my first tape machine! please help!
my first tape machine! please help!
ok i have a dokorder 7140 sitting here that i am trying to load tape onto for the first time and i am having some difficulties with it. without tape, both wheels spin when i press play and hold the little trigger up. with tape, i can fast forward or rewind, but when i press play, the machine locks up and doesn't move. i thought it might be the pause switch but i've tried it in both positions and got the same result. any idea what might be wrong?!
Last edited by okpanda on Mon Jul 27, 2015 4:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
i have not yet ruled out user error. can somebody take a look at this please and tell me if it looks right?
http://www.telekosmik.com/dokorder.jpg
http://www.telekosmik.com/dokorder.jpg
Last edited by okpanda on Mon Jul 27, 2015 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Gregg Juke
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Noper. You don't have it threaded right.
Watch this (different machine, but should get you straightened-out):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkltao3wOkw
GJ
Watch this (different machine, but should get you straightened-out):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hkltao3wOkw
GJ
Gregg Juke
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com
"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com
"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "
http://www.telekosmik.com/dokorder2.jpg
does this look better? i think it's right but it still won't go.
does this look better? i think it's right but it still won't go.
- Gregg Juke
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This guy's got your machine (I think). Go to about 2:04 and see how he's got it threaded. If yours looks like that, and still doesn't work, you might have a transport problem, which would need a qualified tech to look at. If the machine has been sitting around a long time unused, well, they don't like that. But see if you're threaded right to start with.
GJ
Oh, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkeXBjXf0qI
GJ
Oh, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkeXBjXf0qI
Gregg Juke
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com
"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com
"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "
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I THINK the tape needs to go through the guides on either side of the head block. on the supply (left) you go over the moving guide then to the small guide, then through the roller, through the heads, through the pinch roller, up through the small guide over through outside of the moving guide and onto the take up reel.
Looking again, I'm not totally sure...
Looking again, I'm not totally sure...
ok i feel like the pinch roller should be turning when i press play. right now when i press play the pinch roller engages and presses against the capstan, but it doesn't turn to feed the tape through. it does, however, spin freely when the machine is stopped. does that mean it needs a new belt or something?
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Usually, the capstan is driven, and the pinch roller just holds the tape against it.
I don't know the machine in question, but the the guides that rest in the curved troughs are both critical. There's one on the right of the headblock, another on the left. You have to have the tape wrapped around them so the pins move in the troughs.
Those pins are used by the deck to decide how quickly to spin the reels, or to stop entirely if the tape goes slack.
In your second pic, I'd venture a guess that the tape needs to go over the pin on the left, to pull it partway into the curved track. Your right one looks right, but the left one doesn't.
I don't know the machine in question, but the the guides that rest in the curved troughs are both critical. There's one on the right of the headblock, another on the left. You have to have the tape wrapped around them so the pins move in the troughs.
Those pins are used by the deck to decide how quickly to spin the reels, or to stop entirely if the tape goes slack.
In your second pic, I'd venture a guess that the tape needs to go over the pin on the left, to pull it partway into the curved track. Your right one looks right, but the left one doesn't.
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- I'm Painting Again
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Hey there,
I know what it's like to be totally excited about your first tape machine.... only to find out.... d'oh! it doesn't work.
Been there, done that. Too many times!
In the end, my advice for anyone wanting to own a tape machine: you will absolutely definitely need a tech to look at it when you first buy it, and then whenever anything goes wrong (it will happen... these are how old??).
I don't mean to spoil the party, but it's like buying a car that's 30+ years old and expecting it to work without having seen a service in many years....
If you were in Sydney I could set you up with a genius tech.
All the best with your tape journey
Nick
One Flight Up Recording Studios
I know what it's like to be totally excited about your first tape machine.... only to find out.... d'oh! it doesn't work.
Been there, done that. Too many times!
In the end, my advice for anyone wanting to own a tape machine: you will absolutely definitely need a tech to look at it when you first buy it, and then whenever anything goes wrong (it will happen... these are how old??).
I don't mean to spoil the party, but it's like buying a car that's 30+ years old and expecting it to work without having seen a service in many years....
If you were in Sydney I could set you up with a genius tech.
All the best with your tape journey
Nick
One Flight Up Recording Studios
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