How do you trouble shoot this tape deck?

[teainthesahara]

Hi y'all,
I've just pulled this old Toshiba PT 862D reel to reel out of my folk's basement, and i wanted to use it on a few tracks for a special effect. It did not come with a plug, so i bought one at the correct voltage and shaped the plug so it would fit. The unit powers up (the VU lights come on), but i dont hear the flywheel, and i cant get the spindles to spin. I've never opened one of these up before; can anyone reccommend some procedures to troubleshoot this deck? I used my webcam to snap some quick photo's of it incase that helps (sorry for the poor quality)...

T

 

[teainthesahara]

pic of the recording heads..

 

[teainthesahara]

pic of the power/mic/line input/output
I shaped a cord to fit in that two prong receptacle. Adjacent to those two prongs, there is a flat metal piece that kind of looks like what you might find in a AA battery compartement that would touch the flat side of the battery - i cant tell if that was just to hold the plug in securely, or that is a contact and this thing needs a special type of plug ive never seen before.

 

[teainthesahara]

a closeup of the power receptacle...you can sort of make out the flat metal thing i was talking about...kind of....

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Have you loaded and correctly threaded a tape onto the machine yet?

Many reel to reels won't move any mechanical parts like reel tables and capstan shaft until the tape is loaded or the tensioner arm is moved far enough to simulate the presence of a tape being loaded on the machine.

Check for tensioner arms that move and then re-try the transport buttons to see if any of the parts turn. (reel tables and capstan). with the tensioner arm held in place by your finger.

What effect is it you are trying to reproduce by using this machine?

Cheers!

 

[teainthesahara]

Thanks for the tips Ghost of FM,

I just tried out what you suggested: I put a reel on, and thread it through in what i thought was the correct configuration, and it appeared that the tape was putting the correct tension and moving against the right parts...I could artificially run the reel by pulling the tape through and i could hear what was on the tape in the head phones. However, the unit still won't run...what do you suggest would be a good next step?

Oh yeah...I'll post a clip of the 1/4 reel to reel 'effects' i sometimes like to mix in...I use the tonal characteristics and tape speed variation to get a certain sound, and mix them in with my digitally recorded tracks.

Thanks for the help,

T

 

[Derek Verner]

I am not familiar with that machine but if it is old it may be that a rubber drive belt stretched or slipped off its pulleys.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

I confess to a lack of familiarity with this machine as well.

Where is member Vintage TX when you need him? He is a specialist in refurbishing older reel to reel machines and hopefully will be along shortly to help you and educate us.

Cheers!

 

[teainthesahara]

Thanks for the info Derek and Ghost of FM, hopefully Vintage TX can shed some light as well.

So I opened it up, and this is what i found; I could only see one rubber belt, and it's located on the right upper hand 'quadrant' of the unit. It seems ok, and as far as i can tell, that's the only place a belt would go (im not positive, but it does not look like any are missing).

 

[teainthesahara]

closeup of that belt...

 

[teainthesahara]

Im still suspicious of the power connection....but im pretty ignorant about electronics. This is a close up of the power receptacle with the 3 wires. When i power this thing up, i can hear no humming, and although all those wheels are freely movable, they dont spin.

 

[teainthesahara]

And finally,
that flat metal peice located externally in the power receptacle i described above continues internally as the brass-looking metal band in this picture. It just hooks onto the body of the receptacle..so maybe it's just a ground or something ?

Thanks for everyones help with this!

T

 

[Derek Verner]

If your VU meter lights up, you're getting power. Hunt around and see if you can find a fuse.

 

[Herm]

I could be wrong but it looks like the large wheel in the middle inside of your machine is the pinch roller pulley and most of those has a belt that would run up to the black motor just above that.
It looks like the belt is missing.

 

[teainthesahara]

Derek,
I looked around and this is what i found. I traced a white wire wires going from the receptacle to the motor (seen on the right side of this photo). From there, a Brown/tan and black wire interconnect the motor and what i think might be the fuse....

 

[teainthesahara]

...top view of what i think is the fuse...

 

[teainthesahara]

....side view of the fuse....

 

[teainthesahara]

...and finally, a red wire from what i think is the fuse travels over to the right side of the machine, and is soldered on this little rectangular black box with the brass screw on it's bottom right corner. If that big cylinder is actually the fuse, is there tell tale signs that its expired, or any other way to test it out?

Thanks,
T

 

[teainthesahara]

I could be wrong but it looks like the large wheel in the middle inside of your machine is the pinch roller pulley and most of those has a belt that would run up to the black motor just above that.
It looks like the belt is missing.

Thanks herm...Ok, i just checked that out. I peeked from on top, engaged the play switch, and manually moved the motor wheel...it looks like there's another wheel that engages in, and connects the big brass wheel and motor wheel (sorry - my terminology with this stuff must be horrible!), so they both end up moving together. So im thinking that those two dont need a belt between them. I powered it up when i did this, and still that motor is quiet...to quiet...

T

 

[The Ghost of FM]

...top view of what i think is the fuse...

That's not a fuse. It's a capacitor.

Best to have a wee bit of patience and wait for Vintage TX