Replacing a REEL TO REEL belt

boston1450
boston1450 Posts: 7,640
edited February 2014 in Electronics
Well i was playing my R2R last night & all of a sudden it stopped playing. This morning i tore apart the front plate to find peices of belt broke :( so im going to put it in for service asap. I havent shopped around for belts yet & hope it isnt a issue ? Its a Teac A4010s. Im going to call tech tomorrow & just have it completely serviced as it is probably due. Should i have all the lights replaced will he is in there ? Just to be on safe side i may have him do it,even though they all work well now. Any thoughts TIA
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Edit: i see the belts on Ebay so finding one shouldnt be a issue
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Post edited by boston1450 on
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  • ken brydson
    ken brydson Posts: 8,762
    edited February 2014
    PM Ken Swauger. Right in his wheelhouse...
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Thanks Ken.
    Edit: sent Ken PM
    ..
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited February 2014
    Hello,
    The Teac 4010 was the first open reel machine I ever owned and should be fairly easy to repair. Here is a link to a site that sells the replacement belt and, what looks like, a well written service guide.

    www.daeinconline.com/parts.html

    I'd give this a try first, be happy to help if you run into problems.
    Cheers, Ken
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Thanks Ken i will look it over & maybe attempt it myself. The player was in for a cleaning awhile ago says original owner. I aired it out & deoxited the controls while i was in there today. Thanks Again.. Randy
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Ordered the new belt & service manual should be here by the end of week.. Thanks again Ken
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited February 2014
    Good luck! I think you've got an excellent support network here.
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    ^^^^ thanks i reely :) enjoy this unit. I have only around 20 reels that are recorded on & hope to record in the future with some blanks i have. The belt was only 10 bucks,so that didnt break me. When i opened it up-i was surprised how well they are built. I will get some inside pics when i get the belt.
    ..
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Well i got the belt yesterday YEAH & i couldnt wait for manual (on its way) looked online & it walked a dummy like me right through the process. Very tight quarters.....took front apart--took back apart-- had to remove brace & put belt through & get it on & then put it back together.... Took me 1/2 hour,as i air/vacuum the inside. Got'er done & hooked it back up & was listening to Ellla Fitzgerald in not time flat. Very nicely built unit. Should go a few more years i hope.
    ..
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited February 2014
    Way-to-go! Nicely done!
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,448
    edited February 2014
    I agree with Ken those things look very complicated and tight quarters for sure. What would we do with youtube and the internet in general.

    Good work and enjoy that sucker
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Thanks ..it was operating great. Till the night before it broke. Then it sounded weird the night before the belt broke & the next day i hit play & it did nothing. I look forward to learning how to record with it. Im hoping between the manual & online i can figure it out. Looked on Ebay & prices for R2R tapes are CRAZY. Im wondering if i get a turntable & source it in & record that would be vnice
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited February 2014
    Recording with that deck is no harder than recording with a cassette deck.
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    ^^^^ never did that-sorry to say... Ive owned many too. I bought cassettes back in the 70's & still have them today (unless they broke) & i still enjoy them too. But im eager to learn & im gonna ask questions soon :) HEADS UP .... Being online only for 4 years now im having fun learning (better late than never)
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited February 2014
    I'll bet we can find a youtube video :-)
    Let's look!

    here's a couple, offered strictly as-is and FWIW (i.e., if they start talking about tape technology being brought to Area 51 by aliens in the late 1940s... I am not liable!)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BFWvku7jxs
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8EgkKA-aCo

    EDIT:

    The manual for your deck has terse but reasonable instructions for various flavors of recording (mic, line inouts, re-recording sound on sound on one of tthe two tracks, etc.). If you don't have a copy, you can get one at http://www.hifiengine.com/library/teac/a-4010s.shtml (they have the service docs, too).
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    ^^^^ thanks. I should have the Manual by Monday ? Till then ill venture on Utube as i have been & get my read on :) My tech told me the same thing about being just like cassette but better. I stopped in & saw him today & he had a few R2R's projects going on right now. I also bought a few tapes he had for 5 bucks each :)
    ..
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Mhardy there is a ton of info on the bottom vvvv of this page that has giving me lots of great info. Lots of you use these still. AWESOME
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited February 2014
    Y'know - I am not a TEAC collector, although I do have the four track TASCAM.

    I did have a cosmetically beautiful - but nonfunctional - fairly early TEAC A-1500US for some time - but I couldn't psych myself up to tackling repairing it so I gave it to a hifi buddy.

