Hi folks,
So I'm 95% there with complete restoration of the TRK-8600E, huge thanks to all the help and advice from this forum
While there were a lot of great pictures and references on here, in the end I had to know 'what good looks like' to sort out the tape deck. I got my hands on a second TRK-8600E ("unit #2") which, although the motor had burned out and the bands decomposed, had an otherwise undamaged tape deck.
Comparing the two decks, it was clear that:
1) Whoever tried to repair unit #1 before had connected the 'rec/playback out' plug from the deck to the 'mics in' socket on the deck's PCB, and the 'mic out' plug to the 'rec/playback in' socket on the tape/AF/power PCB
2) The pinch roller assembly on unit #1 was badly damaged, sitting 1-2mm too far forward of the deck's backplane, which meant the roller catch didn't catch, so the spring pushed it too high up.
All in all, the deck on unit #1 was in pretty bad shape, but the motor worked. So I took the motor from unit #1 and the pulley from unit #2 and cleaned up/repaired the tape deck. With all the pots and switches on the rest of unit #2 cleaned and the deck repaired, the TRK-8600E is now fully functional
The only thing left is that the micro-switch controlled by the function selector (FS) is missing on unit #2, and has been replaced with a manual switch (fixed to the outside of the unit). The tiny post from the FS that should control the micro switch is missing, likely broken off, so I can't just replace the micro switch. I think I'm going to move both switches from unit #1 (which I know works) to make a perfectly restored TRK-8600E. Lots of desoldering and re-soldering to do but, you know, winter is coming. That would be the last 5%.
Thanks for all your help!
So I'm 95% there with complete restoration of the TRK-8600E, huge thanks to all the help and advice from this forum
While there were a lot of great pictures and references on here, in the end I had to know 'what good looks like' to sort out the tape deck. I got my hands on a second TRK-8600E ("unit #2") which, although the motor had burned out and the bands decomposed, had an otherwise undamaged tape deck.
Comparing the two decks, it was clear that:
1) Whoever tried to repair unit #1 before had connected the 'rec/playback out' plug from the deck to the 'mics in' socket on the deck's PCB, and the 'mic out' plug to the 'rec/playback in' socket on the tape/AF/power PCB
2) The pinch roller assembly on unit #1 was badly damaged, sitting 1-2mm too far forward of the deck's backplane, which meant the roller catch didn't catch, so the spring pushed it too high up.
All in all, the deck on unit #1 was in pretty bad shape, but the motor worked. So I took the motor from unit #1 and the pulley from unit #2 and cleaned up/repaired the tape deck. With all the pots and switches on the rest of unit #2 cleaned and the deck repaired, the TRK-8600E is now fully functional
The only thing left is that the micro-switch controlled by the function selector (FS) is missing on unit #2, and has been replaced with a manual switch (fixed to the outside of the unit). The tiny post from the FS that should control the micro switch is missing, likely broken off, so I can't just replace the micro switch. I think I'm going to move both switches from unit #1 (which I know works) to make a perfectly restored TRK-8600E. Lots of desoldering and re-soldering to do but, you know, winter is coming. That would be the last 5%.
Thanks for all your help!
