New tape recorder repair company coming in September.

[TigerTEAC]

Hi all,
My father has been repairing tube amplifiers and tape machines for almost 40 years, not on a professional basis, but for his own needs. He can recap amplifiers, and he is learning how to calibrate, align heads, etc. So, this month, we decided we'd start the process of making a tape recorder repair company called BackWater Reel-to-Reel and Amplifier Repair. We do repairs on tape machines for clients by request, sell our own repaired decks on eBay, and maybe, we will put decks up for consignment that other technicians have repaired. What do you think of this plan? Is there much demand for it? We'll repair Akai, TEAC/TASCAM, Otari, Revox, Technics, Pioneer, and many other tape decks.
Thank you,
Ryan

 

[MarkWComer]

A lot of us love our tape decks, and they’re not making good ones any more.

Wishing you great success- mazel tov!

(Post a link to your eBay store?)

 

[VSAT88]

Same as Mark said ^ You are only an hour away from me so I could send you some business...

 

[Skywavebe]

Well from what I see and hear there is a need for a repair place down there. The problem is that so many people make the claim that they can fix units and some even collect big money doing it but a lot fewer are really up to the task as it can be a lot more complicated than some would think. I had communicated with a couple of shops in Jupiter FL and Atlanta GA but when I get feedback from clients about them bringing reel deck to the Florida place they said they do not fix those. The guy in GA and I have a unit that they worked on was a total mess and so I know where not to have a client go that needs work. Gerhard in Florida has been doing decks and coming along nicely. He calls me once in a while with questions but then so do other 30 year Technicians.
The Akai decks that have worn out heads and 90% of the one I saw were that way, how do you expect to work on that problem?
The Otari motors in the MX5050 are starting to fail more regularly and there are even Teac decks coming in that need heads that I am struggling to find a solution. Most solutions now days if through JRF is expensive and will discourage a customer to fix a unit. The idea of lapping a worn out head is so much talked about that it is ridiculous to even consider that unless you want to join the deception crowd.
I say go ahead and get going on this venture but make sure you are connected with a person who has been doing this a lot of time to get the help and guidance that will be needed. Things like changing a Pinch Roller is really very basic and not Technicians work. We need more people fixing decks and there is a lot of work all around that is there for everyone. I would just prefer people to not take decks to crooks for my benefit as well as theirs.

 

[TigerTEAC]

Well from what I see and hear there is a need for a repair place down there. The problem is that so many people make the claim that they can fix units and some even collect big money doing it but a lot fewer are really up to the task as it can be a lot more complicated than some would think. I had communicated with a couple of shops in Jupiter FL and Atlanta GA but when I get feedback from clients about them bringing reel deck to the Florida place they said they do not fix those. The guy in GA and I have a unit that they worked on was a total mess and so I know where not to have a client go that needs work. Gerhard in Florida has been doing decks and coming along nicely. He calls me once in a while with questions but then so do other 30 year Technicians.
The Akai decks that have worn out heads and 90% of the one I saw were that way, how do you expect to work on that problem?
The Otari motors in the MX5050 are starting to fail more regularly and there are even Teac decks coming in that need heads that I am struggling to find a solution. Most solutions now days if through JRF is expensive and will discourage a customer to fix a unit. The idea of lapping a worn out head is so much talked about that it is ridiculous to even consider that unless you want to join the deception crowd.
I say go ahead and get going on this venture but make sure you are connected with a person who has been doing this a lot of time to get the help and guidance that will be needed. Things like changing a Pinch Roller is really very basic and not Technicians work. We need more people fixing decks and there is a lot of work all around that is there for everyone. I would just prefer people to not take decks to crooks for my benefit as well as theirs.

If a unit has heads that are in damaged condition, the deck is close to worthless. I have backup heads that are in new condition for Akai units that may have bad heads. Lapping heads is an absolutely terrible idea. A head is done for once it has a groove in it. We fix machines that are in halfway decent condition that have minor issues like recapping needed, pot replaced, motor oil needed, etc. We don't get into huge amounts of meticulous work, and if we do, it will be on a rare occasion.
Thank you,
Ryan

 

[Skywavebe]

Before you post all these absolute comments from the level of experience you have, you better go put a few years under a senior Technician who has the ability to straighten you out. The facts are that sometimes- not often, heads need to be lapped. No, a groove in a head is just a wear mark and unless you are experienced in that particular head, you can not say about if it is working well or not. You need to do tests and I have many decks out there that work well with groves in them. Replacing heads because they have a groove would be a wasteful practice and there is no room for that in the world of heads that are not easy to obtain and it is going to get worse.
Making the wrong comments like this will cause your new service business to lose customers as some of them know enough to not use you.

