Topic: Tascam DR-40 - Dead again

[Possum9797]

I am posting this as this is the second time that my DR-40 has died, no power up, and I have not been able to find anything relating on the web.

After connecting the DR-40 to the PC with USB cable and downloading the files - The unit won't power on. This does not happen all the time, but has happened twice in two years.

It is not the "Lock" switch on the side.

The first time it happened, the unit was under warranty. The factory replaced the main board under warranty, but I still had to pay for labor and shipping. This time, I have a price for replacing the main board myself, but I am hesitant to spend almost $100 and not be sure of the problem. Since there aren't any complaints of this to be found, I have to assume it is somehow my setup.

The only thing that I can think of is that the USB port on the PC is putting out bad power to the DR-40. For example - if there is no undervoltage protection, could too much current be running into the DR-40 and causing some part of the power circuit to burn up and fail? 

Any feedback on the DR-40 reliability and alternate theories?

[acidjack]

I am posting this as this is the second time that my DR-40 has died, no power up, and I have not been able to find anything relating on the web.

After connecting the DR-40 to the PC with USB cable and downloading the files - The unit won't power on. This does not happen all the time, but has happened twice in two years.

It is not the "Lock" switch on the side.

The first time it happened, the unit was under warranty. The factory replaced the main board under warranty, but I still had to pay for labor and shipping. This time, I have a price for replacing the main board myself, but I am hesitant to spend almost $100 and not be sure of the problem. Since there aren't any complaints of this to be found, I have to assume it is somehow my setup.

The only thing that I can think of is that the USB port on the PC is putting out bad power to the DR-40. For example - if there is no undervoltage protection, could too much current be running into the DR-40 and causing some part of the power circuit to burn up and fail? 

Any feedback on the DR-40 reliability and alternate theories?

As with most Trashcan products, you'll hear the old "I owned one, it worked fine" from some people -- but that doesn't change that the manufacturer has serious, well-documented reliability issues. In this case, I'll be the one to tell you I owned a DR-40 and it worked just fine. It was quirky with formatting the SD card, but it recorded correctly without failure, and I sold it to another member in good conscience. However, their stuff costs a lot less than everyone else's for a reason, and part of that reason is they obviously cut serious corners with QC.

Your theory isn't a bad one. Have you tried just plugging it in with the wall wart and seeing if it boots up?

For $100 I'd dump this unit and buy something else from any other manufacturer.

[Possum9797]

Thanks for your response.

Tried Wall wart, USB Bus power and fresh Batteries, (in combination). Pretty sure something failed on Mainboard, probably in power section. Fair point about getting what you pay for, but rather than Tascam QC - I would likely point to cheap components sourced for their products, (or at least the ones that I got).