Problem with Tascam 32 playback

[pirate radio]

I'm a newbie with a problem with a Tascam 32. I picked it up cheap because I want an open-reel deck to be able to playback and archive old radio recordings that people have made over the years. This deck works fine when rewinding and fast forwarding, but when I hit Play, the tape lurches forward, then stops, like it's hitting brick wall. Has anyone had this problem with their deck or have an idea what the problem is? Thanks much!

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Could be a loose/worn capstan belt or the tapes you're playing might be sticky shed degraded and in need of baking to dry back the binder glue. Or it might be a combination of those two common symptoms.

We have a sticky thread on sticky shed and you-tube has instructional videos on changing the belt.

Cheers!

 

[pirate radio]

re. problem with Tascam 32 playback

Could be a loose/worn capstan belt or the tapes you're playing might be sticky shed degraded and in need of baking to dry back the binder glue. Or it might be a combination of those two common symptoms.

We have a sticky thread on sticky shed and you-tube has instructional videos on changing the belt.

Cheers!

Thanks much for pointing me in the most probable directions. I don't know if you can tell the "sticky shed" problem just by feeling the tape, but the tape I was using felt normal . . . and it was '70s BASF, which I didn't see listed in the first 10 or so pages of the sticky shed thread.

But, my guess is that it's the capstan belt, so I did some searching around and found this thread: https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...ly/tascam-32-capstan-belt-replacement-339996/

I guess I'll tear off the face plate and see what I can do.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[jpmorris]

Nothing to do with the tape drive problem, but just so you're aware - the '32 is a 2-track stereo deck, so half the tape is the left channel and the other half is the right. This is studio and broadcast standard.

However, consumer decks are normally 4-track stereo, which means the tape can be flipped over like a cassette to play the other side. A Tascam 32 will not be able to play back such tapes, since as the heads are looking for something twice as wide as a consumer recording, you'll hear both sides at once (one of them backwards).

If the tapes were recorded on a pro deck, it should be fine. Otherwise, well, you won't know until you play them..

 

[quiberon]

Hi,

A while ago, I had to replace the belt on my Tascam 34 that had been stood idle for a few years. a few days after I did this the flywheel started to make a metallic scraping sound, (see my thread on heret; Tascam 34 Flywheel problem - Tapeheads Forums)

Inside the flywheel there is a metal washer with a rubber washer attached to it, that had turned to goo. After cleaning it up, I refitted the metal washer and in place of the rubber washer, I padded it out with M6 Teflon washers, to bring it back up to the thickness of the original metal & rubber washer combination. I haven't had any further problem since.

Note, that when removing the face plate of your 32, there is a sleeve nut below the pitch control knob that has to removed before it will come away. Also 3 screws on the on the underside along the bottom edge of the face plate.