I was able to recreate your capacitor z-bend mounting bracket along with the exact terminal strip. I was able to restore my own Akai motor run capacitor setup with this. I wouldn't have been able to put this together without you. Thank you for publishing this video.
Thanks to your excellent video, I'm going to tackle my 1968 Tandberg 64X reel-to-reel machine. It has served me many years, but didn't get much use once I switched to digital in 1985.
Oh my word ...I loved watching your repair video of this machine. Your meticulous attention to detail is an absolute joy to behold as is your your knowledge of the electronics of these old machines. Thank you for sharing, I am looking forward to watching more of your work...what a great discovery for me.
I am so looking forward to doing this same program on the M5 I acquired last summer. I really appreciate the thorough explanation of your very thoughtful process. The music at the end accompanied by the tour of the shop was the perfect finale.
just wanted to thank you for this detailed video, thanks to you alone I was able to effectively restore my own Akai M-5 :) I really appreciate the fact that you documented this repair so well
Glad I found your videos. I worked as a broadcast engineer in the mid 70s to early 80s. I have a 1962 M5 Akai terecorder and need to replace the motor mounts. I was glad to find your specifications for the motor mounts. I need to get the machine running so I can test out the other electronics. I will probably need to re-cap the amplifiers too. Keep up the good work!
I hope you release some new content soon.... your videos have always been my favorite TV repairman. I started working in electronics in the early 80's and only 6 years later saw the whole repair industry tumble into the abyss. Your channel is like a time machine Thanks for all of your videos.... I think one of my favorite is your retro 1960s Christmas video, but heck you have so many good ones... the ride around in vintage cars are awesome too. Heck I have watched them all.... lol looking forward to some new ones.
I got out of those depths of depression. When I ended up owning 1/2 dozen Skelly 280's. And a pair of Ampex MM-1200 multitrack machines. Both a 16 and a 24 track machine. And I had a 3M 8 track machine. For a short while. Before I acquired Curtis Mayfield''s, MCI JH-10-16 track machine. He cut his hits on. Before his paraplegic auto accident. When I acquired his machine. For my home studio in 1983. That was one hell of a home studio I had in 1983. Along with my three UREI, custom modified, Rev-D, blackface 1176 limiters. KEPEX 500 downward expander/gate. 8 API original 550 equalizers. Which were modestly more awesome than the later 550-A's. When I had gotten my brand-new, 16 track audio console with 32 on mix down. And a full-sized Plate Reverb. We managed to muscle into my basement. Of my home. And that was my home studio back in 1983. No one else had a home studio like that except for Les Paul. Leon Russell and a few others. And my home studio was wow we wow wow. It was a holy FUCK home studio for sure! In 1983. When everybody else was still just using TEAC 3340's. And TEAC audio mixers. Ugh. No. I had a decent audio console. Being a hawked by Pete Townsend of the WHO. The Soundtracs 16-8-16. 16 input for record. And actually, 34 on mix. When you count the stereo echo return in addition to the, additional 16 line level inputs. That had a rudimentary bass and treble EQ and single effects sends. Which could give you the capability. Of doing a full-blown, 24 track mix down with 10 additional effects returns. From a pretty awesome portable British designed and built recording console. The British just know how to build recording consoles! That's all there is to it. Later I would own a legendary 36 input custom Neve built for NBC-TV where I used to work for 20 years. I never thought I would ever own one of those. Much less a pair of them eight years later. But I only held on to the one. And sold the other one. But that's a story for another day. I really enjoyed your video. It took me back. Way way back. With Sherman and the way back machine. You gave me an incredible trip down memory lane. Back in the my youth. When this machine was still virtually, new. And I would own it for the next seven years. Until I had to leave it behind from a move from Detroit to Baltimore. In fact back in July 1969. In one of the few times only. I were to remove the 7.5/15 IPS capstan shaft motor sleeve. To record at 3.75 IPS. With my TV audio plugged into one channel. With CBS and Walter Cronkite. And might shortwave receiver tuned to the Voice Of America's VOA. Plugged into my other channel. For when these couple of guys by the name of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Set foot, on the moon. And I captured the entire event. On my Aikai M-5 at 3.75 IPS. Both sides of the tape. I was equally fascinated by the time differentials