Tascam Portastudio 488 MkII | Change gear C

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I made a video before showing how to change gear C in a Tascam 464 - scroll down to for a link - and in that video I mentioned that a) I'd heard 488 MkII also has gear C (I'd never owned one at that point) and b) If the gear breaks while the cassette is playing back or recording you get a fault where the three LEDs about the shuttle buttons flash.
Well I only done gone bought myself a 488 mark two 8 track cassette recorder didn't I? And it does exhibit the behaviour I described before....
I'll put the information about opening the case and removing the transport from the lower section into separate videos here I change gear C, clear a lot of tape that has accumulated around the pinch roller and demonstrate the transport button behaviour before and after this part has been replaced.
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RELEVANT VIDEOS I GONE AND DONE
Changing gear C in a Tascam 464;-
• Replacing Gear C | Tas...

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6 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 69

@godofspacetime333 4 года назад

Oh my god this is EXACTLY the video I needed to see. And I see from another comment that there is still someone making and selling these parts, so this was amazing. Thank you 🙏

@davidmcmillan7518 3 года назад

Thanks very much . Wasted heaps of time waiting for someone to fix this only to get told he couldn’t be bothered . Should’ve come here first . Thanks to you my gear c is on the way from the states and I’ll know how to replace it 👍👍

@spookysyrup3200 2 года назад

This video was a HUGE help to me. Thanks for the help and guidance!

@jctravis1978 4 года назад

Thanks for these vids! Fixing to dive into a 488mkII and these will be invaluable. Nice TOPY ink also!

@terryreep2381 3 года назад

Thanks for the gear c 488 mk2 vid. Enabled me to fix mine,great stuff. just donated you some well deserved cash,keep it up.

@Tetrakan 3 года назад

Thanks so much!

@islandofmisfitnoise8070 10 месяцев назад

Thank you for making these videos. They’re an excellent recourse. I need a bit of help. Changed gear c and everything went smoothly, but my playback is at high speed for some reason. Even when the pitch knob is all the way down.

@Tetrakan 10 месяцев назад

Thanks! First question, and apologies if this is too low level, are you aware this is a double speed deck for fidelity? So commercial tapes intended for a circa 1990 Walkman or car stereo will play back sounding like the chipmunks and that's normal? Ditto recordings made on a low speed portastudio?

@islandofmisfitnoise8070 10 месяцев назад

@@Tetrakan I didn’t realize that thank you. One other question. I’m getting low playback levels after recording onto blank tape. I saw your video on low playback. But I have both screws in

@Tetrakan 10 месяцев назад

@islandofmisfitnoise8070 becacause of the way the components age, often the gain on the playback and record amps need turned up. There are trimpots inside the unit to do this. Refer to my playlist on calibration and the service manual which is a free download on my blog. To set playback amps properly you'll need a cheap scope and a full width calibration tape, but you could set things approximately by ensuring all 8 playback amps respond similarly to a loud passage of any prerecorded cassette without distortion. Then turn up the record amp trims until the recording is hitting the meters same as it did during tracking, so if you put a steady synth onto the tape at -3dB on the meters, it should show up at -3dB on playback.

@davidsapir3764 3 года назад

My beloved 488 Mk 2 was very recently stricken with the blinking death. The C gear arrived from Sam Salerno today, so this weekend I'll take a deep breath and git r done. Thanks for the very helpful video, this is exactly what I needed.

@EclectikTronik 2 года назад

Interesting stuff, thanks for posting. I have a 464 with cracked gear which I found dumped the other day. There are no suppliers near me of the part, and with the current transport problems, covid-19 restrictions, and damn black friday on top of all that, I'd be waiting for ages for any part (expensive!) to arrive from abroad. Then there was the possibility that the machine might have other problems so money would have been wasted. Fortunately, I have a box of gears I have been saving from scrap CD Rom drives and inkjet printers and there was a black one which had just the right dimensions and gear ratio - how lucky was that? The centre bearing was too large so I glued in a small piece of PCB mount. Also had to raise the height with a washer below. Initial tests have been good. Will see how it holds out and at least I get to test the rest of the machine. So my tip is, always strip gears out of any scrap mechanical devices (printers, VCRs, CD players, etc) you may have!

@warsocki Год назад

Yes. Great work there.

@Tetrakan Год назад

Thanks!

@BockwinkleB 4 года назад

Skywave Tape Deck Repair sells the replacement gears

@Tetrakan 4 года назад

They’re in Chicago right? (I recognise the name because the tech there has shared a lot of good information on forums) not an option for me since I’m in the UK, but good heads up for US viewers, thanks.

