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AKAI GX625 open reel deck - need help

K

KAMELEON

New Member
The deck was removed from A/C storage after 2 years of hibernation - installed in the system and played back - R channel very very low output ( around -20 dB ) and distorted sound - the tape is ok, plays very nice on other decks. I cleaned the pcb's , the heads ( also demagnetized them ), I played back and forth with the Monitor and Track selector switches - still the same distorted sound but higher output - what i have noticed so far - blowing hot air from a hair dryer to the preamp pcb for 10-15 seconds - The R channel comes back to life and plays NORMAL (full sound ) for hours - if i turn the machine off for , let's say 30 minutes, i'll have to repeat the hot air stuff again to get the normal sound from the R channel !!!!! I cleaned that board on both sides, i did not see any bad conexion, all the caps/transistors/etc are in place, not loose, also i played with the VR ( variable resistor ) and the gain on R channel. I suspect a bad cap, or still a loose conexion on the board , or a dirty switch - although everything is perfectly clean now. Thanks for reading.
 
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Had such a deck myself - and had a similar experience - all the small caps in the signalpath had to be replaced, then it was back in working order
you'll need a handfull of 10uF/16v caps...... and the schematic is to find for free
 
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Thank you for your reply - i have the service manual - it looks like there are 6 small black caps on each channel ( along with 2 ceramic and 1 thin foil caps ) on the right side of the preamp board - or should i look for other small caps on the same pcb ?
 
DeoxIT the switch connected to the head slider. My 1820 had the exact same symptoms on and off until I did that.
 
Yes, i found some troubleshooting on the net regarding the R/P switch ( record/playback ) - is it the same with the head slider switch ( although at GX625 the heads are fixed )? And if yes, most likely it is located on the transport/brake board.
 
KAMELEON said:
Thank you for your reply - i have the service manual - it looks like there are 6 small black caps on each channel ( along with 2 ceramic and 1 thin foil caps ) on the right side of the preamp board - or should i look for other small caps on the same pcb ?
Click to expand...

I replaced all the 10uF/16volt caps in both channels - and yes, mine where those black one's - can't remember if i did replace a couple of 47uF's too, i think i did ...... 3 or 4 in each channel

somehow those 10uF and 47uF have a reputation for causing trouble

akai625.jpg
 
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