of only milliseconds. Between CBS-TV and VOA radio. And I was listening to analog-to-digital delay at the speed of light. There was no digital delay. It was an analog delay due to the speed of light. The real fucking thing! As digital delay devices for audio were years away from being introduced. So some fabulous history here. Some of it, with me. It just blows my mind. I was so closely and deeply involved. At the pinnacle. At the top. At the Apogee. Of the Pro Audio and Coast-to-coast Broadcast Industries. I mean what? Yes all of that. With a career spanning greater than 50 years. And I'm one of the last surviving members. Of one of these legendary Pro Audio recorder manufacturers and audio console, manufacturers. This wasn't supposed to be. Not for a high school dropout with nothing more than a GED. And a couple of weeks worth of technical training seminars. Weeks. Not months. Not years. Weeks. And I was up and running. As far as the running. I was also my high school's fastest, short distance printer and fastest hurdler. But I refused to join the track team. Because I was studying to be an engineer. I didn't need any college. There was this big free building to go into. This place was called a Library. And they have all-stars of books inside you can read for free! As many as you want. In whatever subjects you want. And you pick your subject. And you read them all! Every single last fucking one of them! And then you applied at radio stations and recording studios. And you got yourself in the door. Anyway you could. Maintenance, Recording Engineer, DJ, administrative, duplication department. It didn't matter. You just needed to get your foot, in the door. Without it getting slammed on your foot. So you had to prepare yourself. You had to be ready. To take on the world. You had to teach yourself. There was no schooling for this stuff. Back in the day. Other than The electrical Engineering and Broadcast Journalism. Or a degree in Music. There was no, recordin' playing with knobs and dials, engineering degrees. That just became a for-profit moneymaking venture. By studios going out of business. And universities that wanted more money. So they purchased some recording equipment. And hired some guy with a mathematics degree and a music degree to teach recordin' engineerin' degree. And was that degree in Fahrenheit or Celsius? Because they really didn't learn anything about, Audio. They just learned about hot and cold sounding audio. Eat this. Don't eat that. Kind of instruction. Stuff like, don't use ribbon microphones. Because ribbon microphones are noisy. And people would spend between $20,000 and $80,000. To accrue that misinformation. Because they were too lazy to go to the library and read some books. They were all children that needed to be spoonfed pablum. They ain't got no brains, of their own to use. They have smart phones and TH-cam. Books? But you have to turn the pages by hand. Right! As it's almost like turning a page on your smart phone. But with a real piece of paper. Blinded in a book thingy. I don't know why they did that? They were heavy and took up a lot of space. When they could've just put it all on a chip. But they were not thinking ahead much back then. They didn't know you could record anything into sand. They knew how to make sand castles though. At the beach. Why not just record audio into that sand? Yeah! That's the ticket! So they got some sand. They heated it up until it turned to almost glass called silicon. And then they scratched a whole bunch of little shit. Into that silicon. And now it's called a smart phone. You can record your rock band into. One track at a time. Or, altogether. Into your smart phone. Where you are recording into sand. That got all burnt. How the FUCK does that work? It's by etching a little one or a little zero on each fleck of sand. And they do that to a whole lot of them. Millions of them. On something the size of your pinky fingernail. And it holds, months worth of recordings in high resolution. Go figure? Any what the FUCK is going on here? What? Do they think we are living in Star Trek times? How ridiculous! For certain recording applications. People used to write their name in the snow. Look Frank. Bob was here. Oh yeah. Which was used for earlier territorial communications. Because we saw doggies and kitties and other animals doing that. You just lay down a perimeter. Everybody knows that your smell. That's your yellow snow. Wow. What the hell was Bob eating last night? Yeah that really stinks. Let's poop on it. Yeah! That'll show him. Who's boss around here. I left my heart in San Francisco. I left my testicles in Montréal, Québec, Canada. RemyRAD
You are the man! Dig the open reel format. My Dad still has his Teac he got when he was in Vietnam, but she is in need of a total overhaul, however the newer Akai he has that looks pretty close to the 61 model, but newer, has taken over where the Teac left off.
