Goldstar TSR 800/801 quest(ions) DECK

[thinkchronicity]

Hi wonderful people,
Got my work cut out with this well-used customized (in metallic blue) hunk of a box. Did a post on the cassette keys a couple of year ago - they would keep poppin out after depressing. Poked in some grease, which seemed to improve things, but long term actually made things WORSE as it gummed things up. So i had to disassemble the lower keys section completely and remove all traces of grease. Plus it was vital to beef up and replace two small springs which engage two lock plates after pressing a key. The record key however, had never ever moved at all since i got it. Managed to remove the swinging record switch basher (you know, the plate that shoves the big switch on the audio board) at the rear of the mech, and poking around, freed something so that the record key could be pushed in at last.

The problem i have now is that when you press record it only very intermittently activates the aforementioned swinging basher...and the red record light comes on... So something under the covers right inside the mech doesn't really want to move after decades of probably no recording action.
Fully taking this mech apart is very daunting. It's a complex beast with four leaf switches, five belts and a solenoid activated automatic search and play system to boot! I can't see from the outside exactly what and where is the problem, but i'm *thinking* about spraying in a lubricant of some sort in the area i know is roughly where the magic happens - keeping well away from pulleys and belts of course.

What do you think? Anyone know a good product that won't explode everywhere? Or, tell me not to based on experience of doing the same.

After that's restored, just got to fix the no AM/LW/SW radio, a tuner dial that only travels 2/3s of the range, and a cassette door which won't stay closed.

 

[floyd]

I'm just going to assume you did the belts because if you didn't that could definitely be a problem or even if they're only a few years old depending on how good about it was from the beginning. You can also try turning the deck around a few times by spinning the flywheel manually by hand and also check the Record Bar to make sure that it's actually moving in and out freely. Besides that all I can say is double check your work that you did before make sure everything's assembled the way you remember it and make sure that you know nothing's in the way of the mechanisms that have to move.

 

[floyd]

If you remove the front panel and then spin around the tuner knob maybe you can check make sure there's nothing getting way of the needle moving. If you have to get behind the tuner dial that aluminum panel has like four screws in it and it's easy to take out
.

 

[thinkchronicity]

I'm just going to assume you did the belts

Yes, did all 5 three years ago (had little use since 'cos of the keys issue) and play torque is very healthy around 55gm/cm. The record switch on the board moves easily enough - the problem is no movement (usually) from the swing arm/plate at the back. It should move when the heads/pinch roller undercarriage moves up, so instead all i get is playback when in record. Sometimes it will start to move and spring back quickly with a clunk. Sometimes i can manually pull the arm/plate out all the way, press record, and the internal mechanism gets a head start and engages, keeping the record bar switched, and other times it will perform as it should with just a press of Record.

Two more issues to mention: does this deck have auto-stop on play or ff/rw? Mine's not doing it and i can't remember if it did before. I may have beefed up the lock plate springs too much as the keys poppin out was driving me crazy.
Also there's an intermittent creaking noise when playing a tape. It's not the tape or the tape counter. There's no noise when in play with no tape in, and if in this mode i slow the takeup reel down with my fingers, then again, this doesn't bring on the noise. The supply reel moves freely and noiselessly. Can't work this one out.

Yeah the radio. Gonna be taking out all the boards at some point. I'm hoping it's a stringing mistake at the factory. Also hoping the no AM thing is simply oxidized contacts on the long selector switch. Had a poke around the radio board yesterday - trannies all test good and the chips work (FM works so they must be ok i assume).

One way or another this will all be fixed. I spent a day just reconstructing with heat and remounting the pause leaf switch. I had to add a spring below it to create enough pressure, and then insert a tiny piece of velcro to keep the contacts apart in the relaxed position.

 

[thinkchronicity]

I might have the 'record key hardly used' theory wrong. What if it was the opposite? The motor appears to have been changed in this deck. The cassette door's eject pin is worn out. Maybe...the record function has been used so much that some vital prong or peg has been rounded off inside the mech - then no amount of oil will do any good. A clue might be when the plate/arm sometimes starts to move then springs back and gives up.

 

[thinkchronicity]

Floyd - can i ask one more thing as you have one of these? I can't seem to get the editor button and ASAP thing working, but then again i don't know how they should be used. I do know that the program lights move along if i press the ASAP button , and the editor switch is closing its contacts properly.

 

[floyd]

When you use the asap it's like a music search system that allows you to ffw and stop on a certain song depending on which of the buttons you push.

 

[thinkchronicity]

When you use the asap it's like a music search system that allows you to ffw and stop on a certain song depending on which of the buttons you push.

ok, so if i put in a prerecorded album.and got say the program 3 light on, then put it in play & ff from the beginning of that side it would stop ff-ing and play track 3? (Sorry it's in bits again, so i can't try this out right now) What about the editor button? is that to do with something else?
Btw, is it an auto stop deck?
Thanks
no more questions!

