Tascam 388 transport problem

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:20 am

I'm having a issue with the transport on my 388. When I first turn it on it works great, but after it's on for a while it starts acting up. If i adjuste the left and right tension rollers I can get say play to work but then rrw doesn't work or ffw. But if I shut it down for a while and I guess let it cool down it will all work again as it should. I would really love to get the machine in working order. Any help would be appreciated.

The capstan belt is new so I have ruled that out as a problem. And the searching that I've done led me to the tension rollers but that doesn't seem to be doing the trick.

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:19 pm

I have usually been able to resolve this with the adjustments you discuss. You don't mention whether you adjusted the ff or rw also, or just the left and right tension? There is a big thread with all this neat stuff in it, use the search function to find it.

Any time the above has failed me it has been due to bad tape. I would put a new reel on there (of appropriate thickness!) and see where that gets you.

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 8:29 pm

I'm using brand new rmg lpr35 tape that I had seen people using for the 388, And it was also happening with the ampex tape it came with. I just tested it with the ampex tape when I got it cause I had to put a capstan belt in it. I didn't use the ampex tape otherwise cause I was nervous it would sticky shed.. After using the ampex I gave it a good cleaning with alcohol and cotton swabs.(metal parts only)

I only adjusted the tension rollers up and down at the 112 and 212 pots. Haven't tried any other adjustments. I seen in the manual that there was adjustments for tensions but it looked like you need a tool to see what the tension is. I don't have any tools that do that. Wonder if I could get some or use another method.

I did a search putting in 388 and read up to the pages in the teens but haven't seen anything in regards to adjusting ff and rwd yet. I'm going to keep searching and try to put that in specifically. I have found a lot of great info so far on the 388 here but nothing yet that has corrected the problem. Hopefully I can make it to radio shack tomorrow and get new fuses for it. I'm not thinking thats what's causing it cause it works fine when I first turn it on for a while but I figure the fuses must be old and might as well change them before one goes during a session when I get the thing up and running fully..

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:03 am

Klamnops wrote:
I only adjusted the tension rollers up and down at the 112 and 212 pots. Haven't tried any other adjustments. I seen in the manual that there was adjustments for tensions but it looked like you need a tool to see what the tension is. I don't have any tools that do that. Wonder if I could get some or use another method.

There are FF and RWD adjustment pots in that same area, use the service manual as your guide to which is which.

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 1:02 am

Hey man thanks for the replys....I see those adjustment for ffw and rwd in the manual but it says you need a tentelometer to measure the tensions to make the adjustments so I don't wanna just spin the pots around with my fingers crossed. Those tentelometers are more expensive than just buying another unit so it doesnt look like im going to buy one. The up and down tension roller adjustment is by site and I measured it as well with a small ruler so I felt comfortable adjusting those pots.
What's weired is that when I first turn it on it works just fine. Last night I got almost an hour of use out of it and then it started to act up and eventually It wouldn't work. After shutting it off for a while it worked fine again but then acted up again like before.
Is there something that could be heating up and causing this.
Maby I'll try to rig up a fan to see if it makes a difference keeping it cool but I would still like to fix it right. I was going to bring it to a tech to get a "tune up" but cash is tight so I just wanna get it working till I can bring it in to get it all cleaned up and aligned.

kslight · Post by **kslight** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:58 am

While you have the hood open on your 388, you might take a peak at the condition of the power supply capacitors...are they leaking? I can't promise that this has anything to do with the problem you are experiencing, but it sounds like if the problem develops as its running that you've got bad caps (which is not unreasonable considering the age of the 388!).

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:37 am

Ill check those out. I have the top off where the pot adjustments are so I will take a look at the caps and give it a look over to see if anything looks bad / leaking.. I want to do the caps in my amp so maby ill change them in both the 388 and amp. I have some old equipment that needs attention so I should probably buy a book and start learning about changing out all these parts that age and should be replaced at this point in its lives.

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 6:38 am

Ill check those out. I have the top off where the pot adjustments are so I will take a look at the caps and give it a look over to see if anything looks bad / leaking.. I want to do the caps in my amp so maby ill change them in both the 388 and amp. I have some old equipment that needs attention so I should probably buy a book and start learning about changing out all these parts that age and should be replaced at this point in its lives.

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:14 pm

So I changed out the fuses tonight but still have the problems after about an hour.
I took a video on my phone. I'm going to look how to post and hopefully have it up soon so you can have a visual of the problem I'm having.
I pulled the power supply card out and the caps look good from what I can tell. Not that I know exactly what I'm looking for buying don't see anything leaking out of them.

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 10:34 pm

here is link to a video on youtube. This is it at its worse. This is when its been on for over hour and a half. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Hw8DaO0kM

MakeWar · Post by **MakeWar** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:20 am

You could try to clean the brakes, they are located under the heads.

I'm having problems with my transport too. Mine does RW and FF (sometimes), but it doesn't play or record. The Capstan Belt doesn't look too bad, but I'm gonna change it anyway (when I find a replacement). I changed the fuses just in case, but that was not the problem. I cleaned the brakes and it got slightly better, but they were full of dirt, so I guess that is a good thing to do!

Well, good luck with your 388!! Keep me informed, we'll get this thing working just fine soon!! xDD

MakeWar · Post by **MakeWar** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:35 pm

I found a belt and it was not my problem. Mine RWs and FFs (sometimes) but doesn't play. Each time a transport function stops you have to switch it off and on to try again, because if you don't the machine just doesn't respond. It also gets tired sometimes and shuts itself down and there's no way of switching it on again for half an hour or so. It seems strange and I can't figure out the problem.

j.harv · Post by **j.harv** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:56 pm

Klamnops wrote:Not that I know exactly what I'm looking for buying don't see anything leaking out of them.

Another thing to look for with caps,are swollen,puffed up tops.
If the top is a little domed,almost like the cap is being filled with air,its gone bad.Change it if so.

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:40 am

Jharv.. I took another look at the caps and there not swollen and the tops are flat. Would prob change them anyway once I figure out what's going on now.

Make war.. Sorry to see your having problems as well..hopefully we can both figure out what's going wrong and get our 388's back to tip top shape. Does yours act up right when you turn it on or does it take a while for it to act up? How did you clean the breaks?

Klamnops · Post by **Klamnops** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:45 pm

so i opened up the front cover to the transport area and aside from a little dust it very clean in there. The break felt is clean and dirt free. All the springs are in place and nothing looks to be out of place. I went to radio shack to see if they had a spring scale but they said they didn't have any. Hopefully i can find one in some other store. I'm going to check the tensions that the manual says to check with the spring scale while I'm in there. I don't think any of these adjustments have anything to do with the problem but i guess it does'nt hurt to check.

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Tascam 388 transport problem

Tascam 388 transport problem

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