TASCAM 244 problem

[bloooster]

Hi,

I just bought a Tascam 244 but the recording doesn't work. When i put play, it just make weird noise and nothing is happening.

It's weird because 30 min before it just worked perfectly. I'm a beginner with this kind of machine so maybe i'm doing something wrong but i don't think. If somebody can help me it would be nice.

 

[Kevin Urso]

Take a peek at the idler wheels...they are part of the transport caddy and have probably turned to goo. It's messy to clean but not terribly difficult. Also check your belts, they are very likely in need of replacement.

I found these at Home Depot in the plumbing isle:
Danco B9035 for Price Pfister for Stem 3H-10H/C. These rubber washers fit wonderfully.

I'm expecting the real pros to throw some hate my way for using the wrong part

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Not exactly as I have been using square seals for Idler tires for a while now. The mechanism needs a lot of work not just some idler tires. Too many people tell me when I am to repair a unit that it only needs a belt. Since when did they become an authority on what it needs? If they only need a belt then go and change that and see what that gets you. They will be back if they want it fixed correctly. I have been working on these units since they have come out and not one of the decks I worked on ONLY needed a belt. That is why that statement is ridiculous.

 

[Sebi]

Hi everybody,

I'm having a problem with my 244 as well so I thought I might just post it in here. I haven't found any issue like mine in the www so far and I really hope someone can give me a hint. It's kind of strange...

Today I recorded a track which worked fine. After rewinding I could listen to it and decided to record it again but it didn't work. The first take was being erased as it should have been but there was no new take. Of course I considered some "easy" mistakes like not having set the input properly and so on... But since then I'm not able to record anything!

Here's what's strange: When I set the recorder in record-ready mode (Sync + Trks or 4ch, doesn't matter) the record-ready LED is NOT blinking as usual but instead it's only "glowing" really lightly. When I hit REC+PLAY it turns off but the transport is working fine. When I hit PAUSE instead of REC+PLAY it starts to blink as it actually should have been before. When I then hit play the LED is still blinking and it's not recording either. As I said, transport RW, FF, Play, Pause, Stop... seem to work just fine. I have no clue what's wrong. Monitoring the Input singal etc. also works as usual.

I hope I was able to describe the problem, sorry no native-speaker, and I would really appreciate if someone has any idea. I'm out of conclusions...

Thanks a lot and best wishes from Hamburg!
Sebi

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Could be a dirty record enable switch at upper left of tape compartment or a logic problem.
This kind of problem has not been seen before that I recall. Being these devices are portable they can take a lot of moving around and dropping. The soldering in the unit is not aerospace grade and cracks can happen to the solder joints. A Technician will have to trace the record signal from the logic to where it goes to the record channel of the channels. One will need a scope to see these DC shifting signals.