Just got my Tascam 244!

D

DESSERT DWELLER

New member
Hello, My Tascam 244 arrived today from an E-Bay purchace. I am having trouble with getting the cassette in and out. It seems like the head assembly is not retracting when it should. I repeatedly hit the pause and stop button and eventually the head assembly drops enough for the cassette to be removed. Does anyone know why this could be happening?

Also the 244 makes noise as soon as I turn the unit on and continues to make noise even when the cassette is not playing. It sounds like a motor is constantly running. Is this normal?

Besides any minor problems with this 244 I really am impressed with the build quality and overall design. This thing is so much more heavy than the Tascam 424 mkIII which I previously owned. I also love the VU meters! Can anyone tell me why the 244 is so much heavier than the newer 4 track cassette units?

Thanks to everyone on this board who have raved about the 244. You guys really turned me on to this unit.

Thanks,
Peter
 
Um,... yeah!

First, the head assembly is driven up/down into place by a small belt. Your symptoms and descriptions indicate this belt may be worn out. The constant noise you hear would likely be related to this same thing, as the head/load motor will keep driving, until it senses that the heads are in the down position. If this little belt is worn out, it's likely that the main drive belt is also worn out. Did you verify that it plays the tape?

The 244 is much heavier than the modern Portastudios because it contains more metal in the chassis parts, and also the power supply & transformer section is built-in, unlike (f/i) the 424mkIII, which has a separate power module. In general, though, the 244 is just a heavier build quality.

Can't remember if you live in my local area, but if you do, then I could help you with that in person, if necessary. Thanks.
 
Thanks Reel Person. Yes the tape does play. I live in Tucson AZ so I would not be able to bring it to you to have it serviced but thnks for the offer. I am a little upset with the e-bay transaction as this product did not arrive in the condition the seller stated. He listed the item: "I just replaced belts and dual idler,cleaned and tested unit. It works beautiful record and playback." I bid high on this item because he said it works beautiful but in reality it has a problem. I guess it could have worked fine when he checked it out and something happened during shipping. I will try and e-mail the seller to discuss this further.

Thanks.
 
My 244 was bought used for $200 bucks. i took it home and it needed a new motor.
the store was reluctant, but paid for the repair since I just bought it.

I only used it a few times and got the same problem again.

Maybe I've got a lemon, maybe the store repair was just a temp fix. All I know is that the machine is quality and I love it.
I mainly use the mixer as my interface for Audacity since the motor is weak.
 
I just unearthed my old 244 from the 80's. The belts seem bad, I attempted to replace them with rubber bands, but no luck. Maybe I need to buy stock belts, I wonder if anyone knows if you can use generic belts for something like this?
 
I have a mint 246 that I bought new in the 80's. I've replaced all the belts and pinch roller of course because they just deteriorate regardless.

I owned the 244 before that, and 144 before that.

They all have a slight motor hum that you can hear wind up when switched on, but nothing terribly distracting.

I think ARP nailed it with the belt suggestion.

Congrats on the purchase of a "real" portastudio. The later ones are toys in comparison.
 
thos said:
I just unearthed my old 244 from the 80's. The belts seem bad, I attempted to replace them with rubber bands, but no luck. Maybe I need to buy stock belts, I wonder if anyone knows if you can use generic belts for something like this?
Click to expand...

Belts and rollers are still available from Tascam Parts.
 
I also just got a used 244 off ebay from a local seller who also swore up and down in the product description that all the transport functioned worked. You would think I would know better to believe anybody on ebay with these older battleship Portastudio but, I was a sucker for the $50.00 buy it now option he offered and snapped it up.

Of course upon delivery, the unit was filthy, had old tape and stickers all over it, would not play at all unless I really pressed hard on the play button and even then will only play intermittently as the take up reel spindle doesn't always turn in the play mode but loves to spin in the fast forward mode? :confused: :eek:

The right side of the headphone amp also doesn't work but at least all 4 tracks will play and the mixer section works like a charm with just a couple of scratchy pots and the main stereo outs do work so once I get the transport issues straightened up, I can have some fun remixing some older tapes I have kicking around from the good old days when I had a brand new 244 that I paid close to 1400 bucks for at the time in 1983.

I guess I will order the belt kit too from TEAC Canada and see if I can fix up the headphone amp issue while I have it opened.

They sure are built like tanks though! :)

It cleaned up nice, eh? :cool:

Cheers! :)
 
Yeah, it looks good!

There's the two belts, the pinchwheel and the two little tires for FF/RW that you should be concerned with, if the rubber is shot on this 244.

