Realisitc TR-802 8 Track Recorder

D

DUBUQUEBLUES

New Member
Hi..... I'm new to the site and really appreciate being here. Such amazing knowledge so many of you have.... Thanks for having me!!!

I just purchased a realistic TR-802 8 track player/recorder. I just hooked it up and put a tape in and it sounds like crap. Yea, yea 8 tracks are not exactly HD BUT I've owned a pioneer H-22 for many years and the sound I got from it is amazing. Hooked up to a nice system it sounds just as good as nearly anything else. This Realistic deck I got has been totally serviced, new belts, demagnetized, heads cleaned etc etc. But it sounds like a blanket has been put over the speakers. Or perhaps like a very cheap boom box would've sounded like from the early 80s. NO MATTER how I adjust the EQ, it makes no difference. It's all super mid range and no crispness at all. I even tried multiple receivers (various ones like Onkyo HT-R500 and even an old Realistic STA-125), no luck. Then I tried the pioneer and as usual it sounded amazing...totally bright, crisp and clear. What on earth happened to this deck???? I did the research and most agree it was a nice one. Had no idea it would sound like the music was coming through the cheapest set of headphones money can buy through the worst walkman ever made. I'm going to try recording on it and playing the tape back on my pioneer to see if it's even going to be worth keeping.

Please, please help!!!
 
An '802 in proper condition should easily be the equal of the H22...maybe even better. Something else is going on. Despite the claim that it's been serviced, first thing I'd look at would be the heads. When I hear "blanket over the speakers", dirty heads is the first thing that comes to mind.

Here's a thought: This deck has Dolby. Are you trying to play non-Dolby tapes with the Dolby switch on?

Pictures might help, especially if you can shine a light on the heads.

Cheers,
Larry B.
 
Last edited:
1tumbleweed said:
An '802 in proper condition should easily be the equal of the H22...maybe even better. Something else is going on. Despite the claim that it's been serviced, first thing I'd look at would be the heads. When I hear "blanket over the speakers", dirty heads is the first thing that comes to mind.

Here's a thought: This deck has Dolby. Are you trying to play non-Dolby tapes with the Dolby switch on?

Pictures might help, especially if you can shine a light on the heads.

Cheers,
Larry B.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your reply. Let me state more accurately..... It's not really a blanket over the speaker. Just more like a super cheap cassette walkman plugged into a boombox. That's about it. All mid-range and no type of EQ adjustment helps at all. Just makes the terrible sound worse. I really just don't think it is a head problem. It plays.....left and right channels and is okay.....if you like that ultra-cheap lo-fi type of sound. I don't. Some would say "hey 8 tracks don't sound good anyway!!!". Well, I get and see that point....but I disagree. I really own at least maybe 20 tapes that I'd say sound as good as literally any other format. Through a nice system the sound is full, crisp, and clear. Most 8 track players/recorders could use some minor EQ fixes but not much. My H22 sounds really good.

Yes this unit has dolby but it is not on. I never use it even if the tape was encoded with it (usually). It's like everything about the deck is okay. All it's functions are fine and work and I took a q-tip to the head just to see and it's not dirty at all. I mean it wasn't beautiful but no way is this the entire problem. I don't know much about internal electronics. Someone said it could be a bad capacitor or resistor. I have no idea about these things. All I know is i'm sending it back and I sure hope the guy is decent about it. He took over a week to send it so I should have known this would happen.

Some people say you can get a recorder on ebay for between 10-60 bucks all day long. Well I must be missing them. The realistic I've been talking about was 100 including shipping and most others are more.....unless you are willing to just take a chance and hope it works. I'm not really interested in doing a lot of repair work.

Again, thanks much for your input. I really appreciate it. Still want a pic? I've not taken it apart yet but I can if you think it is still the heads. I just seriously doubt it.
 
