Teac A-170

Ah, yes, the days of the top-loader cassette decks. This one belonged to my dad, purchased on August 12, 1977, from Lafayette Radio and Electronics in Long Beach, CA. It was handed down to me at some point, probably in the mid-1980s. Since I had other cassette decks this one didn't get much use but, like my other equipment, I held on to it. Plus this is a pretty nice unit and it even has Dolby.

When I started going through all this vintage gear in 2018 I found that this one, not surpisingly, needed a belt and cleaning. Once that was taken care of, I popped a cassette in and gave it a try. The fast forward needs some adjusting and the play position works but has some mechanical noise. The big problem is no audio output even though the VU meters are responding. I checked out the schematic and followed the audio up to the meter amplifier. The output amp is tapped off the same place so I know about where to look. I have the full service manual so it's really just a matter of sitting down and going through the steps.

Of course, the tough part is where do I place this in the system? Top loaders take up valuable shelf space which is why, I assume, that the front loaders overtook them.

You can view the owners manual in PDF here.

You can the Teac Cassette Information Supplement in PDF here.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

Updated November 2020.

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