I was able to get my DA-30 up and running again and retrieve some valuable mixes! It was the sliding switch that needed cleaning. I thought the machine was cooked and I had it fixed in about 20 min.Thanks so much for the invaluable instruction Dave!😃
Thanks so much for this video. I’ve just followed it and managed to repair my DA30 MKII. Getting a replacement belt was tricky. I found one with 15mm diameter, but it was too big. Currently waiting on a replacement 10mm one to be delivered, but getting by with a really small rubber band for the time being. Thanks again!
Thank You. I managed to replace the tiny belt. The key for me is where you tilted the loader up so it would pull through the outer opening. I was about to make a serious mistake and break the outer plastic door cover. Putting the tape drive unit back onto the internal frame was a bit fiddley. It took me a couple of tries to get the outer door to not interfere with the front face of the deck. Outstanding video. Again Thank You. Blessings and peace.
Believe me or not, what should be troubling you is this brazen guy who, apart from the fact that he has no respect for such an expensive device, making clumsy manipulations, dangerous to cause serious damage, is also unable to understand some simple stuff (simple rules of physics)!!! Personally, if I had watched this video of his, I wouldn't trust him to do the work for me, escort my trash to the neighborhood bin!!! The space where he works is incredibly messy and in general there is not even a rudimentary order in the objects, but also in the way he works... This device is one of the best on the market and I say this because I have 2 of them (DA-30 MKII) that have endured continuous operation without any problems. For 10 years they have never needed a repair other than simple maintenance!!!
after disassembling my jaguar's driver side seat, interior, and center console to install a couple wiring harnesses and a larger/replacement screen with android auto - it gave me a new sense of "I can fix my DAT recorder". the biggest challenge I feel is - where to get parts??! thank you for sharing the troubleshooting process - and for the Jack Waldenmaier smooth jazz :)
Yip, I bought all that music back in the early 2000a when I was doing corporate video. Actually my business partner went a little crazy abd bought it, then it got cancer and 3 months later he was gone. Sold his half of the business to a total ass and I bailed and kept the music and licenses.
Thank you so much for this video! My DA 30 has the exact same problem, so I‘ll pass the link to my tech guy. They sometimes tend to claim that a repair is too expensive and the piece of gear is too old anyway... plus they might say they could dispose it for you 🤪. Looking forward to see h8m watch your informative video. Thanks again, regards, Tom
Im sure you could repair those tascams in your sleep. You have repaired so many over the years. That close up magnifier lamp looks really handy. My vision becomes more unclear in the evening, odd that.
Hello 12voltvids , just finished changing the small belt on my DA-30 M2 and it did the trick thanks to Gotnoevidence vid. Now i just watched your video and i do also have a DA-30 (silver knob) with the same problem (tape eject on feeding). I read about the possibility of the grease being gummed up but now this? what would be your best guess and consequently your order of intervention ? thx in advance for your time...
This was a very helpful video. I was just gifted a MkII that had a tape stuck in the transport and this helped me understand how to get it out without harming the transport. I got it out and will now clean the contacts on the switch. Do you have any advice about finding a good replacement loading band? Thank you
I have been told that even though i may be able to order the gears for my DAT from Poland they might not get delivered. Is there a local source for them, DAT-700
Great video! I have an identical unit with the same problem. I am a novice so can you give me some specifics on a proper replacement belt so I can get one before digging in to a repair attempt? Thanks!
You might want to do a video on lighting. I don't mean your particular setup like in the previous video. It would be interesting to know why you would want one type of lighting over another, color temperatures, etc. You seem to use a lot of florescent bulbs. I assume you don't care for the light from LEDs?
I find that LEDs have a ton of glare. and perhaps they are fine with a deflector or with indirect light. Sure there are great studio full spectrum LED but they also cost big bucks. The power compact fluorescent bulbs are dirt cheap and throw off a ton of light and are almost as efficient as LED. Also because of the size of the light there tends to be few shadows.I use a combination of 300oK and 5500K lights to try to get a good color balance.
My DA-30 sometimes does play, rew and f fwd; sometimes, in play mode, the tape does not wind on the reel and starts to accumulate without winding; sometimes it doesn't rew or f fwd. Is there a general maintenance video of the mechanical part of the equipment? Or, is it possible that it is an electronic problem? Thanks.
@@12voltvids Thanks Dave for responding. I checked the belt and I think it's fine, in fact, the machine loads the cassette just fine. Even the playback worked fine, only at the end of the tape the audio made a noise. I decided to remove the casing to take a look and noticed that it didn't wind up the tape but instead accumulated as the right spool wasn't spinning. When rewinding the tape, it was good, when advancing it was good to the middle or a little more. After doing several tests, back, forward, play, now it makes it worse. Would it make sense to think that there is dry grease and a good cleaning should be done? Thanks again and congratulations for the good work you do. Francisco.
