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Issues with a Technics RS-B78R Cassette Player


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So just recently I came across this.

 

Everything works great on there except the recording feature. I'm trying to just record something through my iPhone onto a Cassette tape. I've popped the cassette in and hit the record button (I also made sure that all the connections were in proper places) but it won't record. I try and look for an operating manual online and the cheapest one I found was $19. That seems a little too much for me, just to try and figure out how to properly use the recording feature.

 

Can someone help me figure out if I'm either 1) using the tape deck wrong or 2) the recording function doesn't work?

 

Any help would be great!

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You've probably got to press record and play together but does it play anyway?

 

If it doesn't play when you press play with a tape in or go into record when you press record and play together with a tape in then the belt might be gone which is pretty common with older units.

 

Nice machine though so worth saving if it's something as minor as the belt.

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Thanks everyone, it does play tapes and sounds amazing. I'll have to open it and check out on the inside to see what might be wrong with it. I may just break down and buy a user manual online.  

 

I saw it at a thrift store for $15 and couldn't resist. I too spent lots of my younger years recording songs from the radio. Would be awesome if I can save it!

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Ok if it plays properly does the tape your trying to record on have the anti record tabs knocked out on the top?

I have a blank tape, its meant to be recorded on. So those tabs are on there.

 

I am not exactly sure on the point of this. 

 

The point is to play the audio that I recorded from my phone so that it can be recorded onto a cassette tape. My teacher gave a speech and her grandfather wants a copy but doesn't have an iPhone or CD player or anyway to play a digital copy. He only has a cassette player.

Annnnnnnnnnd /thread

Not quite the end of the thread, if people could help by maybe providing a copy of a user manual that would be awesome. Or point in the right direction to solve my issue.

 

I'm typically used to a dual tape deck (I know how to record onto cassette tapes) but I know that this system is a little more complex than that. I'm just trying to troubleshoot if its user error or technical error.

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So...how EXACTLY are you recording this?

 

You mentioned that you "made sure that all the connections were in proper places," but that was about it.

 

Does the unit have an on board microphone and you are just hitting PLAY on your iPhone while you hold it up to the mic? Is there a microphone input on the tape deck and you have a cable going from your iPhone headphone jack into the input on the tape deck?

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So...how EXACTLY are you recording this?

 

You mentioned that you "made sure that all the connections were in proper places," but that was about it.

 

Does the unit have an on board microphone and you are just hitting PLAY on your iPhone while you hold it up to the mic? Is there a microphone input on the tape deck and you have a cable going from your iPhone headphone jack into the input on the tape deck?

I apologize for not being clear.

 

I have my iPhone connected to the tape player using a 3.5mm audio jack cable to RCA. The RCA cables are plugged into the "Line In" ports on the back of the tape player. I have cables running from my Tape Deck to my receiver/speakers. I can hear what is playing through my iPhone, on the speakers.

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Is there a button/switch/knob on the tape player that selects a recording source? Something that would let you choose the LINE IN versus the microphone?

 

Do you have any way to connect the iPhone to the microphone input? You might give that a try.

 

Do the wheels on the cassette tape rotate when you push the REC button?

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I found a picture online and I keep answering my own questions.

 

There doesn't appear to be a source selector switch, so I have to assume the tape records whatever comes through any/all the inputs (essentially what you hear out the speakers), so switching to microphone probably won't make a difference.

 

So, are the wheels spinning on the cassette while recording?

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I found a picture online and I keep answering my own questions.

 

There doesn't appear to be a source selector switch, so I have to assume the tape records whatever comes through any/all the inputs (essentially what you hear out the speakers), so switching to microphone probably won't make a difference.

 

So, are the wheels spinning on the cassette while recording?

 

When I have the tape inside, I press the recording button. The light turns on and the pause button turns on two. I hit the play button and the wheels spin once I hit the play button. The recording light doesn't turn off, but it doesn't seem to record anything. I played about 5 minutes of music and rewound the tape to test if it recorded or not, and nothing. 