Great work Doug, wonderful to see an Akai on the bench. I’m very fond of open reel machines and have been restoring them for many years, they are electromechanical wonders that can still perform incredibly well when brought back to spec.
Very great watch Doug! Always enjoyed seeing you start with an issue and work your way up to a finished result! Hopefully you had a very merry Christmas! All the best to you in 2021
Love the old reel to reel machines, I still have two, a Teac and an Ampex, the quality was nothing but good and well built. I need to work on the Ampex, it has clutch problems, the Teac works fine after going through it replacing caps, noisy preamp transistors and doing some work to the transport, oiling, belts etc.. Thanks for the video, I knew the sound quality was going to be good from this machine!
So happy to see another wonderful video from you!! A Christmas treat indeed! Many thanks and please come back soon. Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Looking forward to more of your great works in 2021.
What a tragic story Sir. That machine has never been used. If your storey is correct, it was sent home by someone that never returned and by the looks of it, was put into storage for his return, that never happened. Thank you for such an instructional TH-cam post Sir.
Nice tape recorder you got here. I also have my Akai 1721W which was a typical reel-to-reel tape recorder from the 1970’s and it still sounds good, but this unit is a beast. I also another reel-to-reel tape recorder is my Concord 220T from 1964 with a hybrid tube and transistor amplifier and it still works but the sound is muffled, but it sound great when running at 7 1/2 IPS, and sound good 3 3/4 IPS and sounds poor at 1 7/8 IPS. I checked the inside and it looks fine and all of the original caps are okay, but it needs some recapping. The ones that I checked are Matsushita capacitors which were all Japanese made used for all models for both Concord and Panasonic machines. There was another model that is similar to this is the Roberts 990 tape recorder which was identical to the Akai M5, but used the same design as the Akai M5, but this model was originally came with the Akai EA-10 extension arm for playing 10.5 in. reel tapes for longer recording time. This machine is very expensive and it’s been popping out on eBay where it goes up for a ridiculous amount of money.
I have a 1967 Roberts 770X Reel to Reel and would like to restore it just like you did with the M5. Great job in explaining the major faults on these recorders. I also have a Akai 1800SD and two Akai 2000SD recorders and two Fostex 8 Track Reel to Reel recorders which are both in excellent condition. The Akai recorders are the ones I would like to restore. I'm kinda new with electronics but am learning and collecting electronic test gear so I can save a few of these wonderful machines.....
My father got the Akai M8 when he was stationed in Japan in the 60's also Navy. One of the selector switches has been broken though. May have been me messing with it when I was a kid, or the bakelight just got brittle. Bit thank you for making this, I intend on doing a full restoration.
I have an Akai M8 that my father brought back from his service in Germany in the late 60's. I've had a little work done on it and it's in great working condition. I love the sound of it. I might even prefer the sound of it over my Tandberg deck which is a decade newer and also sounds really good. Definitely worth restoring.
Excellent video! I've watched many of your prior work on here and you seem to be slowing down as of late? I HOPE TO GOD your doing great and can produce many more of the same type of stuff in the future. From old color tv's, to radios, to seeburg goodies etc etc etc----love love LOVE them ALL!!!!!!! THANK YOU for the education/entertainment thus far!!!!!!!
