Portastudio Porta 02 II No playback :(

[Duncan Roe]

Hi all, got this tape based recorder given and I now discover that although it records it wont playback through it's own mechanism.

My trouble shooting process was like this.

1) I recorded my guitar onto a selected track through the specific guitar input. Sound was clear through the headphones as I played.
2) I set the track select to "safe" and tried to playback my recording.Heard nothing at all through headphones.
3) removed the tape from the Porta and placed in an ordinary tape deck. Heard my recording perfectly.

So the machine obviously records but seems unable to playback. I am guessing that there is a problem with aging caps in the playback amp area, but have no evidence to support this. I have other analogue gear so I have obviously cleaned the tape path and heads thoroughly before use.

I have opened the machine up, remarkably easy, and checked for damaged capacitors (visually). Nothing to say about that!

Unfortunately I cant seem to find a schematic for this mini beast which makes further inquiry difficult. So has anyone else had this issue with this, or similar equipment? Does anyone have a schematic?

All help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Michael Doncaster]

Hi,

You don't say whether or not you have a manual. You can download one from here; http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/320/Porta_02_manual.pdf

This is from the trouble shooting section of the manual;

Make sure that;

• The OUTPUT LEVEL controls are set to monitor the tape tracks (not at 0).
• Set the REC FUNCTION switches to SAFE and look at the meters.
• Try monitoring through headphones and adjust the PHONES LEVEL.
• If you can hear something through the headphones, check the LINE OUT connections.
• Make sure the amplifier is set to the correct input source.

Hope this helps.

 

[MrBallzSack]

lol wow Michael Doncaster what a douche bag

 

[-mjk-]

@MrBallzSack Someone is about to get banned. I highly recommend you edit that post. Your username can use a touching up too. This is a serious technical forum, not a Yahoo chat room.

 

[-mjk-]

Somehow, "I told you so" just doesn't cover it Mr. BS.

The staff of the Tascam Forums would like to apologize to you @Michael Doncaster. We recognize that your appropriate response was both helpful and polite. The offending user has been permanently banned. Thank you.

 

[Michael Doncaster]

Thanks.

I was surprised after so long to receive a reply, considering I replied to the OP in September 2014.

Thanks again.

 

[-mjk-]

That guy was just looking for trouble @Michael Doncaster and we won't tolerate that. It's too bad the OP didn't come back and thank you for your helpful reply, but we thank you.