 

[floyd]

ok, so if i put in a prerecorded album.and got say the program 3 light on, then put it in play & ff from the beginning of that side it would stop ff-ing and play track 3? (Sorry it's in bits again, so i can't try this out right now) What about the editor button? is that to do with something else?
Btw, is it an auto stop deck?
Thanks
no more questions!

I think the music editor is sort of like the record mute so if you just want to press the button down while you're recording say to skip a commercial that's what it's for and as far as I can remember yes these do have an auto stop deck.

 

[floyd]

ok, so if i put in a prerecorded album.and got say the program 3 light on, then put it in play & ff from the beginning of that side it would stop ff-ing and play track 3? (Sorry it's in bits again, so i can't try this out right now) What about the editor button? is that to do with something else?
Btw, is it an auto stop deck?
Thanks
no more questions!

Exactly .

 

[thinkchronicity]

you can check make sure there's nothing getting way of the needle moving.

Okaay, i found the problem...
a ton of fawn coloured glue was laid down over many components near the polyvaricon cap. Some of it crept inside the block, and so now upon close inspection i can see dozens of tiny fragments of glue clogging the thing. Unbelievable.

i saw a yt video once demonstrating this boombox - the tuner needle pegged out at the exact same spot as mine.

 

[caution]

That might be wax, used to keep air-core inductors from changing shape, although I suppose some factories used glue. It always seem to spread farther than the spot where it needs to be.

 

[thinkchronicity]

That might be wax

Yes it is wax, thanks for the correction.
That raises the possibility of melting it out...heh what could possibly go wrong?

 

[thinkchronicity]

Just an update for owners of this box - i replaced the tuning capacitor with the following spec and it worked perfectly, almost without any trimcap adjustment: AM side 4-280pF with separate 0-18pF trimcaps, FM side - trimcaps wired in parallel, 4-24 or 18-38pF depending on the trimcap setting. So a 4 gang polyvaricon, no need for the extension shaft as in the original - a standard size one works too if you have small enough screw heads to mount the poly to the pcb.

My first time fiddling with tuner trimcaps. I would say you can't get into too much bother experimenting with these. It's all the IF cans on the board you need to leave well alone unless you know what you're doing.

Poor old box has waited 40 years to get this issue fixed!

 

[Hisrudeness]

Well done

 

[floyd]

Just an update for owners of this box - i replaced the tuning capacitor with the following spec and it worked perfectly, almost without any trimcap adjustment: AM side 4-280pF with separate 0-18pF trimcaps, FM side - trimcaps wired in parallel, 4-24 or 18-38pF depending on the trimcap setting. So a 4 gang polyvaricon, no need for the extension shaft as in the original - a standard size one works too if you have small enough screw heads to mount the poly to the pcb.

My first time fiddling with tuner trimcaps. I would say you can't get into too much bother experimenting with these. It's all the IF cans on the board you need to leave well alone unless you know what you're doing.

Poor old box has waited 40 years to get this issue fixed!

Awesome . These are great sounding boom box and the tape deck sounds great when it's working right. These are pretty easy to work on minus the gremlins that pop up. Not to say everything's easy because we know better than that.

 

[thinkchronicity]

Awesome . These are great sounding boom box and the tape deck sounds great when it's working right. These are pretty easy to work on minus the gremlins that pop up. Not to say everything's easy because we know better than that.

Yep, the deck sounds very good. Tested the ASAP system which is still working too. A cool feature to counter those duff album tracks! Only thing wrong with the deck is the frozen record function - the mech levers deep in the works are seized with old grease i suppose. I can shift it with a screwdriver and it will work for a few days. I wish the manual had a better quality diagram of the exploded mech, then i might be tempted to strip it down one day.

Apart from that just one more issue that I've noticed on a few of my boxes: when you have the balance control in the middle and you slowly raise the volume from nothing, i notice that the left speakers get a head start - significant enough so i have to alter the balance to off centre when at listening volume. What is the reason i'm wondering...is it the balance control, volume control or something else?

 

[floyd]

If the record bar is partially engaged it could cause the signal to be partially cut off leading to one side being louder than the other.

 

[floyd]

I know this is going to sound stupid but I would check the little record tab inside the deck that allows it to record tapes when the little lever is pushed or it won't record tapes if the tab is in the way but a lot of times that little tab can cause problems.

 

[thinkchronicity]

I know this is going to sound stupid but I would check the little record tab inside the deck that allows it to record tapes when the little lever is pushed or it won't record tapes if the tab is in the way but a lot of times that little tab can cause problems.

Got those basics covered. This is still bugging me so much. Every time i glance at the service manual cover where it says "stereo recorder" .... and i can't record.
Anyway, practised taking apart a Teac mech the other day, so confidence is higher. I will tackle this soon, i can feel it.