Recent Posts

11

Tape Project Albums - general / So many tapes, so few boxes

« Last post by High and Outside on February 23, 2020, 07:16:32 PM »

This is a kind of a funny situation we find ourselves in. We have lots of tape albums duped and we'd like to sell them to you. But we are out of boxes. Our original box supplier retired and closed his business, so we have been working for months with a new supplier. We expect to be fully supplied with boxes in early April.

In the meantime we have been offering to sell albums in plain white boxes, with the nice box to follow once the shipment shows up here.

At the moment we have stock on the following albums as long as you are OK with getting your album now and the proper box in April:

Bill Evans Trio
Linda Ronstadt
Thelonious Monk
Jimmy Smith
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Lee Morgan
Nat King Cole and George Shearing
John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat
Jerry Garcia and David Grisman
Doc and Merle Watson

The elves are hard at work making the other titles too, so if  you are waiting for one that isn't on this list, make sure you have signed up for an email notification when it's back in stock. We'll be adding albums back into inventory regularly.

Once we have a proper supply of boxes we will also release a couple of new titles we have in the wings.
 

12

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Metaxas & Sins T-RX now also available in 1/2"

« Last post by kostavox on February 15, 2020, 07:49:14 AM »

TRX Reel to Reel:
Still working on the new Instructions Manual...
http://metaxas.com/trx018a.pdf
 
Baselworld:
https://www.baselworld.com/en/brands/133859/metaxas-sins-bv

Athens Hi Fi Show [recent]:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc4UgRXD22o

13

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Technics RS-1500 Repair Diary

« Last post by High and Outside on January 16, 2020, 10:47:08 PM »

I can't be sure, but it seems like the sound of this machine has been improved with the new switch.  I suspect that there's a much better connection with the playback tape heads.

I can believe that. It's the point where the signal level is most delicate, a point where you want robust connections.

You've inspired me to go in and hardwire that connection on the one headstack I've got with just one playback head.

Thanks for updating us.

14

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Technics RS-1500 Repair Diary

« Last post by Bobs_Bench2 on January 10, 2020, 07:22:31 PM »

I'm back!  It's been a long time since I last posted to this topic.  I finally have another installment to this repair diary.  I still have the same three Technics RS-1500 decks as before.  This time that pesky head block selector switch finally needed to be replaced on one of them.  It seemed to always need attention to keep it working but this time I discovered that the plastic stub that attaches the actuator to the switch was cracked and flexed during operation.

My fix was to replace the original slide switch with a more reliable toggle switch.  I used an NKK M2022SD3G01 (Mouser 633-M2022SD3G01).  I made a mounting plate from 1/16" thick flat extruded aluminum that mounts to the frame in the way the original switch was attached with the pair of 2mm screws.  A 1/4" hole centered on that plate is where the new switch mounts.  The dark plastic dress washer that slid back and forth with the old switch actuator fits over the end of the mounting bushing of the new toggle switch.

I had to unsolder some of the wires from the PCB to get access to extract the old switch and install the new.  Because of the way the toggle works relative to the old slide switch the 2-track/4-track connections had to be "reversed" so the toggle position would make sense as seen on the front of the head block.

The new switch looks pretty good from the front.  Too bad Technics didn't go with this kind of switch originally.

I can't be sure, but it seems like the sound of this machine has been improved with the new switch.  I suspect that there's a much better connection with the playback tape heads.

Thanks,
Bob Addiss

15

Tape Tech / Re: Studer A810 BIN file for 25/91 version firmware

« Last post by hafrse on January 07, 2020, 03:58:53 PM »

I had also inquired about sourcing the IC10 firmware BIN file to other pros and Studer users who had multiple A810s.  No one had archived the various firmware versions so far...

It had occured to me - the machines like Studers that used commonly available electronics parts for their boards in the 70's and 80's can be serviced in the future with vintage parts from other electronics gear and other Studers.  However, for the firmware - it will be hard to replace once Studer officially stops supporting the analog machines in 2010.   So until then, the firmware IP belongs to Studer and can't be publically archived and distributed.

For my original needs, fortunately, Angle from this fourm had offered to loan me the MPU board with the version of firmware I was looking for and soon I will rebuild the library of 25/91 version firmware BIN files.

With unfortunate demise of the Studer List, I am considering archiving collection of different firmware versions for Studer A810, A807, A820 and other models.  So, if you own a Studer recorder and want to archive your firmware, please contact me.  I may already have the BIN files but if not, I can help you extract the data and save them as BIN files to be used later to burn replacement firmware Eproms.

Ki

Hi ,

Is there a possility to get a copy of the bin files for the EPROM of the Studer A810?have problems in mine.  many thanks in advance!

Hi ,

Is there a possility to get a copy of the bin files for the EPROM of the Studer A810?have problems in mine.  many thanks in advance!

16

Tape Tech / Re: Studer A810 BIN file for 25/91 version firmware

« Last post by hafrse on January 07, 2020, 03:57:36 PM »

I had also inquired about sourcing the IC10 firmware BIN file to other pros and Studer users who had multiple A810s.  No one had archived the various firmware versions so far...

It had occured to me - the machines like Studers that used commonly available electronics parts for their boards in the 70's and 80's can be serviced in the future with vintage parts from other electronics gear and other Studers.  However, for the firmware - it will be hard to replace once Studer officially stops supporting the analog machines in 2010.   So until then, the firmware IP belongs to Studer and can't be publically archived and distributed.

