TASCAM Porta Two Ministudio repair

[glowingscalp]

Hello,

I've recently purchased a Porta Two Ministudio in need of repair. I have a new set of belts I'm planning to put into it, along with computer duster, WD-40 circuit cleaner, and lithium grease for general maintanence. The fast forward and reverse belts seem to work, but the play function does not. The play head was stuck up when I received it, with no response from any of the controls. The unit powered up upon receiving it, albeit with a strange motor rumble coming from the cassette mechanism (which I hope is due to worn belts and the stuck play head).

I have partially disassembled the unit and removed the cassette mechanism. I was able to spin the capstan wheel and spin the play head back down, so I'm assuming that it being stuck was probably a combination of a worn belt and poor lubrication, though correct me if I am wrong. Otherwise, my main concern now is that the headphone output produces extroardinarily loud static constantly when plugged in, even when the volume fader on the unit is completely down.

So, in short:
1. Is the headphone jack white noise issue related to a dirty jack or is it something more serious?
2. Now that I've manually lowered the playback head, will I run into an issues after replacing the belt and lubricating the mechanism?
3. Is the motor rumble (likely) related to the stuck head and/or the stretched belts in the unit?
4. Are replacement screws for the bottom of the body available at hardware stores? A few of the screws are somewhat stripped and I would like to be able to easily access and maintain the internals of the unit in the future.

Thanks, Charlie

 

[SkywaveTDR]

Hi Charlie, I doubt the hardware store will have what you need- I get screws that are compatible on E bay from China. The headphone noise would likely be a blown chip- they might be noisy but they do not produce that kind of noise. Rumble sound may be a badly oiled bearing. This oil I have been using reduces wow and flutter well but it is not regular oil it is synthetic engine oil called AMSoil 0W30 the signature series. There can be a lot of stuff that needs oiling as it has been a long time since these were made- I worked on then at Teac in the 80's or maybe at the shop after that in the 90's. The belt might fix the play problem but the grease used on these has hardened up and I usually clean it off parts with denatured alcohol and a old tooth brush. Then I use a grease called Lubriplate 105 which is not Lithium but even lighter. Screw wise remember most thing in these decks is all metric so a hardware store would have to have metric screws. Belt kits from E bay are notorious the wrong size as well as some other places. I get reports all the time from DIY people that do not know better- I get belts from Consolidated Electronics but they sell them by size and type not model number so you have to find out the size.