Excellent Video, Thank you. My Dad gifted me Panasonic RS-876AS that he had in his garage for 30 years, The receiver works flawlessly and the matching speakers sound great. The turn table will spin up, when selected in manual, at all speeds, been when the lever it put into REJ the plater comes to an abrupt stop and will not start again unless I turn it off, put it back in manual. The idler wheel looks fine no cracking and is still soft. I suspect something in the linkage may be gummed up. Also I think the same 8 track core is installed in the unit as well. I will definitely use your tips and methods to work out why it does not function, though the program lights do work when a 8 track is inserted, but no sound our movement detected. I was gifted a nonfunctional 1925 victrola that would spin but the resonator was shot, so I rebuilt is and lubed all the mechanical parts. Its alot of fun now it's working and it always wows my guest when I put on 100+ year old records on it. I recently purchased a Curtis Mathis console with the Receiver and Garrard 620s turntable. From a Goodwill for 9 dollars untested. The receiver works perfectly but the Turntable had issues. The speed control was frozen, the tone arm wires were shot, and the automatic spindle would not drop records. When phono was selected it would only play out of the left speaker, and there was a loud humming through the left speaker when in phono setting. I disassembled everything, lubed and freed up the speed control mechanism, found that the retaining clip for the auto spindle was not very snug as it allowed the spindle to move slightly causing no action. I replaced the tone arm for one I found online of exact match. While I repaired and rewire the old one. Found 1 RCA cable to be bad and replaced both, and found that the turntable itself had no grounding wire and appeared to have been removed, I ran a new ground wire to the receiver ground and eliminated the hum. Every thing is now working flawlessly and I am very happy. Turned that $9 dollars investment with about $50 into parts into a solid working unit. I was offered $700 for it from a musician friend of mine. But I am enjoying it to much to sell at the . moment, I may entertain offers in the coming years but, now I am savoring the awesomeness of it.I got that Panasonic RS-867AS to Work on as well as an Panasonic SE-1510 to work on. Any tips on the Panasonic RS-876AS turntable issues from viewers or channel host would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the great video and you definitely earned yourself a subscriber.
Over the years, I've had a few cheapie "all in one" stereos where the dial lamps would dim when the solenoid engaged. I think it's just the way they were designed.
Groovy video! It takes me back to my HS days in the 70s when a lot of us had 8-tracks in our cars. I made a good deal of $$$ fixing them (... much more profitable than $1.80/hr working at the burger chef). The main problem was that the cheaply made tapes would quickly clog the heads and cause a loss of volume. Also, most of the heads in the "budget" units were not properly adjusted at the factory, causing bad high frequency response. My calibration tape made for easy adjustment. Fixing car 8-tracks led to getting work fixing audio and TV. Thanks for making videos showing the workings and repair of vintage electronics.
I remember, as a kid in the 70s, often riding my bicycle and seeing ruined 8-track tape on the side of the road because their car player 'ate' it and they threw it out in frustration. Never had one in my car but had a couple in our house. Burger chef - I remember those! I think my home town had that and also a Burger Queen (with their weird Queen Bee mascot).
I remember, as a kid in the 70s, often riding my bicycle and seeing ruined 8-track tape on the side of the road because their car player 'ate' it and they threw it out in frustration. Never had one in my car but had a couple in our house. Burger chef - I remember those! I think my home town had that and also a Burger Queen (with their weird Queen Bee mascot).
The closest I ever came to working on one of these, were the superb ITC cart machines used in radio broadcast studios. They were a work of art for their engineering, something to behold.
There is a trick to assembling the capstan and not get any oil on the part that touches the tape. Only apply oil to the top bearing, not the shaft, then with a clean capstan shaft only apply oil to the base of the shaft that will contact the lower bearing. Since there is no oil which contacts the bottom bearing, or the top of the shaft, they pass through each other without smearing oil onto the place that will contact the tape. Spin the assembly slowly as it seats into the bearings to distribute the oil. Just got done with a Panasonic RS-802US last year. Great video.
