Tascam 122 MKIII Cassette does not record 10 kHz?!

[charles_b]

Hi there!
Just got an 122 MKIII cassette deck. It looks great and seems to be almost unused.

However, playing back my old tapes with THAT machine sound dull and without higher frequencies.

So I tried to calibarte the machine to my TDK SA tapes. Already with the low freq I could not get a maximum reading of more than -5dB. There was no way to go beyond 0 dB.
With the 10-kHz-tone I got no signal at all.

Then, I hocked up my pc soundcard to the input and recorded lower and higher frequencies in order to rule out that the internal oscillator is broke.

The result is, that the 10-kHz-Signal (which is clearly audible before recording) is at least -20db weaker in the tape-monitor-position (no reading on the VU-Meter).

Could it be that the aszimuth is totally misaligned?

In that case, how do I reach the three screews? I can see them from the top but I would have to take apart the cassette loading mechanism from the first view.

 

[jjones1700]

I guess the first question I have to ask is how much wear does the deck have? The heads could be heavily worn, as the higher frequencies are usually the first to start fading as time goes on. It could also be something as simple as the heads need a good cleaning. Azimuth could have a part in this problem, but I would think there would be some slight crosstalk if it were getting that drastic.

If you record something and monitor off the tape while doing so, does it sound good or is it still flat?

 

[charles_b]

I guess the first question I have to ask is how much wear does the deck have?

If you record something and monitor off the tape while doing so, does it sound good or is it still flat?

If I record something it sounds very poor, no heights.

The heads look very clean, no wear to see at the first sight.
Meanwhile I turned the azi-screws and got a MUCH BETTER result.

However, if I look very closely to the heads I can see some abrasive spots. They may be now responsable for the non-stable output signal if I record a 10 kHz tone.

 

[jjones1700]

Looks like you might need a calibration tape. Do a search on this board and there should be some posts about that very thing. I forgot the name of the company that makes the calibration cassettes.

If you can see a physical gap in the head (with a good magnifying glass), then I'd say that is part of the problem. I don't know if Tascam still has heads for the cassette decks or not. Couldn't hurt to call them and find out.