The meter doesn't work on my Otari!

[Judas Jetski]

Hi.

I recently aquired an Otari MX-50. It's well-used, and the tape counter doesn't work. In fact, it sticks nicely, making a horrid squealing noise whenever tape runs over it.

I pulled the hub assembly for the counter apart, re-packed the bearings, lubed everything lightly (Valvoline Dura-blend!) and reassembled it. The hub now turns, but not well enough. With my help it turns slowly while the tape is running, enough that I know the meter still works. It just doesn't work right.

It turns out that the pinion shaft on which the counter hub sits is bent downward about 5 degrees.

It seems like I could take a hammer and soft punch (maybe brass?), and gently tap the pinion shaft up a few degrees to see if that solves the problem. After all, something came along and tapped the thing down in the first place, and the deck isn't dead yet.

But then the voice of reason chimes in, saying "it's a tape deck. Tape decks don't like hammers. "

Whattaya think? Is it worth a try? Or will I kill something? Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing?

[Judas Jetski]

Actually, I think this probably belongs in the DIY gear section. Oops.

[Judas Jetski]

Ahh, that's better.

OK, here's another idea: why don't I take a piece of copper pipe from the hardware store, slip it inside a longer steel pipe (as a non-metallic sleeve--so that I don't damage the steel spindle), have someone heavy hold the deck down, slide the two pipes over the spindle, and just bend the thing up?

Am I dreaming here? That idea came to me last night, just as I was drifting off to sleep.

[TapeOpLarry]

Drop Otari a line and see if they have any parts for that. Sounds like maybe someone did a boo-boo with a cold start and snapped the piece back- can happen. If Otari can't help you a shop that does precision machine work can bend or remake the part. Not sure about your pipe trick...

[Judas Jetski]

OK, it worked.

So here's my caveat: Don't try this at home (unless you've got the same mix of bravery and stupidity that I have to live with). Seriously. 'Cause it would have been really easy for me to have wrecked the thing. Desperation drove me to act in the cheapest means possible! So I'm not recommending this. It's just what worked for me. Another guy (or gal) might have more success just tracking down the right part.

HOWEVER

Here's what I did, and it worked:

1. Called my local repair shop to see if my idea was inspired, or merely stupid. The repair guy seemed to think it was reasonable enough to at least try. Thanks, Sound Source!

2. Made sure that the spindle misalignment was actually the problem. It was. I could see where the counter roller had dug a little pathway into the plastic cover for the deck.

3. Disassembled the roller assembly. The assembly is held in place with an aluminum cap secured by philips-head screw. It contains 2 cylendrical bearings, a spring (watch out for explosive disassembly!), a C-clip and a copper sleeve to protect the spindle.

4. ensured that the spindle was not hooked to anything that looked fragile

5. ensured that the spindle served no other purpose save support for the counter roller. (This means that alignment is not 100% crucial. On the MX-50, the counter roller does nothing but roll, powered only by tape friction against the rubber surface on the roller.)

6. wrapped the spindle in tape (to protect it from being scratched)

7. slid some nice, soft 3/8" copper tubing over the pinion (to protect the spindle from getting dented).

8. slid a 3" long cast iron 1/2" pipe (from plumbing section at Home Depot) over the copper tubing (to protect the pinion and tubing from getting kinked, which would have been the end of my fun in a big fat hurry).

9. slid an 18" long cast iron pipe (3/4" diameter) over that piece of pipe. Ensured that it fit tightly enough to avoid kinking the entire assembly.

10. gently, oh, so gently, I lifted the pipe. The thing bent back into shape very easily. Surprisingly easily. I was fortunate that I didn't go too far in the other direction.

11. reassembled the roller mechanism and replaced the cap.

12. tested the mechanism. Works fine!

13. celebrated my success by listening to moldy 80's music and watching the nice little numbers do what they are supposed to do. The remote works, too. Whee!

The grand total was about $15.00 for the repair, and that's just because I had to buy 10 feet of copper tubing. If I could have bought, say, 2" for say, 79 cents, I would have had less than eight bucks in the whole fix.

A little ghetto? Maybe. But that's just me...