I recently ordered and replaced the capstan and counter belt on this cassette deck. These parts are easily available from Fred Marrs who sells a huge range of correctly sized replacement belts through his eBay shop. He has even gone to the lengths of remanufacturing the Nakamichi OC 8096 capstan belt to the correct specs.
This Teac machine is a really nice 3 head cassette deck, built like a tank, and very similar if not identical to the original Tascam 122. I don’t use this deck for normal cassette transfers as I feel my Nakamichi decks generally sound better but this is one of the few decks that can record and playback at double the normal speed so it’s reserved for these transfers and as a backup.
The transport is quick and easy to remove and the belt was easy once the capstan had been removed – this was also greased and oiled a little too.
Teac C-3x transport removed
Teac C-3x capstan motor with new belt
Everything went well until I tested it with an old tape – It would play for a few seconds then the take up reel would stop letting tape get pulled around the pinch wheel, well and truly chewed! It looked like the rubber drive wheel that the reel motor works against has perished at one point or slips. I also noticed that the little rubber sleeves that act as brakes on the reels have perished too. I’m going to have to get it all apart again to fix this – see below for more soon..
Oh and here’s a the service manual for free, so you don’t have to get fleeced by an eBay seller who’s downloaded a load of free manuals.
Would you please share the procedure for removing the transport. I’ve ordered the belts from Fred but have been staring at the inside of the TASCAM 122 trying to figure out how to get access to the flywheel and pulley.
Thanks,
Aubrey
Hi Aubrey
Yes it does look a bit daunting when you first look at it! I’ll try to take some more pictures soon but with the C-3x and my Tascam 112, you need to unplug all the plastic block cable connectors. There are some for power to the motors, some for the transport control and also from the play / erase / record heads which are usually longer as they have to stretch over to the playback and record amp sections in the main PCB. Once these are all removed, you may have to clip some small cable ties to untangle them, there are some screws to remove, not many, that hold the transport in. It’s kind of a metal cube and once free can be angled out in one piece – Once you’ve done that you have to remove a few other bits to replace the belts but this is now possible with the transport out of the deck on your desk…
regards
adrian
Adrian,
I finally figured it out. Got the whole transport assembly out of the main chassis with access the the belt.
Thanks for your help.
Aubrey
Can you publish Fred’s ebay username or a link to his store? I am in need of some parts for my C-3X belts, idlers etc. and cannot seem to locate it on ebay by his name. Thanks.
hi – yes, his ebay username is marrscommunications and his eBay shop is here: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Marrs-Communications
thanks
Ah..Thank YOU!
Hi greatbear,
First of all thanks for publishing the captson belt procedure and putting the schematics up for free. I have a C-3 not the
I’ve a similar problem that you described about the take up reel would stop letting tape get pulled around the pinch wheel. Would you mind telling me the procedure to repair that? Also where to get the spare parts. Thanks in advance.
Peter Tsao.
Hi
I haven’t fixed this yet due to time, but my guess is deteriorated rubber on the reel drive. I’ve noticed on my deck it doesn’t always stop just occasionally with no apparent pattern. I also seem to remember it didn’t happen on very short tapes, C10 / C15 but was more apparent on longer C90’s that may have needed more torque.
Great procedure !! I am original owner of a C-3X ca. 1978, as well as the rest of my top-shelf rig. Sounds like bragging, but not, as would be hard to replace it today even with allowance for inflation. Will be waiting for additional info, as I am “refurbishing” the belts/etc in the C-3X/RT707/AA1640/3300….. Thanks in advance for your time and consideration to this subject
Sam Lyckholm
R&D Lab Engineer [Ret.]
Crestline CA 92325
Hi i was reading your information on the C- 3X deck, I still have one and It will npt play or record, machanically it all works, the tape runs but no audio.
i printed you manual but I noticed it does not have anyu Electronic drawings, only board layouts? do you have these dawings? and if so could I get a copy from you, I would like to get this deck up and running.
any help would be great.
Regards
Bill
Hi,
I know your original post is nearly 2 years old, but I was wondering whether you ever got around to replacing the idler tires (that run off the reel motor). My C-3X has the same problem and I’d like to find out where I might find replacements, or at least their size. I guess you only need to remove the reel motor to get access to the tires.
I’d appreciate your advice.
Cheers,
Ed
Hi Ed..
Yes, it’s been a while and we’ve been restoring reel to reel machines recently.. I have had another look at this though and the problem, I think, is actually not the idler tyre but the reel motor itself. It just stops turning every minute or so.. I’ve seen a similar problem in the reel motors used on some Nakamichi decks too… Teac spares are still available in the UK. I’ll contact them soon to see if this reel drive motor is actually available.. Thanks adrian
Please can you assist? I have a TEAC A-601R cassette deck and I don’t know how the new drive belt fits on the pulleys