• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Nakamichi 700 troubleshooting

Yamahaha

Yamahaha

Well-Known Member
Awhile back this forum helped me greatly with a Nakamichi RX202 ... that ones been running like a champ.

I have now picked up a Nakamichi 700 tri-tracer. The seller said it was dead but when I showed up to buy it powered up and has powered up for me every time. He said the touch controls stopped on him one day and he hadn't used it since for years.

Anyway I brought it home and yes it works. The left channel though is just a very faint output and that meter doesn't move. The right channel is about twice as loud as my 202 and sounds great. I mean wow what a difference in volume fullness and clarity. Frankly just one channel working still sounds better and I thought the 202 was a nice deck. So I am going to try and fix this 700. Any ideas why no output from the left?
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
The first thing to do on those is to use a contact cleaner, such as DeOxit, on all of the plug in cards edge connectors.

Then see how it behaves.
 
Yup loose connection in one of the slot connectors ... both channels work now. Needs a good cleaning ... not a bad score considering it cost me about 2 visits to McDonalds. Very substantial unit with a ton of stuff packed in. Kind of hard to work on.
 
Got is cleaned up and working fine. Speed was slow. Adjusted pitch but had to turn up up a bit from 0 to get playback at proper pitch. A bit noisy in the background. Between songs there is a slight hiss and toggling the dolby on/off effect its. Since this was made in 1974 I have no idea if its normal. My 202 has no noise of its own.

The 700 sounds great. Very big almost reel to reel sound.
 
what do "plug in cards edge connectors" look like? Sorry..don't know enough to pick them out yet- my teac is having similar problem and it also has pitch control.
 
Like Dimms on your computer. A cluster of cables that all connect in a slot. Early version of a ribbon cable. I cleaned the contacts and reseated these connections. Fixed the "dead channel". Speed I adjusted manually with the pitch control. I assume there is a way to lock the "0" pitch inside to the proper speed. For now I am fine with the pitch adjusted a little up.
 
Hi Perryinva

Yes sir another Nak score. Seller hadn't used it for 5 years. He said the controls stopped working on him and it sat ever since. I managed to replicate that issue while cleaning it up. I guess that main board needs to be grounded or it wont power on? My guess anyway as I tried testing it with that board not screwed back down and it wouldn't even fire the motor. Screwed back into place - no problem. It plays tapes the RX202e wont. As in the ones that seemed seized and garbled on the 202 ... the 700 spins them like a champ. The 202 is dead quiet when not spinning and the 700 has a constant tape hiss even when simply powered up with nothing running. Not loud but definitely there and lessens engaging the dolby (again with no tape playing, just on). Sound is great.
 
Recently picked up the bigger brother. The 1000. Similar issue with the boards and tired connections. I had to clean each boards connection points and manually tightened the connectors on the main board so I ended up with a nice tight connection. Corrected issues withe meters no starting at -40 and with intermittment drop outs from channel to channel. In addition the DNL and Dolby switches would cause some trouble. Once I cleaned the switches and the boards all was well. Good luck on a great deck.
 
MRL_Audio said:
Recently picked up the bigger brother. The 1000. Similar issue with the boards and tired connections. I had to clean each boards connection points and manually tightened the connectors on the main board so I ended up with a nice tight connection. Corrected issues withe meters no starting at -40 and with intermittment drop outs from channel to channel. In addition the DNL and Dolby switches would cause some trouble. Once I cleaned the switches and the boards all was well. Good luck on a great deck.
Click to expand...

Does your 1000 have an ever present hiss? By this I miss crank the amp up to half. My 700 a hiss present even when not spinning.. like its amplifying even though there is nothing to output. Just wondering if its normal for the old decks or something else. My NAK 202 is dead quiet as are all other sources.
 
I owned a 700 a decade ago and it too had a sort of persistent hiss when it was turned on. It is nowhere near as quiet as other Naks I have owned. The touch controls were also problematic, but I had a wired remote that worked. Eventually I dumped it for a CR-7A which is a whole other class of machine.
 
The only time I can hear the odd hiss is when the tape is spinning and generally it's only from the right channel. Left stays silent. I am ok with it that way at this point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom