Teac A-6300 powers on but no transport engagement

[dawntodon]

hello. I'm new to the world of analog recording but upon doing a bit of reading from some of these threads, I've picked up on a few troubleshooting to-dos. I stumbled upon a 2nd-hand Teac A-6300 and a A-4010 SL with the hope of getting back to tape and assumed that the problem as to why the transport wouldn't engage was related to a faulty capstan belt. I opened the back up and found the capstan motor running with the capstan belt intact. The capstan motor, of course, would run only when the right tension arm is raised.

I haven't experience with reel to reels and was hoping I may be able to rob parts from one reel to reel to make at least one of the two work.

the issue with the A-4010 SL is that it doesn't have the power cord and I'm not prepared to drop $15 for a part I imagine should be found elsewhere fairly readily and cheaply.

any help would be super appreciated.

 

[evm1024]

My First recordings were done on a A-6300 bought new. That brings back foud memories. Some of the older belts lose their elasticity and can slip. So listen for pitch changes if that is happening to you.

I would try to keep them both intact. Parts are available.

As for the power cord - I found that the 3340 I once owned had the same problem. No cord and too much money. I found a 6' appliance cord that had the right pins and shape but had the plastic molding with an extension to prevent its insertion in a 3 wire circuit. That plastic was cut off quite easily.

Look in your local hardware store (I found mine in Ace). Good Luck !

--Ethan

PS the cord cost $7 as I recall.

 

[Dr ZEE]

If capstan is spinning but control buttons do not function the first thing to check is whether or not the 11-pin dummy plug for the remote control on the back of the machine is inserted or is it missing. See photos attached.
I belive that 6300 uses RC-140 remote (as for auto-reverse models).
If your plug is missing, then there's the way deal with it with a pair of jumpers. I can post pictures and describe how-to, but first let me know if the plug there or not.

As Ethan pointed out you can make up the power cord. I am attaching the photo (see third picture) of the "home-made" power cord plug, that I'm using with one of my machines.

 

[Dr ZEE]

while I had time to do this....
So if your plug is missing, you can use a pair of jumpers to replace the plug's "function".
You can make up a nicer jumpers with some well fitting pins, or you can find just a wire that will sit OK in the hole, (see first picture).
You need to connect (short) pin1+pin11 , and pin8+pin9. See second picture for details.
The third picture showing the jumpers in place.
Be careful not to stick it into a wrong hole

 

[dawntodon]

Thanks a lot guys for the quick responses and Dr. Zee for the extensive pictorial explanations! I tried the jumper technique and it worked!

that is, until the jimmy-rigged non-insulated wire made contact with the metal backing on the unit then I heard a spark and smelled a bit smoke coming of the jumper area. Now the A-6300 doesn't seem to power on. I'm hoping that letting it rest for a bit will resolve this. If not, any ideas on getting this guy to run again? Thanks again.

 

[Dr ZEE]

non-insulated wire???!!!!!
Oh Boy....
Now, Jimmy, why would you do something like that ????!!!!
*******
I guess you've shorten the circuit to ground. You maybe lucky and all that it happened - the main fuse is blown.
Use flat screwdriver, unscrew the fuse holder and check it. I've made quick photos for'Ya. Funny or not, but if you see this kind of fuse housing for the first time you may start puzzling about how to open it
I belive the fuse should be 2A (but check the lable on your machine), you should be able to get one at RadioShack.

 

[dawntodon]

Dr. Zee, you've pretty much brought my once-thought-to-be defunct A-6300 back to life. thanks for the help and for the presumably really arcane information about these machines. I wrapped a bit of electric tape around the "exposed" middle parts of the jumpers (each of which I made of three stripped twistie-ties) for insulation, which hopefully folks who are on par with my level of understanding with matter electrical who run into my problem will note the importance of when making these jumpers. The trickiest part for me was knowing how deep to push these jumpers in before my transport would engage, but engage they did and all my controls work now.

I bought this machine with some old tape and it seems that the old tape plays at a higher pitch than what I'm accustomed to, (Doors songs) although there's no fluctuation in pitch once I start playing, so I'm guessing I'm still in the clear for buying a new capstan belt?

 

[Dr ZEE]

I bought this machine with some old tape and it seems that the old tape plays at a higher pitch than what I'm accustomed to, (Doors songs) although there's no fluctuation in pitch once I start playing, so I'm guessing I'm still in the clear for buying a new capstan belt?

Your capstan belt may be just fine. If it's bad, I don't see how a bad capstan belt can make this machine "ran faster".
Are those "old tapes" "home recorded" or are they original pre-recorded "albums".
If those tapes are recorded by somebody who knows on what machine, then there is a chance that they were recorded on a sluggish machine.... or can be other "stuations".
Now, these TEAC machines have "heavy-duty-no-nonsense" AC motors ..heh heh
Well, regardlessly of all the above, one thing you may want to check is the belt position on the Motor's Pulley and the Frequency selector Switch position. You just never know who and what was doing things inside that machine before you've got it.
Also, I have never had 6300 , so I am just guessing that it may have similar design/options as some other TEAC machines of that era.
I am attaching a page from a diffrent machine manual for illustation, just read that page and see the picture/diagram.
If it confuses you, ask a question.
Again check if your machine's capstan motor has two pulleys. If so, check which pulley the belt is on (the larger one or the smaller one)? Also find mounted somewhere in the area of the motor a slide-switch (50Hz/60hz - switch), check in which position it is.
Drop a note, what do you see there.

 

[dawntodon]

hello again. got a chance to poke around and listen to the tapes and it sounds like the music is personally recorded. I'm not so sure though. At any rate, I tried recording a bit and played back to good results. So I'm not too worried. Also, any advice on altering a standard extension cord to fit my A-4010 SL having never hacked up an extension cord before?

OK, sure I almost blew it with the no insulation on the wire thing, but I think the fact that I caught wind of it afterwards shows that there's hope for me yet? I don't know.

 

[Sonarcade]

hello.

I found this thread super educational, but alas, I haven't been able to successfully get my a-6300 running without the "dummy plug." I was wondering where i might be able to find "ready-made" jumpers like the ones in the pictures. Thanks!

 

[Kmmcmill]

Sonarcade....

You can either use meter leads or what should work just fine is speaker wire.

 

[mdainsd]

Find an old vacuum tube, the ones with the plastic or bakelight base. The pins from those fit those sockets perfectly.