TASCAM 246 eats tape, slow FF and RW

E

emeters

New member
Folks,

I've just replaced both belts and it still tries to eat tape. When I hit play, the right-hand tape reel stops moving, which bunches tape inside the cassette unless I stop it. Fast-forward and rewind move slow as Christmas.

I'm using Maxell XLII High Bias, probably ten or fifteen years old, stuff I've recorded on and was just trying to listen back.

The pinch roller is in good visible shape and doesn't seem tacky, though that's the only other thing I can think to replace (I've been to Dr. Zee's site).

I don't know if this helps any, but it was actually working fine for a few minutes right after I changed the belts. Then I noticed how slow it was rewinding. Then it was back to eating tapes on playback.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading!
 
Have you got an old broken cassette? Pop it in and see if both reels spin when you press play - take up anticlockwise and the supply clockwise. You won't see it move long because the broken tape will trip it out. Next thing is to check brakes - what is the tension on the two spindles? stiff, none-existent? A stiffer take-up could be the cause of the grief here.
 
rob aylestone said:
Have you got an old broken cassette? Pop it in and see if both reels spin when you press play - take up anticlockwise and the supply clockwise. You won't see it move long because the broken tape will trip it out. Next thing is to check brakes - what is the tension on the two spindles? stiff, none-existent? A stiffer take-up could be the cause of the grief here.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the response!

Now FF and RW don't work at all. Play works, but the take-up spindle isn't turning, which causes the tape to start feeding out. The tension on the spindles seems normal to me, slightly stiff.

I tried the broken tape trick and got the same results.

If the problem isn't with the new belts or the old belts, could it be the idler tires?
 
emeters said:
If the problem isn't with the new belts or the old belts, could it be the idler tires?
Click to expand...

From my experience, YES. I have a tascam 112 mixdown deck. Had the exact same symptoms. Putting in new idler tires cured it.
 
I've got a 112 somewhere - no take up spool action means even with the new belt, it's what is driving it that's in need of some attention. In this model is everything driven from the capstan motor or does it have a separate mechanism? I thought it was single motor, so the contact with the spindle could indeed be where friction is missing. It's possible the actual mechanism is misaligned or bent that could be preventing the take up spool spinning.
 
rob aylestone said:
I've got a 112 somewhere - no take up spool action means even with the new belt, it's what is driving it that's in need of some attention. In this model is everything driven from the capstan motor or does it have a separate mechanism? I thought it was single motor, so the contact with the spindle could indeed be where friction is missing. It's possible the actual mechanism is misaligned or bent that could be preventing the take up spool spinning.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how it could be bent or misaligned since there's been no trauma to it in the 17 years I've owned it.

It's my understanding that mechanically the 246 is similar to the 244, which is photographed in detail on Dr. Zee's site (the forum won't let me post a link yet).

Judging by that, it's looking like I'll have to take all the faders and knobs off to get a good look at the idler tires. It's possible those have never been replaced.
 
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