Tascam 488 (and others) capstan motor replacement part #

[bgencarelle]

I bought a 488 to fix up and the motor is completely dead. No problem, I thought, I will just order a replacement.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to source any at all, or they are like $40 for a dodgy pull. I have checked all of the sources that other people have referenced and come up dry.

Has anyone come across a good replacement motor?

The original part # is
Eg-530kd-2b

And the specs are:

12V, CCW, 1600/3200

Thanks kindly!!

 

[SkywaveTDR]

I have had to repair these and there are motors that can be used as a sub but there needs to be some mods to use that as the original is not easy to find. The 2B means it is a 12V motor but the specs for the 9B also allow up to 11.7Vdc so I put a diode in series with the Positive and then that drops the 12V to 11.3 roughly. Then comes the mods for the right center speed position. Since I did them a while back they did stay out there but I don't recall the mod I did. Maybe I change the pot for a larger one for more range. It may have been a EG530YD-2B or 9B motor. I have also had to replace motors in the 424 and other units.
The other thing you can do is buy a CW motor (https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-MOTOR-...349984?hash=item41bf1eefe0:g:0bcAAOSwax5Ytsm0) that is in less demand and mount the rotor opposite as it comes. That will cause it to go the CCW direction and otherwise has the same specs. It is the
EG-530KD-2F.
I think I have done some of these.
Another Technician who is good a tape deck repair told me to transplant a new motor rotor into the same servo you have now. That assumes the servo is not broken as the part that wears out is the brushes and Commutator. This means doing some motor surgery but in hard times that is what good Technicians do.

 

[bgencarelle]

Ok! I have done the transplant. I used a MABUCHI-EG-530AD, realizing that I didn't care if the center speed was perfectly calibrated as I never use tapes in more than one machine at a time.

I did adjust the speed pot on the PCB until an old tape SOUNDED in tune with how I remembered it sounding at center and I might do a reference test using my 688 to calibrate it a bit more accurately, but for now I am happy enough with it.

These tape decks aren't used for high figh, after all. I use them to dirty up the signal and limit my workflow.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

I suppose that motor is an option if only one speed is OK. They are used in a lot of regular cassette decks. It might even be better to transplant the motor part into the case of the old defective motor and use the old servo board. This could restore the deck back to 100% as the rotor and commutator and blushes are those that usually are the failure point. I got the idea from another Technician in TN.

 

[bgencarelle]

No, the speed is variable and has the same pinout as the original motor and I was able to adjust the speed using the appropriate pots on the PCB. It just runs stock 1.25x faster than the original and costs MUCH less. Very easy to adjust.

Now the problem I am having is that switching the DBX switch turns rehearsal on and the record does not work. I think the mux is bad and/or one of the matrix diodes is a dud.

This thing looks like it had glue or something spilled on it. A real mess. I am really enjoying fixing it up because I only paid 50€ for it plus 14€ for parts and it was just going to be an effects machine to go with my 644 and 688.

 

[Merluche]

Hi,
After many research to find the ref EG-530KD-2B i understood it became impossible...
So, to fix my 688, i used the motor of my Fostex 280 that died after a while. So i used the motor of my 464 to put in my 688...
I finally sold my 688 but now i have my Fostex and 464 without motors inside.
I recently bought a Porta 07 very cheap thinking the motor was the same but unfortunately it's a 530KD-2F so it's CW and he is in very poor condition (rust...).
I bought a MABUCHI-EG-530AD on ebay and today i put it in my 464.
I just sold the red and black wire since there is nothing written as A-B but only + and - but this motor has 4 plugs for wires.
Looks working, at least my cassette is running but the record are read slowly.

My question is :
Can i and how should i plug the yellow and blue wire of my 464 on this motor ?
What would be the result ?
Can i hope to use the pitch button on the unit if i plug this wire or this motor will never do other things than going at 2400rpm ?
If yes, i will try to pass my 530KD-2F in CCW but i dont know how to do ? If you have a link that explain ?
And, finally, if you have an adress (who knows) to buy the original motor, fell free to tell !

