the resistance of the motor, or at least the continuity, but I didn't actually know what results to expect.

That worries me given that these are 24v motors. I think you'll need someone with more electronics skills than me to determine whether that's right, and if not, why it's doing that. It's possible 32V is normal and the servo board is doing something clever to limit the voltage going into the...

I think the Capture tape is lower-output stuff. Not generally what I need, though - and I'm not sure how easy it would even be to get this side of the pond.

Well, conveniently the service manual says stuff-all about how the capstan motor is driven. AFAIK they have a driver board on or nearby the motor itself which isn't documented. However, if I'm reading the pinouts for that daughterboard correctly, pin 1 is either connected to 2 or 4 depending on...

If it were me I'd be trying to find out whether the correct voltage is getting into the motor, but I'm not sure offhand how best to do that. IIRC they're 24V DC motors usually run in a 12V configuration with an initial pulse of 24V to start them. So yes, if you know the pinout you might be...

Did you visually inspect them or use a multimeter to actually test them?

Silly question, have you checked the fuse board? I forget how the 30-series work, but there might be a separate fuse specifically for the capstan motor. EDIT: Yeah - if I'm reading the '32 schematics correctly, the capstan runs off a different fuse from the reel motors. I think it's F505 for...

Has the microswitch on the tension arm failed?

While checking for crud is definitely a good idea, the fact that it happens at the halfway point sounds to me like the back tension is overpowering the capstan. I was getting this with the B77, after the halfway mark it started to go out of whack as the load distribution between the takeup and...

Yeah, if it's not the tape itself, suspect the capstan drive. I've seen this happen if the pinch roller isn't gripping properly. Might also be worth checking the capstan belt, make sure that isn't starting to get loose.

The B77 has some limited mixing abilities allowing it to perform trick recording like sound-on-sound or turning the machine into a primitive tape echo. All it can really do is combine the input with the playback and sum the left and right channels to mono. It doesn't have a send/receive loop...

To complete the explanation, you can use this gap between the record and play heads to make an echo by combining the delayed sounds with the original input using some kind of mixer. (The Revox B77 has this mixing feature built-in). Usually you'll just get one echo (slapback) which can work...

Most tape machines are line level, either +4 or -10. They expect the signal to have already gone through a preamp. With the A8 note that it can only record 4 tracks at once. It can play back all 8, however - you just have to select whether you're recording to the upper or lower bank of tracks...