Sounds like you've made a good faith effort to figure it out. Unfortunately, you've probably done all you can without some serious tear-down. I agree, decently recorded 8Ts can sound more than adequate...and an '802 should be able to sound as good as any 8T player. So, something's wrong somewhere. If the head is clean, the next thing I'd suspect is that it's seriously out of azimuth (the left-right tilt of the head, not the height). After that, I'd suspect bad caps; resistors rarely deteriorate, caps do. My Akai CR-81D sounded meh until I had it fully recapped.

If the seller will take it back, perhaps that's the best course. Yes, you can buy players for $10-60, but decent ones like the 800 series Realistics go for the high end of that and above. Decent Akais and Wollensaks routinely sell over $100 or more. Keep looking - you'll find a good one.

Cheers,
Larry B.
 
1tumbleweed said:
Sounds like you've made a good faith effort to figure it out. Unfortunately, you've probably done all you can without some serious tear-down. I agree, decently recorded 8Ts can sound more than adequate...and an '802 should be able to sound as good as any 8T player. So, something's wrong somewhere. If the head is clean, the next thing I'd suspect is that it's seriously out of azimuth (the left-right tilt of the head, not the height). After that, I'd suspect bad caps; resistors rarely deteriorate, caps do. My Akai CR-81D sounded meh until I had it fully recapped.

If the seller will take it back, perhaps that's the best course. Yes, you can buy players for $10-60, but decent ones like the 800 series Realistics go for the high end of that and above. Decent Akais and Wollensaks routinely sell over $100 or more. Keep looking - you'll find a good one.

Cheers,
Larry B.
Click to expand...
Thanks very much Larry!

I really appreciate your reply. I just submitted for a refund so hopefully it works out okay. I'm looking at a few more at the moment. I'm really wanting the pioneer HR-99 that I used to have and there's one for 100 but it says almost nothing about it except that it works. It looks nice. And what do you think about Fisher? The
ER-8125 model? Here is a link if you want to look at it. I just want something that records well. My pioneer is a great player so the recording is mainly what i'm after but obviously it'd be nice to retire the pioneer and just use one nice unit.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-FIS...289910?hash=item33cae44636:g:E-IAAOSwuxFY0WSz
 
I would suspect the head azimuth adjustment as well. Just had the same problem with a Fisher 8 track payer deck here and all it took was a slight tweaking of the head adjustment screw to find the sweet spot. Before messing with that remember it may also help to polish up the head with a dab of light aluminum polish on a Q-Tip to remove any tarnish or corrosion, sometimes alcohol just isn't enough. The head should have a nice clean mirror finish to it, and make sure to remove any traces of polish before inserting a tape.
 
DUBUQUEBLUES said:
Thanks very much Larry!

I really appreciate your reply. I just submitted for a refund so hopefully it works out okay. I'm looking at a few more at the moment. I'm really wanting the pioneer HR-99 that I used to have and there's one for 100 but it says almost nothing about it except that it works. It looks nice. And what do you think about Fisher? The
ER-8125 model? Here is a link if you want to look at it. I just want something that records well. My pioneer is a great player so the recording is mainly what i'm after but obviously it'd be nice to retire the pioneer and just use one nice unit.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-FIS...289910?hash=item33cae44636:g:E-IAAOSwuxFY0WSz
Click to expand...

That Fisher was made by Sanyo, and it's nothing special - and not worth the price. An H-R99 is almost as good as it gets, and would be way preferable. The top brands, roughly in order, are Akai, Wollensak, Pioneer, Realistic (800 series, not the 880s), the Sony 228, and perhaps some others. Funny thing about the Wollensaks is that they were also made by Sanyo, but way better than the Fisher/Sanyos for some reason. I'd also stay away from Panasonics - who did so well otherwise.

Cheers,
Larry B.
 
1tumbleweed said:
That Fisher was made by Sanyo, and it's nothing special - and not worth the price. An H-R99 is almost as good as it gets, and would be way preferable. The top brands, roughly in order, are Akai, Wollensak, Pioneer, Realistic (800 series, not the 880s), the Sony 228, and perhaps some others. Funny thing about the Wollensaks is that they were also made by Sanyo, but way better than the Fisher/Sanyos for some reason. I'd also stay away from Panasonics - who did so well otherwise.