    12368888103_0e4cda1532_b.jpgTEACA-1500U by mhardy6647, on Flickr

    12369177294_7beca68da9_b.jpg
    TEACA-1500Udustcoverthreequarter by mhardy6647, on Flickr

    This TEAC line, I think, was the first with solenoid transport controls - prior to these models (I think!) TEAC decks were sold in the US under the "American Concertone" brand (interestingly enough).

    ... none of which is what prompted this post! ;-)

    I do have, still, one consumer-grade TEAC deck - I was thinking it might be the same model you have... I looked. Close, but no cigar. The one here is an A2300S... older, I think, than yours, but not as old as the A-1500U (which was from the late 60s or very early 1970s).

    I'll take and post a photo of it anon. It was given to me by a friend/neighbor in MA - I've never even plugged it in...
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Sweet cover ^^^^ i must say. I will be playing away today with it & its in line for complete service. Tech said it should be lubed,so ill take his advice. My friend Ken has some reels from 1950's when he was a kid & he's going to stop by & hopefully he can hear them. I know he will enjoy that & i hope to make his day (his family recorded them) :smile:
    ..
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited February 2014
    yeah - it never dawned on me that (perhaps) the dust cover might have fit other TEACs :-P If it did, I shoulda/woulda/coulda kept it... it was the best part of that deck.

    I do have a similar dust cover for my one-and-only Tandberg, but it's not in as good shape as that TEAC's was.

    12386617524_4f9a67d0ab_b.jpg
    DSC_7322_ by mhardy6647, on Flickr

    (of course the one photo of the deck I have handy doesn't show the dust cover!)
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Does that lever between the reels operate the FF & RVS or is it by the one by the counter ? Looks clean :)
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited February 2014
    speed selector - the single-motor Sonys of the 1960s into 1970s were similarly configured.

    Tape motion on this (and many Tandbergs) is controlled by the four-way joystick on the right-hand side beneath the tape transport.

    The deck is in pretty good shape and - like most Tandbergs, in my experience - it sort of works.
    Whether it is worth restoring is something I haven't yet explored... but Tandberg made some wonderful tape equipment, and the price for this one was right!
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Im thinking you might have more than 1 . Which do you tend to use mostly ? Do you still use them ? I got the manual today i ordered. Its a original Teac manual. What i did find inside surprised me :) On first page someone had taped the original receipt on it :) back in the day'' they didnt give these away i take it. 238.00 in the 70's was a chunk of change. Ive been browsing through it some'' interesting :smile:
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  • Hofy
    Hofy Posts: 169
    edited February 2014
    Randy, that is a nice looking deck you have. Take care of her and she will give you many years of enjoyment. I see you thought about replacing the lights. When the time comes to do that, replace them all and go with LEDs. You will never have to do it again, at least because of a burned out bulb/LED.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,804
    edited February 2014
    boston1450 wrote: »
    Im thinking you might have more than 1 . Which do you tend to use mostly ? Do you still use them ? I got the manual today i ordered. Its a original Teac manual. What i did find inside surprised me :) On first page someone had taped the original receipt on it :) back in the day'' they didnt give these away i take it. 238.00 in the 70's was a chunk of change. Ive been browsing through it some'' interesting :smile:

    The TEAC decks were always expensive, but always good.

    The one I use the most? The TASCAM - it's the most robust, and sounds good if not fantastic. My ReVox is the best sounding, but since it is a half-track deck, it's pretty useless for most prerecorded tapes (except safety copies of real masters, which are - for folks like me - rather hard to come by... although they are generally superb).
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    Hofy wrote: »
    Randy, that is a nice looking deck you have. Take care of her and she will give you many years of enjoyment. I see you thought about replacing the lights. When the time comes to do that, replace them all and go with LEDs. You will never have to do it again, at least because of a burned out bulb/LED.
    when i do service it i will have my tech put those in. They all work fine now but if hes in there ill have him do just that. Thanks
    ..
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,640
    edited February 2014
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    The TEAC decks were always expensive, but always good.

    The one I use the most? The TASCAM - it's the most robust, and sounds good if not fantastic. My ReVox is the best sounding, but since it is a half-track deck, it's pretty useless for most prerecorded tapes (except safety copies of real masters, which are - for folks like me - rather hard to come by... although they are generally superb).
    thanks Mark i hope to be playing with it more by the end of week. I jumped on another project with the Denon amp & its got me busy & enjoying it . not enough time in a day :smile:
    ..
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