OWNER'S MANUAL Digital Multitrack Recorder DA-78HR

ManualsBrandsTascam ManualsMicrocassette RecorderDA-78HR

TASCAM DA-78HR

11 - Maintenance, etc.

11.1Head and transport cleaning

The DA-78HR incorporates an internal cleaning

mechanism that not only cleans the rotary head, but

also the tape as it enters the tape path. The provision

of this cleaning mechanism significantly reduces the

need for manual cleaning. If, despite the internal

cleaning mechanism, the

PB CONDITION

indicator

6 lights, the heads are dirty and manual cleaning

procedures should be followed.

NOTE

S—IMPORTA NT

Use a TEAC HC-8 cleaning tape (recommended) or a dry

cleaning tape specially designed for Hi8 8mm video

equipment.

NEVER use a wet-type cleaning tape, as this will result in

winding problems.

The use of the dry tape will reduce the head life of

the DA-78HR by about five hours. U se of manual

cleaning is therefore discouraged.

We recommend the following schedule (based on our

experience with the DTRS system) for cleaning and

maintenance schedules. See 11.1.3, “Checking drum

time” below for details of how to check head usage

time.

The above cleaning cycle timings are based on the

assumption that the DA-78HR is being operated in a

clean environment. A dusty or smoky atmosphere

will shorten the time between cleaning operations

NOTE

Most name brand tapes are of very high quality. How-

ever, it is sometimes possible to receive “bad” stock

which exhibits excessive shedding characteristics. If

you receive such tape stock, stop using it immedi-

ately, and follow the cleaning procedure as described

below.

11.1.1 To clean the heads and transport

Press the

SHIFT

key so that the

SHIFT

indicator

is flashing, and press the

key until the

display shows

MAINTN-- (

MAINTN--

—

maintenance).

Press the

SUB MENU

key until the display

briefly shows

CLEN. ;;;; (

CLEN xxxx

), fol-

lowed by

Clen. OFF (

CLEN

OFF

Here, the

xxxx

represents the number of times

cleaning has been performed.

Use the ▲ key to change

OFF to ON (

If a tape has already been loaded, it will auto-

matically be ejected.

Pressing ▼ at this point will show the previous

display.

Insert the cleaning tape.

The cleaning tape will “play” for about 5 sec-

onds (the display will show

Cleaning

(

CLEANING

)) and then be ejected automati-

cally. The cleaning counter (number of times

the heads have been cleaned) will be incre-

mented by one.

• Do not attempt to rewind or fast forward the clean-

ing tape, either in the DA-78HR or in a video unit.

Simply insert it into the DA-78HR when you use it

the next time.

• Excessive cleaning can cause excessive wear on the

heads. Do not clean the heads too frequently, and

never perform the head cleaning procedure more

than 5 times running.

• In addition to cleaning the heads, we recommend

that you have the DA-78HR checked by an autho-

rized TASCAM service technician every 500 hours

or so of use.

11.1.2 Checking error rates

If you hear noise and distortion on playback, even

after cleaning the heads, or if you are presented with

a tape of dubious quality, you may want to check the

block error rate of the tape.

Press the

SHIFT

key so that the

SHIFT

indicator

is flashing, and press the

key until the

display shows

MAINTN-- (

MAINTN--

—

maintenance).

Press the

SUB MENU

key until the display

shows

B. E. R. OFF(

BER OFF

Use the ▲ and ▼ keys to change

OFF to ON .

The

PB CONDITION

indicator will start to

flash.

Every 350 to 400

hours

Perform manual cleaning of heads and

guides as described below. Check the

tape path alignment after cleaning. This

requires proper test and measurement

equipment , and should be performed

only by qualified service personnel.

Every 1000 hours

(every third

cl eaning)

A complete alignment check should be

pe r for med .