It was fun to read your adventures tuning up that cassette deck; brought back some good memories. I always liked that Onkyo but never got one. Over the years, I've had a HK CD-301 but I really wanted 3 heads. I dumped it and got an Aiwa F-770 and much later, a Sony TCK-611S.
Where do you get "known" good belts these days? My F-770 is in need ..., I really should pull it out of storage and play with it ...
Where do you get "known" good belts these days? My F-770 is in need ..., I really should pull it out of storage and play with it ...
Hi,
Your F-770 is a very good deck. If you can measure or gather info about the belt sizes you need, these guys are a good source: https://www.dynamtechgroup.com/tape-reel-belts.php
Your F-770 is a very good deck. If you can measure or gather info about the belt sizes you need, these guys are a good source: https://www.dynamtechgroup.com/tape-reel-belts.php
The Maxim MAX4066 quad-switch CMOS IC survived three years of abuse in the Onkyo. 17V absolute max spec chip and had 16.75V across it (Q201 in post#1's schematic). Yesterday something pulled two DC power lines down (+5V -12V) blanking the display and cutting off sound output. I removed and measured the 7805 and 7912 regulators (still good). Then I suspected the CMOS switch because I knew I was running it precariously. It was in a socket so I quickly replaced it with a Toshiba TC4066BP 20V absolute max, 0.03% THD chip. Everything came back to normal.
Lesson is don't run a MAX4066 on more than 16V DC between pins 7 & 14 for real long term reliability. 15V is even safer.
Lesson is don't run a MAX4066 on more than 16V DC between pins 7 & 14 for real long term reliability. 15V is even safer.
Hi, long shot maybe ... but I just finished repairing my TA-2600. Replaced the 2 belts. As of my usual habit .. I have 2 spare parts left over 😎... They must be from somewhere around/on the tape desk mechanism. I consulted the exploded views but can't seem to locate them. Anyone has an idea ? Btw .. The deck is working perfectly without them !
Thanks for the suggestion. That was my initial thought as well but the door mechanism works perfectly and I also don't see those parts in the exploded view drawing.
That's a nice 3-head Onkyo deck you got. Don't know what to think about the mysterious leftover parts. I hope the spring doesn't belong to a head's mounting screw.
Your TA-2600 is family to my TA-2570 (TA-2800) but simpler i.e. no test oscillator but no CMOS switch chip either, lower output level but less associated circuitry (volume pot, wires, op-amp etc.). Sometimes simpler is better sound-wise. Possibly having bit lower spec heads also, not sure. This is the bias knob tapes map from its instruction manual.
Your TA-2600 is family to my TA-2570 (TA-2800) but simpler i.e. no test oscillator but no CMOS switch chip either, lower output level but less associated circuitry (volume pot, wires, op-amp etc.). Sometimes simpler is better sound-wise. Possibly having bit lower spec heads also, not sure. This is the bias knob tapes map from its instruction manual.
Putting an OPA1656 into a cassette deck is a little like putting an F1 engine into a Yugo 🙂 But why not. It's all good fun.
I wish I had time to service my decks. A friend of mine got me a Nak CR-7 in Japan that was already serviced. It runs 0.023 RMS and has heads that look like new. I know that I could spend many hours restoring my Sony and Technics decks, but the truth is that they will never beat the Nak. But that's no reason not to restore them, you've got to have hobbies. But you need time for hobbies...especially tape-based hobbies.
I wish I had time to service my decks. A friend of mine got me a Nak CR-7 in Japan that was already serviced. It runs 0.023 RMS and has heads that look like new. I know that I could spend many hours restoring my Sony and Technics decks, but the truth is that they will never beat the Nak. But that's no reason not to restore them, you've got to have hobbies. But you need time for hobbies...especially tape-based hobbies.
It seems to be the shaft of the eject botton, A807, in the picture.
BTW, Is there a store with reasonably priced setup cassettes (400Hz, 3kHz, 1.2kHz etc) ?
They ones I've found cost quite a bit. The decks also went over the roof, I remember Dragons costed below 1K some years back, now 3K is normal.
BTW, Is there a store with reasonably priced setup cassettes (400Hz, 3kHz, 1.2kHz etc) ?
They ones I've found cost quite a bit. The decks also went over the roof, I remember Dragons costed below 1K some years back, now 3K is normal.
