Messages

1

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Revox c270

« on: April 28, 2013, 01:18:48 PM »

Hello, the Revox C270 does indeed use plug-in circuit boards to set EQ. If you follow Steve's link to the Studer site, you can download scans of all the Revox documentation. The file that lists all the Record and Repro board variants is:

ftp://ftp.studer.ch//Public/Products/Revox/Revox_C270/Revox_C270_Diagr.pdf

You have to select your board according to EQ and speed pair, such as NAB 7.5/15 ips, and don't forget that you need both Record and Repro boards if you intend to do any recording. My preferred vendor for Revox parts is Marcel Gahler, at Sound Emotions, in Regensdorf, as his firm is the official service provider for the Revox line:

http://www.revoxservice.ch

I've ordered parts from him several times in the past and he's been a pleasure to work with. Good luck!

2

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Revox playback head specifications

« on: September 16, 2011, 08:03:14 PM »

Last night I too downloaded the Studer catalog and discovered that the 2-track head was listed there under the same part number, but could not find either of the 4-track versions. However, I also posted this question on the revoxforum.de, and today received an email from a German Revox expert directing my attention to heads in the Studer catalog that are apparently identical to the 4-track Revox heads. Therefore:

Revox C270, 1/4" playback head 2/2-track, 1.116.027.00

   inductance:   270 mH      gap width: 2 ?m

Revox C274, 1/4" playback head 4/4-track, 1.050.366.00 (1.116.047.00)

   inductance:   265 mH      gap width: 2 ?m

Revox C274, 1/4" playback head, 4/4-track, low-speed, 1.050.368.00 (1.116.045.00)

   inductance:   265 mH      gap width: 1.4 ?m

Many thanks to everyone for their diligent assistance.

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Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Revox playback head specifications

« on: September 15, 2011, 03:42:26 PM »

Hello,

For a number of years, I used the Revox C270 and C274 recorders for archiving work and would now like to discover the precise technical specifications for several of the stock playback heads:

Revox C270, 1/4" playback head 2/2-track, 1.116.027.00

Revox C274, 1/4" playback head 4/4-track, 1.050.366.00

Revox C274, 1/4" playback head, 4/4-track, low-speed, 1.050.368.00

If any one can supply the inductance (Induktivit?t), and gap width (Spaltbreite), or point me to a source of official documentation, I would be most appreciative. Please note that some of these heads are also apparently used in other Revox recorders, as for example, the 1.116.027.00, which I believe is used in some models of the PR99 and B77.

4

Tape Tech / Re: New (to me) ST 1510A question

« on: July 11, 2011, 03:37:44 PM »

Ki, I would like to warmly second Steve's request. My APR-5003V is working beautifully, but it would be wonderful to have a substantially quieter fan. If you can find time to document your work ? and I recall that you outlined things in a prior posting for the APR group ? someone like me, who is not nearly as capable as you with all things electronic, would appreciate having your step-by-step recommendations in excruciating complete detail, especially given the "unobtanium" status of most of the Sony parts.

5

Tape Tech / Re: New (to me) ST 1510A question

« on: July 08, 2011, 07:22:40 PM »

Hi Ki,

When I purchased my 1510A last year, I received a PDF copy of the service manual, as well as a complete printed copy. I'll be traveling tomorrow but will arrange to put a copy up on my iDisk for you later this weekend (the file is about 72 MB). As I recall, the quality of the PDF scans isn't great, but if there is something that needs clarification, I can scan specific pages at high resolution for you later in the month. My printed copy is very complete, with later revisions, service bulletins, etc. It's absolutely massive ? larger than the service manual for the Sony APR-5000!

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Tape Tech / Re: New (to me) ST 1510A question

« on: June 13, 2011, 05:06:17 PM »

Hi Gary,

Wow, so the prices I found were not out of line! Sound Technology was obviously the Audio Precision of its day. Thanks so much for looking that up.

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Tape Tech / Re: New (to me) ST 1510A question

« on: May 28, 2011, 11:13:33 AM »

Hi Ken,

Your procedure for working the the A77 and 1510A sounds reasonable; strange that the VU meters aren't more flexible. I'm now using a Sony APR-5003V as my primary tape reproducer, but I have both Revox C270 and C274 recorders and have called on Jack Clark more than once in restoring and servicing them. Good luck!

