i just bought one of these for very cheap to play in my ambient music set, and it has the same problem. i still cant believe i found this video, and it's from 2020!
Excellent video! I have a similar but complementary problem: It goes all lights on, but it happens only when F.Fwd/rewind or 0RTN, Play works as expected. It's the X28H version
it's probably a meter of control issue, this model adopts SMD control chip that is hard to replace, I believe you may have to replace the whole control board , you can take from Fostes XR7
You may find a specific belt for the exact model for high price other wise you have to buy a bunch of flat belts from china for low price and take the one you need
Hi great video. Mine doesn't light up at all. The power supply is fine but the unit is dead . I'm quite desperate. Do you know where could be a problem? There nothing burned or broken inside the unit . I've only checked the area around power input. Thank you
Many suggestions, check the power socket and switch, check the risistance on the power line it should be not 0 or open, then check the diods and zeners on the control pcb, good luck
Hello 3rd Island! Watching your video, I opened my fostex X28H to replace the belts. Before closing it again everything worked correctly; but after closing it with the rear screws, the device does not turn on. I have measured the adapter and it works fine; Even the input jack works fine, but I don't know anything about electronics and I wouldn't know what to check now. Any suggestion will be very welcome. Thank you so much!! Dan
Loose the rare screws a little bit and check if it turn on or not, Make sure the control box is fited correctly in it's housing Let me know if this helps Good luck
3rd Island, I forgot to tell you that when I took it apart and put it back together several times, the motor cables became unsoldered, and with my pulse no longer so firm, the solder on the 2nd and 3rd contacts (the ones in the middle of the 4), were touching each other., they overlapped. Could this have damaged some component that is causing it to not turn on at all now? PS.: Fostex is so fragile compared to Tascam... Although both brands are Japanese, what a different engineering!
Thanks for the video. I’m trying to find a technician to repair or help me repair a Fostex X-28 that works well except I can’t record on track 2 for some reason. Playback on track 2 is also intermittent. It’s second hand so I’m not sure what it has endured. Do you have any thoughts or ideas?
i took mine apart and the capstan motor wasn't stuck or anything, but i have the exact same problem as you in the beginning. everything works but when i hit play all lights turn on and it freezes. by restarting it and trying to play again i made it work a few times, but most of the time it freezes... do you have any idea what else could be the problem? thanks!
Hello, your content was really helpful so far, but i have a problem that i cant fix: The head on my Fostex 280 does not engage. Could it be the same problem as in the porta studio? and if so, how do I fix it?
Have seemingly the same issue. I didn't clean the motor, as it seems to turn freely without issue. Replaced the transistor with the same type and it worked for a minute then the transistor smoked and burned out and it stopped again. 😂 Any thoughts? Too much current from somewhere? Haven't been able to track down a service manual, and I've been too lazy to trace the circuit.
Hi, thanks for your video! I am trying to solve a little issue on mine, but as weird as it sounds, i cannot even manage to open the case, it seems to be stuck in the display area! Did you force it in some way that i don't see in the video?!? oh, man......!
Hey there. My x-28 starts up, turns the Capstan turns momentarily , and as soon as the VU meters reach the top, they stay there, the Capastan stops, the Entire display stays on and the control section of the transport is unresponsive. I replaced Q905 with a B123 and Q906 with an A2205 with the same result. Any ideas what to check next? I read a similar comment where you mentioned replacing the control board with that of an XR7, I assume I’m in a similar boat? Thank you!
These 2 transistors should be replaced just when the motor get stucked and makes a short circuit leads to burn these drive transistors, but for your case it seams to be a mechanical issue, chake your mechanism gears if any stuckes, good luck
Update: Opened up the machine again and removed the capastan motor. I tested it with a 9v battery. It would turn forward when the appropriate connections were made, but when I rearranged the power input I could not get it to spin in reverse. I checked the EC on the motor terminals with an ESR detector and it seemed within spec. I replaced it anyway and tested the old EC out of circuit with both ESR and DMM and both displayed regular results. However, when I tested the motor with the new EC it ran both forwards and backwards. I cleaned up the pulleys with IPA, replaced the smaller belt in the transport for a slightly smaller one , did a quick reflow of the transport PC board with some flux, put it all back together and it worked! The first time I tried to rewind the tape it did the same thing it was doing before (all lights on) when it reached the leader tape. but I flipped the tape, FF’d it to the end and then RW’d it to the end again, both times successfully. I assume I must have knocked the mechanism into a non-normal state when I was fiddling with it. Thank you so much for your help!!
