Oh I agree Steve! I have been playing with electronics since I was a kid. Neighbors would drop off stuff for me to try to fix before they threw it in the trash. I would pull the tubes, go test them, clean up everything, look for burnt wires, broken solder joints etc. I was surprised that I could fix about half of the stuff this way. The rest hit the trash. So I have confidence, but I always get a little nervous if the gear looks new. So easy to scratch things when you reach for a beer... :-) But anyway, I have worked over a handful of reel to reels. I even completely recapped my Teac X2000r. But I do this for fun. But this Otari on the bench is getting ready for new TP tapes! And it looks sweet! So I have to be careful and not crack the VU meter covers! The rest is done except for the final alignment. I have a MRL tape, but keep hoping my TP alignment tape will show up soon! I need it! My MRL tape is cut at 7.5 ips. I want to dial in these beasts with a 15ips tape.
Also I might add, after working on the Teacs and Pioneers, and Nak cassettes, these Otari's are a treat! They way they open up for service is wonderful!
Ken