How To Clean And Lubricate Reel To Reel Tape

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DIY servicing - DIY replace pinch roller - DIY demagnetizing - don't exercise this - professional servicing - rubber parts - upgrade - manuals

At first don't worry: professional person or loftier quality reel to reel recorders in domestic use are strong plenty to maintain constant performances over years. You can practice by yourself the ordinary servicing: it is more simple than the right alignment of a turntable arm i.due east. !
A tape recorder needs total servicing and alignment afterward some years of domestic employ only . On the other fashion servicing is done at periodical deadline (as for the cars) and before every important master recording in professional utilize.

WHAT YOU CAN DO Past YOURSELF.

South A F Eastward T Y I North F O R Chiliad A T I O North : BEFORE CLEANING AND/OR SERVICING Turn OFF YOUR Open up REEL RECORDER AND UNPLUG THE MAINS Cable TO AVOID INJURIES TO YOUR HEALTH AND DAMAGES TO THE RECORDER.

Periodical cleaning of every surface in contact with the magnetic record: heads, tape guides, capstan shaft and rubber pinch roller. Reel to reel recorder performances decrease dramatically when also much dust and oxide deposits are on these surfaces.
The movie below, from a Revox owner's transmission, shows in blackness the parts need periodical cleaning. Commonly you can reach them in piece of cake fashion without dismounting any part of the recorder than the heads comprehend.

When make clean the parts.

When in playback or record mode you lot ear loftier "hiss" level, lower playback book than usual, unbalanced output level, loss of high frequency response, check up the heads: if they their surface is dirty by brown oxide dust deposit is time for cleaning.

How clean the parts.

At start: turn the tape recorder off and pull the primary plug out.
BEWARE: AVOID USING ANY METALLIC TOOL ! Heads work inside mils tolerance and every scratch on their surface can compromise their correct operation.
Use a "Cotton-fioc" with some drops of isopropyl or denatured alcohol on. Clean all the metallic surface just (not the safe pinch roller) until they are shining and perfectly cleaned. Change the "Cotton-fioc" often.
Exist sure none cotton lilliputian hair rests on the heads surface and other recorder parts.
Be certain none alcohol drop falls into the capstan ball bearing or bush to avoid harm it.
Clean the rubber pinch roller using a cleaning soft material with water and neutral lather until its surface looks blackness (or grey) and mat instead of brown and bright.
Avoid h2o falls into the shaft begetting and soap remains on the safety surface at the terminate of cleaning.
Await the alcohol and other liquids are completely dry before turn the power on.
Finish !

Supercede PINCH ROLLER.

This is another servicing you tin can do by yourself in many reel to reel recorders (just not in everyones).

When replace it.

When the rubber compression roller surface looks bright and rigid as a glaze instead of mat and soft; or changed its colors; or it is mucilaginous; or has visible damages; or is egg shaped instead of perfectly round.
When listening to continuous high frequency sounds you lot ear a frequency fluctuation in many times you have a pinch roller problem causing speed variation .

Old pinch roller with bright and The same one brand new
rigid surface.

Deformed contact surface

Detached condom part

Melted rubber

How replace it.

The method can be different from a tape recorder to another one. Usually the pinch roller is gear up in its position by a spiral and a washer. Using a non magnetized tool you tin can unscrew the screw to remove and change the pinch roller. Exist careful avoid to affect the heads with the metallic screwer. At last don't forget the very thin washer, if nowadays, when mounting the new pinch roller.

DEMAGNETIZING

This is a very of import procedure because a tape recorder with magnetized parts tin can impairment or destroy a pre recorded tape. Yous have to degauss all the metallic parts in contact with the magnetic tape with special care to the heads.
Don't abuse of this procedure but use when strictly necessary.

When you accept to do it.

Later on a good cleaning i f yous nevertheless ear high level hiss or background noise or have poor quality recording
Before utilise again a recorder turned off for many time
Earlier a main recording or listening to rare and precious tapes
Before using alignment tapes.
Every 20 hours near of use

How to exercise information technology.
You lot demand a device called "demagnetizer" (or "degausser") which generates a strong magnetic filed in reverse to the magnetic field affects the metallic parts. This is why you lot must pay attention using this device to avert the adverse. There are still many "vintage" devices on the used marked today just not everyone is good enough and do the aforementioned work. Avoid all that have nearly the size of a big Cuban cigar and Southward ony Caput Demagnetizer HE-iv, Nakamichi Head Demagnetizer DM-x, Radio Shack models 44-211 and 44-207, MCM Tape Caput Demagnetizer Model 720880 then on. They could piece of work for cassette deck just are not stiff enough for reel machines.

