Retro Resto #3 | Sony PCM-2800 DAT Recorder | ASMR | No Talking | Chill Music & Video

Retro Resto #3 | 1990s Sony PCM-2800 DAT Recorder | August 2025

In this video I repair a faulty Sony DAT machine that was listed on Ebay as "For Repair - Not Working".

The seller's description was rather more detailed than most faulty equipment, they described that it wouldn't eject the tape, and that it suddenly sounded distorted, which I immediately suspected was a relatively common and simple case of old rubber belts that have started to slip, causing the machine to display a 'CAUTION' message on screen and to not respond to any button presses.

After messaging the seller (who had an excellent feedback rating) to ask if they would be able to securely pack it to my specifications, they happily agreed, so I committed to the purchase, and a week later was pleased to see it arrive undamaged and very well packed with lot's of thick foam.

After unpacking, I proceeded to inspect and test, it had exactly the faults as described in the listing, so I started the repairs, opening the case and taking plenty of photos to document the correct assembly in case I had trouble putting it back together.

Being a reasonably high-end pro level machine, it was all well designed and simple to work on, as is the case with most Sony pro gear, I had downloaded and studied a service manual while it was being shipped, so within a few minutes I was ready to remove the deck compartment and get a first look at the general condition, suspecting it to be little more than a standard belt replacement and clean/lubrication job.

While the belts were indeed in need of replacement, the fault turned out to be something more than that, and I had a moment or two of concern that it would perhaps require a much deeper level diagnosis of the electronics to uncover the issue.

I ordered the 2 new belts as per the Sony service manual part numbers, and while they were in transit from Canada, I did the cleaning and re-lubrication.

Happily, after going back to the basics and carefully looking throughout the machine while it was going into it's fault mode, I spotted what the issue was (no spoilers, watch the video to find out), and I was able to fix it with ease, much to my relief.

While waiting for the belts to arrive, I also went on Ebay and bought a set of 3 prerecorded DAT tapes that came from a Tokyo radio station, I knew I'd never find a Sony DAT alignment/calibration tape, so I figured a professionally recorded set of radio station tapes would be a good alternative and should allow me to do any adjustments to the guides and audio playback if required. (A video of the Radio tapes will follow)

So after the machine was repaired and able to handle my one and only blank DAT tape without any signs of the original fault, I popped the radio tapes in and was super happy to hear them play perfectly, I proceeded to do the usual set of tests for all transport functions, rewind, fast forward, play, stop... and it was all working 100%, which was very satisfying considering this was the first DAT machine I'd ever repaired.

The next, and final test was to check if it would record correctly, so I took it over to the studio and hooked it up to the digital AES/EBU optical, and the balanced XLR analogue inputs, popped in my new blank Maxell tape, and tested that all inputs and modes recorded properly, which they did without a single problem.

Then I tested it would handle recording the full 60 minutes of the tape with a playlist of my hi-res master tracks, it performed flawlessly, and I am exceedingly happy to have added a fully functional Sony PCM-2800 DAT recorder to my list of studio equipment, without spending a small fortune

It will now be used for archiving client's tapes, as well as allowing me to add DAT tapes as another option for my music store, along with the 1/2-track 15 & 7.5ips reels, cassettes and the digital downloads.

Credits:

Background tracks used during resto part of video are as follows:

1: Deckard's Run (2024) - by Dogwood Dags.

2: R's Soul (2010) (2023 Remix) - by Dogwood Dags.

3: Chameleonic Remux (written by Herbie Hancock) (2022) - by Dogwood Dags.

Available on Reels, Cassettes and Download from:
https://dogwooddags.bandcamp.com

I don't do restoration for a job, it's a hobby/necessity, but if you'd like me to restore your vintage audio gear, I am happy to accept it as a donation, I won't return it, but I will make a video of it you can watch.

Contact me via: [email protected] to see if I am willing/able to take your gear.

WARNING! THESE VIDEOS ARE FOR ENTERTAINMENT ONLY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WORK ON HIGH VOLTAGE EQUIPMENT UNLESS YOU ARE FULLY QUALIFIED AND COMPETENT.
DON'T BECOME A DEAD COPYCAT!

Copyright 2025- Cool Calm Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Thanks For Watching!