Check out this video from a happy customer:
Up for sale - newly designed replacement for ALPS Teac X-2000R tape direction FWD/REV switch S301 (TEAC part number 5302102500) used in the TEAC X-2000R reel to reel tape deck. This is the switch that is used to select which playback heads are selected during FWD or REV tape direction as well as various control signals.
The original ALPS solenoid driven switch
assemblies are getting old and once they fail, your X-2000R is out of
commission. And, of course, they are impossible to find! If you have the original TEAC switch in your deck, its contacts have degraded over time and the contacts cannot be adequately cleaned without dis-assembling the switch. Even then, the contacts are worn and the whole thing should be replaced. That's where my S301K comes in! The signals from the playback heads pass through this switch. Typical symptoms of
failure of this switch are that some tracks are played backwards, channel drop-out in one direction or the other, head audio signal attenuation or poor audio signal quality, but other
symptoms are also possible.
I designed this device to be a 'drop in' replacement for the original S301 part. I used modern, high reliability, hermetically sealed components. Replacement requires only basic soldering and de-soldering skills. Step-by-step instructions, solder and solder wick are provided - everything you need except basic hand tools and a soldering iron.
Please see these comments on this device sent to me by my customers and on a popular Reel-to-Reel tape deck post:
"I ordered and installed this switch that a guy named
Kurt built up and is selling on eBay.
I installed it and the deck works perfectly again. I think this switch is
better than the OEM switch. It uses less
current and is almost silent. He says the relays are rated at a million cycles. The relays are sealed. It was a
perfect drop in replacement! Lets
hope these switches are available for a good while! Personally I think if I was
tuning up any X-2000R , it would
get this switch. The old switches just work like a resistor in the signal path as they age."
"I bought one of these reversing switches from eBay to
fix the same problem the author of
this thread was having, dropping out of the left channel in forward play. It has fixed that and then some. I never planned
on it making a difference in the sound quality
the way it did. Both channels are now clear and the sound is so pure and clean sounding. It has never sounded
this good before so I wrote to the maker of the switch and asked him what the contacts were made of and he said
“The contacts are silver alloy with gold
alloy overlay and have initial contact resistance of 0.075 ohms max! My device also has hermetically
sealed components for long life - longer than the
original switch....” No
wonder it sounds so good after listening to the OEM switch with its dirty, corroded, worn copper contacts! If you have
a X-2000R I highly recommend getting this
high quality switch, you will find none better and its better than what TEAC made. He might not be selling these next
year."
"I
got the same results that you did. I have never heard my X-2000R sound this good. Ever.
My original switch could not be repaired because one of the sliders was toast. But
that said, after replacing the switch with this new one, as I went through the alignment I noticed a stability to
the settings that I had never had before. Switching
from forward to reverse and back again, and the A/C meter would be dead on. It is very repeatable. The top end on my X-2000R is like never before, in
a good way. And I am getting a nice big
sound stage that is steady. The switch is an
improvement over the original switch even if the original switch was new in my opinion. The signal from the heads goes
through this switch. I am so glad this guy built
up these switches! I was so impressed I restored the rest of the deck, the deck sings
like never before. "
"I did not have a problem with my original
switch, but I wanted to get this beautiful and rare silver X-2000R working as
it did when it was new. I started by checking the recording performance
of my X-2000R. Before I replaced the switch, I measured the VU meter drop
while recording a 1kHz signal. I noted about a 4-4.5VU drop in the
signal. I performed the same test after I replaced the switch. I
noted only 2-2.5VU drop in the signal. This is great news as I wasn't
even aware this was a problem and my signal was being degraded with the old
switch. While I had the old switch on my bench, I removed the cover to
inspect the contacts. I noticed only a very small portion of the wipers
were making contact. The new switch improves the contact and results tremendously.
I am ordering 4 more for my other X-2000Rs! Great job on the design,
thorough instructions, and packaging. Other eBay sellers, take note."
"For those who own this machine (TEAC X-2000R) there is a weak part in it called S301 which is the solenoid ALPs direction switch. Once this starts to go bad you can try and spray it with Deoxit but that might not even work given the tiny and poorly made switch design. The correct answer is to put a properly designed switch in by Kurt Jacobs which is sold on eBay. This fellow has done some homework and has made a correctly made part that should have been put in the deck of this price in the first place. I, as a past Teac Lead Technician recommend this part!"
If you are restoring an X-2000R,
this is a great opportunity to replace the old S301 with this new modern part!
It's only a matter of time before the original part fails... I believe that any X-2000R's performance will be significantly improved by installing this switch.
If you are considering this device to repair your X-2000R, please perform appropriate
troubleshooting to determine that your original S301 switch has failed and requires
replacement prior to purchasing this device. I guarantee that this device will
function as a superior, drop-in replacement for the S301, but I cannot guarantee that
this will fix your X-2000R unless failure of the S301 is the cause of your
X-2000R deck's failure.
NOTE: The metal cover pictured
is not included. This item is designed to accommodate the metal
cover from the original S301 device, if desired.
Thanks for looking and if you have
any questions, just ask!
SHIPPING quoted for US48 ONLY
Please note: I can NOT currently ship to Russia. eBay's global shipping program is not supporting this properly at this time. I don't know why eBay has Russia in its list when they will not provide shipping costs for that country. Sorry for any inconvenience. Please contact eBay for assistance/comments.