My DA30, transport fully working, no audio at the output of the preamp. Looking for the best way to determine if it's the head or preamp. Do you know if there a connection at which I could inject a test signal into the preamp?
Dear Sir your videos have helped me a lot with the servicing of my Tascam DA 30. I was able to get the mechanics working and it is now working flawlessly. However, there was one problem, the display doesn't work for me now, I wouldn't know if I accidentally touched the chassis to the board with the electronics. Dat plays the tape nicely, emits sound and the LEDs on all the controls work. Do you have any idea and advice what happened to make the display not working. Thank you very much and once again congratulations for the excellent alliances.
DA-30 MKII had Error 001 message. I replaced the belts, pulled the holder block fully out, thought the timing wheel was in correct position, then tested. Now the error message is gone, it opens, pauses for 2 seconds, and then automatically closes. What have I not taken into consideration?
Thanks for this video! I have the exact same issue with my DA-30 and so am trying the same repair. However, I am concerned about the type of contact cleaner to use... I don't want to leave residue or anything in there. Can you link to the one you use?
Unfortunately, I tried both repairs (swapping the loading belt and cleaning the mode switch, but it still doesn't load. The loading motor seems to be working, and it doesn't seem to be gummed up (the mechanism moves smoothly). I can also see the mode switch moving (and I made sure the little plastic bit of the mode switch was in the plastic hole on the transport body). So now I am at a loss. Are there other things that could cause it not to load? In my case it never loads (not even sometimes as in this repair video)
Just to complete the story... cleaning and re-lubricating the tape loading track was sufficient. It now seems to be playing. Thanks again for all the videos (went to your th-cam.com/video/SzdyucUBi58/w-d-xo.html to get the low down on de-gunking the thing)
Yes they were better than everything including CD in the high sample rate mode (48KHz) They could also operate in 44.1, same as CD and used the same PCM data structure, and were, for over 20 years used in the CD mastering process. They were the last D in the AAD, ADD and DDD as these tapes were shipped from the studio to the CD pressing plant. When the DA40 launched, you could put your CD Text data directly on the tape as well as track numbers, index numbers, and of course time code. This was digitally transferred over directly to the cutting laser that was making the master disk that was made into pressing stampers. These industrial machines do not have serial copy bullshit that the consumer machines had.
The drum contains 2 rotary heads. Works exactly like a VCR. The difference is DAT uses a 90' wrap as opposed to 180' wrap on VCR. This means tape tension is much lower and contact is on 50% so much less wear.
You should clean all the old junk off your work bench. That will give you the room you need to work. Also, here's another "pro" tip: Put all the screws and small parts you remove in individual zip-lock bags. Then when you start re-assembling whatever it is you are trying to fix, you won't have to crawl on your hands and knees on the floor looking for missing screws, etc.
Hi, I wish I were in the US to send you my Nakamichi 1000 DAT to a repair !!! I can see tape spin but no sound!! wish you all the best!! By the way I live in Brazil
Do you mean, compact cassette, or magnetic tape in general? The answer for both is about the same, technology moved forward, and solid state has no moving parts and is generally more reliable, faster, and isn't linearly accessed. That said, I love tape-based devices because it is the pinnacle for interesting mechanical mechanisms rivaled only by mechanical watches.
@@CallanChristensen i was referring to analog tape in general but digital tape has its problems too. Dropouts and there is little you can do to prevent that.
I was able to get my DA-30 up and running again and retrieve some valuable mixes! It was the sliding switch that needed cleaning. I thought the machine was cooked and I had it fixed in about 20 min.Thanks so much for the invaluable instruction Dave!😃
Those TEAC Pro DAT decks look to be very solid and very serviceable. Thanks Dave for the great content.
Thanks so much for this video. I’ve just followed it and managed to repair my DA30 MKII. Getting a replacement belt was tricky. I found one with 15mm diameter, but it was too big. Currently waiting on a replacement 10mm one to be delivered, but getting by with a really small rubber band for the time being. Thanks again!
Thank You. I managed to replace the tiny belt. The key for me is where you tilted the loader up so it would pull through the outer opening. I was about to make a serious mistake and break the outer plastic door cover. Putting the tape drive unit back onto the internal frame was a bit fiddley. It took me a couple of tries to get the outer door to not interfere with the front face of the deck. Outstanding video. Again Thank You. Blessings and peace.
