• 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

Resurrected Sony TC-388-4

bouldersound

bouldersound

New Member
I finally got tired of looking at my Sony TC-388-4 sitting unused in the closet. I bought it as semi-working in a second hand store and never got around to making it work. I started to tinker with it one night and before I knew it I had the front panels off and the supply hub out. The problem had been that the supply hub brake didn't let go when playing, so there was way too much tension on the tape while playing. It turns out there was some grunge left by one of the pads on the hub, which caught on the brake pad and caused it to grab when it should have let the hub turn. The other issue was the rubber idler between the motor shaft and the capstan flywheel. It had developed a shiny smooth surface that didn't gain much traction on the metal wheels it interfaced with. It's a work in progress, but it does seem to be working for now.


Sony TC-388-4 Guts.jpg

Sony TC-388-4 reassembled.png
 
Register to hide this ad
bouldersound said:
I finally got tired of looking at my Sony TC-388-4 sitting unused in the closet. I bought it as semi-working in a second hand store and never got around to making it work. I started to tinker with it one night and before I knew it I had the front panels off and the supply hub out. The problem had been that the supply hub brake didn't let go when playing, so there was way too much tension on the tape while playing. It turns out there was some grunge left by one of the pads on the hub, which caught on the brake pad and caused it to grab when it should have let the hub turn. The other issue was the rubber idler between the motor shaft and the capstan flywheel. It had developed a shiny smooth surface that didn't gain much traction on the metal wheels it interfaced with. It's a work in progress, but it does seem to be working for now.
Click to expand...
Welcome to AudioKarma. That is a cool looking deck. Do you have a quadraphonic setup and tapes to go with it?
 
I don't have any quad tapes, but if I did I could probably run the outputs into the discrete inputs of my surround system and disable the subwoofer so the mains ran full range. But my main use is to digitize old stereo and mono tapes. I may pick up a 4-channel audio interface so I can transfer quad and 4-track tapes, and also transfer two sided stereo tapes in one pass, then reverse the Side 2 tracks in software.

I actually joined a while ago because people on this site were using a photo of a Realistic phono preamp I have. So I posted some frequency response measurements of it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom