Tascam ATR-60 8 transport not working

[ParanoidAndroid1111]

Hey first post here! I’ve got a Tascam atr-60 8 track machine I just picked up that seemed to be in great condition(perfect heads & low signs of use). But came across some issues. My first problem is that the capstan motor won’t fire off as soon as I turn the machine on or when I thread tape in. (tension arm pushed in) capstan spins freely when manually spinning with my fingers and doesn’t seem stuck. Issue#2 is that the reels also won’t engage when pressing play or any other transport function. Only thing that happens is that the brakes release the reels. I bought a physical manual for it but need some guidance as what to test first to get this guy up and running. Any advice helps.

 

[ParanoidAndroid1111]

@sweetbeats Hey don’t mean to bug, I read some threads that seemed to show you had worked on one of these machines. Any advice you could please help out with on how to continue? Thanks

 

[sweetbeats]

@sweetbeats Hey don’t mean to bug, I read some threads that seemed to show you had worked on one of these machines. Any advice you could please help out with on how to continue? Thanks

No I have not. Never been up close in person to any ATR60 series machine. I don’t even have a good service manual for the series. First place I’d check is see if any fuses have failed…don’t go by visuals…pull the fuses and measure with an ohmmeter. And then if they are all good start checking the power supply rails. Based on the fact neither the reel motors work or the capstan motor, there is one or more dead power rails…it looks as though there is a power rail for the reel motors and a rail for the capstan motor, each that are separate from the +24V solenoid rail. So it could be bad fuses, and if not bad rails, and if the rails OR fuses are bad then there is still the question “why”, and that’s when things will get fun trying to sort that out, and I’m not very good with servo electronics, so can’t really help you from afar because I can barely help myself from anear with that sort of thing. So it might be good to be thinking about a local tech that you can take it to. It looks like most the PCB assemblies are connectorized, including the motor drive PCB, so you could always exercise the connections on that. But I’d start with fuses and checking supply rails for correct and stable DC voltage and absence of AC voltage.