Cheers,
Larry B.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice my friend. I've done quite a bit of reading and from what I've read and what you have said it does seem that the Akai and Wollensak must be the best.....however I have also read that some Akai players run a hare slow and that the motors are great but often need replaced soon if you're buying one that is not serviced. The wollensak units are just too expensive for me right now. The fisher was much cheaper which is why I was looking at it. Good to know about those....thanks.

So guess what? I started playing around with the head (azimuth) and sure enough you guys were right. That's exactly what the problem was with the realistic. Forgot that it had the azimuth and crosstalk screws on the bottom that you can adjust and just the slight turn of the azimuth screw made everything much better!!! Obviously I'm no expert!! However, adjusting the azimuth also means having to readjust the crosstalk and after an hour I still can't seem to get it perfect with totally clear highs and lows without any bleed-over between tracks. I know it's a delicate process so I guess I will just keep trying. I'd sure prefer to keep this unit and not have to deal with a return (though I already requested one). I can cancel the return if I can get this going right.

On a side note, do you have any recommendations for brand of blank 8 tracks? I've read to stay away from any radio shack tapes, certron and all the cheapos. Are capitol tapes okay? I have a few new ones so they'll have to do for now. I also have a few new magnatone blanks. Are either of these I have any good? I only ask because it seems pointless to waste time recording on a tape that's gonna have drop-outs or sound fair. The whole deal with 8 tracks and machines are just that they are so delicate....one wrong move and things could go downhill fast (head adjustment, loose tape tension, etc etc).

Again, I really appreciate everything guys!!!! You have helped me a great deal here. Thanks so much!

Warren
 
Glad our advice helped.

Blanks: TDK, Maxell, some Scotch, BASF. I wouldn't lump Radio Shack (Realistic) in with Certron - I've had few problems with RS. Capitol tapes are fine, but opening the 3rd generation shells for repair is torture. Don't know anything about Magnatone.

The biggest concern with any old tapes is pressure pads and splices. Repair stuff available here:

http://www.katestrackshack.com/suppliesforsale.htm

Full disclosure: I'm friends with the Gibsons (online, anyway) but they're great people who have done more for the 8 track community than anyone else.
 
DUBUQUEBLUES said:
So guess what? I started playing around with the head (azimuth) and sure enough you guys were right. That's exactly what the problem was with the realistic. Forgot that it had the azimuth and crosstalk screws on the bottom that you can adjust and just the slight turn of the azimuth screw made everything much better!!! Obviously I'm no expert!! However, adjusting the azimuth also means having to readjust the crosstalk and after an hour I still can't seem to get it perfect with totally clear highs and lows without any bleed-over between tracks. I know it's a delicate process so I guess I will just keep trying. I'd sure prefer to keep this unit and not have to deal with a return (though I already requested one). I can cancel the return if I can get this going right.
Click to expand...

Just a word of caution - If this was an eBay purchase and you plan to return it, you need to be very careful about making any changes or adjustments because this could result in eBay determining that the unit is no longer in the condition it was received and they may not allow you to return it.
 
1tumbleweed said:
Glad our advice helped.

Blanks: TDK, Maxell, some Scotch, BASF. I wouldn't lump Radio Shack (Realistic) in with Certron - I've had few problems with RS. Capitol tapes are fine, but opening the 3rd generation shells for repair is torture. Don't know anything about Magnatone.

The biggest concern with any old tapes is pressure pads and splices. Repair stuff available here:

http://www.katestrackshack.com/suppliesforsale.htm

Full disclosure: I'm friends with the Gibsons (online, anyway) but they're great people who have done more for the 8 track community than anyone else.
Click to expand...