We already got the guy from NM that fixes deck sby cleaning front panels and cleaning the dirt off motors for $900 and then the guy who recaps a Pioneer RT909 for $750 and the customers I have talked to are sending it back for the 4th time. Both these people advertise on E bay. Get the picture?

 

[BlazeES]

This was pretty much expected ...

 

[Skywavebe]

I don't want to write anybody that services deck correctly off but we do need to curtail these kinds of comments as it is like saying we do crappy work and charge you a lot up front which many local shops should say but they don't.
I am all for getting more guys doing the job all over. This is why I have been helping Dean in Canada and Gerhard in FL get started as there is a lot of stuff to be repaired but nowhere near enough guys to be doing it. The further problem is that some of these trainees I take on just do not have the determination to complete the course and some revert back to being a rip off flipper on E bay. I had one guy here that said he can sell a machine for $1300 as it was working. I had a buyer and before I would sell it I would go through it to correct all the problems in it- it needed over $400 of repairs and the owner can not see why it needed all the work. He said it was working- yes it moved tape and audio came out but he had NOT cleaned and lubricated the Pinch Roller linkage and he took all the play out of the capstan shaft, the speed was slow and out of specs, the brakes were grabbing due to dried brake bands, all the belts were original and all the Electrolytic caps as well. Does he call this working properly- yes. That is why these people are rip off artists as the buyers never really know what they are getting until they come to me for an evaluation. The rule then is only buy very cheap items from E bay as they all will require a lot of work which you will expect. E bay has more crooks now than it ever did and they are expanding their business to other places.
SO Good honest and properly trained people we do need. All hack technicians and crooked repairmen need not apply.
I thought there was a good service place in Atlanta GA until I got feedback and saw some actual work that they did. The deck that was there was a mess and many things told me these guys don't have the first clue as to what they are doing- the first clue is pliers marks on the Tachometer roller which ruin it. What kind of idiot puts pliers on a finished aluminum part to wreck it? I see it too often.

 

[laatsch55]

Amen Sam!

 

[grapplesaw]

To add support to your comments Sam.

I received a control board today that a qualified repair shop in Alabama rebuilt. Where do I begin. Not sure if I want to touch it but did say I would. I think I’d strip it down and start over. I talked to the owner and he said what ever it takes so we will

 

[TigerTEAC]

We decided against our company. Good luck to you all.

 

[grapplesaw]

We decided against our company. Good luck to you all.

Good luck to you as well.

I am sure you you would not stoop to the low this repair hack has preformed. Please note His fix of a problem is let’s just cut it out of the circuit. Upside dow heatsinks anyone

Oh did I mention the we had a nice dropping resistor to 7.5 k. But for got to change out the ic’s to lf351’s

 

[Skywavebe]

What are they cutting foils for? Sounds pretty bad when they start doing this. I would want to get rid of the old Trimmer first as there are newer ones out there. I like it when you catch sloppy work and make pictures of it. Funny thing is I look at decks and sometimes even reheat a cap lead to make it straight as the crooked one looks so rushed and unprofessional. Doesn't stop them from working but where is the person installing these dignity. I guess they went to the Three Stooges department of assembly where they always do the right job the 4th time. I hear of some service individuals on E bay that have their customers telling me this- turning it back for the fourth time?

 

[Skywavebe]

I think we chased him away when Ryan might post less and his Father more if this was really going to happen. The kid is not the one doing repairs and does not have the knowledge of the father-repairman. I don't like to discourage anyone entering this- just ask all my trainees. But to have a 14 year old fronting your business might not be the smartest thing. Yes, put him to work on the bench and have him learn the way to repair things as he will be around a lot longer than me now but lets get things to standards first. I don't want to make it look like I am threatened by others entering the business. I am not but we don't need any more hacks as they are surfacing all the time without a problem.

 

[Skywavebe]

I am getting request for repair from down in your state. If you were going to take on this work one cockeyed comment should not stop you. You need to have the determination and fortitude to press on. Customers might make negative comments now and then but most people once they find out what kind of work you do will have nothing but good to say about the work done. Gerhard down in FL is getting overloaded and I hope Hi Tech can find a new place to operate his shop in TN. WE still need his work , knowledge and experience. More decks are going to be breaking down and as I hit 65 I am not getting any more energy to do all this work. Some of these things are 75 pounds to lift. I have a MSR24 to work on. What a block of steel. People that think their Sony TC-377 is a tank they should come put this one on my bench for me.

 

[nakdoc]

Sam, I'm going to have a place for my bench but will concentrate on Nakamichi exclusively for the next two years. The reapir units here will get finished and returned this summer. Last brick and mortar day is May 31.

 

[Skywavebe]

Good for you. Not good for all those other brands but the amount of equipment that still can be fixed is starting to get smaller.