Been watching this chap for some time and wouldn't hesitate buying one of those tascam DA30 dat corner , absolutely brilliant 😎😎
Believe me or not, what should be troubling you is this brazen guy who, apart from the fact that he has no respect for such an expensive device, making clumsy manipulations, dangerous to cause serious damage, is also unable to understand some simple stuff (simple rules of physics)!!!
Personally, if I had watched this video of his, I wouldn't trust him to do the work for me, escort my trash to the neighborhood bin!!!
The space where he works is incredibly messy and in general there is not even a rudimentary order in the objects, but also in the way he works...
This device is one of the best on the market and I say this because I have 2 of them (DA-30 MKII) that have endured continuous operation without any problems. For 10 years they have never needed a repair other than simple maintenance!!!
after disassembling my jaguar's driver side seat, interior, and center console to install a couple wiring harnesses and a larger/replacement screen with android auto - it gave me a new sense of "I can fix my DAT recorder". the biggest challenge I feel is - where to get parts??! thank you for sharing the troubleshooting process - and for the Jack Waldenmaier smooth jazz :)
Yip, I bought all that music back in the early 2000a when I was doing corporate video. Actually my business partner went a little crazy abd bought it, then it got cancer and 3 months later he was gone. Sold his half of the business to a total ass and I bailed and kept the music and licenses.
@12voltvids sorry to hear about the biz partner. But that music is awesome. Thx again for the inspiration... And knowledge
Thank you so much for this video!
My DA 30 has the exact same problem, so I‘ll pass the link to my tech guy.
They sometimes tend to claim that a repair is too expensive and the piece of gear is too old anyway... plus they might say they could dispose it for you 🤪.
Looking forward to see h8m watch your informative video.
Thanks again,
regards,
Tom
Im sure you could repair those tascams in your sleep.
You have repaired so many over the years.
That close up magnifier lamp looks really handy.
My vision becomes more unclear in the evening, odd that.
Hi, I have a DA-30 and need to replace the belts. Do you sell them? Or can you provide me the name of a seller of the replacement belts?
Don't have any info on them.
@@12voltvids No worries I found a seller on eBay. Thanks.
Hello 12voltvids , just finished changing the small belt on my DA-30 M2 and it did the trick thanks to Gotnoevidence vid. Now i just watched your video and i do also have a DA-30 (silver knob) with the same problem (tape eject on feeding). I read about the possibility of the grease being gummed up but now this? what would be your best guess and consequently your order of intervention ? thx in advance for your time...
Eres capo amigo
He aprendido mucho contigo
Dios te bendiga mucho
This was a very helpful video. I was just gifted a MkII that had a tape stuck in the transport and this helped me understand how to get it out without harming the transport. I got it out and will now clean the contacts on the switch. Do you have any advice about finding a good replacement loading band? Thank you
You will have to measure it i don't know the size off hand
I have been told that even though i may be able to order the gears for my DAT from Poland they might not get delivered.
Is there a local source for them, DAT-700
I have a similar problem with my Tascam DA-30. Could i send it to you for repair?
Great video! I have an identical unit with the same problem. I am a novice so can you give me some specifics on a proper replacement belt so I can get one before digging in to a repair attempt? Thanks!
You might want to do a video on lighting. I don't mean your particular setup like in the previous video. It would be interesting to know why you would want one type of lighting over another, color temperatures, etc. You seem to use a lot of florescent bulbs. I assume you don't care for the light from LEDs?
I find that LEDs have a ton of glare. and perhaps they are fine with a deflector or with indirect light. Sure there are great studio full spectrum LED but they also cost big bucks. The power compact fluorescent bulbs are dirt cheap and throw off a ton of light and are almost as efficient as LED. Also because of the size of the light there tends to be few shadows.I use a combination of 300oK and 5500K lights to try to get a good color balance.
My DA-30 sometimes does play, rew and f fwd; sometimes, in play mode, the tape does not wind on the reel and starts to accumulate without winding; sometimes it doesn't rew or f fwd. Is there a general maintenance video of the mechanical part of the equipment? Or, is it possible that it is an electronic problem? Thanks.
How is the loading belt?
@@12voltvids Thanks Dave for responding. I checked the belt and I think it's fine, in fact, the machine loads the cassette just fine. Even the playback worked fine, only at the end of the tape the audio made a noise. I decided to remove the casing to take a look and noticed that it didn't wind up the tape but instead accumulated as the right spool wasn't spinning. When rewinding the tape, it was good, when advancing it was good to the middle or a little more.
After doing several tests, back, forward, play, now it makes it worse. Would it make sense to think that there is dry grease and a good cleaning should be done? Thanks again and congratulations for the good work you do.
Francisco.
