Need more info....Is the motor working, meaning the capstan? Is there a lag in the time that the pinch rollers push the tape into contact with the capstan after you hit "play"? After play begins to work is the speed consistent and steady, or does the speed fluctuate?

DonnyThompson, post: 405693 wrote: Need more info....Is the motor working, meaning the capstan? Is there a lag in the time that the pinch rollers push the tape into contact with the capstan after you hit "play"? After play begins to work is the speed consistent and steady, or does the speed fluctuate?

Yes the capstan rotates, but its not in contact with the pinch roller and tape. Just tried it again today to see if it will play. I pressed play button, but even after five mins. it still wouldn't play. Rewind and Fast Forward work OK. Looking at the Tascam now, with it still being switched on, the VU needle on track three is at twelve o clock. The other VUs are ok. I think its in need of a full service anyway.

Actually, it sounds like two different problems. The VU issue could be a problem with the track card ( the 48's and 58's had cards that you could pull out to service) You may want to try pulling the card out and re-seating it again to make sure that it's not just dirty or dusty in its contact with the main board.

As far as the capstan, if it's turning but the pinch roller isn't engaging, then it might not be your actual play function at all, but more likely the pinch rollers are dirty and aren't engaging right away. I've seen this before in decks that have sat for an extended period of time... and not just with 48's or 58's, either. If the pinch roller guides - the slots that they ride in on the inside of the machine - are dirty or gunked up, then this might explain why they aren't engaging right away, although they usually get a little better after being used a few times and after the machine heats up a bit.

The deck probably does need serviced. Any guess as to how many hours you have on it, or has it been in storage for an extended period of time, and if so, what were the conditions of the storage?

DonnyThompson, post: 405707 wrote: Actually, it sounds like two different problems. The VU issue could be a problem with the track card ( the 48's and 58's had cards that you could pull out to service) You may want to try pulling the card out and re-seating it again to make sure that it's not just dirty or dusty in its contact with the main board.

As far as the capstan, if it's turning but the pinch roller isn't engaging, then it might not be your actual play function at all, but more likely the pinch rollers are dirty and aren't engaging right away. I've seen this before in decks that have sat for an extended period of time... and not just with 48's or 58's, either. If the pinch roller guides - the slots that they ride in on the inside of the machine - are dirty or gunked up, then this might explain why they aren't engaging right away, although they usually get a little better after being used a few times and after the machine heats up a bit.

The deck probably does need serviced. Any guess as to how many hours you have on it, or has it been in storage for an extended period of time, and if so, what were the conditions of the storage?

I would guess about 150 hours on it. Don't know the conditions of storage, as I just got it back from someone who has had it for five years! He originally said he would sort the problem, and I finally tracked him down. But its in a worse state than when I first gave him it. Pretty sure its been in a garage or similar where its always cool or cold. Had it switched on yesterday for about six hours, just to dry it out if it had any moisture inside.

Yeah, there could be any number of a multitude of problems with the deck, Frosty. 150 hours isn't much at all, certainly not outrageous by any means, but if it was stored in a damp or dusty place, or with widely varying degrees of temps, it's probably in need of a serious looking over. Dust and dirt, rubber gaskets drying out and cracking, moisture, etc., not to mention that there's the possibility that those moving parts in the deck haven't, well, moved .... maybe in years, and you've got possibilities for all kinds of issues.

I'd get it to a service center if you want to implement the deck in your recording rig. And, this could be a situation of "fix one problem and two more appear" kind of thing considering the conditions in which it was possibly stored.

fwiw
-d.

Ok thanks.