Tascam 32...BUZZ when recording...

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MartyMcFly

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I just bought a Tascam 32. All the lights work. All the buttons work. I've even recorded an album/Beatles onto it thru the inputs on the back. But when i try to hook up a Mic to one of the mic inputs on the front i get a HUGE amount of BUZZ. If I fiddle with the mic cable where it connects into the Tascam 32 i can get a very faint signal of me talking into the mic but with HUGE amounts of BUZZ. Whats wrong wit it?
 
Does it do this on all mic inputs? Check jacks first, they take the most abuse. Clean thoroughly, carefully with deoxidization spray. Make sure you are using a good cord and mic, too.
If that isn't it, you need good skills, good friends, or a good repair shop. Hope this helps.
 
I figured it out...
I was just using a regular run of the mill Xlr down to 1/4" jack for the mic cable. Luckily I had an old line transformer that i had thought was just old junk lying around. Now it works great.
I got that machine in Mint condition. 10 Quantegy 456 "Grand Master" 2500 ft 1/4" tape that are New in the seal. And about 15 of the same type of tape but with records on them...Ted Nuget...Styx...Foriener...and others... I got the demagenitizing wand from Tascam or Teac. I also got the remote transport for $300.00 USD. Did I get ripped off or not? Im not sure. But everything is MINT. It even came with all manuals...
 
If you got all those extras and it's mint, I wouldn't say you got ripped off. They usually go for about 200 in well used condition.

What kind of transformer did you use. Was it one of those UTC transformers? What type of configuration is it. Just curious.
 
Well yeah its Mint...And I mean MINT. Like the guy bought it and NEVER used it...NEVER!
But I saw the same thing minus the remote control and with only 2-3 rolls of other type of tape and they had it bid up to $695.00 USD. And thats not counting $125.00 USD for shipping. And they were saying stuff like..."Im not into electronics but I turned it on and it looked like it worked." Ya know stuff they say when they know that their is something wrong with it.
I think that Quantegy 456 tape itself is worth $50.00-$75.00 per roll. They dont make it anymore and its considered the best tape you can get nowadays. Thats what they say at the Tascam forums anyway. Anyway Im blown away by the sound. Im gonna use it as my mastering deck. Now I gots to save up for a 8 track version just like the 32...
 
OK...
It seems like I "may" have a problem. And Im not even sure if I do or not. It seems like sometimes 1 of the channels will dissappear. Then Ill press some buttons and wiggle this or that and stop the machine and it will all be better. It doesnt seem to always be the same channel. I dont think its the output cables cause it has done it with just the headphones. Am i doing something wrong or is this a common problem for these types of machines??? There even is the chance it may be the tape itself...Whats up?
 
A couple of possibilities to keep in mind: (1) The deck sustained internal damage during transit, maybe fructuring some of the PCB boards, (2) oxidation, (3) solder joint problems on the PCB boards which may have been made worse by shipping.

If you had the recorder shipped, check very carefully with good light, the inside of the unit for damage, cracks etc ......

IMHO, #1 and #3 are more likely.
 
Well I bought it at a rummage sale right here in my home town. It seems like it will do it when Im playing back some of the tapes of records i got fro he guy. If I hit the Sync button one channel will play by itself. Then I hit the Repro button and the other side will play by itself. Then I hook up a mic and BAM...Its working...both channels...
 
OK, try recording on one of the NEW Quantegy tapes first using the mic ins and then RCA ins, on both channels. Tell us what happens when you play it back. (Forget the guy's tapes, just do the recording tests yourself using the new tape).
 
Ok I took one of the new Quantegy 456 Grand master 2500ft. reels and stuck my mic into the left channel. At first it didnt want to give me any signal. But then I wiggled it in the input jack and it made the connection. I recorded some acoustic guitar. Then I did the right channel. It gave me sginal right way. So I recorded another guitar part with some singing...I played it back and it sounded great. And by great I mean 10 times better than Digital (I own a digi-002 factor w/mixer).

