Tascam MS-16 Problem...

  • Thread starter Thread starter HeyArnoldo
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HeyArnoldo

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hey there,
got a big Problem with my tascam MS-16. All of a sudden it won´t playback or record any Audio. Everything looks fine, all lights are blinking but there´s no peak on the VU-Meters when recording, same with playback. Are there fuses which might have blown and where are they located?? Or is this a different Problem?...i mean Machine looks like it´s working...but like i said no peak on the Vu-Meter.
Thx a lot for help
Regards
Arnoldo
 
The fuses are located in the transport.

Are you using this with the dbx units? Are they powered up and properly plugged in? Or if not used, are the dbx jumpers in place on the back of the amp unit?

Cheers! :)
 
dbx is powered up and properly plugged...i´ve checked all the cables. Same result, no peak. what makes me wonder is, that this happened so suddenly. I was recording something, 5 min later no more peaks or even Sound. Do you think i should try it with unplugged dbx....??
thx a lot for replying...every Idea is appreciated...i´m quite desperate at the moment.
 
You can only try it without the dbx units if you have the original factory jumpers in place once the units are unplugged. Otherwise, no signal will pass though the electronics in the amp module.

It's tough to make any meaningful guesses though as it could be any number of possible items. But I don't think the peak LED's would have a dedicated fuse or even a dedicated power supply as the voltage that powers them also powers all the other LED's on the machine. So if your arming lights work, which are LED's, it's unlikely that a fuse will fix it. I'd tend to think it might be something more akin to a relay that's gone bad or a switching transistor that works in conjunction with that part of the circuitry that's concerned with the overload LED's working or not. But in any event, if you're not a skilled technician with the tools and service manual to trouble shoot an issue, it's going to be a waste of time to try and talk you though fixing this on your own.

So as an end user, all you can really do is ensure that no form of user error is in play here and once that's established, you'll need to seek out a local technician to have a look at it. So make sure you find a shop that has experience with your deck and has the service manual.

Cheers! :)
 
Hey, thx so much for the detailed answere...of course i wouldn´t mess around with soldering any capacitors or something..=) just hoped there could be an easy solution just like changing a fuse.
It just seems the whole amplifier is deactivated. before the problems occured the amplifier was getting warm...now nothing. no Sound, no Peaks , no warmth..hehe.
But all led´s and bulbs are working. Strange....however, i will ask a technician to fix fix the problem, hoping it won´t get tooo expensive.
Regards!°
 
If it's not even getting warm, it sounds to me like a power routing issue. It might be worth checking the fuses anyway, just as a precaution.
 
jpmorris said:
If it's not even getting warm, it sounds to me like a power routing issue. It might be worth checking the fuses anyway, just as a precaution.
Click to expand...

I agree.

I was originally under the impression that only the peak LED's weren't working, from what the opening post indicated. It wasn't stated about the heat and then the lack there-of after the sound disappeared.

There is a separate fuse for the audio circuits and that should be checked for sure and replaced, if it's blown.

But, if there is a remaining issue that blew the fuse, the new fuse will also blow and still not fix the issue.

HeyArnoldo, was there a very large peak in one or more of the signals that fed the recorder before the sound died? Or did it just die in mid playback?

Cheers! :)
 
i was recording some Drums...so, yes i think there were some large peaks. When checking the recorded material nothing worked anymore. maybe there´s still hope, it´s only a blown fuse..?? that would be so great...anyway...i´ll check it tomorrow!
Thx again!°
 
allright.....just took a look into the machine....and there are 2 fuses blown. the 3rd and the 4th (from the left)
I will replace them tomorrow. Hopefully this solves the problem.
If not....do you think large peaks can cause this problems?? i mean i overdrive some channels a lot for tape saturation...should i level more carefully to prevent fuses from blowing?
THX
Arnoldo
 
Replace them and see what happens. If they blow again, you may have to get the machine looked at.
 
HeyArnoldo said:
allright.....just took a look into the machine....and there are 2 fuses blown. the 3rd and the 4th (from the left)
I will replace them tomorrow. Hopefully this solves the problem.
If not....do you think large peaks can cause this problems?? i mean i overdrive some channels a lot for tape saturation...should i level more carefully to prevent fuses from blowing?
THX
Arnoldo
Click to expand...
Overdriving the signal for saturation effect can be a dangerous game if you're sending in signals hot enough to blow fuses. So, if the machine survives the fuse replacement, I might look into bias tweaks to achieve that instead. But I don't have the experience to talk you through that. So hopefully others can chime in on that topic. But basically, the MS-16 was not designed for natural tape saturation effects. TASCAM was going in the complete opposite direction of that by integrating dbx noise reduction and the lower levels that system requires to achieve very low tape hiss specs and improved channel separation on a somewhat narrower track width format. So really, you're pushing the machine beyond what it was intended for.

Cheers! :)
 
i´m overdriving especially the snare Tracks with deactivated dbx on that tracks....but as you say it, on the last recording session I had adjusted the levels a bit higher on every channel than usually.
So i guess that was the point for blowing fuses.
I will level a bit more carefully in the future....
Thx for support!! Great forum!°
Aroldo
 
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