@BockwinkleB 4 года назад

@@Tetrakan Illinois, yes. He sells them by mail. I would think he would send them out internationally, but I don't know. skywavebe@sbcglobal.net Don't think he would mind me sharing his e-mail.

@petebayko2957 3 года назад

Thanks for video, i was able to change my gear c successfully, I hope. The 3 buttons stopped flashing and rewind and fast forward work. My new issue that play doesnt work, sometimes it will play for a second or two and stop. Have you encountered this before and do you have any suggestions on what to look for in solving the issue? Thanks again for your videos, very helpful!

@geoffbaltan6971 3 года назад

hey tetrakan - this was an extremely helpful video - thank you for walking through it. i did want to ask a small question, though - now that i've replaced Gear C, i'm noticing a grinding sound when the transport stops and starts, correlated to this mechanism. it operates as expected, but the noise is concerning. have you run into anything like this before?

@Tetrakan 3 года назад

No I haven't encountered that, time to open her up again and check there's no screw missing or loose?

@FG-bw5xr 3 года назад

Thanks so much, your videos are super helpful ! I'm trying to bring one of these back to life. Gear C replaced. Check ! The only thing that puzzles me is that track 2, 5 and 8 won't record or erase properly. It sounds all scratchy and muddy and very low. Playback of a commercial tape is fine though. I had a tech look at it and it says it's getting all the signals that it needs everywhere so it should work fine. Do you think it might be a bad Erase Head ??

@Tetrakan 3 года назад

Yeah sounds like an erase head problem, the head itself or the wires to it or the signal path to those segments of the erase head. Recording is effected on the same channels because old material isn't being erased effectively. I'd need to check the schematic but usually the erase oscillator is the same for all the channels,bsivwe can assume it is working properly,otherwise you would have bad erase on all 8 channels. Start by testing the continuity of the heads ( I have a video on this in the troubleshooting playlist which appears on my RU-vid channel homepage) if the head seems okay move onto tracing the path from the erase head back to the erase bias oscillator.

@BlazeONEANdChill 2 года назад

Thanks for the vids, i just recently purchased a 488mk2 for the cheap.... (CH 8 not recording...i think it has something to do with the sync. Gear C Out, And a new cap belt).. just trying to figure out how to clean the pcb of the motor on top of gear C...I wiped it down with some alcohol but its still looking kind of crusty. Can i scrub it? Also, what type of lube would you use for the gears? Thanks for your time.

@Tetrakan 2 года назад

Hi, have you established there's a fault with the PCB, or are you just suspicious due to its cosmetic appearance? I'd tend to wait and see if a board is actually faulty before using anything abrasive in there. I use silicone grease because it's unctuous enough to stay where I put it but I've heard of lithium grease being used and even seen 3rd island use WD40 in his videos, though I'd be scared of a thin lube like that running and getting on rubber parts. Thanks for watching.

@BlazeONEANdChill 2 года назад

@@Tetrakan I just picked it up a couple of weeks ago. Ordered the parts than finally took it apart yesterday.. The gear i ordered snapped. it was that black one. Now waiting on the replacement again.. Thanks again for your time

@alexanderduerrwilliams143 Год назад

Thank you for this! We followed your guide, replaced the Gear-C and things worked immediately! I just dropped a donation in via your blog. Unfortunately, a few days later the PLAY function stopped working on my 488 Mkii 🤦🏻‍♀The other transport controls seem to work fine, as does the PLAY button itself -- the green light comes on, you hear it trying to work, but then it clicks right off and does not play the tape. I noticed too what I believe to be the smell of ozone. Do you have an idea what I might interrogate next? Thanks again for these resources. These little old tape machines really are great, especially when they are working!!

@Tetrakan Год назад

Is the head array raising? If so, could be the capstan belt slipped off, or snapped, or one of the motor cables got damaged during the gear change so its not turning anymore...the capstan should rotate with the power turned on - does it?

@Tetrakan Год назад

Thanks for the donation btw. If you want to send me a video of the issue thats possible by fb message

@iomproirbais Год назад

Hey Tetrakan! I have this unit, and i was interested in disabling the erase head in order to make it a sound on sound looping machine for my tape loops. Do you have any general advice on that? Is it even possible? If I just disable the erase head wire then will I be ok? Thanks, hello fae glesga

@Tetrakan Год назад

Yeah you can just disconnect the erase head fromt he PCB. Lived in Glasgow for many years....