The Panasonic RS-802US has "IC circuitry", uses an AC synchronous motor with a fan, lots of torque and no draw from the power supply. No eject button on the 802. Love the electromechanical pinball technology used just to light up 4 program lights and change the head position!
Thanks for this very educational video... For these type of 8 track motors with an internal speed adjustment, what is the correct procedure for adjusting to the correct speed? I have a Realistic TR-888, tried to match the speed to a digital file (coincidentally using the same Billy Joel album to test...) with several passes of disassembling the motor, turning the adjustments and reassembling. However, after watching this, wondering if I should have focused on capacitors or something else before touching the motor...
If it uses an AC motor and a phasing capacitor, you can try changing the phasing capacitor to see if a tired cap is causing it to run slow. You can also try using a narrower belt to concentrate surface area on the apex of the pulley. However if it has a DC motor with a mechanical governor, the motor must be carefully taken apart and the governor adjustments inside on the contacts turned a hair clockwise to close the gap. Then reassemble enough to run your test again. It's a pain and you may take hours only to get the speed close. One false move and you will hurt or kill the motor. Newer DC motors have a speed controller IC inside with an adjustment pot on the back in which case you can use a non metallic screwdriver to adjust the speed during playback.
I had one of these I got from a yard sale for $5 back in the 90's, it worked perfectly without any repairs. Unfortunately, it was stolen along with all my other audio and video gear, tools, and fishing tackle.
I Remember Those Old 8 Tracks I Remember When They Wh'er New They Wh'er Fine But After You Played Them For While They Got Muffled & Then You Could Hear Other Tracks In The Background. Sometimes They Got Chewed up In The 8 Track Player. Then Came Cassettes They Wh'er A Little Better Then 8 Tracks. But Sometimes Cassettes Got Chewed up In The Cassette Player Too. I Was Sure Glad When CD's Came out. & So Was My Mom. She Just Loved Them When She Found Out We Could Order Those Time life Classic Country CD's She Loved That.
Great video. Out of curiosity, when you do the voltage check what are you connecting the wires to in the player? I assume you were switching the unit on by hand when you were measuring?
Great video and very informative. It helped understand the track switcher. But mine is not spinning when the solenoid engages, only moving back and forth so only one program loops. I'm trying to figure out if I need to bend the prongs on the mechanism that turns the cam to raise and lower the head. Do you have a visual that can show me how that thing works and how I can adjust it to move the "blades"?
You should never need to bend the blades the solenoid pulls down. Check that the head can be moved up or down by hand. If not, you're problem is the head is stuck.
I cleaned the old grease off and put new white grease so the head moves up and down smoothly. The head also moves fine when I move the solenoid manually. It only goes back and forth when it is plugged in. Could it be the spring? Thank u for the prompt response on the my first question. 😀
@@soupbonep if you move the cam that changes head elevation by hand, does it correctly change tracks? Was it correctly reassembled with any spacer washers that would effect baseline elevation of the cam?
@@JordanPier The tracks do change correctly when I move the cam by hand. I don't know if there is bleed through because I haven't done it while it is plugged in to hear the audio, but the head does move position up and down. As for washers, I will have to get back to you on that. One that I put on the cam shaft is just under the clip that keeps the cam on the shaft. I'm not even sure if it was supposed to go there because I forgot where I removed it from. I should have took notes, or pictures to document the steps. I'm a novice as you can tell! I was thinking that the solenoid wasn't moving far enough when I pushed the program button when powered up. It seemed that the prong wasn't going all the way past the rounded part on the cam blade to catch the corner. But I could be wrong. Thanks for all of your help. I am not home right now and can't access the tape deck. So I will look at it on Monday morning.
@@soupbonep if you can press on the metal arm long enough to change tracks and the solenoid wont do it, then you have to troubleshoot the solenoid circuit to make sure its getting clean dc power
Any ideas on where to look if the program change function isn't working? My unit plays, but only on program 2. The solenoid fires when you push the button, but the white plastic cam doesn't move. I removed the cam, and thought the little spring sitting at the bottom of its shaft had lost its strength, and installed one with more springiness. Didn't make any difference.
