Technical
Because of its age spares are not easy to obtain for the SL-8080.Fault and repair guide
Tape transport is sluggish or fails to rewind
Internally the SL-8080 contains many drive belts which are used in the mechanics of tape transport. With age these belts become slack causing malfunctions and when this happens the whole lot should be replaced. In particular for the rewind function you will need to replace a tyre on the supply reel.Strange behaviour of capstan/drum servo
The first thing to check is the tantalum capacitors in the servo circuit.Sluggish threading and capstan problems
The bottom bearing on the capstan motor is prone to wear and because this motor also drives the threading mechanism threading can become sluggish. When this happens you will hear a horrible squeaking noise![an error occurred while processing this directive]