TASCAM 246 motor question

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kmaster

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I just got a used TASCAM 246. I knew it needed a bit of work, but I was ok with that as I've had some small electronics experience and the whole thing was really cheap ($50 for the unit and a few boxes of ok blank tapes), so I figured at the worst it would be a learning experience. I've cleaned out the old "melted" rubber bits and ordered replacement rubber parts, which should be here in a few days.

Right now, though, when I power on the unit, I hear a motor running, but nothing's moving... is that normal, if nothing (like "Play") is selected? Is this indicative of a bad motor? Granted, I don't have any belts in, but literally nothing is moving, so that shouldn't matter.

I'm sure it's the motor that powers the idler tires (like the similar 244's tires in Dr. Zee's pictures here). I guess my question is: what is the normal operation for this motor... i.e. is it supposed to do that?

And, if not, where can I get a replacement motor from?

Thanks!
 
come down :cool: and just wait untill you get the belts :eatpopcorn: :)

your deck acting "normal" without belts. The system must have control belt installed (the shorter round belt, that is), then it will set itself up and motor will not run like crazy.
After you install the belts, then when you just power the machine up no motors should be running. When you insert the cassette the capstan motor will start running , it should not make much nose at all.

well, when you get your belts, post here an update about how its going
good luck
 
Well, I've got both belts, but I'm still waiting on some "tires" (faucet adaptor seals) to arrive in the mail; everything seems to be working mechanically, though!

I have been able to hook up a signal to each channel and ascertain that the electronics seem to be in fine working order. The only thing I don't know now is if the heads are OK... which is sort of the most important thing :spank:

Related to that, I'm sure that, even if the heads are fine, I'll need to adjust their azimuth and whatnot... any tips on that? ZEE?
 
Ok, another update:

I got "tires" that fit and work fine.

Buuuut... there is another issue now apparent.

The ff/rw mechanism (i.e. the little moving thing that holds the idler wheels) won't consistently move to the side it belongs to... so if I hit ff, it ffs, but if I hit rw, the wheels spin in the rw direction but it doesn't make contact with the correct axle; instead it hangs out by the ff side.

I've taken the rubber off, and it still doesn't usually move to the correct side, so I (assume) it's not a rubber problem.

So... why would it do this?
 
...

Try to clean & lube the pivot point on the swing arm.
:spank::eek:;)
 
I've got it to work a bit better, but it refuses to work at all if the spring is on. Is that something I can just leave off...?
 
oh, and of course in all this, I've lost my little washer.... I don't even know what to do, haha.
 
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