Topic: My HD-P2 is Rusting!

[mattmiller]

It's just a little over 2 years old, and I only tape 6-8 shows a year.  I started noticing that the metallic parts were developing a "grittiness" about 6 months ago, and by now the screws on the XLR inputs are pretty well oxidized.  The RCA inputs seem to be developing the same incipient oxidation.  I consider myself to be very careful with all my possessions, so I'm more than a little troubled by this.  Between shows (i.e., sometimes for a month or two) I keep everything in my gear bag usually in an upstairs office.  During the summer, despite the AC, it is slightly warmer and more humid up there than elsewhere in the house.  Is this my problem?  Should I let it "air out" when not in use?  What can I do about the oxidation that has already developed?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[Roving Sign]

perhaps the cost of "going green"?

Recycled metals...

Gotta wonder just how pure they make recycled steel etc...?

Perhaps consider a few of those silicon desiccant thingys in the gear bag...? Help keep any moisture to a minimum.

[deadheaded]

Do you live near salt water?

[jkbyram]

after reading this it made me go examine mine closely. mine looks great still with no signs of any rust or tarnish. i live in one of the most humid places around also, i am in the deep south.

[mattmiller]

do you leave a battery hooked up?  it might be a galvanic distortion being accelerated by dissimilar metals and a low voltage value leakage if a battery is left hooked up.

I run it off the 8 AA batteries (never taped enough to be bankrupted by the cost of replacing them).  I have left the batteries in the unit between shows, if I happened to be taping a couple times over a few week period.  When I've done this, I've checked the battery compartment on occasion to make sure nothing goofy was happening (batteries leaking, etc.).  I never considered that this voltage source could manifest itself in problems elsewhere on the unit.  Any chance that this is my problem?

Do you live near salt water?

Nope -- NE Ohio.

[KenH]

Ive had my HD-P2 for about 2.5 years now.  Just checked it out, and there is some rust-like discoloration starting on the XLR buttons, and 1 of the screws.   Hmmm, interesting.   I store the gear in my taping bag on a garage shelf where it probably gets a bit too humid, and will plan on not storing it there any longer.

I live in central MA where it's humid as hell all summer long, or so it seems, but not near the ocean (dammit!).

It's also interesting to note that I store my V3 in the same bag, ready to go , and it shows no sign of even the slightest discoloration or rust, and I've had the V3 for maybe 2 years now.

A friend who lives in Florida noticed problems with his P2 a while back, and wrote about it here, I think. We thought it might be due to living near salt water, but apparently not.

I think the issue is cheap chromed steel, or cheap stainless. Hopefully it won't affect function.

/Ken

P.S. Thanks for posting about this!  +T

[dallman]

I live in the sometimes frigid sometimes humid midwest and have not had any deterioration at all on my deck. However since your problem does not appear to be isolated based on some of the comments above, you might want to call Tascam and see what they have to say about the issue. Maybe they would fix the unit, and/or maybe have some idea of what causes the problem and how to prevent it. I think it would be a call worth making...Good Luck!

[audBall]

It might be a good idea to toss a silica packet or two in your rig bag, if anything, to keep the problem from getting worse.  I don't own an HDP2 but this thread made me double check my bag last night.  I always make sure at least a small packet is in there...

I sure hope the problem doesn't continue inside the unit.

[gusbud1]

That is just bizzare,  I would try to get off as much of the topical rust as possible, maybe with steel wool. It might scratch up the facing a little bit, but I think that would be better than letting it rust out.

[mattmiller]

Has anybody had any experience with Tascam's support (or heard anything about it)?  I just got around to e-mailing them a week or so ago, and so far they haven't responded.

[KenH]

Has anybody had any experience with Tascam's support (or heard anything about it)?  I just got around to e-mailing them a week or so ago, and so far they haven't responded.

Yeah, called them yesterday.  The support guy asked me where I live, how I store it, and with nothing to indicate environmental issues, said "that's wierd, never heard of this problem. The warranty has expired so nothing we can do.".    Now my issue is minor, just a hint of off coloration, but I'd be happier if I could replace the screws in the XLR jacks with better quality stainless, or something, which I also mentioned.  He said I'd have to contact a service place for that (at least for the right screws).  fwiw, I got mine in June '06.

/ken

[mattmiller]

Well, it's nice to know they're so eager to assist.   

I got mine around that same time (I think May 2006), so I'm sure if I get any response at all it will be to basically tell me the same thing.

I guess I'll just contact some place that services them around here and get an estimate on replacing the visibly oxidized parts.  Or at least to get the parts so I can replace them myself.  What I worry about is what I can't see on the inside.  Hopefully, either:  a.  the inside was subjected to less humidity than the exterior; or, b. they used higher quality metal on the inside.

[jackmf]

I think I was the first on this board to notice the oxidation. I reported it to tascam at the time and they said the metal was chrome and that I should just clean it to remove the oxidation. They were willing to take it back and clean or replace but it would likely just happen again. When Busman had my deck for modding, he said it looked fine on the inside. It hasn't seemed to have gotten worse over the past year.

[Carlos E. Martinez]

It's quite unusual this oxidation thing.

The connectors are Neutrik, and they are alloy on the body and bronze alloy gold plated on the pins. That should be your major concern.

The screws should be bronze too, but if they are not they could be easily replaced.

The locking levers might be some steel alloy probably and they can be replaced, but with some difficulty. Cleaning them with steel wool might solve it, but rust may come back. If things get worst they should be replaced, which should be rather easy for any technician, or by you if you are handy with a solder pen and the connectors use wired terminals.

Take a look at the battery terminals and watch them for rust, because those are much worst to replace. 

[satchmo]

Mine shows no signs of wear after about a year - point of interest is that the decks that show the wear were purchased about the same time making me wonder if the parts used in that manufacturing batch had some specific problems.  Comparing serial numbers might give further clues.