Sony TC-238 8-track deck

maxhifi

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Picked one up for $30 at a flea market. Nice cosmetic condition, vendor claimed it worked, but no means of testing at the flea market. I was very suspicious of his claim, because I don't think I've ever seen a 45 year old 8-track deck which still works with the original belt, and it wasn't represented has having been serviced.

Anyway, tried it, not working - opened it up, and found decomposed belt goo all over everything inside the deck. Cleaned up the goo, cleaned the capstan really well, cleaned the head and tape path... oiled the capstan bearings, oiled the motor, and tried it with a rubber band in place of the belt - worked, but of course sounded horrible.

Since the unit needs a flat belt, I made a temporary belt out of a short length of 1/4" recording tape, with a drop of super glue to make a loop. Unit sounds great, way better than I remember 8-tracks sounding. It has a bit of the hollow 3.75IPS sound which all cheap tape recorders have, but I'm pretty happy with it. Definitely not lacking treble or bass, and no signs that it's out of alignment or has a worn head.

Service manual and schematic aren't on hi-fi engine, anyone out there got one?
 
I don't know why I ask people if stuff works. I bet 90% of the people say it works and only 10% of the stuff works. But I still keep asking.
 
I don't know why I ask people if stuff works. I bet 90% of the people say it works and only 10% of the stuff works. But I still keep asking.

Yeah, I pretty much assume anything with moving parts doesn't work.. my main thing is to look for decent cosmetic condition, and no evidence of hack job repairs.
 
Glad you got a good deck. It would be worth getting a real belt. You may be further impressed with the result.

You might be able to find a User Manual and\or Service manual, by searching for "aliases" of your deck-see the link here for some ideas: http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=58773

Here's a belt type: FRY11.5 x .235 x .040. I order from Russell Industries (no affiliation) http://www.russellind.com/prbline/prb.htm

It's correct for the 228 and 208 models-my hunch is it will work on your 238.
 
Glad you got a good deck. It would be worth getting a real belt. You may be further impressed with the result.

You might be able to find a User Manual and\or Service manual, by searching for "aliases" of your deck-see the link here for some ideas: http://www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=58773

Here's a belt type: FRY11.5 x .235 x .040. I order from Russell Industries (no affiliation) http://www.russellind.com/prbline/prb.htm

It's correct for the 228 and 208 models-my hunch is it will work on your 238.

Just noticed this, thanks for all the info! I am definitely going to get a real belt, this is just for testing. I have been listening to it quite a bit, it is miles ahead of the other decks I have used, in terms of sound quality. It's the first time I ever heard something approaching high fidelity off an 8 track.
 
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