New Akai 1730D-SS - won’t power up

[Fusion 101]

i just received it and hooked it up to my dim bulb protector but nothing seems to happen. No lights or noises. What should I expect?

The manual says there’s a fuse holder in the back but this one’s bare.



Missing the head cover. Anyone?

 

[I LIKE MUSIC]

You may already be aware of this and it may not be your issue, but...

This deck has an automatic power off feature.



From your picture it appears that your automatic power off feature is turned on. Without a tape loaded on the machine, the automatic shutoff leaver is released and the the power will be off.

Move the automatic shut-off switch to the OFF position and see what happens or move the auto-off lever to its up position and see what happens.

Again, you may already be aware of this and your deck may have other issues.

 

[Fusion 101]

Opened it up (per the manual) and seems there’s no fuse on the mains.



You can see the voltage selector and fuse holder are missing - this unit does say AC 120V, 60Hz 75W in the back.


Damn my broken dvm.

 

[Fusion 101]

You may already be aware of this and it may not be your issue, but...

This deck has an automatic power off feature.

View attachment 1248082

From your picture it appears that your automatic power off feature is turned on. Without a tape loaded on the machine, the automatic shutoff leaver is released and the the power will be off.

Move the automatic shut-off switch to the OFF position and see what happens or move the auto-off lever to its up position and see what happens.

Again, you may already be aware of this and your deck may have other issues.

I was not aware and thanks for pointing it out to me. I turned the automatic shut off switch to the off position and voila, we have power. One thing, the 60w bulb stayed lit so I shut it off. Do I need a higher wattage light bulb?

 

[Fusion 101]

I had noticed that the record/playback and the ffw/rew levers would not budge. I sprayed contact cleaner on the pots inside thinking they were stuck. No. Still wouldn’t move. I applied a little too much Force and broke both pieces that slip on the shaft of the mechanisms, like so


It was probably a stuck lever (still). Any replacements or alternatives to these or am I up that creek?

Needless to say, the handles now turn but won’t engage either of the rollers since it’s missing the cams.

 

[Fusion 101]

Found two like-new on eBay. Can you say ‘lucky’?

 

[elnaldo]

That lever is a common problem in those old Akai. (Search the web for "akai pot metal lever" or so.)

My solution was to DIY a new lever cutting, drilling and filing by hand a bronze piece.

Any old Akai will have this same problem if it was not fixed recently.

 

[Fusion 101]

Replaced the cams, cleaned the heads, contact cleaner on all pots and switches. I guess I need to grease it?



I buttoned it up and threaded a tape and listened for about a minute via headphones. I then lost the headphone output although I still saw the meters moving. Time to troubleshoot. Any ideas or experiences are welcome.

 

[elnaldo]

I'd grease sliding surfaces to reduce friction.

If meters move, the head is clean (sticky tape is a common problem, output decreases in a few seconds, but the meters don't move)

You need to check the circuit schematic to see what is between the meter and the headphone output, and clean there. Probably a dirty switch or potentiometer.

 

[Fusion 101]

I’ve been able to enjoy a tape or two but something’s happening w the right channel.

Don’t mind the audio (it was the tv; no tape was playing )

What could be causing this?
Thanks

 

[elnaldo]

Do you hear some noises when this happens? Or it's just the Vumeter moving without sound?

In most tape decks, the "rec-playback" switch uses to introduce all kind of problems, since all the audio signals go through it, and sometimes gets dirty. Start cleaning that switch. Spray some isopropyl alcohol or contact cleaner inside it and move it by hand several times. Let it dry for some seconds or minutes and try again.

If you hear little noises, like "wind" or little explosions, Akai decks use to have noisy transistors in the preamp sections. You should replace the small signal transistors, trying to locate the source of the noise or replacing them all.

 

[Fusion 101]

Hello elnaldo,

I do hear ‘explosions’ like you say. I will clean the rec playback switch and look at replacing the signal path transistors in the pre amp signal path.
Thanks

 

[elnaldo]

Little explosions like fried bacon usually point to noisy transistors.