DOKORDER MC-60 8-TRACK Component Deck (197?)

[Master Tasuke]

hey guys, just came across this at my local GW, decided to take the risk, my first flirtation with 8-TRACK since back around 2000 or so,
when fiddling around with my grandma's SOUNDESIGN combo cabinet stereo with built-in 8-TRACK.

i'm working on cleaning it up, just got it's gooey original belt sopped up,
and just so happened to have an adequate replacement in my big bag of VCR belts.

it seems to sound good, only issue is R CHANNEL seems dead. any ideas why?
having no cartridges in the house, i picked up a BEE GEES GREATEST i found at another thrift, and it sounds good and seems just about pitch perfect,
i had an NOS SPARKOMATIC CC/8 ADAPTOR put away i had forgotten about, that i tried on this deck with a MAXELL XL-IIS.

pitch with CC ADAPTOR was WAY FAST. deck displays dead R CHANNEL with both,so the problem seems to lie within the deck. any expertise would be appreciated...

 

[Master Tasuke]

 

[Master Tasuke]

OK i tried actuating that REC. a whole bunch of times. R Ch. began to respond a TINY bit, but went dead again.

i'm wondering, is this deck at all desired? i kind of wanted to try trading it off for a TDK MA-R 46 or 90, if at all possible.
i really need one of those to complete my TDK SUPERMETAL collection... (MA-R/MA-XG 1985/MA-XG 1990)

well, just finished polishing the outer cabinet, so that's looking real swank now, anyway...

 

[Master Tasuke]

all cleaned and polished up, but still with channel issues...

 

[laatsch55]

De-oxityet??

 

[Master Tasuke]

yeah, i need to get myself a bottle. i've tried flushing the control pots with 91% alchohol, to little avail. DeOXIT seems the only coarse...

 

[laatsch55]

Just wasting your time with alcohol. And do the switches too, not just the pots. I've had dead channels come to life after a good de-oxit.

 

[Master Tasuke]

yeah, i flushed everything with the alchohol... cleaned up the action of all the controls, but didn't help that bad channel.

about $25/30 shipped for a bottle of DeOXIT; just gonna have to break down and put that on my short list...

 

[laatsch55]

Yep....

 

[orange]

TRUE VALUE?

I got my can (it was CRC QD Electronic Cleaner actually) at the local True Value.

Comes in two sizes and the smaller one (the red can) is much less than $10.

 

[laatsch55]

And it doesn't work near as well, but, to each his own...

 

[Northwinds]

I got the red can TruValue stuff, worked perfect for my Peavey 6505 tube amp controls. It's called CRC QD Electronic Cleaner. It's fine for general purpose maintenance but on stuff that has been gummed up for years, Deoxit would be the prudent choice

 

[Master Tasuke]

OK i can try the cheap stuff first, and see where that gets me. after all, none of the controls were too badly gummed up at all, actually.

i mean, the L and R ch. level controls were just a little gunky, so minor that i figured they were just tight in their actuation.
flushing them with the alchohol proved otherwise however, suddenly they were fare more quick and smooth turning...

 

[laatsch55]

It's not the "gummy" stuff that affects signal path. There are a number of deposits on the contact portions of pots and switches that cause dropouts. Don't confuse mechanical smoothness with signal path integrity....

 

[BubbaH]

It should also be noted that using other cleaners can leave carbon traces/tracks on the contacts, causing more harm than good. From my understanding this is why de-ox should be used over contact cleaners. That said, I dont own any de-oxit either.

 

[Northwinds]

I just checked my can, they don't even list ingredients except to say VOC 75%, doesn't even mention the propellant used

 

[orange]

Worked fine for me.You shouldn't have to mail-order Deoxit either, that too is found in stores.

 

[Master Tasuke]

Worked fine for me.You shouldn't have to mail-order Deoxit either, that too is found in stores.

that would be dandy... but here in Timbuktu OR.?!? i seriously doubt anyone around locally carries it.

maybe... MAYBE there's a place that stocks the stuff somewhere in nearby TRI-CITIES, WA.
however, we rarely get opportunities to get over that way, and, when we do,
very seldom do we ever seem to have time to spare for anything beyond the usual necessities.

i know; my life sucks...

 

[Fishoz]

Got a Guitar Center nearby? They carry it, and a lot less than Radio Shack even.

 

[orange]

Look up Irrigon, Oregon. The nearest larger towns are Pasco, Kennewick and Richland, Washington (known as Tricities, WA). He was closer to that before when he lived in Hermiston but it's still a good drive on a bad road.