This is a great video. I had acquired one of these machines. Or rather my father did. Used. When I was just, 8 1/2 years old. It was, to say the least, extremely groovy. To this 8-year-old. They got my hands on it. To discover what it could do. What it had. What it was capable of doing. Because I knew already. The year before at 7. That I would make, Audio and the Recording Arts & Sciences, along with broadcasting. For my lifelong career. A decision I made very consciously at 7 years of age as in 7 as in seven. And not a day before! 7. It hit me like a brick. I was hooked. I was addicted to Pro Audio, for the rest of my born days. Now what was cool about my M-5. While it was most definitely only a, 2 speed machine. With that mechanical belt shifter gizmo. To change the speeds. For, 3.75 and 7.5, inches per second. It also had a capstan shaft sleeve. With a knurled nut, holding it down. And you could slip that over the capstan motor shaft. And you now had a machine that would roll at 7.5 and 15 IPS. Wow we wow wow! And! With that gigantic knurled knob on the top of the head mounting stack. It could reposition the 1/4 track stereo head. By shifting it in an upward and downwardly position. So as to be able to play back not only the 1/4 track recordings you had made. But could also playback 1/2 track recordings made on professional machines! Like the Ampex 350-2's. Could be played back on that Aikai M-5. Mine also had that pair of, 8 inch full range, Aikai speakers. That you could mount on the walls. Up above your head. And they would be angled down upon you. Control room speakers! Morbidly obese, 8 inch, AURATONES!!! That were not in a cabinet with a finite resonant frequency. Because it was not a rectangular box. They were great and tight sounding! And you were driving them from the tube amplification coming from your M 5. It was, in short, fucking fabulous! And I had my imitation Ampex 602 only better. I would keep and use that machine until I was 15 years of age. When I then first got hired as an engineer in radio at a college radio station at 15 years of age. Because I had already acquired my FCC 3rd Class Radiotelephone license at, 15 years of age. And I knew I was on my way in my career field. When this college radio station just handed me the keys to the radio station. Because my shows were on off-hours of normal operation. Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons! And they entrusted a 15-year-old kid. The youngest they had ever had working at the Community College of Baltimore's, WBJC-FM 91.5. An NPR affiliate and fine arts station for Baltimore. But I would only last therefore a couple of years until I was, 17. When I had to let it go. To take this other job. Though, I resigned from the FM station. I did not give up on my career. My new job. Was now at the largest, multiple room, recording studio facility. South of New York City. One of the few, 24 track studios, then, in the world. In 1973 which opened in 1972. And I never had to be a gopher. I never had to sweep the studios, clean the bathrooms, make coffee or run errands. I was hired on as a full-blown Production and Maintenance Engineer. Of this multimillion dollar facility. When I was, 17. Where I then got to use the tape recorder of my dreams! The Scully 280's. The Ampex MM-1000 and the MCI JH-10, FT, 2-4-8 and 24 track recorders. And just a few years afterwards. In 1979. At the ripe old age of, 23. I find myself in charge and in control. As the, Quality Control Manager and Final Test Engineer and overall troubleshooter. Who saved the company. For this little legendary tape recorder manufacturer by the name of, Scully. I was the last of the last. Of one of the greatest recorder manufacturers, ever known, throughout the world. After, of course. I had also been factory trained as an authorized warranty service technician. For these other, little-known professional recorder companies by the name of, 3M, Ampex and MCI. Where, when I lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I was within walking distance. Only a few hundred feet away. From the original MCI factory. I was closer to MCI than to the Advertising have agency I was working for down by Fort Lauderdale beach. It was very funny. I was also indirectly involved with MCI and prior to that, Ampex. As I did troubleshooting for both companies. And I was a customer. Of both companies. One I could just walk in the back door of the shop at. Anytime I wanted to. At MCI. So this little old high school dropout with nothing more than a GED. Had a sweeping effect. Across the entire analog tape recording industry. I read how the FUCK did this happen??? This was not supposed to happen! I don't have that education for this. I was just very very good with this. Rather remarkable with this stuff. I would have to say about myself. And I really don't know why? I just wanted to be a decent engineer. And I guess I accomplished my