Old tape recorder

littlespark · Sep 27, 2021

I wonder of this still works?

[ElectriciansForums.net] Old tape recorder

DPG · Sep 28, 2021

Only one way to find out!

I do like reel-to-reel recorders. Had a huge Ferrograph many years ago. Had a built in valve amplifier. Weighed a ton.

Lucien Nunes · Sep 28, 2021

These Sony decks are not bad reliability-wise. If it has stood for a long time the mechanism will probably need a strip / clean / relubricate as they suffer from hardened grease, the switches can get noisy, and like all belt-driven things they sometimes need new belts which are readily available. Of course the most important thing will always be the condition of the heads, and these last better than some of the competition. On a machine used domestically they are unlikely to be worn out.

Only one way to find out!

In this case it would be OK because it's solid-state and Japanese, but in general we advise against powering up long-dormant electronics for test, without carrying out some internal checks first. Especially in valve radios / record players etc, if the HT reservoir electrolytic has become shorted or badly leaky due to disuse as they often do, the first time the unit is powered-up after its sleep, the short can kill the rectifier and soon after the mains transformer, turning a 30 minute repair job into a writeoff. Likewise leaky coupling capacitors can soon destroy output valves and transformers, so we always advise to check or change these and reform the electroytics before the first test. 50 years ago, capacitors would occasionally be leaky and cause valve damage, but today with unrestored vintage items it's much more likely.

The worst thing to see in an auction listing for vintage electronics is 'Unit powers up, all the valves light up, not sure if there is any sound as we don't have any tape / aerial / whatever.'

DPG · Sep 28, 2021

Ans

Lucien Nunes said:
These Sony decks are not bad reliability-wise. If it has stood for a long time the mechanism will probably need a strip / clean / relubricate as they suffer from hardened grease, the switches can get noisy, and like all belt-driven things they sometimes need new belts which are readily available. Of course the most important thing will always be the condition of the heads, and these last better than some of the competition. On a machine used domestically they are unlikely to be worn out.

In this case it would be OK because it's solid-state and Japanese, but in general we advise against powering up long-dormant electronics for test, without carrying out some internal checks first. Especially in valve radios / record players etc, if the HT reservoir electrolytic has become shorted or badly leaky due to disuse as they often do, the first time the unit is powered-up after its sleep, the short can kill the rectifier and soon after the mains transformer, turning a 30 minute repair job into a writeoff. Likewise leaky coupling capacitors can soon destroy output valves and transformers, so we always advise to check or change these and reform the electroytics before the first test. 50 years ago, capacitors would occasionally be leaky and cause valve damage, but today with unrestored vintage items it's much more likely.

The worst thing to see in an auction listing for vintage electronics is 'Unit powers up, all the valves light up, not sure if there is any sound as we don't have any tape / aerial / whatever.'

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more.

littlespark · Sep 28, 2021

It belongs a member of my wife’s family, an actual recording artist… (she’s had one album released)

Days gone by, she lived in London, west end shows and once sang with Cliff Richards at some church thing.

Her house has a dedicated music room, with two pianos, timpani drums and a whole host of other instruments.

This “tapecorder” was in a pile of old equipment… don’t know if she has the tape reels for it or not, and although it would have been used a lot on the past, it probably hasn’t been powered up for a decade or more.

Lucien Nunes · Sep 28, 2021

@DPG is right, this one can safely be powered up for test. Be gentle with the main transport control knob, if it is stiff, mech relube is needed. At least they don't have the broken plastic cam problems like Akais of their era, nor any real electronic pathologies like some of the European machines.

Magnetic tape is one of my favourite media and I was lucky to have a couple of expert mentors when I was young who taught me how to record properly, edit tape, and align and calibrate machines. Dad gave me my first 1/4" deck when I was about 7 or 8, a little Grundig TK that I still have. When I was 14 I moved into the semi-pro world of the Teac X-1000 on which I made some recordings that I am still proud of today.

One was a local choral concert miked with just a crossed pair of expensive Sennheisers; it was a great performance captured in excellent detail, unfortunately onto second-hand Ampex 456 that now suffers from sticky-shed and is unplayable without baking. I need to organise a proper baking session for all my 1970s/80s Ampex tapes and get the contents onto new media while they are still retrievable. That Teac is still in my home hifi system although it does need a new capstan belt that I keep not getting around to ordering.

Real life being what it is, the only tape I play regularly is cassette, and that partly because I love using my Pioneer CT-F1250. It consistently reveals more detail in bog-standard cassettes than they have any right to contain.

DPG · Sep 28, 2021

Lucien Nunes said:
@DPG is right, this one can safely be powered up for test. Be gentle with the main transport control knob, if it is stiff, mech relube is needed. At least they don't have the broken plastic cam problems like Akais of their era, nor any real electronic pathologies like some of the European machines.

Magnetic tape is one of my favourite media and I was lucky to have a couple of expert mentors when I was young who taught me how to record properly, edit tape, and align and calibrate machines. Dad gave me my first 1/4" deck when I was about 7 or 8, a little Grundig TK that I still have. When I was 14 I moved into the semi-pro world of the Teac X-1000 on which I made some recordings that I am still proud of today.

One was a local choral concert miked with just a crossed pair of expensive Sennheisers; it was a great performance captured in excellent detail, unfortunately onto second-hand Ampex 456 that now suffers from sticky-shed and is unplayable without baking. I need to organise a proper baking session for all my 1970s/80s Ampex tapes and get the contents onto new media while they are still retrievable. That Teac is still in my home hifi system although it does need a new capstan belt that I keep not getting around to ordering.

Real life being what it is, the only tape I play regularly is cassette, and that partly because I love using my Pioneer CT-F1250. It consistently reveals more detail in bog-standard cassettes than they have any right to contain.

I was always amazed how much detail my Nakamichi deck could resolve. Use a good quality metal tape and you can barely tell it's not the original.

Lucien Nunes · Sep 28, 2021

I haven't had a Nak for three decades. Wonderful things, and I guess the Dragon was probably the pinnacle of hifi cassette, but I don't think I would have another now that they are getting difficult to maintain. I would be forever in fear of breaking irreplaceable plastic parts. At least the Pioneer doesn't have all the mechanical complications. If I won the lottery I would upgrade to a Studer A721 but to be honest the 1250 gives me as much out of cassette as I can be bothered to invest into it. If I want to record analogue properly there's a Studer B67 for that.