CR-80D-SS is a continual evolution

eyg2181

Active Member
I finally saved up for an Akai CR-80D-SS. $180 on ebay. the Rear Left Channel seems to have problems. after its on for awhile and i push random buttons it will kick on, and it sounds excellent, but the problem is by the time i finally get it to work, i dont even feel like listening to the damn thing anymore.

i have 3 options, the first one im not considering so much anymore after my anger has mostly gone away.

1. Take it outside and smash the shit out of it with the sledgehammer. it would have made me feel better at the time, but id feel really stupid afterward. this isnt really being considered at this point i just through it in for laughs. although it would be a lot of fun.

2. Sell the ****ing thing on ebay again with the problem listed and HOPE i get HALF of what i paid for it back... OR

3. calm down, relax, and get it looked at or use any advice i get to troubleshoot it myself


as of now, all the thing does is look nice. i was thinking about getting the GXR-82D, but now im really wondering if i want to bother with another Akai. this may have ruined my opinion on the brand for good.
 
4-cotact seller,tell him its ****ed,and if no joy claim money back thru paypal:yes:

item was an as-is auction. said it was only used to copy tapes to a digital format 5 years ago. i think im SOL. :no:

i just cant believe it.... the #1 Q8 Machine on the marked, and even that doesnt work. i am so close to ditching this format and giving up hope all together.
 
If jigging random buttons makes it work,try cleaning the switches with deoxit or similar,if it works sometimes,all is not lost!
 
If jigging random buttons makes it work,try cleaning the switches with deoxit or similar,if it works sometimes,all is not lost!

excellent idea, i have a can of control/contact cleaner & lubricant. and a can of dust remover spray that i got from radioshack. ill give that a try and hope for the best.
 
Make sure its unplugged!!
Spra a second or two burst in where you can and then work the control til you get bored of doing it-my DBX224 NR unit was dropping a channel,did this and now its great again,took about 20 mins from stripping it to boxing it back up
 
should i spray the adjustment knobs inside as well? i got itto work by messing with that too... i guess ill try all parts and hope for the best. looks like there may be hope after all!
 
Try the ones controled from the front panel first,but dont alter the ones inside!!!!!!!!!!Just the ones that are controled from outside.
 
theres definitly an improvement, the rear left channel didnt go at first but it went on seconds after i pressed the play button, which is the quickest and easiest its went on thus far.
 
Sometimes it a good thing to step back maybee sleep on it then reavaluate the situation. Often times things work out. I have been on the hunt for one of those decks but have yet to find one I can afford I have worked on many others and have often been ready to smash them but with enough tinkering you will most likely get er going.best of luck to ya.
 
Thanks, I started the unit today, and I have the same problem just as it was when I got it , when it does work it has great clear sound. (for stereo it works great all the time) it records in stereo very well too.

I am glad that I did not go with my first option, because I would REALLY regret it now. I will take it to get it looked at before I mess something up for good. There's a TV and Electronic repair shop in Cressona a few minutes away that may be able to help, I just hope they do 8 track decks. I also wonder about the cost. It shouldn't be too bad.
 
I just looked at this. It's GOT to be dirty contacts. This stuff is still built too well for other problems. And it's old. It needs a very good cleaning. But probably a tech needs to do it.
 
I'd love nothing more than to have this work as it should. I also feel guilty for bashing the Akai name, it could happen to any piece of equipment, I was just really upset that I spent 180 bucks and it had a problem which I know nothing about how to fix. Will pretty much any TV or Electronics repair shop be albe to get this thing up and running?esecially if all it needs is a good cleaning?
 
Really, when these decks are working properly, you won't find a better one. I believe this one to be the most sought after 8-track deck out there. Even non-working, I'm pretty sure that you could get at least half what you paid, maybe more. I'd be skeptical about taking it to your average electronic tech, as likely they won't be familiar with this deck and charge you a bunch of money anyway.

This deck uses 4(one for each audio channel) of the obsolete Sanyo LD3141 IC's on the preamp board, which are known for failure. There are a few people selling these on the bay. I purchased one as I thought that this was most likely the problem with my deck, but ended up being a bad transistor. One of the channels had low output and low level static. From what I've read, it seems that these LD3141 IC's can be noisy and/or cut out when they fail.

www.manuals-in-pdf.com has the service manual for sale. If you are not technically inclined, then your option 2 may be the best bet. You may not get what you paid, but should get a good amount back. Then get one that is guaranteed to work.
 
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I think that I just saw your listing, if yours is the one with the masking tape on the back. The deck looks mint cosmetically, which is a major plus if you decide to sell it. There will likely be someone out there who knows these decks and would be willing to fix it.:yes: Actually, considering that it's mint, I wouldn't be at all shocked that if you timed it right, that you might be able to get all of your money back out of it.
 
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I have the 4 channel SS version of this 8 track deck and also two of the 2 channel versions {Stereo }. They play well { All channels } if connected to external amps but If I remember correctly they have speaker connections on the rear but they do not work.
I was told it was probably caused by the speaker protection circuit. I never have figured that out . No manuals or other info I am afraid.
How does a speaker protection circuit work ? Sorry, going off topic now.
Regards Peter UK
 
mine is the one with masking tape on the back, and it is in MINT condition, not a scratch or ding on the entire unit. where would the pre amp board be, if i find the part, i believe i could get to it and install the new part, also what does this part look like?

and the problem is almost just as you described, there is no music output, but you can hear a little bit of static. somethimes the VU meter will shoot all the way to the right as far as it can go.

you say it is common for these things to drop a channel? and when it does, is it possible for it to cut back in again? but it will eventually turn back off...
 
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