goals and professional ideals and accomplishments. And whoever thought this would happen? So I had a most remarkable career. Within the analog magnetic tape and recording studio and broadcast industries. I mean I can hardly believe it. And now I am retired at 65. What a ride!!! Indeed I have had one of the most fabulous careers in the Pro Audio Industry. As I got in very early. When my daddy used to play violin in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. And for these early black owned record label startups by the name of Motown and Stax Records. And he was taking me down to the recording studios starting when I was 7. And it wasn't hard for me to make my career decision standing in the control room at United Sound Systems Inc. in Detroit, Michigan. During an, Eddie Floyd, string, overdub session. When I made my lifelong career decision. Looking at the audio console. That had been custom-built, in-house. And their brand-new 8 track Ampex AG-440-A along with an Ampex 351-2. And custom modified Skelly 270 player. With recording electronics.. That had no name tag. And I remember this other gizmo in the rack called a Fairchild Reverb-A-Tron. And even at age 7. I already knew. That was an electronic, acoustic reverberation device. Sitting next to it was another big gizmo. It was huge. And it said limiter. And I wondered. What people wanted to limit during a recording session? What does it limit? Why would they want any limits? And what is it there to do? I was asking myself at 7 years of age. Until I realized what I had been missing when I was 15. And that was this thing called the limiter and/or dynamic range compressor. And then I found I wanted more than bass and treble controls. I wanted some knobs to affect the middle midrange. And I acquired a pair of consumer, BSR McDonald Metro Tech, 1 Octave, 5 band, graphic equalizers. I could start rocking and rolling! So I basically had 4 channels of a high-end audio console. Without ever having a high-end audio console. That early in my career. As an,, Professional Audio Engineer. And then I also acquired a pair of SHURE, M-67, microphone mixers. And a DBX consumer 160 limiter called the 119. And then came my custom 4 spring pan, reverberation device. The sound really sucked. But I now had electronic reverberation. Almost as good as that, Fairchild Reverb-A-Tron. So I was a happy camper. With my own little home studio set up. And then a major 24 track recording studio to go to work at every day. At 17 years of age! Back in 1973! When there were only 4 recording studios in all of Baltimore! And I had just gotten hired for the newest and largest one! Because yes! I am that good at what I do. It came built-in with me. I don't know why? But I figured. I just had to roll with it. I had discovered, my talents in engineering. I would go on later to teach college professors about the Recording Arts & Sciences. And how to do it. How to do it, professionally, coast-to-coast and around the world on satellites. Which is what I did for NBC-TV for 20 years LOL. Also, later on. I'm one of the top broadcast and audio engineers in the world. I'm a world-class, world authority on magnetic audio recording. How the hell did this happen??? But it did. And I am. And you are very cool sir! You got a great collection! And you've got one of my previous recorders. And it was a great machine with a great pair of speakers. A better than Ampex 602 imitation. Because with the Ampex 602. You needed a pair of their suitcase sized, powered loudspeakers. But not with the Aikai M-5. You just plugged in the speakers! And so it also had great headroom from its output of all small envelope glass tube circuitry. It was better than Ampex 602! It was an improvement upon the 602. And it was a hell of a lot more versatile. With 3.75-7.5-15 IPS tape speed capabilities. Recording in 1/4 track stereo. Being able to also playback, 1/2 track stereo. That machine was heaven on earth! And at 65 years of age. Not having the machine since 1970. I still dearly miss it. It was a machine I never wanted to get rid of or leave behind. But I had to. And I've been grieving over that ever since.
Interesting comment. How do you think the Akai M-8 stacks up against the M-5? I own one and I think it sounds fantastic. If I'm not mistaken it was the last tube driven reel to reel from AKai and one of the last tube decks of any manufacturer. Why don't you just buy a used M-5? Surely they're not too hard to find.
:51:04 Sounds like another "Command" performance! Excellent video, Doug! Thanks so much! BTW, never heard a snazzier version of "Baubles Bangles and Beads." :-)
I have a Roberts 1650 (similar to Akai) that is running a tad slow. I read that the motor might need oil. I saw in the video you mention polyurethane foam but I'm not sure where it goes specifically on the motor as the current motor doesn't have one. Can you share a little more detail? Thanks.
