teac 144/tascam series head issue

[adamvelvetu]

i inherited a teac 144 and just plugged it in. i ran an old tape through and found that the playback head aren't probably feeding the tape and that rewind does not appear to work. i have yet to clean the heads or demagentize but i'm assuming these are unrelated issues. will the playback heads need to be replaced?

 

[cjacek]

Yes, proper maintenance, cleaning heads etc... is important but heads are usually not the issue on those machines but rather the rubber components gone bad, namely idler rubber tires, belts and pinch roller. This tutorial is about the 244, the model after your 144 but will give you an idea what I'm talking about. You may find accessing the 144 is different but the common parts which need to be replaced are the same:
http://www.mzentertainment.com/studio_workshop_tascam_244.html
...or give it to a tech who is qualified to work on these machines and whom you trust. It will be expensive though, more than the machine is worth in today's market. It may be better for you to slowly dig through it yourself. Good luck.

 

[adamvelvetu]

awesome...i think i'll start taking it apart tomorrow.

actually...i started taking it apart now that i am home from work. i started with a simple cleaning and this solved many of the issues: no more tape getting jammed and the tape could be fast forward but would not rewind. is that likely a belt issue? i noticed the machine runs loud but that noise isn't transferred...it seemed like a noisy belt?

 

[cjacek]

the tape could be fast forward but would not rewind. is that likely a belt issue?

No, it's likely an idler issue. The tires can't grip correctly, are slick / worn out. I'd check them.

i noticed the machine runs loud but that noise isn't transferred...it seemed like a noisy belt?

I would have to hear that noise to better judge. Can you maybe explain in a bit more detail?

 

[adamvelvetu]

No, it's likely an idler issue. The tires can't grip correctly, are slick / worn out. I'd check them.

Thanks

I would have to hear that noise to better judge. Can you maybe explain in a bit more detail?

The best description is like an old, noisy, film projector

 

[cjacek]

The best description is like an old, noisy, film projector

Well, the good news is that if you change out the rubber, both belts, idlers, clean the pinch roller or replace if worn badly or gooey, clean the tape path, then the 144 should be good again. It's the rubber parts which are the Achilles heel of this design.

 

[Dr ZEE]

Adam, I've made the best photos I could (it's pretty tricky there to make a shot )...
See attached photos.
You need some sort of long nose tool to get the belt there, well maybe you can manage to slip the belt there with a thin screwdriver or something. You need to slip the belt between the plastic hub and the rubber shoe/tire and then "hook" it around the plastic pulley. see pics.

BTW, that rubber "tire" must have micro-groove (gear-like), that matches the groove on the plactic hub. If the rubber groove is gone, then the machine may have problems, make noise while playing and especially when rwe/ff or simply stop while playing. I had to replace mine. It is also a big pain in the a$$ to do. I would not even go trying to describe how to do it, but if you really need to, well, we can try to figure something out

post update how's going...

 

[Dr ZEE]

Oh, Daniel! 144 mechanism is somewhat different from 244/246... there are no idle tires there... they are plastic hubs with micro-groove (they are like gear od a sort ), and instead of metal groovy pulley (as on 246) it is a pulley with rubber "shoe" on it... that thing gets bad too...well, you know. It's not an easy fix as on 244/246... it's pain in the neck, really

 

[cjacek]

Mike, really good of you to lend a hand here 'cause I might have led the poor soul astray.

 

[adamvelvetu]

Thanks guys for all the help! Really appreciated I got that belt back on and all the rubber pieces actually looked pretty good. I still went through and did some light cleaning and it sounds much better, cleaner. The contacts on the mixing board look amazing! Now...a new problem

In getting the belt on I got myself into a jam...that gold colored tension arm popped out of place and now the tape does not seem to load around the heads (it won't play, rewind, etc...). A little more info:

I was able to screw everything back into place, but the tension arm didn't move at all...I screwed it back on in such a way that there is a little movement but I felt like I wasn't able to screw everything in "comfortably".

I noticed that in the pic that gold arm is more at an angle, whereas mine is almost vertical. I'll attempt re-adjusting when I get home...

Thanks again guys...so appreciated!

 

[adamvelvetu]

Adam, I've made the best photos I could (it's pretty tricky there to make a shot )...
See attached photos.
You need some sort of long nose tool to get the belt there, well maybe you can manage to slip the belt there with a thin screwdriver or something. You need to slip the belt between the plastic hub and the rubber shoe/tire and then "hook" it around the plastic pulley. see pics.

post update how's going...

i still can't get the tape to "engage". the machine runs through the motions like it wants to...but nothing.

from looking at the picture everything "looks" right. my capstan area looks like the capstan in the picture but when screwing in the metal back plate (not the triangular portion but the bigger plate) the plate doesn't sit level with the holes. i'm not sure if that could be a symptom of the problem and if in the process i'm preventing a component from engaging when it needs to.

thanks again

 

[Dr ZEE]

i still can't get the tape to "engage". the machine runs through the motions like it wants to...but nothing.

Honestly I don't understand what exactly do you mean by ALL of this.
What do you mean by "engagin tape" ???
"Machine runs through the motion like it wants to..." - I don't know what do you mean.
..."but nothing" - - I don't understand.


Can you try to describe exactly what you are doing and what is happening.

***********

...when screwing in the metal back plate..the plate doesn't sit level with the holes.

First of all, from what I remember when I was parting out one of the machine so I could use parts to fix the other... if you remove that plate things start to fall out ... I don't remember what exactly, as I was not really paying attention as I was not going to put it back together.
The thing is that you should not remove/unscrew that plate to change the belts, but if you do you need to really pay attention what goes where and how. This may be a tough puzzle.

oh boy ....

Can you make photos/post pictures????

 

[adamvelvetu]

..."but nothing" - - I don't understand.

well, the tape won't actually start playing, and it won't rewind, etc...

The main thing I noticed is that it didn't seem to be fitting because the two gold colored "arms" needed to be in some certain position so I had to hold the one part in place while screwing in the back plate. I haven't had the chance to check with a tape to see if it works...if it does great...if not then I think I'm heading to the service station

Wish I would've just left that damn plate alone...