The good: The heads are indeed perfect, all the vu meters lit up, the motors whirred up to speed when I lifted the tension rollers. The pinchroller cleaned up with qtips and is again tacky.
The bad: Mr. Seller is/was a copious smoker! Yellow tar smoke corrosion on connectors. It's coming off with alcohol, qtips and LOTS of scrubbing.
..got a blank take up reel on order.
PS-Gunshyboy. Thanks. The manual (which I now have in it's entirety) is really detailed!
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Tascam 388 DIY REPAIR MAINTENANCE
According to Jimmy in Analog Support at the Montebello Tascam Repair Service Center,
the most common reasons for 388 issues are:
blown fuses,
capstan belts and
motor failure
CAPSTAN BELT REPLACEMENT
While we're at it, another issue I had with mine was that the tape counter wheel wouldn't spin, so the readout wasn't working. Two things fixed this.shedshrine wrote:
Lay the deck face down and take off the back.
Take out a screw on one leg of the large wheel bracket, and loosen its other one, then slide the new belt under the free leg and put the belt around both wheels like this.
One was to scrub the rubber that contacts the tape with a damp qtip until it was nice and grabby.
(the black screw top cover on the left in this picture threads into the shaft the wheel rotates on and should come off easily with a good twist)
The second was to coat a little light machine oil on the shaft to allow the wheel to spin freely.
One of the things I read about that can also cause poor readout accuracy is if these little sensors get dusty.
They optically read the little stripes turning on the bottom of the wheel. Pretty cool.
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Fuse replacement
Well summed up by this uTube quote:
"I hope you didnt take it to a repair shop yet. Mine was having the same issue.
Pop the top panel off , youll see a set of 5 fuses. One or more of them are bad.
I just replaced all five of mine cause they were like a total of 6 bucks anyways.
Some are 3A 250V slowblow fuses, one is a 4A 250V slowblow. So be sure to buy the correct ones. Its all clearly marked inside.
Any electronics store will have them . Good luck. -john "
Link to video of 388 transport problem due to bad fuse
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If the above don't clear up your transport issues, you might try:
Reel Servo Tension Roller Adjustment (courtesy of ?Erockrazor?-homerecording)
The following process CAN help/cure playback, fast forward, and rewind issues on your Tascam 388. A simple adjustment to the Reel Servo trim pots can adjust how your tape machine does these functions.
Step 1: First, power on your 388. Take off top cover of 388, behind the VU meters and above the in's and out's. Do it gently as to not harm your pride and joy.
Step 2: After cover removal, find the section of 7 trim pots (see photos below). They are above the tape window in a vertical orientation.
Step 3: Press play on your tape recorder.
Step 4: While tape is in motion, find the trim pots R 112 and R 212. These are the adjusters for the Tension Rollers.
A Reel Person's suggested Tension Roller orientation.
Quote:
"The centers of the tension rollers should be even with an imaginary line that's drawn and extends from the BOTTOM EDGE of the capstan and idler rollers."
For me, my tension rollers worked best a little lower than A Reel Person's suggestion.
Step 5: Watch the adjustments made to your rollers. Try playback fast forward and rewind. Work until you find an adjustment where everything is working well.
Step 6: Feel great about yourself because; no, it's not a dead motor, no, it's not the end of your 388, and yes, you just fixed your most prized recording possession.
The beauty of this DIY fix up, is that you can't really screw up your 388 in the process if you just stick to the aforementioned process. It's all mechanical and you can fiddle until it works up to your standard. Another positive thing, is that none of this altered my play/record speed and that's the most important thing on this board!
Now go record something!!!!!!
(Further clarification below from ?technoplayer ?-homerecording
Erock....Thanks for chiming in.
Here are a few snapshots from the manual which may help locate the necessary trim pots.
R112 adjusts the left hand tension arm.
R212 adjusts the right hand tension arm.
Before you adjust ANYTHING>>>>>> if you can
1) use a PLASTIC flat blade scewdriver or cover a metal one with tape. This will minimize you chances of shorting something out if your hand slips. Remember you are working on equipment with power applied!!!
2) Note the position of each pot BEFORE you make any adjustment.
3) adjust SLOWLY and in small increments. No need to crank the adjustment like you are screwing it in. A very small turn ought to do it.
*
*Sweetbeats said:
What I want fellow 388 owners to know is that there is a typo in the manual in the tape tension settings regarding the REW/FFWD tensions...the manual on page 1-9 in section 1-3-7 sub-sections A & B states that trimmer R105 on the reel servo PCB is used to adjust the tape tension in FFWD, and that R206 is used in REW. THAT IS BACKWARDS. R105 is used for REW mode, and R206 is used for FFWD.
photos courtesy "technoplayer"
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