[Boatanchors] Re Tape Recorder Passing Gas?

[Troglodite at aol.com]

Duane,
 
I've heard that sound before, though not in that particular model. I chased  
one down about a year ago, turned out to be a bad electrolytic. What you hear 
is  a damped "motorboat" sound. I don't know if you recall, but a few years 
ago  there was a bad batch of electrolytics that came out of China. (The culprit 
was  actually a chemical used in the electrolyte.) They ended up in all kinds 
of  products, from computer motherboards to clock radios. If you've had 
several that  went bad, is it possible they were all made at about the same time? I 
could give  you the exact dates these bad capacitors infiltrated everything, 
but I'd have to  do a little more research. Some of the bad caps can be found 
by visual  inspection - they are swollen or have signs of leaking electrolyte. 
Others show  no signs, and may be found by bridging them with a known good  
electrolytic.
 
Of course your problem could be something entirely different, but that  sound 
is very distinctive. :-)
 
Doug Moore