If the white cam moves, but no change, likely the shaft bearing the head moves up and down on is frozen. Carefully heat it with a hair dryer to loosen up the grease, clean the surfaces accessible with isopropyl alcohol and reoil with 3-in-one or similar. An oiler syringe makes it easier Make sure no be careful with the heat and dont melt any plastics, wires, or get the head too hot
Some series resistance that should not be there limiting the current? So many things could cause voltage drop, don't think they would work like this new.
Wish I could send you a Sony TC-208 to look at. Has a speed/flutter problem despite a new belt. Think it also has a mechanical-governor motor (will play somewhat normally if I turn on its side).
If you bought a belt off of eBay, well, there's your problem likely. I bought belts that were too tight and too narrow and caused rapid tape flutter. If the belt rides the convex motor pully off center, then it is not the right size, it must track right down the middle. Hope that might help.
Maybe the Voltage drop is intentional ? .. Something like a soft start function to not yank the tape ? Hard to tell without schematics.. Anyhow, thanks for sharing, and best wishes so your customers may start recognizing your service hours in the future !
No, 8 track doesnt stop/start to move tracks. Since the head is moving up and down on the tape, better if the tape is moving at normal speed when the head moves. Also, since the pinch roller is in the tape, the motor already has a head start by the time the tape hits the capistan when inserting, so it would need a delay start and a soft start to accomplish that. The tape media is tough too, so it's not going to hurt it.
@@tinygriffy True! But surprising - There were some very good Panasonic 8 Track Recorders / Players made. I suppose this just was not one of those. But you can build anything down to a price, even in the 70's. :/
@@jimb032 You're right, although I think that planned obsolescence was invented or introduced into electronic much later. That's why I love the old stuff, mostly build really simple with the least amount of components necessary. Easy to service, robust and simple. Gone are the days where you could fix you phone with a spool of wire some tape and a hammer... sigh ;)
No. I've tried using the 6.5 and 6.7 and both yield terrible wow and flutter numbers. Studio sound electronics used to sell an fbs-6.7 that worked well but they sold out and everyone else advertising that belt is selling the wrong one that is too thick and doesn't work either.
Could have some shorted turn in the solenoid? Would like to see what the current draw is from the wall with a kill-a-watt meter as the solenoid is activated.
I Remember Having One Of Those But Only thing I Didn't Like was wen My Favorite Tapes Would Get Chewd Up In The Player It's Self. I'd Get Mad & Almost Wanted To Throw It Out The window. I Used To Say To My Self I Wish They'd Make Some Kind Of Media That Didn't Wear Out. So Wen Cassette Came Out That Was A Little Improvement. So Wen CD's Came Out That Was A Gods in.
But The Thing With CD's wen I Bought A Portable Combination Cassette & CD Boom box & Portable CD Player I Had To Invest In ReChargeable Battery & Charger. But I Liked The Fact I Didn't Have To Put Up With Tapes Getting Chewed Up.
Excellent Video, Thank you. My Dad gifted me Panasonic RS-876AS that he had in his garage for 30 years, The receiver works flawlessly and the matching speakers sound great. The turn table will spin up, when selected in manual, at all speeds, been when the lever it put into REJ the plater comes to an abrupt stop and will not start again unless I turn it off, put it back in manual. The idler wheel looks fine no cracking and is still soft. I suspect something in the linkage may be gummed up. Also I think the same 8 track core is installed in the unit as well. I will definitely use your tips and methods to work out why it does not function, though the program lights do work when a 8 track is inserted, but no sound our movement detected. I was gifted a nonfunctional 1925 victrola that would spin but the resonator was shot, so I rebuilt is and lubed all the mechanical parts. Its alot of fun now it's working and it always wows my guest when I put on 100+ year old records on it. I recently purchased a Curtis Mathis console with the Receiver and Garrard 620s turntable. From a Goodwill for 9 dollars untested. The receiver works perfectly but the Turntable had issues. The speed control was frozen, the tone arm wires were shot, and the automatic spindle would not drop records. When phono was selected it would only play out of the left speaker, and there was a loud humming through the left speaker when in phono setting. I disassembled everything, lubed and freed up the speed control mechanism, found that the retaining clip for the auto spindle was not very snug as it allowed the spindle to move slightly causing no action. I replaced the tone arm for one I found online of exact match. While I repaired and rewire the old one. Found 1 RCA cable to be bad and replaced both, and found that the turntable itself had no grounding wire and appeared to have been removed, I ran a new ground wire to the receiver ground and eliminated the hum. Every thing is now working flawlessly and I am very happy. Turned that $9 dollars investment with about $50 into parts into a solid working unit. I was offered $700 for it from a musician friend of mine. But I am enjoying it to much to sell at the . moment, I may entertain offers in the coming years but, now I am savoring the awesomeness of it.I got that Panasonic RS-867AS to Work on as well as an Panasonic SE-1510 to work on. Any tips on the Panasonic RS-876AS turntable issues from viewers or channel host would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the great video and you definitely earned yourself a subscriber.
