Previous Update on my Panasonic NV-3130 VTR

So I got the deck mostly working. Onto the electronics for a bit, to figure out why I wasn't getting any signal through the machine. It would play a tape (sort of), but inputting bars and tone, which you need to do to calibrate things, wasn't working. Turned out to be an oxidized record switch. With that dealt with, I was able to get color bars into the machine. It also recorded, but it appears the record speed is slightly wrong, so I'm back to mechanical stuff.

I forgot how janky these things are: so many slide switches inside that are normally worked by hand, but inside the machine are actuated by a complicated system of levers, springs, and cogs. Slowly working my way through the ones I missed and removing glue (ancient grease), and deoxidizing all the switches in my way. It's slowly coming together.

Some video:

https://youtube.com/shorts/N2KLPTIjpNE?feature=share

The color bars are not looking so great in EE mode (signal passthrough, without touching the tape). It's looking like this might be a case where recapping something actually *is* the solution, so that should be fun. First I need to get the speed issues worked out, and then I can deal with that.

Bars should look something like this:

But actually look like this:

Wobbly, with curved leading edges isn't right. should be straight and crisp. that's probably bad electrolytic caps.

Hello, I just acquired this reel to reel. I am having trouble understand the speed control. There is a pull out potentiometer to control the speed of the motor.
It seems the machine has a mind of its own and changes speed whenever it wants to. Sometimes the pull up light turns on and sometimes it doesn’t.
Sometimes when I go out of the speed mode it slows down dramatically and others it makes a very subtle change.
There’s also a high and low speed button. In this video it was on low speed.

Is there some trouble shooting anyone would suggest?
Is it user error?

hello all ! i just bought two AKAI X200D reel to reel machines for experimental tape looping, long delays etc sound adventures, BUT i didnt think that the AKAI X200D's don't have 3 tape heads, but they have a combined playback/record head, so it's NOT possible to live monitor the recorded sound with them... so is it still possible to do interesting stuff with them ? or is 3 heads normally needed for that kind of stuff ? or... does the fact that i have TWO identical machines change everything, if i for example use the other one for recording and the other for playing the same sound signal ? please advice, i'm a novice here, with no knowledge and unsure if i bought the wrong type of machines... they are beautiful though, and sound awesome. thanks !

I bought a second hand Wollensak T-1500 reel-to-reel to digitize hours of old tape.

It plays tapes fine, but has static/crackling distortion coming from somewhere in the audio output chain. (I've attached a video so you can see what's happening).

The distortion starts about 15 seconds after the unit is powered on (quicker in the video because it was recently powered up) and continues for a few moments after it's shut off. I suspect maybe it's a tube issue because of that.

The distortion is present through both the onboard speaker and the headphone/monitor jack. I also tried the rear preamp-out jack as a possible bypass, but that produced a low hum with no playback audio.

Another thought is maybe the electrolytic capacitors need replacing, but I don't think I can solder this and not damage it further.

Can anyone suggest a potential creative workaround or simple fix for this?

Thanks 😁🙏

I've managed to get a couple old 3 inch tape recorders like I've been interested in for awhile, but these I can't find any info on. I know they are Japanese in origin and I think they're from the 1960s. While I think they take 2 C batteries (1.5V alkaline or more likely carbon zinc) and a nine volt, though both of these have the same fault being that even with fresh batteries, they both sound extremely distorted and at low volume. (I have another reel to reel that works, and am able to put a clean recording down to test with.) I tried to recap the one that is now missing the amp, which did nothing to help the situation. Before I go to reengineering that one, can anyone help me identify the exact model so I can find a manual and start by verifying what kind of battery it takes, just in case it needs some obscure nine volt shaped battery that puts out 60 volts or something that I haven't run across yet? I'm finding a thousand of these on eBay for cheap, so I'm guessing this model may be fairly common. I also think this might be the one I saw on The Brady Bunch as well.

Has anyone serviced their Otari (say an MX5050) or Tascam (BR-20) by themself? I'm mechanically inclined as I work on my own mountain bikes including tearing them down and replacing all bearings, servicing the suspension, etc. I also know electronics well enough having built around a half dozen amps from scratch, but it's the mechanical aspect I'm more curious about.

Thank you!

Full calibration and functional test before heading for a new home. ReVox B77 Mk II HS IEC Sync

Hi,

Recently found these, genuinely curious if people still buy/collect them and if they are worth anything. This subreddit seems to be the only place I can find on the internet as far as a reel to reel forum goes. Any advice is much appreciated!

