New Reel to Reel Player :)

[msorensen]

Hey guys, been wanting a reel to reel for awhile and feel like I got a good deal on a TEAC 5500.  Problem is it works for about 10 minutes and than the take up reel starts to slow down and because of the slack, the reel stops to play.  Can someone help me out with a possible problem or parts I may need?

TIA

[Tim]

Unfortunately, that defect likely is not repairable on that particular model. Teac used very small DC motors to drive the reel hubs (via a belt).  Those motors proved to be very under-powered and very unreliable.  Almost a 100% failure-rate. The only real fix was a mod kit (sold by Teac) which replaced those DC motors with large, direct-drive AC motors. It was a major modification to the transport which also included circuit boards for the new motors.

Teac stopped selling those repair kits decades ago, so odds for finding a NOS kit for sale on eBay will be  very low.

Sometimes a technician can "sort of" fix the original transport, but it won't last long. It's a bad design.

[msorensen]

Well damn!  Thanks for the info.

[zaphod]

You might want to try Skywave tape deck repair in the Chicago area. Sam has been a TEAC/Tascam technician for years and has vast knowledge and parts collection.

Or you could take the opportunity to get another deck. remember that "reel to reel" is plural.

[WALKERBA562]

Am considerng the purchase of a Teac 2300s on which to play and transfer 35 7" tapes I made 40 yrs ago into digital format on my computer. Two questions:
1. Is the problem with takeup motor, reported on the 5500 deck, going to be the same problem on the 2300s?
2. Is it even possible to transfer the music on these tapes to a computer?