Registered: 03/17/01
Posts: 28
Loc: Cincinnati,OH,UNITED STATES
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Unit: Panasonic SV3800 DAT Hours: 1072 Problem: Intermittent digital garbage
I've tested multiple known tapes on my machine and had varying problems on playback. The audio will sound fine, then I'll get distorted audio and the 'cleaning' light comes on. I've cleaned the head and transport. When I monitor the error rate on playback the results are consistently under 10, then the garbage starts up and the error code is over 2000. Here's the kicker. I can push stop then play and the error rate is back to under 10 and the audio sounds great. And it doesn't happen at the same time on every tape each time. Any ideas? Is this a transport problem? The unit was serviced at Sweetwater a few years back with the reel drive gear, back tension band and pinch roller replaced and tape guide/reel gear hardware upgrades made.
Registered: 12/17/00
Posts: 17674
Loc: Riverside,CA,UNITED STATES
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Could be the heads... the head hours count is starting to get up there. I've seen DAT's with far more hours that still work fine, while others with fewer hours that needed new heads. In any case, it's definitely time to send it off for servicing.
