Tascam ATR 16

[Joe Green]

My tascam ATR 16 was working fine then the next day it would not record and we haven’t been able to figure out the reason and we have no technicians on Oahu where we live anyone out there know a technician in our neighborhood we’re in love with this machine I really would like to get it working again
Aloha joe

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Hi Joe,
There are things you need to detect if the machine is working or not. Most the time when a deck goes from working one day to not the next on all channels it s the dirt that has piled up on the heads and people never think of cleaning them. Use denatured alcohol or Acetone if the residue is nasty and get those heads totally clean and that means the Erase, Record and Play heads as well as all the guides. I had a Pioneer RT909 come in with no audio- the head had a caked dirt on them which indicates as well as his pinch roller that he never cleans his machine.
Cleaning of tape paths is required work it is not optional.
Next you determine if the deck will erase a tape. If it does then the bias oscillator is working. If not then there are repairs needed.
Since you have no one on the Island then you will need to learn to service this yourself. This is the requirement when you take a deck like this onto a remote location and it is try for anyone not only you.

Much can be known by the tape you are using- Is it that old Ampex 456 or a new fresh roll of RTM SM911 or ATR Master? Some old Ampex tapes were sticky and defective and a new fresh roll of ATR Master is the solution to the problem.
https://www.atrtape.com/