Otari MX5050 repair?

  • Thread starter Thread starter hominoid
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hominoid

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Hi all!

I discovered this forum while googling and it's a great resource y'all have here! I've been digging through the archives and can't find exactly what I'm looking for, so here's my question -- apologies if this has already been covered somewhere.

In any case, I recently picked up an Otari MX-5050 QXHD -- 1/4" 4 track with separate record deck and reel deck. It worked great for a few weeks, but now all of a sudden the pinch roller is no longer spinning, so playback no longer works. FF and REW work fine, just once you hit play the tape gets stuck on the pinch roller.

I've double-checked loose connections, tape not threaded properly, etc etc, and I'm pretty sure that something's gone in the deck. From the manual and schematics I got along with the unit it seems it's most probably a broken transistor on the control assembly board, but who knows?

My question -- I don't think I'm competent enought to take this thing apart and fix it. Does anyone know of any good Otari repair services in the New York area? I've found a couple of people listed out in Jersey, but this thing is so heavy and I'm carless so I'd much prefer to keep it local.

Thanks for any help!

Nick
 
I don’t know of anyone in particular in NYC, but I’m sure there are many. The following link may help. It is a searchable database for Tascam certified service centers. These are usually independent repair shops that will service a variety of brands so it should point you in the right direction.

http://www.tascam.com/service_centers.php

-Tim
 
Thanks!

Sorry -- I didn't realize I had a response! In any case, thanks very much for the info. And as an aside -- wow -- repairs for these things are pricy! The only thing I can find in the NYC area is Analogique, which charges $125 to just give an estimate for repair, though it deducts that from the repair charge if you choose to repair. I'm just reluctant to invest a chunk of change into a machine I only paid $100 for.

Are repairs always this pricy? What do people on this board do when their unit goes down? Should I just suck it up and work out how to repair it myself?

Regards,
Nick
 
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