I have a Roberts 990 in very poor cosmetic condition. It had been stored in a shed that was open to the weather for twenty years. I’ve robbed the amps. The transport is a parts unit. If you need it, or want it you can have it for the shipping cost from California. I’ll send it to recycling next week, the first week of Jan 2021.
Is that a tape end sensor hanging down between the two reels? Normally if you didn't thread around it, the machine would not play. I can imagine that not working, but I can't believe you would not have fixed it. Am I missing something?
Hello, I just found a 1960s tv and wanted to get it fixed up. It turns on and screen is white but I cannot get a picture. I’ve set up a rca vhf connection to a antenna and also tried a vcr player and nothing. Sounds like your in the Chicago land area like myself. Do you do tv repairs?
My hubby has Motorola TP11CE radio it works but the volume button is scratchy when turned and the 2 snaps on the back are broken.. What are your suggestions to fix it
I would have replaced those huge electrolytics in the amp, while they might test ok now, they are very old and its just a matter of time before they fail. It wouldn't have been expensive to replace them and it helps with futureproofing the unit so it doesnt wind back up on the bench again in the near future. Actually I would have just shotgun the whole thing and recapped it completely because of its age.
That looks very cool this is up to you, but I would like for you to record another video like maybe you should record an old TV set like you used to the last video you probably know this already was put on one year ago, and I’ve been described to your channel for a great while
You mentioned that you would be running two of those capacitors in parallel. When you put two in parallel doesn't the capacitance drop by 50%? If that is true then you must choose higher values.
Excellent video! Does anyone know where to find the tape counter belt for Rogers 997 which I believe is nearly identical to this Akai M5 Reel To Reel? Part number and supplier would be great!!!
How much oil did you saturate the polyurethane foam in? Did you apply oil to both sides? I have a motor that I am lubricating and thought your approach is very informative. I simply would like to know the extent of lubrication to apply with this type of foam.
I applied enough oil to completely saturate the foam without it dripping, but still retaining oil. So I would say "overoil" the foam until it drips, then very gently squeeze out just enough so it doesn't drip, but be sure there is still plenty retained in the foam, considering it really can't be easily accessed again unless you take it all apart.
@@drh4683 Excellent. Thank you so much for responding. I got the foam in just today, believe it or not. I had McMaster give me the exact one you purchased. There's enough on this single sheet to repair plenty of other motors that I have here. Synthetic oil should do the trick.
Hello Sir, Please help me! I have Akai GX365D but the Capacitor 2.0 uF, 1.0uF, C, 250WV AC 1970 was out of work (leaked wax out). Do you have a replacement of it or rebuild the other one? Thanks in advance sir.
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Yes!!! Happy to see a second upload within a month of the last one! A rare treat!
I was able to recreate your capacitor z-bend mounting bracket along with the exact terminal strip. I was able to restore my own Akai motor run capacitor setup with this. I wouldn't have been able to put this together without you. Thank you for publishing this video.
That is great to hear! Thanks for sharing my friend!
Thanks to your excellent video, I'm going to tackle my 1968 Tandberg 64X reel-to-reel machine. It has served me many years, but didn't get much use once I switched to digital in 1985.
I hope you include those nice drawings in a pouch or something inside the unit. Such professional work should be documented!
Oh my word ...I loved watching your repair video of this machine. Your meticulous attention to detail is an absolute joy to behold as is your your knowledge of the electronics of these old machines. Thank you for sharing, I am looking forward to watching more of your work...what a great discovery for me.
I am so looking forward to doing this same program on the M5 I acquired last summer. I really appreciate the thorough explanation of your very thoughtful process. The music at the end accompanied by the tour of the shop was the perfect finale.
