Tascam 424 Mk III in need of repair

[saiinttimmy]

So about 2 years ago I purchased a used Tascam 424 Mk III on ebay for about 70 dollars. As far as I knew, the machine worked fine and I was able to get a good seven months or so of use out of it. During the summer I made the mistake of leaving the Tascam out in the enclosed gazebo overnight. I made sure to power it down, though it was left still plugged into an outlet. The next day I tried to use it and it didn't work. The led screen was partially lit up but the tape heads wouldn't spin. I didn't bother fixing it because repairs seemed like they'd cost more than the Tascam was worth. Sometime later I was tampering with it and left a cassette tape in. Evidently, the cassette was stuck the next time I tried the machine. I was able to pry the tape out with screwdriver, but the led screen has completely gone out. If I plug headphones into the machine and listen I can hear a pretty strong hum when powered up. Also, one of the tape heads will spin for a couple seconds while the other one remains still.

To sum up this tangent of terrible user error and maintenance neglect, I am wondering if I would be able to fix the machine on my own, or, if it is even worth the trouble of repair. Thanks.

 

[A Reel Person]

Tough case, dude.

From your description, you might consider trying to find a power supply module. If you have a volt meter, maybe try reading the voltages off the power supply pins. TEAC/Tascam Parts dept. might still sell the 424mkIII replacement power supply. Sometimes they pop up on eBay for reasonable cost. If you have a friend who has one you can borrow, even better.

I know you said summer, and of course it varies a lot by region, but maybe your plugged-in power supply got some moisture condensation inside the module overnight,... which of course is not good.

 

[saiinttimmy]

Thanks for your advice. It had occurred to me that the problem might have been the power supply, but the odds of that seemed too good to be true. It would save me a whole lot of trouble if was just that. I'll look into purchasing a new one, though with technology this old, I'm not keeping my hopes up. Thanks again.