Attachments
Unless you want to spend crazy money, get Hans Peter Roth's test tapes: https://www.ebay.com/itm/176013927759?_skw=test+cassette+set&itmmeta=01JP6C2YMPWCE0894SS6QME5CF&hash=item28fb3f654f:g:NTEAAOSwkSBno4t1&itmprp=enc:AQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1e9hwU8keBSqINM48y5bSHqV36aPF1TEWj58SbkQDGUZcEK36ICHkliXzzxdss8RtzcwoL1QMHbpAPAhwiHU75A9LBw5BYYis52vKOCbTocjuiCiD65XN4Pm5tZGY1OX2rX3YO9HVLy8jmLi4u0aazI8ltNjZB9rS6BYo+fmO1MbvNR7wcPu0dFQfR24boVl5NvH+v26DCw70fNLKy+AFR79YGCr6DiImPDOtFmuKnwyRteBoeeMrgysK6ANUAHPB7QrRvjuSIzNCgRE8mqKsH2yrhP7ry3NrzWaIKmBzLiiA==|tkp:Bk9SR8Dqi8yxZQ]LINK
He makes them with a full-track head on an open reel deck. AVOID test tapes made on cassette machines (even a Nak).
I would also avoid buying a Dragon, unless you've spent a lot of time ascertaining the head condition. Its head is unique and there are no other machines that you can take one off... Because it has auto-reverse, people often enjoy their Dragons... The top guy in NL who serviced (past tense) has stopped taking Dragons on because he had enough of upsetting clients that had worn heads. Naka heads tend to be the hardest wearing of any machine, but the Dragon seems to have a reputation for worn heads. A lot of people are of an age where they don't hear 10K+ is missing.. But the engineer sees it!
NB - No one makes decent shells anymore. If you want the HPR tapes to work well, you need to find donor shells to put them in. Apparently TDK D shells are good. MAX-G and MA-R are the best, but expensive to find. You will need to do this for the azimuth tape, as it's near-useless in the original shell. This is no fault of HPR. He is doing a great job.
He makes them with a full-track head on an open reel deck. AVOID test tapes made on cassette machines (even a Nak).
I would also avoid buying a Dragon, unless you've spent a lot of time ascertaining the head condition. Its head is unique and there are no other machines that you can take one off... Because it has auto-reverse, people often enjoy their Dragons... The top guy in NL who serviced (past tense) has stopped taking Dragons on because he had enough of upsetting clients that had worn heads. Naka heads tend to be the hardest wearing of any machine, but the Dragon seems to have a reputation for worn heads. A lot of people are of an age where they don't hear 10K+ is missing.. But the engineer sees it!
NB - No one makes decent shells anymore. If you want the HPR tapes to work well, you need to find donor shells to put them in. Apparently TDK D shells are good. MAX-G and MA-R are the best, but expensive to find. You will need to do this for the azimuth tape, as it's near-useless in the original shell. This is no fault of HPR. He is doing a great job.
What does the record amp duty.
Playback looks very good as is.
I replaced a single transistor record amp with an op amp which took 0db performance to 15khz on chrome tape.
Record amp does reverse NAB signal to 10v p-p.
Playback looks very good as is.
I replaced a single transistor record amp with an op amp which took 0db performance to 15khz on chrome tape.
Record amp does reverse NAB signal to 10v p-p.
Hi, you refer to the service manual you found in
That one is present and working .. So it must be still something else but something that doesn't seem to prevent the unit from working !
There's a schematic section of the TA-2570 (TA-2800) with red dot noted parts that I replaced in page one. The text refers to those part numbers.
Maybe but doubtful .. I have a history of "extra" parts after I repair something. The plastic thing probably is an extra support for the frame with the motors. Just can't find it's location in the exploded view. The spring ? No clue ! Everyting works just fine ... and again, can't locate a spring like that in the exploded view.
Q401 Q403 op-amps are the record amp and record head driver in the the TA-2570
If it was a PCB snap in support, those are usually white on the other hand... Anyway... keep the mysterious parts in case they ever become clarified. Afterall how do you like the deck? Does it replay and record well?
If you get really stuck and can't find the part in the SM, it could be worth looking at SMs for other decks that have the same mechanism. Sony, Technics and Nak (in the early days - they moved over to Sankyo later on) made their own mechanisms, but the other OEMs typically sourced their mechanisms from either Alps or Sankyo. Onkyo used Sankyo in their earlier decks and I suspect that's what is used in this one. OEMs vary a lot in terms of SM quality... Sony made exceptionally good SMs, but others could be lacking.
edit - a little background on mechanisms: https://audiochrome.blogspot.com/2022/02/restoring-and-modifying-onkyo-ta-2060.html
edit - a little background on mechanisms: https://audiochrome.blogspot.com/2022/02/restoring-and-modifying-onkyo-ta-2060.html