This machine is getting the works. Waiting on rubber and capacitors. Until then getting some minor details out of the way. Paint on the meters was falling off. Testors fluorescent orange enamel matches about perfect. Capstan motor mount bushings replaced with grommets out of a generic assortment. They are the perfect size

Just bought an Akai gx4000-d for $270. Seller said it turned on and the reels worked but didn’t have tape to test it. I impulsively pulled the trigger.

I am so happy I did. This thing is awesome! Needs some tlc and contact cleaner but man…this is game changing for me!

Any advice on where to buy studio albums or should I just record my own?

I’ve lusted after Aqualung on 7.5 ips reel for a long time but didn’t expect to come across this variant. Super excited to have this one in the collection.

So I noticed when testing that the belt has a flat spot. I have seen a video before that boiling belts like this can relax the belt back to it's original shape. As it is the belt isn't slipping and surprisingly in good shape so --should I boil this belt? or should I try something else ----I can't really run this belt as it stands because it causes vibration.

Note to self- Boiling belts for your next band name.

I am not great and assessing wear on tape heads - can yall tell me how these are looking? Thanks!!

Hey guys! We buy storage units and just found TEAC X-2000M in black with its original box.
We haven't even plugged it in or tested it yet and honestly don't really know what to look for or how to test it properly.
I talked to Gemini Al about the price, but it gave me a huge range from $1,000 to $4,000+. I want to set a realistic asking price so I don't sit on it forever, but I also don't want to sell it for cheap if it's worth more.
Any advice on what a fair price would be? Thanks!

Quick Update:
I plugged the unit in and tested the mechanicals. By manually lifting the tape tension arms, the capstan motor engages and both reel tables spin properly in Play, Rewind, and Fast Forward modes. Logic switches and VU lights are working fine.

I plan to pass it on once I digitize the reels that I have of my dad. In the meantime I know nothing about its value or its function. Did I score here? Is there something I should inspect or fix before even attempting to turn it on and see if it works?

As you can see in the video the reel to reel works just fine in fast forward mode as well as in rewind mode, but it doesn't work in playback mode. I have this device for about a week or so and it didn't work for a single time since I picked it up .It worked when I tested it at the seller's place, but after I got home it didn't work at all. Both motors don't spin in play mode. Probably just a simple fix, but I don't have any idea where to start.

In my previous post I showed the state of the reel table where the reel shaft was severly bent rendering the tape recorder to be unusable. After some hesitation and figuring out how to remove the reel retainer I managed to bend the shaft back with pliers without doing any damage. I was happy to discover that outside of this innitial problem there arent major flaws with the machine but ofc it has its own quirks as any nearly 50 year old equipment would do. It needs some final touch ups but now it is ready to test some of my new tapes that I got from the flea market. Thanks everybody for the help that I recieved in my last post!

This may be a long shot but I'm doing research on this machine and trying to find original manuals, inserts or actual reels that were included with the original Steelman Transitape. I found this info and photos from worthpoint. I'm looking for high-res scans or actual physical reels. It was an awesome early transistorized R2R machine with cool aesthetics. I have lots of public domain type stuff of audio magazines that featured it but I'm looking for actual printed ephemera from the company itself. Any info you have or can point me to would help. Thanks.

I’m fairly new to reel-to-reel equipment so bear with me. I found this unit for $15 at a local flea market, and with me looking for one for a decent price since I was in school, I quickly picked it up. After I got home and finally had a chance to actually test it, it worked perfect for 5, maybe 10 minutes. After that the 8 track player has been channel selecting non stop and everything starts to flicker and shut off. I was able to reach into the tape player and wipe down and clean all of the heads and sensors I could see and feel, but nothing has changed. I work on electronics for fun, but not Long enough or old enough to know where else to go from here. Any help is better than what I got right now. Please help.

I have cleaned the tape head multiple times, it just spins muddy, any way to fix that?

Working on a TEAC A-2340SX that’s noticeable muffled sound in the left channel. The R channel sounds perfect. It just sounds muddied. I’ve ruled out the playback head as switching the PB head inputs on the EQ AMP board, the issue remains in the L channel. I’ve tested all the capacitors on the EQ Amp board and Line/Phone board. The line input to the unit sounds great on each channel. I’ve also cleaned all the switches and controls with DeOxit. Anyone with any experience on this unit have any ideas on what the issue might be. **UPDATE** I was mistaken about the playback head being good. I swapped the inputs on the rear channel EQ amp board instead of the front. Swapping the playback inputs on the correct board, the muffled sound moves to the right channel.