Uk supplier for Tascam spares parts Model 234 and 244

[blindboybenton]

Hi

Ive got a regular customer who has give me about 30 amps in 2 months to repair. He has given me a Tascam 234 with 2 broken pot and one bent pot
two of the pots are doubles with 10k at front and 5 k at back both work separate of each other
and a Tascam 244 with a drive belt issue.

Ive been in contact with tascam spares and have been ignored
Does anyone know ( In the uk if pos ) of a supplier that can supply me. Ive checked Charles Hyde and sons,

I know i can get the drive belts as an generic part but its the pinch rollers i would like to replace

bbb

[Enzo]

Good luck. In my experience, they no longer have parts for newer models than that. How old is the 244, 25 years maybe?

You may luck out and find someone with your part still in stock, but not likely to find active stocking. Not suggesting you give up, but I'd be looking for alternatives.

Are your pinch rollers gone hard? You can try rejuvenating them. Mineral spirits cleans and rejuvenates rubber - we use it for the rubber bumper rings on pinball machines. Gasoline works too but is dangerous. Use a cotton swab to wipe the surface down a few times. You can also google pinch roller restore for some insights.

Rubber belts can likewise sometimes be rejuved.

And sometimes, the best thing you can do for a good customer is to be honest and tell him it might be time to retire the unit.

[blindboybenton]

Hi enzo

Yes you are correct .. Just this min came off the phone to a uk supplier.. who laughed at me when i say Tascam 234 - 244

The belts i don't have a problem with. as i don't do much audio these days ill buy a couple of drive belt kits with lots of different sizes in
The Pinch roller i try to get back to life abit with Plantencleane. Just in case you don't know of this link below. Use to use it yrs ago when VCR and cassette tapes were the in thing

AF (100ml) Platenclene Cleaning Pump Spray | eBay

as for the pots in need doubles with 10k - 5k so i think ill have to see if maybe 10k+ 10k together or 5k+5K and see how that effects it

john

[Mick Bailey]

The best thing I've found for pinch rollers is a product used for rejuvenating printing blankets. It swells and conditions the rubber - and lasts. I've recently restored a 1974 Sony deck and the rollers were rock hard, glazed and slipping. They came up like brand new.

Sometimes with pots you have to mix & match parts and rebuild a good one out of broken ones. The last problem one I had ended up me machining a new spindle and grafting in a track from a new pot and wiper from another. It depends how bad it is and how much time you want to spend. Pretty much everything can be repaired.

It may help if you post a picture of the pots.

[Enzo]

Maybe you can make one good unit with parts from the two.

[blindboybenton]

Hi Mick

well i don't fancy going that far , as in make a new shaft lol. But ill try some 10k+10k pots and see how they work. as long as they are dual spindles if they work.. may have to change the rest. when i get the little devils out ill put some pics up
I don't have much scrap/disposed stuff here to rob some from

Maybe rob the 244 for the 234. I spoke to another repairer here in poole today and we were chatting about it and he said he had a 244 for parts.
anyway its nearly 5pm and im going to have lunch!!

BBB

[The Dude]

Just a thought. It's not going to be practical in every circuit, and I'm not sure what your 10k/5k dual pot does in this machine. I have, at times and for instance, gotten by with adding a 10k resistor across one of the 10k pots to effectively turn it into a 5k pot. Again, depending on taper, how the circuit works, etc. this may or may not work for your application, but it might be worth a try.

Edit: This assumes you can find a dual 10k that fits.