A great Christmas present ! A restoration video from Doug. Thank you.
just wanted to thank you for this detailed video, thanks to you alone I was able to effectively restore my own Akai M-5 :) I really appreciate the fact that you documented this repair so well
Before my time (born in 1980) but absolutely fascinating to watch these videos. I love old technology and how revolutionary each generation was
Doc Severinsen from his 1961 Tempestuous Trumpet album. Very apropos!
Glad I found your videos. I worked as a broadcast engineer in the mid 70s to early 80s. I have a 1962 M5 Akai terecorder and need to replace the motor mounts. I was glad to find your specifications for the motor mounts. I need to get the machine running so I can test out the other electronics. I will probably need to re-cap the amplifiers too. Keep up the good work!
The music made me smile - my father loved this kind of music!
♥️
Pro restoration job! That tape deck will last many years playing some awesome music!
Hoping this helps my friend fixing his deck.
I hope you release some new content soon.... your videos have always been my favorite TV repairman. I started working in electronics in the early 80's and only 6 years later saw the whole repair industry tumble into the abyss. Your channel is like a time machine Thanks for all of your videos.... I think one of my favorite is your retro 1960s Christmas video, but heck you have so many good ones... the ride around in vintage cars are awesome too. Heck I have watched them all.... lol looking forward to some new ones.
Doug!
Pleasure to hear from you!
Merry Christmas
Please make another repair video! you have 10,000 subscribers!!! People enjoy your videos. Hope you are well
I got out of those depths of depression. When I ended up owning 1/2 dozen Skelly 280's. And a pair of Ampex MM-1200 multitrack machines. Both a 16 and a 24 track machine. And I had a 3M 8 track machine. For a short while. Before I acquired Curtis Mayfield''s, MCI JH-10-16 track machine. He cut his hits on. Before his paraplegic auto accident. When I acquired his machine. For my home studio in 1983. That was one hell of a home studio I had in 1983. Along with my three UREI, custom modified, Rev-D, blackface 1176 limiters. KEPEX 500 downward expander/gate. 8 API original 550 equalizers. Which were modestly more awesome than the later 550-A's. When I had gotten my brand-new, 16 track audio console with 32 on mix down. And a full-sized Plate Reverb. We managed to muscle into my basement. Of my home. And that was my home studio back in 1983. No one else had a home studio like that except for Les Paul. Leon Russell and a few others. And my home studio was wow we wow wow. It was a holy FUCK home studio for sure! In 1983. When everybody else was still just using TEAC 3340's. And TEAC audio mixers. Ugh. No. I had a decent audio console. Being a hawked by Pete Townsend of the WHO. The Soundtracs 16-8-16. 16 input for record. And actually, 34 on mix. When you count the stereo echo return in addition to the, additional 16 line level inputs. That had a rudimentary bass and treble EQ and single effects sends. Which could give you the capability. Of doing a full-blown, 24 track mix down with 10 additional effects returns. From a pretty awesome portable British designed and built recording console. The British just know how to build recording consoles! That's all there is to it.
Later I would own a legendary 36 input custom Neve built for NBC-TV where I used to work for 20 years. I never thought I would ever own one of those. Much less a pair of them eight years later. But I only held on to the one. And sold the other one. But that's a story for another day.
I really enjoyed your video. It took me back. Way way back. With Sherman and the way back machine. You gave me an incredible trip down memory lane. Back in the my youth. When this machine was still virtually, new. And I would own it for the next seven years. Until I had to leave it behind from a move from Detroit to Baltimore.
In fact back in July 1969. In one of the few times only. I were to remove the 7.5/15 IPS capstan shaft motor sleeve. To record at 3.75 IPS. With my TV audio plugged into one channel. With CBS and Walter Cronkite. And might shortwave receiver tuned to the Voice Of America's VOA. Plugged into my other channel. For when these couple of guys by the name of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Set foot, on the moon. And I captured the entire event. On my Aikai M-5 at 3.75 IPS. Both sides of the tape.
