paperhatrecords
New member
Hello analogophiles,
I've just been beginning recording on my Tascam 38 system. Started having a problem today where the feed reel was clipping one of those large screws that stick out on the side and the takeup reel was scraping against the side of the tape. So using my manual I followed all the directions for taking off the cover, removing the spindles and adjusted the spindle height. Had to redo twice, because after the first time the metal slip around the left spindle came off due to crooked alignment. I think that part should work fine.
The problem came when I tried to piece it together the second time. I noticed play wasn't working at all because the pinch roller and spindles weren't engaging when the tension arms were raised (capstan was spinning though), so I took it back apart to see what was wrong. It was very strange because it looked like if the connector between the transport and main electrical system went down into the hole (as if I was about to close the cover or when I did actually close the cover), it wouldn't play, but if I had the cover wide open and the connector was above the hole, play worked fine, the pinch roller/wheels engaged, etc. So, I tried closing the cover while keeping the connector outside the hole, but then the capstan won't stop spinning, even if the tension arms are down, and even if the transport is disconnected while it's still spinning. Turn it off and back on it's still going. Reconnected the transport, put the connector back down in the hole, it's back to the first problem (play not engaging). Don't know what I would have done to cause either issue, but I've been able to replicate this exact correlation of events multiple times.
Something's buggy but I obviously have very minimal experience with r2r electronics so far. Any ideas what could be going on? Thanks in advance!
I've just been beginning recording on my Tascam 38 system. Started having a problem today where the feed reel was clipping one of those large screws that stick out on the side and the takeup reel was scraping against the side of the tape. So using my manual I followed all the directions for taking off the cover, removing the spindles and adjusted the spindle height. Had to redo twice, because after the first time the metal slip around the left spindle came off due to crooked alignment. I think that part should work fine.
The problem came when I tried to piece it together the second time. I noticed play wasn't working at all because the pinch roller and spindles weren't engaging when the tension arms were raised (capstan was spinning though), so I took it back apart to see what was wrong. It was very strange because it looked like if the connector between the transport and main electrical system went down into the hole (as if I was about to close the cover or when I did actually close the cover), it wouldn't play, but if I had the cover wide open and the connector was above the hole, play worked fine, the pinch roller/wheels engaged, etc. So, I tried closing the cover while keeping the connector outside the hole, but then the capstan won't stop spinning, even if the tension arms are down, and even if the transport is disconnected while it's still spinning. Turn it off and back on it's still going. Reconnected the transport, put the connector back down in the hole, it's back to the first problem (play not engaging). Don't know what I would have done to cause either issue, but I've been able to replicate this exact correlation of events multiple times.
Something's buggy but I obviously have very minimal experience with r2r electronics so far. Any ideas what could be going on? Thanks in advance!