Over the years, I've had a few cheapie "all in one" stereos where the dial lamps would dim when the solenoid engaged. I think it's just the way they were designed.
Groovy video! It takes me back to my HS days in the 70s when a lot of us had 8-tracks in our cars. I made a good deal of $$$ fixing them (... much more profitable than $1.80/hr working at the burger chef). The main problem was that the cheaply made tapes would quickly clog the heads and cause a loss of volume. Also, most of the heads in the "budget" units were not properly adjusted at the factory, causing bad high frequency response. My calibration tape made for easy adjustment. Fixing car 8-tracks led to getting work fixing audio and TV. Thanks for making videos showing the workings and repair of vintage electronics.
I remember, as a kid in the 70s, often riding my bicycle and seeing ruined 8-track tape on the side of the road because their car player 'ate' it and they threw it out in frustration. Never had one in my car but had a couple in our house. Burger chef - I remember those! I think my home town had that and also a Burger Queen (with their weird Queen Bee mascot).
I remember, as a kid in the 70s, often riding my bicycle and seeing ruined 8-track tape on the side of the road because their car player 'ate' it and they threw it out in frustration. Never had one in my car but had a couple in our house. Burger chef - I remember those! I think my home town had that and also a Burger Queen (with their weird Queen Bee mascot).
The closest I ever came to working on one of these, were the superb ITC cart machines used in radio broadcast studios. They were a work of art for their engineering, something to behold.
You are a true craftsman! You- "This thing is a little slow. " Continues troubleshooting. 👍😊
There is a trick to assembling the capstan and not get any oil on the part that touches the tape. Only apply oil to the top bearing, not the shaft, then with a clean capstan shaft only apply oil to the base of the shaft that will contact the lower bearing. Since there is no oil which contacts the bottom bearing, or the top of the shaft, they pass through each other without smearing oil onto the place that will contact the tape. Spin the assembly slowly as it seats into the bearings to distribute the oil. Just got done with a Panasonic RS-802US last year. Great video.
Working that track change elevator sounds like an old telegraph from the 1800s
The Panasonic RS-802US has "IC circuitry", uses an AC synchronous motor with a fan, lots of torque and no draw from the power supply. No eject button on the 802. Love the electromechanical pinball technology used just to light up 4 program lights and change the head position!
Thanks for this very educational video... For these type of 8 track motors with an internal speed adjustment, what is the correct procedure for adjusting to the correct speed? I have a Realistic TR-888, tried to match the speed to a digital file (coincidentally using the same Billy Joel album to test...) with several passes of disassembling the motor, turning the adjustments and reassembling. However, after watching this, wondering if I should have focused on capacitors or something else before touching the motor...
If it uses an AC motor and a phasing capacitor, you can try changing the phasing capacitor to see if a tired cap is causing it to run slow.
You can also try using a narrower belt to concentrate surface area on the apex of the pulley.
However if it has a DC motor with a mechanical governor, the motor must be carefully taken apart and the governor adjustments inside on the contacts turned a hair clockwise to close the gap. Then reassemble enough to run your test again. It's a pain and you may take hours only to get the speed close. One false move and you will hurt or kill the motor.