My "vintage" simply great working Ferrograph demagnetizer

Exist at-home and patient: if today y'all are blue or nervous go jogging around and will demagnetize the next day! :-))
Demagnetizers usually are not for continuous piece of work and accept a on-off duty bicycle. Read the pedagogy of your model.
Plough the recorder and demagnetizer off.
Turn the demagnetizer on FAR AWAY from the recorder heads as possible , SLOWLY approach the parts and stay on them for most three/five seconds with no jerky move .
Laissez passer from one heads to another one (erase, record and playback) at VERY SLOW speed (and I hateful VERY SLOW at present i.e. 1" every 3 seconds) with no hasty move.
BEWARE: avoid to touch or hit the heads surface.
At the end bring the demagnetizer away SLOWLY from the recorder and plow it off far abroad as possible, dorsum to your original starting point.
Cease !

Demagnetizer at piece of work on heads and on capstan shaft

WHAT YOU Tin can'T Exercise BY YOURSELF

Unless you are a professional or semi professional in electronic with a well equipped laboratory the servicing y'all tin can do by yourself on a tape recorder stops at the last paragraph. If your reel to reel recorder doesn't piece of work just fine later on the in a higher place ordinary maintenance telephone call an official servicing centre or a qualified electronic laboratory.

! BEWARE!

Avoid admittedly to handle the heads and tape guide scale screws! Usually they don't demand whatsoever modification from their original setting. If you change their position don't recollect bringing them back resolve the situation. At this point you need an expensive full alignment of the recorder by a qualified servicing center.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICING

Although y'all are non a professional person in electronic delight read the following: you volition notice other interesting news.

The main thing in reel to reel recorder is the perfect mechanical contact of tape with magnetic heads surface. It has to exist perfect to have a articulate and high level output signal. The electronic circuits downstream have less importance than the upstream right mechanical attribute. This is why BEFORE whatsoever electronic alignment they accept to check the correct tape path, tension and speed, the brakes and heads azimuth and zenith angles.
Ofttimes this fact is underrated. On the market place you volition notice many seller challenge the recorder is electronic perfectly aligned, just none words about mechanical! :-(

What to check. They tin find on the market two

reel to reel recorders same model, house and aged : one is looking every bit brand new and the other i as taken out from a garbage dump! And adept looking doesn't necessary hateful best working.
Always I practice these check footstep by pace:

Before plow the recorder on I check its exterior general status, the wear and muddy of the external parts, record guides, heads, pinch roller, bank check the fuse, the chief plug and cord integrity and the right main voltage setting .
Next step I dismantle the recorder and check the inside general condition looking for burned components, the original lacquer drops on the calibration screw and the . . . grit! Dust can tell you much virtually the device. An equally spread grit means all the parts are original and the recorder is non a tweaked machine. I never trust in vintage device with none dust inside unless they said me the recorder has been recently cleaned and aligned and give me under warranty.
Only when the previous bank check are O.K. I turn the recorder on, check the ability supply voltages, transport tape, playback and record functions, and the absence of noise from the input, output and monitor switches.

What to practice. Information technology depends on the different issues I found before.

If none big trouble occurred I just make clean the recorder outside (and believe me some times this could be very hard . . .) to bring it dorsum nice looking, clean the inside, demagnetize, check the mechanical and electronic alignment as per servicing booklet.
Lubrication is not necessary for all tape recorders only only if required by the manufactory. I.due east. Revox, Studer and Telefunken reel to reel recorders don't need lubrication. Oil could exist dangerous if non requested.
The almost common electronic faults commonly are due to dirty switches, calibration trimmers (i.e. in older Revox machine they have to be ever replaced), electrolytic and tantalum faulty caps and at last transistor or i.c. when yous take background dissonance or distortion problems.
Regarding the mechanical usually the parts to replace are bearings, brakes parts and safety parts when nowadays (belt, pulley, transfer, etc.).

I.e.: to have a Revox B77 input and monitor rotary switches W E L L cleaned is not plenty a cleaning spray just information technology needs to completely dismantle the recorder to remove the switches from p.c. board.

Safety PARTS

Rubber parts as belt, pulley, transfer, etc. are the Achille's heel of every electronic vintage device. Every people in love with one-time turntable every bit Garrard, Thorens and EMT, knows very well the problem. Twelvemonth passing by the prophylactic part cocky destroy especially if in contact with lubricate oil of the mechanical parts. These rubber function usually today are non disposable. Many good reel to reel recorders which could yet work today are stopped due to a 10 dollars rubber part missing. This is why I belovedRevox, Studer and Telefunken recorders: they are bullet proof built with none prophylactic part inside!

MANUALS

To repair and/or marshal every electronic device you demand the servicing book. Is non but today observe these booklets for vintage device. Ebay and the web can help yous but if you are searching something "special" it volition take many fourth dimension to find it effectually.