@fernandezbook Год назад

I replaced gear C and those lights are no longer flashing..however now the play button doesn't work...any idea what the cause of this might be?

@mckaylastacey9786 Год назад

Hey sir! Thanks for your videos. Quick question: I followed these instructions, reassembles and now it seems like my transport isn’t communicating with the tape deck at all. Any ideas of what my problem may be?

@Tetrakan Год назад

I'd open it again and check all the cables have been plugged in properly?

@mckaylastacey9786 Год назад

@@Tetrakan Thank you so much for your response!! Love your channel. I reopened the case and discovered I’d accidentally snapped a couple circuit wires. I bonded them together w some electrical tape and it’s working good as new! Thanks again!!

@analogmemory313 Год назад

Hello there. I stupidly lost all the screws while trying to fix my unit.. would you by any chance have a spare set of screws from a dead unit ?

@Tetrakan Год назад

Maybe, if you're in the UK and have facebook message me there and I'll have a dig around

@seanmcdonald4686 2 года назад

I’m curious, how long does it take YOU (implying a person who is familiar with the inner-workings of a Portastudio) to change a “Gear C?” I’m including the time that it takes you to remove and reinstall the transport (at least I think that section is the tape transport, please correct me if I’m wrong) because it looks like that would take more time than the actual installation of the gear. Thank you very much for your time, I hope these questions make sense. I just bought a 464 and I’m trying to learn everything I can.

@Tetrakan 2 года назад

It'd take me, knowing what I know now, 20 minutes at most. First time I did it though, probably took over an hour, if I rebuilt it right, which is a big if, but then I wouldn't have had the benefit of these videos ...good luck!

@seanmcdonald4686 2 года назад

@@Tetrakan Thanks Tetrakan, these videos are a godsend. I’m trying to get into tape using the Portastudio as a springboard, and I honestly don’t know if I’d feel secure purchasing and maintaining a Portastudio if I didn’t know that these videos exist. This is a real service that you’re providing for us. Thanks again.

@fernandezbook Год назад

I broke the tiny clip that sits on gear b. Anyone know where I can find one of these or a suitable replacement.

@Tetrakan Год назад

I've struggled to find a direct replacement for that. You could try substituting a very small metal e clip, multipack of thise are easy to come by?

@fernandezbook Год назад

@@Tetrakan thanks for the eclip idea. I'm going to try it.

@jonathanwood9314 2 года назад

Hi Tetrakan, I have the exact same symptoms for a broken Gear C; flashing record, stop, pause, nasty grinding sound on power up. I bought a new one on eBay and followed your incredibly helpful video to change it. My existing Gear C wasn't destroyed like yours was but was missing some teeth (the fault occurred after I'd rewound a tape and it came to the end of the tape with a crunch and the heads were left engaged) I did find the new gear C to be very tight on the spindle. I put some silicone onto the spindle and moved it on and off both right and wrong side and it finally moved a bit more easily (but not so I can spin it freely) I assume area this is to engage and disengage the tape heads and so needs to be firm and precise. I re-assembled, but I still have the same flashing lights, and no working tape transport. However, no grinding sound anymore. Any suggestions? Thanks, Jonathan

@Tetrakan 2 года назад

Hi, i had the same thing happen with the unit in the video because after sitting for a year, the grease hardened , so there is probably old gluey grease on one or more of the shafts the various gears sit on. Clean these shafts thoroughly with isopropyl and a scouring pad like you'd use for washing dinner plates, then apply lubricant and reassemble. All those gears should mo e very easily, with light finger pressure.

@jonathanwood9314 2 года назад

@@Tetrakan Thanks - it has been in the roof unused for 4 or 5 years, so that sounds likely, and I'll be much quicker dis-assembling this time!

@jonathanwood9314 2 года назад

@@Tetrakan Also, impressively quick reply - thank you!

@jonathanwood9314 2 года назад

@@Tetrakan Hi again Tetrakan; I've finally had time today to take the 488 apart again and have removed the gear C (and also the gear B(?) - the big one next to it that it connects too. The spindle for Gear C is clean but the Gear C is still noticeably stiffer than (what I'm calling) Gear B. I put gear B on the Gear C spindle, and lo and behold it moves very freely, so my guess is this Gear C hasn't been made to the proper spec - or at least the hole hasn't (the meshing of the gears seems fine). Any clever ideas? (I have contacted the eBay supplier but awaiting a response). I've put a couple of pennies in the poor box by the by!