The thing is tho. After doing all that the already recorded stuff the guy had in there worked fine too. Both channels. Im really starting to think that there is something loose/dirty in the input channels. Im not sure if I mentioned it before but I had already recorded an entire vinyl album (The Beatles Let it be...Naked) thru the inputs in the back. Worked perfectly. No problems at all. I just want some opinions before I tear it open to check/fix some possibly bad connections...
 
From what you describe it seems likely that all the connections have various degrees of oxidation and that you remedied them to some degree by mechanically working them. It's very normal for a recorder of this age (and especially one sitting unused) to have this type of issue. With the recorder turned off try to operate the various buttons and knobs, switching and turning them constantly (but relatively gently) for a good minute. This should loosen some of the oxidation and let the signal pass better. Don't try to work the cables too hard into the mic or rca jacks. Don't wiggle them too much or you may make things worse and break something. It's always a good idea to let the recorder warm up for a good 20 - 30 min before doing any work. In fact, you should at least turn it on regularly even if you don't record anything. It's good for the electronics.
 
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Well it doesnt have anything to do with the RCA ins. I use the RCA outs to go into my "Aux in" for my Harmon Kardon Receiver. I havent even botherd to mess with the "ins", But the problem WILL happen while Im using the head phones as well as the RCA outs. It all seems to stem from the mic input jacks. Now thats not to say that it hasnt just started working too, while I m pretty sire I was doing nothing in-terms of hitting buttons...I (with my very limited knowledge of reel-to-reel and electronics) believe it is stemming from those mic inputs...
Is there anything else I can check?
 
I edited my reply. Please see above.

OK, it may very well be the mic input jacks (oxidation) or, and I would check this first, the CABLE (and hi-z adapter) you're using. It may not be contacting properly.
 
OK, can you record something through the RCA INS and check headphone and RCA OUT monitoring ? That way we'll narrow down the problem. If those are OK then we'll focus on the cable (and adapter) and then the actual mic inputs.
 
Yep...I recoded an entire album thru the RCA inputs and on one song..."Get Back" the first time I played it back it was fine. then the next day I played back the same song/recording and I only got one channel. Funny thing was if I pressed the "sync" button I would get one channel and if I pressed the "repro" button the other channel would work. Then a while later...after starting and stopping it a few times then all of a sudden they both worked.

As for the headphone/rca out monitoring...If it isnt working right thru the headohones then it wont work right thru the RCA's...
I can see your therory about me possibly fixing some possible oxidation by fiddiling with the mic connectors. But that doesnt explain the fact that sometimes one channel will play back and then sometimes the other...
I think there is something weird going on when I get one channel with the "sync" button pressed and the other with the "Repro" pressed...
 
Dirty jacks or cracked solder joints or dirty relays or contaminated connectors. Take your pick. TASCAMS not used for a long time can and do have all of these problems (except cracked solder joints that are created by hamfisted owners straining cable jacks). If said unit was powered down for years, add dried open/shorted/cranky electrolytic caps to the recipe.

Bottom line: classic troubleshooting using basic equipment like o-scopes and multimeter.
 
I agree with MCI2424 and the problems the original poster mentions are exactly the same ones I've had. It was diagnosed to be bad solder joints with the probability of the others also mentioned by MCI.

From what I understand, TEAC at one point had a serious problem with their soldering practices and a lot of the Tascam machines were just full of bad solder joints, especially the early models. This was made worse as PC boards would be flexed and vibrated in shipment and, as MCI2424 already mentioned, users were really straining the jacks.

There's very little that can be done other than having the TASCAM brought to a competent tech. Expect to pay at least 400-500 bones.
 
I certainly wont be paing 500-600 dollars to resolder a few points. I've soldered in more than my fair share of mod chips for xbox (first versions). And if you can solder a wire double the thickness of a human hair into a hole just large enough to fit the tip of a sowing needle into (DO wire/point) I think I can re solder some jacks...Its just figuring out what to re solder. Good thing this machine came with everything in terms of exploded wiring diagrams...Thanks for all the replies...
 
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