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[Sinder]

Hello there.  I have a mate with a faulty G24S.  Some of the tracks only operate after the machine has been switched on for some time.  The process can be speeded up with pointing a hairdryer into it.  This suggests that some of the components are thermally unstable.  The guy that designed his studio and is very knowledgeable about analogue gear thought that there may be leaky capacitors causing this fault.  He thinks he has heard this about these units.  Unfortunately this guy's work takes him all over Europe and he rarely ventures back here.  I have contacted Fostex to no avail.  Any ideas or access to a service manual would be appreciated.  My mate does not own a PC so he asked me to ask on his behalf.

Cheers    

[ssltech]

It's obviously capacitors. -I read it on the internet.

'...tracks only operate...' -does that mean "go into record, but record silence", "don't go into record" or "don't play back"?

And which tracks? how many and are they clustered?

There's a lot of information missing here: very much like "My car isn't running right. -What could be wrong? A friend said he once read that the timing belts are a problem on these things."

So this chap "thinks he has heard this about these units"... but isn't certain apparently...  

Can't help you without a lot more info. -And everybody thinks "it just needs a re-cap"; often even when a spool falls off.

Keith

[Sinder]

Obtained more specific info.  Fault happens in playback and record mode.  No sound and meters not illuminated.  Gradually sound fades in with a crackle and meters fire up.  He swapped around the channel cards and fault migrates to its new location.  The previously silent tracks operate OK.  He has looked at these cards for defective solder joints/dirty contacts but is not a tech.  Fault happens on 5 tracks.

He wondered if this was/is a known fault.  He spoke to Fostex and no one he spoke to seemed to be familiar with this unit or any other ATR.  The G24S was 'before their time'.

It was only introduced in about '92.  He was hoping that someone with repair experience with these machines might see this.  

[acorec]

Sinder wrote on Fri, 16 February 2007 09:11

Obtained more specific info.  Fault happens in playback and record mode.  No sound and meters not illuminated.  Gradually sound fades in with a crackle and meters fire up.  He swapped around the channel cards and fault migrates to its new location.  The previously silent tracks operate OK.  He has looked at these cards for defective solder joints/dirty contacts but is not a tech.  Fault happens on 5 tracks. He wondered if this was/is a known fault.  He spoke to Fostex and no one he spoke to seemed to be familiar with this unit or any other ATR.  The G24S was 'before their time'. It was only introduced in about '92.  He was hoping that someone with repair experience with these machines might see this.

If the fault follows the changing of cards, bingo. There it would be. Now, you have to find an extender card (if you need one) and follow a schematic from the repair manual. Check ANY relays that switch in the channel card. Look for cold solder joint at connectors and any cracked pc lands. Check wires at connectors also. Nothing should be overlooked.

Can you operate the macnine with the dolby switched out? Could be a faulty dolby circuit. If the machine does record and erase, the bias circuit should be OK.

[Geoff Doane]

Sinder wrote on Fri, 16 February 2007 10:11

No sound and meters not illuminated.  Gradually sound fades in with a crackle and meters fire up.

I'm not familiar with this machine either, but if the meters aren't even illuminated, that tells me the card isn't getting power reliably.  Troubleshooting the +Vcc may be a lot easier than an audio problem.  Could there be a temperature dependent resistor in there acting like a fuse?

GTD

[ruffrecords]

Sinder wrote on Wed, 14 February 2007 14:12

Any ideas or access to a service manual would be appreciated.  My mate does not own a PC so he asked me to ask on his behalf.

I have a G24/S Service Manual that I no longer need. Cost me 20 quid. Yours for a tenner including postage to sunny Scotland.

Cheers

Ian

[Sinder]

Thanks ruffrecords.  Sent you a PM.  He has a guy lined up to troubleshoot these suspect cards.  I will post the results for future reference.  Thanks to all who responded.

Cheers