@Tetrakan 2 года назад

Thank you, received, hmm, I have a set of jewelers files I'd try. Alternatively do you have some high grit sandpaper and a tiny screwdriver so you could wrap the paper round the the screwdriver shaft and try to make the internal hole a little bigger?

@livingroom1999 Год назад

hey so i’m experiencing another problem. i had my tascam professionally worked on a few months ago but when i went to playback this morning the pinch roller engages up but doesn’t spin at all. both heads engage and i don’t think the pinch rollers faulty at all. do you think it’s something as simple as just regreasing the pinch roller?

@Tetrakan Год назад

Sounds like the capstan isn't rotating, so check if the belt or the capstan motor is faulty.

@livingroom1999 Год назад

@@Tetrakan thanks sorry for all the questions. the belt is in good condition - how would i diagnose if the the motor is faulty?

@Tetrakan Год назад

There is a switch in the top right corner of the cassette recess which closes when you place a cassette in the unit. Closing the switch with your finger should cause the capstan motor to turn, which, if the belt is healthy, should cause the capstan pin ( the capstan is a metal pin near he bottom right of the cassette recess which presses up against the pinch roller) to turn. So you can test this with the unit closed. If the capstan doesn’t spin, open the unit up and try again, see if the motor is spinning or whether it is spinning but there is a problem with the belt - slipped off; broken; loose

@livingroom1999 3 года назад

Hi so this tutorial got me past the initial problem but it now only records for about a second but everything else is functioning. Do you have any idea what it could be?

@livingroom1999 3 года назад

Never mind opened it up again to find that the belt completely melted lol

@Tetrakan 3 года назад

Oh dear, well I'm glad you diagnosed the problem at least!

@jonathanwood9314 2 года назад

Hi Tetrakan. Having successfully digitised my original recording tracks (where I had to reduce the pitch control speed to get them into concert pitch), I’m in a position to sell the Portastudio. However, a number of problems have arisen: - 1 / The record arming buttons: tracks 2,3,4,6,7 are fine. I and 8 need a bit fiddling to engage. Track 5 won’t work at all 2/ When I attempt to record, I get an output signal, volume determined by the master slider, on all tracks (except 5). However, I can only successfully record on tracks 1,3 and 6. There is no signal on those other tracks on the input record 3/ I have been able to wipe the previous recordings (except for tr 5) by running the tape through with no input. All the tape control buttons (rewind, play, record etc), plus EQ and pan work ok. I’d like to sell it as a working machine but it looks like it’ll have to go for parts (I’ve seen many individual parts are sold on eBay for reasonable amounts of money, but frankly I’m not in the business of doing it that way). So, any thoughts?

@Tetrakan 2 года назад

Do all 8 tracks play back okay? I ask because the answer tells me if the recording issue lies on the head itself (not fixable) or in the PCBs (fixable, though not necessarily easily)

@jonathanwood9314 2 года назад

@@Tetrakan Hi - I had a bit of a problem with Track 1 on digitising of my old stuff, but that could be tape degradation - when recording yesterday (on a different tape) Track 1 works as expected. So the 3 channels (1,2, and 6) that are recording are doing so reliably (I wrote channel 3 before - - wrongly)

@Tetrakan 2 года назад

I need to know which tracks are PLAYING, not recording? Also was the tape you are playing recorded using that unit?

@jonathanwood9314 2 года назад

@@Tetrakan On previously recorded tapes all recorded tracks play (with a light issue with track 1 as i said). It's the same Tascam as I previously used to record them...

@Tetrakan 2 года назад

Ok so head is okay. If you sell it, be sure to mention that because the record head cannot be fixed, or a new replacement obtained, whereas on your unit the faulty components causing the record issues you describe are likely to fungible so it is still a viable candidate for a full restoration . If you look up completed listings for a fully working unit on eBay, I think it'd be reasonable and realistic to ask half of that "as is".

@Outdoorshuntingshooting Год назад

My gear C turned out to be perfect, it was just the oil had turned rancid. So removed it and used lithium grease all good as new. As an aside I have in antincipation bought a c gear of eBay, sintered laser, really poor quality, so avoid those one gus.

@Tetrakan Год назад

I'm glad you got it working, but sorry to hear the replacement gear C was a dud, noted re sintered laser, thanks!

@jeffseven2194 9 месяцев назад

Gear c is a bitch, I've got 2 Tascam model 122 MK2 and both died at the same time. The problem? Gear C. Getting ready to replace both. Purchased them from Analog Classics LLC