harmon/kardon td 420 cassette deck leaving soot on the roof

[Anolsos_1974]

Hi all, I’m having some problems with this lovely old deck and during troubleshooting I noticed two areas of soot buildup above the power supply and the second above some heat sinks. I haven’t checked any of the components yet and obviously it’s not ideal but maybe it’s normal. Does anyone have any idea? I put my finger through the smudge to illustrate. Thanks!

 

[eiraved]

Well it has probably been close to 30 years since the inside of that cover has been cleaned, and it'll take another decade or two for the soot to build up again. So yes, it's normal for this type of build up to occur on vintage equipment over the years.

 

[Anolsos_1974]

Thank you! It’s always good to get permission to ignore a problem

 

[eiraved]

Thank you! It’s always good to get permission to ignore a problem

Especially when it isn't a problem!

 

[eiraved]

Since we handled this problem, you might want to post any other problems with this deck in the "Tape" forum.