[rockadanny]

Buddy gave me this (he bought it new in 1984), though it no longer works. I thought perhaps it just might need a band or two. But no such luck. Powers up OK - lights all on. Buttons engage heads. But no motor action - just constant hum (whether idle or engaged for action). Could it be a fuse? I believe when it worked it was an excellent player and fairly sought after. But I have very few cassettes any more. Not sure if I'd really put it to good use. Should I:
A) Take it to an audio repair person for evaluation and possible repair?
B) Offer it to someone who could appreciate its (potential) value?
C) Throw it down the hill and hope it lands in the creek?
Curious what you think ...

[mgalusha]

Unless you can get it repaired fairly inexpensively I doubt the cost would be justified. I'd say option B would be much preferred to option C.

I used to have a TCD 310, which in the mid 1970's was a pretty decent deck. (http://www.vintagecassette.com/Tandberg/TCD_310)

[SET Man]

Hey!

    That's a good looking deck there.

    I'm not sure if understand the problem correctly. You checked inside and belt(s) are OK?

    I would say that if the play function engaged but the tape is not running than it could be that the belt broke. Belt could still be found today for most deck so you might be able to get one for your machine.

   The constant hum that you hear, it is from the machine or from the speaker? It could be the hum from the motor inside running. But if the hum is from speaker it could be ground problem or you need to replace some caps in there.

    If you can't get it working getting it repair the shop will cost you. And since you don't have lots of tape to play than this won't justify the cost. I think I would go with your option "B" or you could sell it on eBay for parts. You'll never know, maybe someone out there need parts for their machine.

   Good luck.

Take care,
Buddy

[YoungDave]

The 3034 is a right good deck.  I don't use cassettes any more, but my last deck was a Tandberg 3014A.  This was arguably - well, generally recognized, really - as the best cassette machine ever built.  The 3034 is a similar, but cheaper and simpler, machine.  They are not very easy to find.  Repair is probably also not very easy to find.  3014's get snapped up quickly, at a pretty high price, maybe $600-800, when they appear on eBay.  They don't come up often and I'm astonished to see 3 of them on the Bay today.  Being bidded enthusiastically, too.  I recall that 3034's bring a slightly lower price and also do not come along very often.

As to your problem, I doubt it's a fuse.  It doesn't sound like it's the motor control logic.  It might just be one of the motors - I think it has 2 or 3.  Maybe 1 for FF, 1 for RW, and 1 for play.  The motors are robust, and you may have the very easy fix of replacing a belt.  Belts are cheap.

You really have nothing to lose by opening it and taking a look.  Unless you have a knowledgeable and cheap repair facility nearby, you have no chance of getting a commercial repair within the value of the machine.

Hope this helps.

[rockadanny]

Thanks folks.
Slight hum is from within the player.
I need to inspect more carefully. I saw belts in there, but need to look again to verify their status.

Here is a stock picture with specs:
http://www.vintagecassette.com/Tandberg/TCD_3034

Whether I fix this or not I don't think I'm going to keep it.

[ecramer]

That's a nice looking deck hope you get it going

[packrat014]

I've just spend several hours with a 3034 deck I picked up cheap. Unfortunately, after repairing a shorted regulator it turns out to need a motor as well. Works but has a terminal wow problem which I am pretty sure is the motor, not the belt. I know where to get belts but this motor may be tough to find other than by parting another vintage deck.

If you're interested in swapping some parts around, I would think between the two there is a good deck. Let me know, you can reach me at packrat014@hotmail.com.

John