Marantz cassette deck heads

[Chuck awker]

So I have a 5030b that does everything but play.My tech says the heads are bad but someone on this site said I still should be getting noise out of speakers.
Anything else I should check?

 

[Powertech]

With any amplifier / speakers set at a low volume, and the cassette deck set to play, briefly touch the wiring on the back of the play head. You should get a severe hum out of the speakers. At least this will prove that the downstream amlifier circuits in the cassette deck are generally functioning.

 

[Chuck awker]

So I have a 5030b that does everything but play.My tech says the heads are bad but someone on this site said I still should be getting noise out of speakers.
Anything else I should check?

With any amplifier / speakers set at a low volume, and the cassette deck set to play, briefly touch the wiring on the back of the play head. You should get a severe hum out of the speakers. At least this will prove that the downstream amlifier circuits in the cassette deck are generally functioning.

Could I just use headphone directly to the cassette?

 

[Catmanboo]

Could I just use headphone directly to the cassette?

Of course. If you have it there, you'll have it in back out of the output jacks.

 

[titanstats]

Was it functional when you bought it — if so, when did you lose sound output?

 

[gadget73]

its possible for heads to fail, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list. Its two coils of wire in a metal box. Having both go open seems odd to me. Should be able to confirm it with an ohm meter. If they aren't open, chances are very high that they are capable of outputting something.

+1 on touching the wires on the head though. If it hums, the audio circuitry is working. If nothing, my bet is on the tape head amp circuitry is not working for some reason. Not looking at a service manual but if there is a switch between the tape head and the head amp input, I'd focus on that. Switches IME are more troublesome than most electronic components.

 

[Bone Yard]

If that's all he said I'd guess he doesn't like tape decks. Is the head worn/dirty, are there missing wires, did he clarify any further?

Does play mean everything moves but there's no sound? Can you see the tape rotating? Do the meters move at all?

I feel like tape decks are last on the list for electronics repairers since they mix mechanical and electrical issues plus a lot of these guys think they have no value compared to other audio equipment and any repair work would far exceed that value.