Newer DC motors have a speed controller IC inside with an adjustment pot on the back in which case you can use a non metallic screwdriver to adjust the speed during playback.
@@JordanPier Thank you for the info! (It was a DC motor w/mechanical governor)
I had one of these I got from a yard sale for $5 back in the 90's, it worked perfectly without any repairs. Unfortunately, it was stolen along with all my other audio and video gear, tools, and fishing tackle.
I Remember Those Old 8 Tracks
I Remember When They Wh'er New
They Wh'er Fine But After You Played
Them For While They Got Muffled &
Then You Could Hear Other Tracks
In The Background. Sometimes
They Got Chewed up In The 8 Track Player.
Then Came Cassettes
They Wh'er A Little Better Then 8 Tracks.
But Sometimes Cassettes Got Chewed up
In The Cassette Player Too.
I Was Sure Glad When CD's Came out.
& So Was My Mom. She Just Loved
Them When She Found Out
We Could Order Those Time life
Classic Country CD's She Loved That.
Looks like a new machine now,,,it has come up really well after a lot of exterior cleaning of the case.
Great video. Out of curiosity, when you do the voltage check what are you connecting the wires to in the player? I assume you were switching the unit on by hand when you were measuring?
I have that same exact 8 track player hooked to my component stereo.
Cheers. I have a Pioneer/ Centrix version (RH60). The motor sometimes doesn't start and I have to 'kickstart' it by pressing the FF button.
Thank you your videos allways full of useful info great 👍
Instead of swapping the caps according to voltage drops can't you measure the values to see if they really needed a change?
The best for that front sticker might be the spray-gel version of Goo Gone... It won't dry as fast.
Just picked up an 803 player. Sound great, but is playing too fast. Do you know if these had an Allen screw speed adjustment as some others do? Thx!
There might be a speed adjustment pot on a small board that feeds the motor.
Great video and very informative. It helped understand the track switcher. But mine is not spinning when the solenoid engages, only moving back and forth so only one program loops. I'm trying to figure out if I need to bend the prongs on the mechanism that turns the cam to raise and lower the head. Do you have a visual that can show me how that thing works and how I can adjust it to move the "blades"?
You should never need to bend the blades the solenoid pulls down. Check that the head can be moved up or down by hand. If not, you're problem is the head is stuck.
I cleaned the old grease off and put new white grease so the head moves up and down smoothly. The head also moves fine when I move the solenoid manually. It only goes back and forth when it is plugged in. Could it be the spring? Thank u for the prompt response on the my first question. 😀
@@soupbonep if you move the cam that changes head elevation by hand, does it correctly change tracks? Was it correctly reassembled with any spacer washers that would effect baseline elevation of the cam?
@@JordanPier The tracks do change correctly when I move the cam by hand. I don't know if there is bleed through because I haven't done it while it is plugged in to hear the audio, but the head does move position up and down.
As for washers, I will have to get back to you on that. One that I put on the cam shaft is just under the clip that keeps the cam on the shaft. I'm not even sure if it was supposed to go there because I forgot where I removed it from. I should have took notes, or pictures to document the steps. I'm a novice as you can tell!
I was thinking that the solenoid wasn't moving far enough when I pushed the program button when powered up. It seemed that the prong wasn't going all the way past the rounded part on the cam blade to catch the corner. But I could be wrong.
Thanks for all of your help. I am not home right now and can't access the tape deck. So I will look at it on Monday morning.
@@soupbonep if you can press on the metal arm long enough to change tracks and the solenoid wont do it, then you have to troubleshoot the solenoid circuit to make sure its getting clean dc power
Any ideas on where to look if the program change function isn't working? My unit plays, but only on program 2. The solenoid fires when you push the button, but the white plastic cam doesn't move. I removed the cam, and thought the little spring sitting at the bottom of its shaft had lost its strength, and installed one with more springiness. Didn't make any difference.
If the white cam moves, but no change, likely the shaft bearing the head moves up and down on is frozen.
Carefully heat it with a hair dryer to loosen up the grease, clean the surfaces accessible with isopropyl alcohol and reoil with 3-in-one or similar. An oiler syringe makes it easier
Make sure no be careful with the heat and dont melt any plastics, wires, or get the head too hot
@@JordanPier Thanks!
