Mark_71
Member
Tandberg TCD 310
I finally got my Tandberg TCD 310 cassette deck in perfect working order. I ordered it off eBay for $200 and just stored it away for a rainy day. A bit expensive for this Tandberg model, but it it was in near mint condition with the original box, original paperwork, and even had the legs that clip on to stand it up vertically. I always wanted a Tandberg since I first saw one in Norway. I also ordered an original service manual.
This might be my last refurbishment. I’ve been doing this for quite a few years now. This unit was boxed away waiting for when I was older and needed a project. I’ve decided to give away a bunch of my unused audio equipment, but quickly realized any friends or family wouldn’t have the patience, skills, or tools to fix this so I spent the last month leisurely working on it.
This isn’t a super high-end cassette deck, but it’s a fun one, sounds decent, and looks cool. Plus it can be positioned horizontally or vertically. It was a joy to work on. It’s one of the few decks where I found the service manual to be really easy to understand and I can’t say enough about the design of the unit, it’s like no other deck. The front and back are solid pieces of metal with grooves that the boards slide into. It was manufactured to be serviced. I had no trouble w/ disassembly and the belts are easy to replace.
I cleaned all the parts with electronics grade alcohol, then DeoxIT on anything that might need it. Some of the metal connections, like the RCA jacks, seemed to have oxidized pretty badly. Inside it looked new after a good cleaning. I did not recap anything. All the original light bulbs worked. The original fuse worked, though I swapped it out for a new one. All functions worked right out of the box even before I cleaned it up, but the right channel was low, both in VU meter and over the speaker. After plenty of CRC QD Electronic Cleaner and DeoxIT, I let it sit for a few days before firing it up and that seemed to fix the right channel. I’ve noticed this on multiple refurbishments, sometimes it’s best to apply DeoxIT a few times and let it sit for a few days. I even opened the VU meters and cleaned them. It seemed that the right channel got better and better the more and longer I tested the unit. It’s perfect for now.
I cleaned the heads and applied some rubber renewer to the pinch rollers. The metal cassette plate slides back and forth on three ball bearings. I removed the plate and chipped away the old grease which had partially solidified. I’m surprised the plate engaged at all when I hit the PLAY button, but it did, just a bit sluggishly. I replaced both belts (capstan and counter). I ordered two belt kits from two different vendors just in case one was higher quality, but neither sent a good counter belt, both were too loose. Luckily, I have extra belts of varying sizes and managed to find one that fits. Inside there was foam in a few places that disintegrated; I replaced that too.
I remember talking to an old man in a used electronics store in Oslo and he commented that Tandberg gave Nakamichi a run for their money. I figured that was just Norwegian pride speaking and even though I’ve never seen a Dragon, I know the TCD 310 is not in the same league. It's just a fun deck. Then I saw some reviews on the Tandberg 3014A. Now that was a hi-end deck. People rave about it. And the prices are out of control. There’s one on eBay right now for $2990. I’m fine playing my humble TCD 310, it works like a charm, and it will make a great gift to someone.
PROS
- Easy to work on
- Belts readily available (2 belts) / easy to change
- Beautiful Norwegian styling
- Quality manufacturing
- Good sound (not amazing, there are better Tandbergs)
- It worked after years being boxed away even before I cleaned it or replaced belts (impressive)
- I ordered 2 different belt kits, both had counter belts that were too loose
- Buttons noisy (loud clunk sounds)
- No headphone jack (at least not in US model)
- Some metal parts oxidized heavily
- Recessed RCA jacks only accept small cables (I used the cheap red/white ones that came with a 90s deck, they were the only ones that would fit)
In fact, ahead of some transfer work I recently checked the line-up of the 700 ZXL - using (as always) a pristine set of BASF calibration tapes. (Only the click-stop azimuth adjustment precludes perfect channel phase coherence at 10kHz.) The 700 Tri-Tracer currently has a transport logic fault which I've yet to find time to attend to. But my point was that, because I expect better from them, it's not a surprise when they actually do deliver a superlative performance. Much in the same way that I wouldn't be impressed with a [lossless] well-executed digital recording - as a blameless rendition of line-in is to be taken for granted.