Messages

1

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 29, 2010, 05:51:47 AM »

The problem is that the source/tape switch seems to work, but there appears to be no signal to Channel 1.

When I switch it to Tape, there is the normal "hiss" of the channel being wired, but there's no signal at all.

2

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 28, 2010, 02:20:50 AM »

Back again!

Anyways, the machine was working fine when all of a sudden I turn it on and Channel 1 has no sound--this is a 4-track.

I checked all the leads from the head to the plugs, etc. and everything is fine. I even unplugged all the circuit boards, sprayed them with Deoxit and reinserted them to no avail.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.

3

General Discussion / Avert Your Eyes!

« on: January 13, 2010, 04:28:30 PM »

Some gruesome photos of professional studio equipment being dumped:

http://www.avforums.co.za/index.php?topic=3788.0

4

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 13, 2010, 04:24:38 PM »

Hopefully with a bit of contact cleaner, they shouldn't cause any problems. They are some serious-looking plugs though.

5

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 13, 2010, 03:09:32 AM »

Hello ironbut,

Yes, I've managed to acquire a bit of that Maxell tape on 10.5 inch reels, some of it "virgin". I understand that the Maxell UD tapes are rather desirable for one reason or another. I did once have a horrifying experience with a reel of Ampex tape--it left residue everywhere it touched on the transport!

Anyways, the Otari is a 4 track with the main unit as one piece and the meters/amp in a separate chassis. You connect the two with four thick cords that have some really heavy-duty 10-pinned screw-in plugs: two for the Playback head and two for the recording/erase heads. The cords are permanently installed on the amp chassis.

There's also a thick three-plugged cord with some of those large rectangular 10-pinned plugs that connects Channels 1,3 and 2,4 together plus one plug that connects everything to the main unit.

6

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 13, 2010, 12:11:56 AM »

Hello,

Yes, I have some experience with reel to reels notably with the Teac A-3340S and Revox A77; the Teac was sort of a pro-sumer machine.

The Teac had a High & Low Bias switch so that was easily accomplished.

I usually use Maxell UD 30-180, which is what I'm attempting to bias the Otari to. I understand that this machine was previously used with Ampex 456. From all appearances, it looks like it hasn't been touched since its last service. I unscrewed all the other front panel adjustments to see what they looked like and all of them looked like they were adjusted since the screws matched in position.

I suppose at this point, I should simply return the Bias Cal screws to their original positions, which I had initially marked.

I must confess, I use a reel to reel solely to record my vinyl onto.

7

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 12, 2010, 09:29:01 PM »

I believe the playback adjustments should be fine.

Also, I should note that the small SRL light doesn't light up when I switch the Output switch to SRL even though the switch appears to work fine.

I have the machine switched to Low instead of High on the Line Out in the back. The high seemed to have too much gain for my preamp/amp.

8

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 12, 2010, 09:11:20 PM »

Hello,

I've examined the Analog Rules site, and attempted to set bias and EQ on my machine according to their instructions, using their downloaded tones, but nothing happens.

For example, the site instructs you to turn the Bias screw to set the VU meters, but when I do this, the meters do not change their readings.

My machine has Bias Trap. screws on the back along with Monitor Adjust screws. There are also the Bias Cal screws on the front. Turning the Bias Cal screws appears to do nothing for the VU meters.

This machine was apparently last fully serviced in 1987 and not used since so I'd assume things like the heads, Azimuth, etc. were properly aligned.

Thank you.

9

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 12, 2010, 05:02:18 AM »

Ah yes, now I feel a bit silly.

The machine works fine now that I've resoldered the connectors.

-------

I have another question though.

How does one adjust the tape bias Cal srews on the front?

The manual is rather typically vague in this regard.

Regarding my username, it's a song title from the post-punk band, The Fall. :) As for real names, duly noted.

10

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Otari MX5050 Problem!!!!!

« on: January 11, 2010, 10:16:28 PM »

Hello,

I have an Otari MX-5050 UHX reel to reel, which I believe is one of the earlier versions of this model with the separate VU meters and recording devices.

Anyways, I have an issue with this machine hooked up to my system. If I plug in the headphones through the tape recorder's jack, it sounds fine.

However, if I hook it up to what I usually do--through a dbx 128 and then that goes to a preamp, etc.--the sound is very faint. I have to turn the output all the way up to hear the sound.

I've tried bypassing the dbx and doing it direct to the preamp tape loop and it's still the same issue. I've also adjusted the High Low switch at the back to no luck.

I'm currently using XLR to RCA jacks, which I don't believe are balanced. No transformer.

Since it works fine through the headphone jack, I can't imagine the machine has any problems??

Thank you!