Thanks a lot, mostly for telling me if with this motor i can hope to make work the pitch button ?
I will still have to find the pot on the PCB to adjust the speed but should be ok ;-)

Merluche

 

[SkywaveTDR]

You need to stop buying just anything to fix the unit. The motor you bought is for a regular cassette deck and not made for the speed this one is rated at. If you are going to fix the machine like a Technician does then you have to do the same sensible things we do. I put a motor in a 488 just last week that had the WRONG one in it from a shop in Chicago and it only would go up to 2358Hz with the AD motor. This shop in north Chicago has made many mistakes I have found and in my opinion are idiots. E bay has new EG530YD-2B motors that will work. They are 3000 rpm motors. The 2B means 12 Vdc supply, If a motor goes the wrong way it is possible to open the case and reverse the rotor section on the PCB and it will go the right way- I have done this many times already.
Never put a Fostex OLD part in a unit to fix it. They were low grade products to start with. You might be better off just sending it to a shop as they have all the equipment and know-how to do this job while you are experimenting and do not have the right equipment. I have had to fix many a unit after users messed them up in my 45 years of service.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Often times dirty tact switches will give a different function than what is selected as they send out a dirty noisy signal that the processor mis-interprets. I have seen it many times. Get the board out and replace bad tact switches that can be had from DigiKey or Mouser Electronics. I stock a hundred of them usually and I just put them in when required. I don't thing that diodes are at fault here.

 

[Merluche]

Ok, thanks SkywaveTDR for the reply.

Indeed, i'm bored to try to fix it buying old unit to steal their motors !
On your advices i will get a EG530YD-2B on ebay. I saw they are 2000/4000rpm so i will try to turn around with it even it's not exactly as the original one.

When you say "never use old Fostex's parts", i dont really get why since it's exactly the same motor in it ? Anyway this Fostex motor is on my 688 now and works well...

Thanks again, i will keep you in touch when i will get this EG530YD-2B !

 

[SkywaveTDR]

People think old parts from a old unit are just as good as new but they could not be more wrong. First the part is old but more likely it has a lot of hours on it. There is no reason an old part will work well and for a long time as a significant amount of it's life got used up already.
I just got a shipment in of motors today. Usually coming from China there is a likelihood that some will not work. I ordered 100 motors from Kysan and 15 of the motors would not even turn but that a good number could be fixed as the workmanship as usual is lacking in China- use low quality labor and get a low quality part. But we have little choice these days. There are some motors made in Germany and I would think they would be much better but I have not tried them yet. I think all but 3 motors were repaired taking technicians time.
So the Fostex motor is not the same motor, it is a worn motor- put new in for best results.

There have been some cases where motors are not available. In that case one 488 out there has a 9B motor in it. But if you study the spec sheet max voltage of that motor is 11.7Vdc so adding a diode in line with the supply allowed it to work. Of course some mod was made to the pitch control as these are not exact replacement parts but they can be made to work.

Another example was the Sony motor run cap on a unit sent to me. The original cap burst and was leaking and the motor slowed down. These characters in Texas bought another old Sony cap and put it in the deck- they got the same exact result- it does not work well. I put a ceiling fan film cap in and the deck ran as good as one of those can work. There are a good number of people out there that have no clue- I am trying to help you to have a clue.

 

[Merluche]

"I am trying to help you to have a clue."
And i thank you for this !
I will definitly try to order a EG530YD-2B for my 464.
I will have to adjust the pitch since the rpm ratio is not exactly the same as the original motor.
Best.

 

[bgencarelle]

Again, there is no need to swap out rotors. MABUCHI-EG-530AD works a treat, just needs calibration.

 

[SkywaveTDR]

If using the AD motor the only way they work for the deck is in the low speed mode. They are not designed to go to the 3200 RPM and so will have trouble getting that high. At low speed it will work if your deck has two speeds. I don't fool around with the wrong parts and I use MTT111 tapes or MXT111 tapes to adjust the machines. If you use the right motor as I have suggested then the deck can work like normal. In cases where the right motor can not be found then the 9B not the 2B which is 12 V while the 9B is 9 V can be used with deck modification. I have done it a couple of times.

 

[bgencarelle]

Have you actually tried this? I have. It works fine. The motor I recommended is just a bit faster but can work properly. Check the datasheet.

 

[bgencarelle]

I was wrong about this. It was indeed the EG-530YD-2B

 

[SkywaveTDR]

It would have to be as the AD was a 2 terminal device and had no pitch capability to it. The YD and KD were kind of the same to some degree. Best to stock an extra one or two as these Chinese motors will not last like the Japan ones and when you go to look again they may all be gone. This is the case I see with parts all the time. Some $5.00 motor can go up to $35 when they become rare.