Some series resistance that should not be there limiting the current? So many things could cause voltage drop, don't think they would work like this new.
Wish I could send you a Sony TC-208 to look at. Has a speed/flutter problem despite a new belt. Think it also has a mechanical-governor motor (will play somewhat normally if I turn on its side).
If you bought a belt off of eBay, well, there's your problem likely. I bought belts that were too tight and too narrow and caused rapid tape flutter. If the belt rides the convex motor pully off center, then it is not the right size, it must track right down the middle. Hope that might help.
Maybe the Voltage drop is intentional ? .. Something like a soft start function to not yank the tape ? Hard to tell without schematics..
Anyhow, thanks for sharing, and best wishes so your customers may start recognizing your service hours in the future !
No, 8 track doesnt stop/start to move tracks. Since the head is moving up and down on the tape, better if the tape is moving at normal speed when the head moves. Also, since the pinch roller is in the tape, the motor already has a head start by the time the tape hits the capistan when inserting, so it would need a delay start and a soft start to accomplish that. The tape media is tough too, so it's not going to hurt it.
@@jimb032 Well, then it probably is crappy design as JP supposed ;)
@@tinygriffy True! But surprising - There were some very good Panasonic 8 Track Recorders / Players made. I suppose this just was not one of those. But you can build anything down to a price, even in the 70's. :/
@@jimb032 You're right, although I think that planned obsolescence was invented or introduced into electronic much later. That's why I love the old stuff, mostly build really simple with the least amount of components necessary. Easy to service, robust and simple. Gone are the days where you could fix you phone with a spool of wire some tape and a hammer... sigh ;)
Hi Jordan are PRB belts good for a nakamichi bx-100
No. I've tried using the 6.5 and 6.7 and both yield terrible wow and flutter numbers.
Studio sound electronics used to sell an fbs-6.7 that worked well but they sold out and everyone else advertising that belt is selling the wrong one that is too thick and doesn't work either.
@@JordanPier Well just thought I'd ask, still can't find anything reliable either. Thanks for the reply.
Where are belts found?
I use the PRB catalog from Russell Industries. Measure with string and subtract 5-7% for stretch. Stick to belts .03" thick or less
Seems like a lot of 8 track players have too of a small power supply and the track change just bogs down the transformer.
That is why I like my 12 volt one, which I run at about 5 amps, so it has plenty of power.
some Magnavox 8 track players used motors that were made in england
Word of the day-shitricy-lol!
8 track cartridge players never really took off here (performance-wise) and I think I can see why.
Originally designed for radio stations to store commercials on to make it easy for DJs to switch between them
Think it looks like a 11.7" belt.
You could replace the psu rectifier diodes with ones from a switchmode output, less voltage drop across schottky types.
Just a thought :-)
Eh. Effort🤣
Could have some shorted turn in the solenoid? Would like to see what the current draw is from the wall with a kill-a-watt meter as the solenoid is activated.
I Don't Care About The Copywriter Strikes.
I Play Music All The Time. I Even Sang A
Rickyvan Shelton Song Living Proof.
Head azimuth.
yes those purple caps a trash i rip them out on all gear i fix
I Remember Having One Of Those But Only thing
I Didn't Like was wen My Favorite Tapes Would Get Chewd Up In The Player It's Self.
I'd Get Mad & Almost Wanted To
Throw It Out The window. I Used To
Say To My Self I Wish They'd Make
Some Kind Of Media That Didn't Wear Out.
So Wen Cassette Came Out That Was A
Little Improvement.
So Wen CD's Came Out That Was A Gods in.
But The Thing With CD's wen I Bought
A Portable Combination Cassette & CD
Boom box & Portable CD Player I Had To Invest In ReChargeable Battery & Charger. But
I Liked The Fact I Didn't Have To
Put Up With Tapes Getting Chewed Up.
If You Don't Have Googone
You Could Always Use Purple Power Hand Cleaner. Oh Try A Merle Haggard & The
Strangers 8 Track