For my original needs, fortunately, Angle from this fourm had offered to loan me the MPU board with the version of firmware I was looking for and soon I will rebuild the library of 25/91 version firmware BIN files.

With unfortunate demise of the Studer List, I am considering archiving collection of different firmware versions for Studer A810, A807, A820 and other models.  So, if you own a Studer recorder and want to archive your firmware, please contact me.  I may already have the BIN files but if not, I can help you extract the data and save them as BIN files to be used later to burn replacement firmware Eproms.

Ki

Hi ,

Is there a possility to get a copy of the bin files for the EPROM of the Studer A810?have problems in mine.  many thanks in advance!

17

Raw Tape / New R2R Tape still available today

« Last post by 337alant on January 07, 2020, 06:53:14 AM »

Just out of interest I thought I would list the makes and Types of New tape still available today
Or the ones I know about, if you know any more please post

Recording The Masters RTM (France ) formally Pyral & RMG, BASF formulations
https://www.recordingthemasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/RecordingTheMasters-reseller-brochure-2019-IAQ-COM01-CLCOM-03.pdf
Excellent quality Tape and readily available in Europe, these are my favourite tapes .
SM-900 - premium High Output Studio Master tape ( superb quality)
https://www.recordingthemasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SM900-technical-datasheet-IAQ-COM01-CLCOM-16.pdf
SM-911- High Output Studio Archive tape
https://www.recordingthemasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/SM911-technical-datasheet-IAQ-COM01-CLCOM-18.pdf
SM-468 – Standard output studio & archival
https://www.recordingthemasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SM468-technical-datasheet-IAQ-COM01-CLCOM-15.pdf
LPR-90 – 1 mil Long play version of the SM-900 (this my favourite tape for home recording)
https://www.recordingthemasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/LPR90-technical-datasheet-IAQ-COM01-CLCOM-13.pdf
LPR-35 – 1 mil Long Play version of the SM-911
https://www.recordingthemasters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/LPR35-technical-datasheet-IAQ-COM01-CLCOM-12.pdf


ATR Magnetics USA
https://atrtape.com/
Master Tape Superb quality high output studio master tape, similar to SM-900
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a6ce9cf14aa1f18e3519b9/t/59a73dc749fc2b1845697d9e/1504132568810/ATR-Master-Tape-Technical-Data-Sheet-Standard.pdf
MDS-36 – 1mil Long play version of the Master tape
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59a6ce9cf14aa1f18e3519b9/t/59a742b92994cafaf06870d7/1504133824918/MDS-36-Technical-Data-Sheet.pdf


Capture - I haven't used any of this tape so dont have an opinion of what its like, seems to be popular on tapeheads.net, Is available at Splicit
https://www.splicit.com/Articles.asp?ID=254
Capture 914 High output Low noise tape 1.5mill thk
http://www.splicit.com/Capture-914-R...e-p/cap914.htm
Capture 930 High output Low noise tape 1.0mil thk long play
http://www.splicit.com/Capture-930-R...e-p/cap930.htm

Besides the manufacturers home page, tape is available from
https://www.thomann.de/gb/recording_tape.html
http://www.tapecity.co.uk/acatalog/Open-Reel-Tapes.html
https://vintageking.com/recording/recorders/analog-tape
http://www.protape.co.uk/pro-audio/
https://www.ebay.co.uk/

Calibration Tapes
http://www.mrltapes.com/ Reel2Reel only
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/ural91/m....p2047675.l2562 these are excellent cal tapes
http://usrecordingmedia.com/ancaltap.html
https://www.canford.co.uk/MRL-TEST-TAPES
http://www.jrfmagnetics.com/mrltapes.html
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/82108560s...p2047675.l2562
http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/index.php...lignment_tapes Cassette alignment

Alan

18

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: PLL Capstan Light on A810

« Last post by 337alant on January 07, 2020, 06:48:10 AM »

I know this is an old thread but I had the same problem with a blinking PLL light and I solved it so this is just for information 
After removing the Motor control board I found that one of the transistor BU522 was loose on the heat sink and it had failed.
So I replaced the BU522 with new insulating washer and heat sink compound.
Leaving the motor and control board out of the machine I ran through the check's in sec 3.5.9 of the service manual using an oscilloscope and multi meter and adjusted the pots to give the required readings, they were a little out of spec so good job I checked.
Reinstalled the capstan and control board into the A810 and its working perfectly now and sounding superb :D happy days !

I believe the cause of this problem could be that the transistors were not tightly fastened to the heat sink and Q1 has overheated or shorted on the heat sink?.
I replaced this with the BU-522B which is a higher voltage rating than the original which may be beneficial as they do get hot in use I noted after the testing.

20170516_175555 by Alan Towell, on Flickr

Alan

19

Suggestion Box / Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue

« Last post by Roscoe Primrose on December 10, 2019, 10:18:51 AM »

Would be a great choice in my opinion...  Great sound & great music at the same time, how often does that happen?

20

Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Re: Tape Machine Compatibility Database Project

« Last post by Roscoe Primrose on November 08, 2019, 09:15:34 AM »

Otari MX50.  7.5/15ips half track, NAB/IEC switch on the back...