Roland Space Echo RE-201 NO ECHO

Hey electronic gurus

We have a Space Echo that is no longer making echo sounds.  The VU meter is still working, the tape is still flowing across the heads (i actually cut myself a bit running my finger against the tape to make sure it was still moving across the heads).  I cleaned the tape heads (which were actually kind of dirty) with a q-tip and some alcohol... was hoping that was the problem, but it wasn't... none of the heads are working as far as the delay/echo goes...

i am hearing signal through the machine though... and the reverb is working and the tape is moving... just can't hear any echo.  does anyone have any suggestions of where to continue troubleshooting?  do you think there could be a cap, diode, &c. that might have gone bad?  again, the space echo is passing clean signal and/or reverb signal... but no echo at all on any tape head... and the tape is moving across all heads, which are now clean.

thanks a lot in advance friends.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/2474420/Roland-RE201101-Space-Echo-Service-Manual

> cleaned the tape heads

Dirty heads muffle the treble. That would NOT cause no-sound.

> VU meter is still working, the tape is still flowing ...  space echo is passing clean signal and/or reverb signal... but no echo at all on any tape head...

Then it has to be one of the two paths highlighted in red below. Recording amp to rec heads, or play heads through play preamp.

Off the bat, I would suspect this "Mode Select Switch" or its wires. Many tarnished contacts, fine wires, much to go wrong. If you can find the back of this switch, touch some contacts. A loud BUZZZ means signal can get from switch to preamp and preamp is working. If not, try to find the Echo Volume pot and touch its terminals.

If signal passes preamp, then take a small wall-wart and put it on an extension cord so you can move it near the play heads. That should give huge hum. (As a test: wall-wart near spring-reverb tank should hum, even through steel tank. If your wart won't hum, find one with an old fashioned transformer, not a newer switcher.)

Use a signal tracer to probe the "?" circuit points and see where signal stops.

thanks!

for anyone interested, it was a bad cap on the echo part of the circuit.

Seditionary said:

thanks!

for anyone interested, it was a bad cap on the echo part of the circuit.

Click to expand...

which cap?

shoot, i could open it up.  i think it was the only cap that was on the echo circuit... right next to where it was marked "echo" on the board.