If your takeup spindle won't spin consistently in play/rec mode, you will be in big trouble with it eating your tapes. This is the function of the two little rubber tires, and requires almost a total teardown to replace.

You may luck out, with any stickiness in the little rubber tires might be temporary, after a good playing and warmup.

I saw the $50 BIN auction, and I almost popped too, but I'm a no-gear budget allowance for the time being. :eek:
 
Looks nice. The cassette door isn't ripped off; that's a good sign. A little TLC and I bet you'll have it. :)
 
Ghost, that did clean up rather well. I'm reluctant to sell my 488 (if my msr16 ever makes it back) because I have some old 4 track recordings somewhere from different periods, mid '80s to '90s, and I think the 488 would play them, just double up the tracks right? 1/5, 2/6, etc. or something like that? I think I even have a rap tune somewhere on 4 track cass. format.
Anyway, gentlemen enjoy your cool machines. :)
 
Y'know,... I don' t think a 4-track tape would play correctly in a 488,...

there'd be terrible problems with phasing of the tracks, but the 488's a cool machine to hang onto, anyway.;)
 
244's are cool!

You have a few little problems to fix, but you can't beat the price! Anyway, you should do better with a local seller,... you'd think. :eek: ;)
 
A Reel Person said:
You have a few little problems to fix, but you can't beat the price! Anyway, you should do better with a local seller,... you'd think. :eek: ;)
Click to expand...
Well, I'm gonna put the unit on the bench this weekend and start poking around to see if I can at least get to those cam drive wheels to see if I can at least clean them first with the Caikleen RBR. They do seem to play better when the unit is cold then once it's warmed up so we'll see.

Thanks for your help, Dave. :)

Cheers! :)
 
tascam 244 question

so, i recently purchased a 244 on ebay... the condition is surprisingly clean overall, pots seem to be in good shape, all seems well.... except, when i arm the recorder, and the recorder light begins blinking, when i press simultaneous rec+play to begin recording, the recorder fails to recognize the record button at all, and begins playback as if the rec button was never pressed. does anyone have advice about how to fix this? i'm assuming there's some problem with the connection behind the button, but i have no previous experience repairing audio equipment. i live in the sf bay area, and would be glad to bring it over to a repair shop, but i don't want to spend more than $150 or something reasonable to get this repaired. doing it myself would be best, assuming it could be done easily enough and without much risk of breaking it further. if someone is in the bay area, i'd be more than happy to fund a repair effort. thanks a billion!
 
Sounds like you are having the same problem I am. I bought one on E-bay, and the seller promised that the belts were replaced. The tape does turn, but following the directions in the owners manual for recording does not seem to work like the record button is not working, and is only playing back. Is this a common problem with old 244's that probably have not had a lot of use in years? I am eager to get to some recording on it, and glad I bought it, but my friends 414 seems like it is easier to use.
 
hmm. well, as little as i know about recording decks, my guess is that it has nothing to do with the belt, since the unit plays back the tape fine, and is able to rewind/fast forward, etc.... i assume there's no separate belt for the recording mechanism, and that if playback runs, then so should recording (at least as far as the belt is concerned). i'm thinking it's more a problem with wear on the mechanism just below the button itself... maybe there's some glue or connection that tends to fail over the years? as i mentioned, the unit basically doesn't respond at all to the button; it's not as if the recorder light turns solid and the unit tries to record but isn't able to engage--it just doesn't even make it that far.. doesn't get past the button's command. hopefully someone has the answer, otherwise i'm going to open this thing up and find out the hard way! there's a tascam repair center nearby, but they sound really gung-ho about being utmost "professional" and probably would laugh if i brought a 244 in. their site says "no repairs under $250", and i could probably buy two or three 244s for that amount...
 
There's actually a microswitch down there,...

and yes, they can fail.

I'd first make sure the button panel was firmly mounted to the inside of the top panel, (check for a looseness which could cause the switch not to acivate). It should click a little when it's pressed. You can inspect the switch panel, & check for cold solder joints and proper connections. You may be able to find similar buttons at VCR repair shops & electronics stores & maybe fix it yourself. Another option is to box it & send it to Tascam. :eek:

I'd not trust nor do business with any tech shop that stated no repairs under $250! :eek:
 
the button still makes the proper clicky noise--it feels all right, everything is apparently correct with the unit besides the fact that the recorder won't engage, so maybe that indicates a problem with the switch panel, perhaps, rather than the underside of the button itself.

would tascam really still service these things? i find that very difficult to believe.

thanks for the advice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top