Morse TM-1 8 track deck

[nosaj]

i have this morse 8 track deck.. the belt has disintegrated. The electrolytics can be replaced. It powers up hitting the program button makess the solenoid move but will need lubrication.
before I go an buy a belt for it..is it a sufficent test of the play head just tapping it with a metal object like you do with a screwdriver an a guitar pickup or is it more involved?

thanks
nosaj

[Enzo]

Like a guitar pickup, that test merely shows that it functions, not that it functions well. SO yes for go/no-go, but little else.

You can test the electronics by sticking a recorded tape against the head and swiping it along a couple inches. Noise come out?

[The Dude]

I saw the thread title and was thinking this was maybe an 8 track studio reel machine. I Googled the model and saw an 8-track cartridge player. I must admit- I got a chuckle. People still fix these?

Then, the more I thought about it, I remembered that I still have an entire dresser full of 8 track tapes at my mother's house in my childhood bedroom. It might be fun to listen to some of them again. I'm reminded of the tapes where a song would go past the end of the track, so they'd fade it out- then "clunk-clunk" (track switch)- and fade back in.

Also a reminder: If you're working on an 8-track player, the most important tool is a matchbook. (Only the old timers that lived in the 8-track era will get that one).

[Jazz P Bass]

"(Only the old timers that lived in the 8-track era will get that one)."
Got it!

[nosaj]

Well spill the beans man
nosaj

[g1]

The matchbook corrects the alignment if the head isn't perfectly playing the track (crosstalk). It's just used as a shim to adjust how the cartridge sits in the unit. You don't want to hear 2 different tracks (songs) playing at the same time.

The Dude if you have an 8-track recorder (like this fine realistic TR-801 sitting here on my desk) you can tape over those old pre-recorded CW McCall 8-tracks with your fave Kanye tunes and party on.

nosaj I'd be very careful about whether your 'metal object' is demagnetized, most of my screwdrivers will pick up screws and that is a bad thing to touch the head with.

[nosaj]

I figure I'll hook it up put a tape in an manually spin the wheel see what I hear before I get a belt.
nosaj

[g1]

Depending on the length, sometimes a rubber band will work for testing.

[The Dude]

...... Kanye tunes......

You're lucky there's not an unlike button!

[g1]

You're lucky there's not an unlike button!

I was looking for the winky face emoji with a 'warning: extreme sarcasm' note but we don't have one. Should have went for this one I guess:

[nosaj]

Found a fat rubber band fit perfectly. Tested audio nothing.. recapped the preamp board on it.. we got sound..now if I can find somewhere I can fix with duct tape we'd have a good ol flea market repair.

Which by the way is what this is for. Old ham who has provided me with endless parts and electronic toys has a whole bunch of 8tracks to sell at the flea market and wants to show people they work.
I've already fixed 3 other 8tracks for him. This one is from a console already fixed the tuner just have the BSR record player to checkout now. Once thats done I have to fix up the cabinet(old particle board falling apart). Plenty of scrap plywood from work for that.

Thanks all
nosaj

[Chuck H]

This is neat. I had a customer that ended up being closer to a friend before long (think huge property and Murphy Brown's Eldin )

He had an archaic RTR deck (all tube suitcase type) and a bunch of old tape that he use to listen to when he was in the service some sixty years ago. He said there were memories attached to that sound track and would dearly love to hear them again. So I fixed his old machine. It didn't need more than head demag, new electrolytic caps, a tube and a belt retrofit (Simple round o-ring type. I found one available for a newer cassette deck that was close enough). Ok, It actually took me a lot of time to to locate some of this stuff, but he got to me. Anyway...

Not only did I do that. I also happened to have at that time a real nice Pioneer RT707 RTR in perfect working order. So I used that to play his tapes and digitally download them so I could make CD copies of all his tunes. The sound quality wasn't fabulous, but just being able to put the ADC CD's into his home audio system yielded better results than the tiny four inch speaker in his tape deck. Of course, that low fi sound could have been part of the nostalgia for him too. At any rate...

He thanked me with a gift of a vintage microscope from the 30's that had been in service at Stanford university until the 50's. It came with a cool wooden case, many alternate magnifiers and notes and slides from it's time in service at the university. Just very cool to have.

[nosaj]

The old ham gave me a yellow radiation meter last week. I need an old watch to see if it works.
nosaj