Tapes never have, and never will, sound amazing.

For sure. I'm not an audiophile so to my poor ears, it sounds fine to me. No hiss or static or anything that diminishes the sound.

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Try this:

 

Press the RECORD button. Then, instead of pressing the PLAY button, press the PAUSE button that lights up. Then see if the wheels spin.

 

My guess is that, when you hit the RECORD button, the deck cues the tape up to start recording. When you hit the PLAY button, you are skipping the recording function and instead are playing the blank tape in unison with whatever is coming out of the LINE IN. You wouldn't notice because the tape is blank and wouldn't produce any sound. By pressing the PAUSE button, you are essentially un-pausing the record feature and start actually recording what is coming through the system.

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Try this:

 

Press the RECORD button. Then, instead of pressing the PLAY button, press the PAUSE button that lights up. Then see if the wheels spin.

 

My guess is that, when you hit the RECORD button, the deck cues the tape up to start recording. When you hit the PLAY button, you are skipping the recording function and instead are playing the blank tape in unison with whatever is coming out of the LINE IN. You wouldn't notice because the tape is blank and wouldn't produce any sound. By pressing the PAUSE button, you are essentially un-pausing the record feature and start actually recording what is coming through the system.

I'll give this a try. I swore I tried this but sometimes, the simple solution eludes me. I appreciate the help skadaddy!

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Try this:

 

Press the RECORD button. Then, instead of pressing the PLAY button, press the PAUSE button that lights up. Then see if the wheels spin.

 

My guess is that, when you hit the RECORD button, the deck cues the tape up to start recording. When you hit the PLAY button, you are skipping the recording function and instead are playing the blank tape in unison with whatever is coming out of the LINE IN. You wouldn't notice because the tape is blank and wouldn't produce any sound. By pressing the PAUSE button, you are essentially un-pausing the record feature and start actually recording what is coming through the system.

 

That sounds about right to me, it's flashing the pause light to tell you something which is probably push me as well.

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No problem. One of the benefits of being one of the old guys on the board. I started collecting music before CD's. Tape decks & record players were the norm.

 

I'm curious if this works. Update the post so I'll know.

Will be sure to update! It has been some time since I've used a tape deck. As a kid, I would make mix-tapes all the time. And when I ran out of tapes, I would take the R n B and other cassettes my parents had and put tape over the notches so I could record over them. Once CDs came into my life, the tapes have sat and my decks sold. So I hope to get this one up and running again.

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So I tried your suggestion Skadaddy, it didn't work. Yesterday I went to an editing room on my college campus to accomplish what I was trying to do, using one of their tape decks. I'm going to double check on my system that I have all the proper cables hooked up into their proper places. If my Technics is anything like the system on campus, once I hit the record button, I should just be able to hit play and it will start recording. 

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Does the record light come on when you press record?

 

And do you get any movement on the transport at all in record mode?

 

Perhaps the fingers inside the transport that check for the tabs in the top of the cassette are not making their switch.

 

It plays so it must be something pretty simple, that or operator error which is still possible as you don't have the instructions to tell you for sure how to use it. The vast majority of decks work in pretty much the same way but you never know

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Does the record light come on when you press record?

 

And do you get any movement on the transport at all in record mode?

 

Perhaps the fingers inside the transport that check for the tabs in the top of the cassette are not making their switch.

 

It plays so it must be something pretty simple, that or operator error which is still possible as you don't have the instructions to tell you for sure how to use it. The vast majority of decks work in pretty much the same way but you never know

The light turns on when I press the record button. There is no movement after I hit record, but when I hit the play button, after hitting the record button, I get movement (and the recording light still stays on). 

 

I'm thinking that maybe the actual part of the deck that records onto the tape isn't working, that is if it isn't user error.

 

I plan to tinker around with it later today. Will update if I find anything helpful.

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