Yes I am also friends with the Gibsons. Have ordered 100 pads thus far and have 50 more on the way. They are great people and their pads are the best I have found. I'm glad the capitol tapes are okay....I think these are the 2nd generation shells that just has the top tab (which i've broken many times) and the 2 polls at the bottom. I've actually gotten really good at opening the Warner/Atlantic/Capitol late 70s and 80s tapes. They used to drive me nuts and I'd break them all the time but now they're one of the easiest ones for me.

Thanks again!
 
dhnash said:
Just a word of caution - If this was an eBay purchase and you plan to return it, you need to be very careful about making any changes or adjustments because this could result in eBay determining that the unit is no longer in the condition it was received and they may not allow you to return it.
Click to expand...

Oh yes.....the only thing I've adjusted is the 2 screws on the bottom. If anything I've made it sound a lot better. And if I can get it totally tweaked I will keep it.
 
1tumbleweed said:
That Fisher was made by Sanyo, and it's nothing special - and not worth the price. An H-R99 is almost as good as it gets, and would be way preferable. The top brands, roughly in order, are Akai, Wollensak, Pioneer, Realistic (800 series, not the 880s), the Sony 228, and perhaps some others. Funny thing about the Wollensaks is that they were also made by Sanyo, but way better than the Fisher/Sanyos for some reason. I'd also stay away from Panasonics - who did so well otherwise.

Cheers,
Larry B.
Click to expand...

So I think I may keep the realistic.....however I'm looking at another that's the exact same unit and much cheaper. Also I am looking at a realistic TR-801. I know it has a metal head cage instead of plastic and is only missing the dolby function (which I don't really use anyway). They are both the same price. Here is the listings. Which one would you go with??? And of course, thanks for your time and no rush!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Realistic-T...47b564&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=12&sd=302256832358

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Realistic-T...47b564&pid=100011&rk=2&rkt=12&sd=302256832358
 
Both seem decent, although the seller of the '801 wants an excessive amount for shipping. If all else were equal, I'd go for the '801. But both are very close to each other, condition-wise, it seems.

Cheers,
Larry B.
 
Here's some info on Magnatone: Turns out they were made by Columbia's manufacturing company, which once upon a time was Reeves Soundcraft in Connecticut. Decent stuff.

Cheers,
Larry B.
 
1tumbleweed said:
Here's some info on Magnatone: Turns out they were made by Columbia's manufacturing company, which once upon a time was Reeves Soundcraft in Connecticut. Decent stuff.

Cheers,
Larry B.
Click to expand...

Makes perfect sense because the tapes are the red 2 tab ones that columbia used in the early 70s. Haven't tried them yet but soon as I do I will report the results. Same with the capitol tapes I got.

I really wanted the Pioneer HR-99 like I used to have. Actually I think I had the HR-100 because it had dolby. But it was a great little player/recorder. I shouldn't say little because it was a tank....but very nice. I just can't see paying 100 plus shipping if I can't be sure of the shape of the thing. I ended up getting the Realistic TR-801. I got him to come down on the shipping since I'm not that far away. Wish me luck....

What do you think about the Realistic receiver STA-125? I'm in the process of rebuilding and purchasing a better system at the moment. Obviously I like vintage stuff and just had this one laying around after an old Pioneer bit the dust. I have that onkyo I mentioned before but the realistic actually sounded a lot warmer to me. I've got a harman kardon receiver back home in North Carolina but I can't remember the model....probably 9 years old or so. Just curious as I listen to vinyl and 8 tracks the most but of course I also run the computer and home stuff through it as well (whichever receiver I happen to be using). Again, thanks for all the info. I've learned a lot already...
 
Don't know a thing about that receiver, but it seems a lot of that stuff is well thought of. Supposedly sourced from Foster, Coral, or...who knows? I'm sure others know more than I do.

Cheers,
Larry B.
 
1tumbleweed said:
Both seem decent, although the seller of the '801 wants an excessive amount for shipping. If all else were equal, I'd go for the '801. But both are very close to each other, condition-wise, it seems.

Cheers,
Larry B.
Click to expand...

As far as Realistic 8 track decks go, didn't the 801 have the widest frequency response?
 
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