Tascam 38 repro head; track 6 'lost'

[beat13]

Hi although this is my first post, I've been reading this forum for a while so thanks for all the help...this problem is a little confusing

I have a Tascam 38, I've been using for a few months quite happily. I've been away for a few weeks so de-magged and cleaned the tape path. I re-played a (new) tape that was recorded a few weeks back and noticed that track 6 was not playing back using the repro head. All tracks play fine on the sync head and all the other tracks EXCEPT 6 seem fine on the repro head. i checked for dirt/wear and gave another clean but it's still the same result. i'm slightly confused

Could something else have 'failed'

do i really need the repro head anyway? tbh, the sync head always seemed to sound a little 'crisper'

any ideas would be appreciated

cheers

 

[jjones1700]

I'm only taking a guess at this as I haven't used my 38 very much, but I'm going to take a shot at saying either the head is getting pretty worn, or maybe an issue with a channel card. I can't see why a card would make a difference between the heads, but it's one of those things to check to make sure. If you get a chance, take a pic of the head in question and the veterans here could give you some more feedback. If you have cleaned and demagged the heads properly, I can't think of anything else off the top of my head.

 

[beat13]

thanks i'll take some picrtures asap

 

[RRuskin]

If the gap has opened up on that channel, you will need to replace the head. However, keep in mind that ever since the 80-8, all TASCAM multitracks from 8 tracks on up had the same response in play or sync modes. In, fact the record and play heads are interchangeable. The play head was there for alignment convenience more than anything else. You may still have a usable machine even though alignment will be a bigger pain that it once was.

 

[beat13]

here are some pics, was a bit tricky trying to use an SLR i could take some with a smaller camera that might be able to get a little closer, but if anyone can spot anything a miss please let me know

 

[jjones1700]

Wow, nice shots man.

The heads look pretty decent. I can't see any gaps. Judging by the guides, the machine looks like it has a bit of wear on it, but not bad. You can always turn them.

My opinion is that the heads shouldn't be the problem. You might hear a drop off in sound as the heads near the end of their usable life, but I can't see it just up and totally dropping out. I'd say the problem lies elsewhere.

Dave? Cory? Suggestions?

 

[M1Fanatic]

You may have a relay sticking on that channel card. IIRC from the schematic, it's usually 106 that is the problem child. They can be replaced cheaply if you can solder.

In the mean time, reseat the channel card and see if the condition improves.

I have this happening on channels 6 and 8 on my machine but haven't gotten around to fixing it yet.

Someone has spare channel cards for the 38 for sale on e-bay for $30. Do a search for them.

 

[beat13]

many thanks!
i've got the service manual so i'll have a look at the reseating option...soldering not a problem...

 

[WhinyLittleRunt]

Can I just chime into this and say I'm having the exact problem with mine on channel 8 (fizzling and dropping out at random using the repro head, no playback at all on sync head...) and no VU on channel 5. But it does record to all channels, happy to find out!

I have yet to pull it apart and check the cards (I did originally reseat channel 8 but nothing happened), I have also not done any kind of alignment or adjustments with it since I got it. To the OP - did you try a new relay on the card yet? I'm curious to see if it will fix the problem...