My DA30, transport fully working, no audio at the output of the preamp. Looking for the best way to determine if it's the head or preamp. Do you know if there a connection at which I could inject a test signal into the preamp?
silver box preamp caps need replacing easy fix thers a video on replacing them
Dear Sir your videos have helped me a lot with the servicing of my Tascam DA 30. I was able to get the mechanics working and it is now working flawlessly. However, there was one problem, the display doesn't work for me now, I wouldn't know if I accidentally touched the chassis to the board with the electronics. Dat plays the tape nicely, emits sound and the LEDs on all the controls work. Do you have any idea and advice what happened to make the display not working. Thank you very much and once again congratulations for the excellent alliances.
The display requires high voltage. If something shorted our you may have burned a fuse resistor on power supply board.
@@12voltvids thank you kindly for a swift reply. Again, your videos are top notch!
@@12voltvids i just tried it, you were absolutely right. There was a burnt fuse on power supply board, 125 mili Amper. Thank you so much!
Excellent.
In your opinion what is the most common cause for the 'Error 02'? Bad motor? Could it be old tape related?
DAT Tasty Jazz was quite nice.
Good tune.
DA-30 MKII had Error 001 message. I replaced the belts, pulled the holder block fully out, thought the timing wheel was in correct position, then tested. Now the error message is gone, it opens, pauses for 2 seconds, and then automatically closes. What have I not taken into consideration?
There are 2 switches that detect when the tray is open or closed.
Thanks for this video! I have the exact same issue with my DA-30 and so am trying the same repair. However, I am concerned about the type of contact cleaner to use... I don't want to leave residue or anything in there. Can you link to the one you use?
Do not spray any cleaner on the head. For controls i use nutrol
@@12voltvids Thanks!
Unfortunately, I tried both repairs (swapping the loading belt and cleaning the mode switch, but it still doesn't load. The loading motor seems to be working, and it doesn't seem to be gummed up (the mechanism moves smoothly). I can also see the mode switch moving (and I made sure the little plastic bit of the mode switch was in the plastic hole on the transport body). So now I am at a loss. Are there other things that could cause it not to load? In my case it never loads (not even sometimes as in this repair video)
Just to complete the story... cleaning and re-lubricating the tape loading track was sufficient. It now seems to be playing. Thanks again for all the videos (went to your th-cam.com/video/SzdyucUBi58/w-d-xo.html to get the low down on de-gunking the thing)
So the drum does all the sound pickup? Wow no playback head like a VCR! Were these better then cassette? Nice job and great sound!
Yes they were better than everything including CD in the high sample rate mode (48KHz) They could also operate in 44.1, same as CD and used the same PCM data structure, and were, for over 20 years used in the CD mastering process. They were the last D in the AAD, ADD and DDD as these tapes were shipped from the studio to the CD pressing plant. When the DA40 launched, you could put your CD Text data directly on the tape as well as track numbers, index numbers, and of course time code. This was digitally transferred over directly to the cutting laser that was making the master disk that was made into pressing stampers.
These industrial machines do not have serial copy bullshit that the consumer machines had.
The drum contains 2 rotary heads. Works exactly like a VCR. The difference is DAT uses a 90' wrap as opposed to 180' wrap on VCR. This means tape tension is much lower and contact is on 50% so much less wear.
You should clean all the old junk off your work bench. That will give you the room you need to work. Also, here's another "pro" tip: Put all the screws and small parts you remove in individual zip-lock bags. Then when you start re-assembling whatever it is you are trying to fix, you won't have to crawl on your hands and knees on the floor looking for missing screws, etc.
Never have to crawl around looking for screws as i don't lose them. They are all places in specific areas on the bench.
Great video. Thanks.
Hi, I wish I were in the US to send you my Nakamichi 1000 DAT to a repair !!! I can see tape spin but no sound!! wish you all the best!! By the way I live in Brazil
Are you so fool dear Antonio???
Would you trust this butcher to work on your expensive Nakamichi????
Guitar has a good quality.would you like to listen some music .its a good hobby .
And why did we move on from cassette?.
2 words, sound quality.
Do you mean, compact cassette, or magnetic tape in general? The answer for both is about the same, technology moved forward, and solid state has no moving parts and is generally more reliable, faster, and isn't linearly accessed. That said, I love tape-based devices because it is the pinnacle for interesting mechanical mechanisms rivaled only by mechanical watches.
@@CallanChristensen i was referring to analog tape in general but digital tape has its problems too. Dropouts and there is little you can do to prevent that.
@@12voltvids Oh sorry, that was supposed to be a reply question to the original comment, not your reply.
@@CallanChristensen in general
It's on strike ! Too heavy to load ! Lol 😆