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Author Topic: belt for otari 5050  (Read 11044 times)

Offline zaphod

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belt for otari 5050
« on: February 13, 2012, 08:01:45 PM »
friend of mine opened up an old otari 5050 and had the drive belt disintegrate on him it was that old. now he is having a heck of a time finding the size of a replacement or a source. he doesn't care much about the counter belt - which is also dead and gone.

it's a flat belt, 3/8" wide and about 16 or so inches in length. he's contacted otari who gave him a big dunno shoulder shrug.

he's found out that various iterations of the 5050 were belt driven or direct drive but can't discern how to tell which machine is which and which is his, making a parts list for the belt hard.

does anyone have any pointers that he might follow to size and source the correct belt?
Lance Bailey
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walk gently. leave a good impression.

Offline ed

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2012, 07:49:09 PM »

One belt is 7.8 in. inner circumference, and .070 in. thick. PRB #OA7.8
Other belt is 16.4 in. inner circumference, and .070 in. thick. PRB #OA16.4

THANKS TO HACKERJOHN AT AUDIOKARMA

Offline zaphod

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2012, 09:21:54 PM »
fantastic!  thanks.


One belt is 7.8 in. inner circumference, and .070 in. thick. PRB #OA7.8
Other belt is 16.4 in. inner circumference, and .070 in. thick. PRB #OA16.4

THANKS TO HACKERJOHN AT AUDIOKARMA
Lance Bailey
--
walk gently. leave a good impression.

Offline kcswingmaster

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2012, 03:12:57 PM »
I need one of these....did you find one?


Offline steveidosound

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2012, 05:49:48 PM »
Following up on this post, I checked and those PRB numbers relate to round belts.
Now I am really confused. I thought all Otari transports  - at least the 5050-ish ones - used the same basic setup and would all use the same main capstan belt, which I thought was a flat section belt, not round. Are some flat and some round?  I thought I saw 2 variations on length. I also read that some are direct drive. So, what variations are there within the 5050 series and related similar transports. Is the BII not the same as the earlier models?  Are other transports of theirs not the same? I have not found a post that says what Otari original stock parts or aftermarket suppliers might fit any/all of these variations, which I (wrongly) assumed did not exist.
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline Listens2tubes

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2012, 07:31:55 AM »
None of my 5050's have a capstan belt. The HD's have a counter belt, though. Is your 5050 an early model?
Neal - Ampex Fineline F-44, 3 - Otari MX5050BII-2, Revox A77 Mk II , Teac A 4010s, 4070, Sony TC102A, Magnecord 1020, Systemdek IIX/Dynavector Karat 17D2MKII, CEC CD3300 CDP, K Works NanoMax DAC, Van Alsine Transcendence Eight+ tube preamp, Dynaco MkIV amp pair, Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v1

Offline steveidosound

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #6 on: April 28, 2012, 10:08:00 AM »
I currently own a 4 channel MX5050  with the separate electronics  (2X stereo) and transport, which seems to be direct drive, though i thought it was not. I did have a couple of the older 2 channel ones, one at least with the silver face and IIRC at least that one was  flat belt drive. I also have an interest in  2,  ARS1000 decks which are probably in the silver face era and also have flat belts. These were playback only, decks for radio station automation , but still 5050 related transport.
Is there anywhere on here or elsewhere on the web with a chronology with images of the various models?
I know in the one series there are 5050, 5050B, B2 and B3 plus all the other variations and models.
BTW on those PRB #s, though the ones listed earlier relate to round belts PRB does list flat belts in the same inner circumference. Not sure if the width would be right however.
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline kcswingmaster

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #7 on: May 01, 2012, 08:37:09 AM »
Worked on the 5050 the other day....there were a few pieces of belt remaining.  It was a flat belt.  Wanting to see if this machine worked, I made a belt out of duct tape - yes - I am a farmer - the belt is 18",  not 16.4" as stated above.....?  Still searching for the proper part......





Offline Listens2tubes

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2012, 05:53:41 PM »
Have you seen this http://www.ebay.com/itm/OTARI-ARS-1000DC-REEL-TO-REEL-TAPE-PLAYBACK-REPRODUCER-/320887638330?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item4ab664c93a There are 2 from this seller, this is just one of them. Abelt for the capston does show in one shot.
Neal - Ampex Fineline F-44, 3 - Otari MX5050BII-2, Revox A77 Mk II , Teac A 4010s, 4070, Sony TC102A, Magnecord 1020, Systemdek IIX/Dynavector Karat 17D2MKII, CEC CD3300 CDP, K Works NanoMax DAC, Van Alsine Transcendence Eight+ tube preamp, Dynaco MkIV amp pair, Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v1

Offline ironbut

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ARS 1000
« Reply #9 on: May 02, 2012, 01:05:09 PM »
Regarding steveidosound's previous post and the listing on eBay, the capstan drive belt is Otari part number BE2M128.
Here are the specs;

diameter(Inner) : 128mm
thickness : 0.5mm
width : 10mm
material : polyurethane

The part is no longer available from Otari but I have an inquiry at a belt manufacturer and I'll post here when I hear back from them.

I noticed in the eBay ad that someone was asking about how to hook the machine up since there are no conventional output jacks.
On the backs of these machines is a multi pin connector (25 pins IIRC).

First, just to get the machine running, you need to short a few of the connections;
13 to 5 and 12 to 17. Since these were automation decks you need to short these with a jumper (similar to what happens in a remote dummy plug). There are supposed to be some variations on this so you may have to spend some quality trial and error time to find the right connections to jump.

The outputs are;

1 is all pass out left
2 is all pass out right
14 is a filtered out left (probably a low pass filter for broadcast in the 15k region?)
15 is a filter out right
pins 3 and 16 are signal grounds

So, even if you have to trial and error your way to get the machine to operate, you can at least rule out a number of the choices.
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
 HE Audio Jades

Offline steveidosound

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Re: ARS 1000
« Reply #10 on: May 02, 2012, 09:17:17 PM »
the capstan drive belt is Otari part number BE2M128.
Here are the specs;

diameter(Inner) : 128mm
thickness : 0.5mm
width : 10mm
material : polyurethane

The part is no longer available from Otari but I have an inquiry at a belt manufacturer and I'll post here when I hear back from them.


So, no aftermarket belt is close enough dimensionally to work?
Also, is it correct to assume that only 1st generation 5050 (and related) transports with the silver face are belt drive rather than direct?
« Last Edit: May 02, 2012, 09:20:04 PM by steveidosound »
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline steveidosound

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Re: ARS 1000
« Reply #11 on: May 02, 2012, 10:42:28 PM »
the capstan drive belt is Otari part number BE2M128.
Here are the specs;

diameter(Inner) : 128mm
thickness : 0.5mm
width : 10mm
material : polyurethane

The part is no longer available from Otari but I have an inquiry at a belt manufacturer and I'll post here when I hear back from them.


So, no aftermarket belt is close enough dimensionally to work?
Also, is it correct to assume that only 1st generation 5050 (and related) transports with the silver face are belt drive rather than direct?

Might the PRB FR 15.3 work?
Inside Diameter 123mm (15.3 Inner Circumference)
thickness 1.02mm (.04 wall thickness)
Width 9.9mm (.390 cross section)
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline ironbut

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Re: belt for otari 5050
« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2012, 12:49:26 AM »
I haven't really looked elsewhere for any other aftermarket belts.
Like I said, I'm waiting to hear from the belt manufacturer that was suggested by Otari. If he can't help, I'll look elsewhere.
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
 HE Audio Jades