Hello out there...
I have run out of options. I have a Teac AL-700 Elcaset that I bought new in 1984. I have opened it up every couple of years or so for cleaning and routine maintenance and have replaced the belts set twice. It has always been in a climate-controlled and non-smoking environment. We relocated from Jacksonville, Florida to Scottsboro, Alabama after I retired at the tail end of 2019. All of my primary system equipment has been stored in my shop (1600 sq ft finished basement with the humidity controlled at 45%) waiting for my wife and I to decide on the best area of the house to set the stack up in. I started going through all of the components prior to putting everything back together.
I opened up the AL-700 after I serviced my Pioneer CT-A1 cassette. Did the normal things.... replaced the belt set, cleaned and lubricated the proper transport components degaussed the transport and cleaned and treated all of the operating controls. Prior to installing the face and cabinet, I set the unit up on the bench and connected it to a Sansui system that I use for testing equipment. The transport engaged normally, but the tape started climbing up on the following transport tape guide and the tape started moving away from the surface of the heads. Pulled the cassette out of the transport and made sure that there was no slack present. Same result.
Since then, I have checked all of the mechanical alignment, polished the capstans, double-cleaned all of the tape travel surfaces, checked the feed and take-up motor torque in all operational modes.... no change. I looked at the pinch rollers, and the surfaces appeared a bit hard, though it didn't seem abnormally so. They were clean, but removed them from the transport and cleaned them with alcohol (as I have done in the past) and lubricated the internal bearings. Put it all back together but got the same result.
For the lack of any further options, I pulled the pinch rollers and sent them up to Michigan to Terry Witt, of Terry's Rubber Rollers. I got them back yesterday and he did a beautiful job of replacing the rubber surfaces of the rollers. I installed them in the machine this morning and tested the unit, but still have the same problem.
With this being a dual capstan closed loop machine, I am at a loss as to what is causing this. I've never observed this particular issue in any dual capstan machine, reel to reel or cassette. I have used cassette that I have recorded in the past and have opened up a factory new tape and have gotten the same result. Does anyone out these have any ideas or run into the same issue? Many thanks in advance.....