8

Tape Tech / Re: New (to me) ST 1510A question

« on: May 28, 2011, 07:42:38 AM »

Hi Ken, There is a fairly standard alignment sequence for analog tape recorders, and Richard Hess summarized it as follows:

I. Repro

1. VU meter calibration
2. Repro: level (all Repro operations use MRL tape)
3. Repro: azimuth
4. Repro: high freq EQ
5. Repro: low freq EQ
6. Repro: level

II. Record

7. Record: level
8. Bias: overbias
9. Record: high freq EQ
10. Repro: low freq EQ
11. Input: level

On many machines, you calibrate the VU meter and input level first. I'm not sure about the workarounds necessary for an A77, but essentially you are setting an input level using the 1510A outputs, then setting the output/repro level with an MRL tape (and reading that repro signal level from the Revox with the 1510A inputs), then setting your record level. You can't set the output level without an MRL tape because that is the necessary source for the output level circuits. Jack Clark is a highly competent and helpful fellow, so I suggest that you check with him for A77 details. Hope this helps.

9

Tape Tech / Re: New (to me) ST 1510A question

« on: May 27, 2011, 06:06:01 AM »

Hi Steve,

I did a search of some of the rec.audio groups last night, and found two versions of a post from 1995 offering a 1510A for sale. One lists the original cost as $6500, the other as $2600, which seems more plausible.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.audio.tech/browse_thread/thread/a98830cba50b9437/e2fa68ef8aa75e7e?lnk=gst&q=1510A#e2fa68ef8aa75e7e

FOR SALE: Sound Technology Analyzer
Steve Kuettel  
May 15 1995, 3:00 am

We have a Sound Technology 1510A analyzer for sale. In great shape, with manuals, etc. Analyzes and plots frequency response, levels, IM and THD distortion on a built-in display as well as external monitor. Was $2600 new, would like offers around $1500. Located in San Francisco, will ship.

10

Tape Tech / Re: New (to me) ST 1510A question

« on: May 26, 2011, 05:45:12 PM »

I was curious about the original MSRP of the Sound Technology 1510A, and tried to google the original cost, but found only this web page:

http://www.broadcaststore.com/catalog/by-brands/s/Sound-Technology/Signal-Management-and-Processing/Test-Equipment/Misc-Test-Equipment/_models/1510A/1510A.htm

where it lists the MSRP as $6,450. Given that this model was introduced in about 1981, that seems an improbably high price. Does anyone have an original price list or actual knowledge of the cost of the 1510A when it was still in production?

Thanks.

11

Tape Tech / Re: New (to me) ST 1510A question

« on: May 25, 2011, 06:24:14 AM »

I too am learning the details of the 1510A as it applies to tape recorder alignment, and in the process have put together some "working notes," including actual sequences of buttons to press for standard tests. This is still very much a work-in-progress, but I'll attach it here in two flavors (PDF, RTF) in case it proves useful to anyone else. If it appears that I've misunderstood something or you notice any corrections to be made, please let me know.

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General Discussion / Re: Studer list, formatted for text, PDf and Filemaker Pro

« on: June 15, 2010, 04:38:36 AM »

Over on the Yahoo Studer Group, Eric Jacobs made an excellent point that credit for the Studer list should be prominently given to Fred Thal, and I posted this reply. I wanted to include it on this forum as well, as there may be new readers here unfamiliar with the genesis of the Studer list.

Hi Eric,

I appreciate your thoughts on this. Fred Thal's presence, as creator and moderator, is so ubiquitous in the Studer List that it never occurred to me that anyone would lose sight of the fact that it was his creation. But then my efforts to make the material more accessible have probably brought the list to the attention of people previously unfamiliar with it, and so you are absolutely right that it is only appropriate to recall the proper attribution. On the list's home page

http://recordist.com/studer/

can be found a "History of the Studer list":

The Studer list was a subscriber-only internet forum founded by Adolph Friederich Thal that hosted discussion on the history, technology, use, maintenance and repair of the important Studer professional analog audio master tape recorder models A80, A800, A820 and A827 manufactured by the firm Studer International AG, in Regensdorf, Switzerland.

Given Fred's stated intention to edit and index the content, I have offered any assistance I can provide to facilitate his efforts, but haven't heard anything as of yet.

Christopher Campbell

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General Discussion / Re: Studer list, formatted for text, PDf and Filemaker Pro

« on: June 12, 2010, 01:37:07 PM »

Francisco,

I'm afraid that you won't be able to use the Filemaker version of the Studer list if you have v4 of Filemaker. I created the database using v10, and see that the file extension is .fp7, which probably indicates that the file can be used by any version back to v7. Filemaker Pro 11 is the latest version and unfortunately, upgrade pricing is only available to those with v8 or later.

14

General Discussion / Studer list, screenshot 5 (Studer List on an iPad)

« on: June 11, 2010, 03:26:52 PM »

Last week my wife and I picked up an iPad, primarily for our kids to use, and I realized that I could put the PDF files of the Studer list on it, and flick through the pages with a touch on the glass. The application I'm using on the iPad is:

PDF Reader Pro Edition for iPad, v1.4

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General Discussion / Studer list, screenshot 4 (Filemaker Pro)

« on: June 11, 2010, 03:23:46 PM »

File: 4_Studer_list_Filemaker.fp7