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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—IMPORTANT
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
1
Press the
SHIFT
key so that the
SHIFT
indicator
is flashing, and press the
MENU
key until the
display shows
MAINTN-- (
MAINTN--
—
maintenance).
2
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.
3
Use the ▲ key to change
OFF to ON (
ON
).
If a tape has already been loaded, it will auto-
matically be ejected.
Pressing ▼ at this point will show the previous
display.
4
Insert the cleaning tape.
5
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 di stortion on playback, even
after cleaning the heads, or if you are presented with
a tape of dubi ous qualit y, you may want to check the
block error rate of the tape.
1
Press the
SHIFT
key so that the
SHIFT
indicator
is flashing, and press the
MENU
key until the
display shows
MAINTN-- (
MAINTN--
—
maintenance).
2
Press the
SUB MENU
key until the display
shows
B. E. R. OFF(
BER OFF
).
3
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 .