I was equally fascinated by the time differentials of only milliseconds. Between CBS-TV and VOA radio. And I was listening to analog-to-digital delay at the speed of light. There was no digital delay. It was an analog delay due to the speed of light. The real fucking thing! As digital delay devices for audio were years away from being introduced.
So some fabulous history here. Some of it, with me. It just blows my mind. I was so closely and deeply involved. At the pinnacle. At the top. At the Apogee. Of the Pro Audio and Coast-to-coast Broadcast Industries. I mean what? Yes all of that. With a career spanning greater than 50 years.
And I'm one of the last surviving members. Of one of these legendary Pro Audio recorder manufacturers and audio console, manufacturers. This wasn't supposed to be. Not for a high school dropout with nothing more than a GED. And a couple of weeks worth of technical training seminars. Weeks. Not months. Not years. Weeks. And I was up and running.
As far as the running. I was also my high school's fastest, short distance printer and fastest hurdler. But I refused to join the track team. Because I was studying to be an engineer. I didn't need any college. There was this big free building to go into. This place was called a Library. And they have all-stars of books inside you can read for free! As many as you want. In whatever subjects you want. And you pick your subject. And you read them all! Every single last fucking one of them!
And then you applied at radio stations and recording studios. And you got yourself in the door. Anyway you could. Maintenance, Recording Engineer, DJ, administrative, duplication department. It didn't matter. You just needed to get your foot, in the door. Without it getting slammed on your foot. So you had to prepare yourself. You had to be ready. To take on the world. You had to teach yourself. There was no schooling for this stuff. Back in the day. Other than The electrical Engineering and Broadcast Journalism. Or a degree in Music. There was no, recordin' playing with knobs and dials, engineering degrees. That just became a for-profit moneymaking venture. By studios going out of business. And universities that wanted more money. So they purchased some recording equipment. And hired some guy with a mathematics degree and a music degree to teach recordin' engineerin' degree. And was that degree in Fahrenheit or Celsius? Because they really didn't learn anything about, Audio. They just learned about hot and cold sounding audio. Eat this. Don't eat that. Kind of instruction. Stuff like, don't use ribbon microphones. Because ribbon microphones are noisy. And people would spend between $20,000 and $80,000. To accrue that misinformation. Because they were too lazy to go to the library and read some books. They were all children that needed to be spoonfed pablum. They ain't got no brains, of their own to use. They have smart phones and TH-cam. Books? But you have to turn the pages by hand. Right! As it's almost like turning a page on your smart phone. But with a real piece of paper. Blinded in a book thingy. I don't know why they did that? They were heavy and took up a lot of space. When they could've just put it all on a chip. But they were not thinking ahead much back then. They didn't know you could record anything into sand. They knew how to make sand castles though. At the beach. Why not just record audio into that sand? Yeah! That's the ticket!
So they got some sand. They heated it up until it turned to almost glass called silicon. And then they scratched a whole bunch of little shit. Into that silicon. And now it's called a smart phone. You can record your rock band into. One track at a time. Or, altogether. Into your smart phone. Where you are recording into sand. That got all burnt. How the FUCK does that work? It's by etching a little one or a little zero on each fleck of sand. And they do that to a whole lot of them. Millions of them. On something the size of your pinky fingernail. And it holds, months worth of recordings in high resolution. Go figure? Any what the FUCK is going on here? What? Do they think we are living in Star Trek times? How ridiculous!
For certain recording applications. People used to write their name in the snow. Look Frank. Bob was here. Oh yeah. Which was used for earlier territorial communications. Because we saw doggies and kitties and other animals doing that. You just lay down a perimeter. Everybody knows that your smell. That's your yellow snow. Wow. What the hell was Bob eating last night? Yeah that really stinks. Let's poop on it. Yeah! That'll show him. Who's boss around here.
I left my heart in San Francisco. I left my testicles in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
RemyRAD
Fantastic Akai M5. I have two M6 model In my collectiin. I love these machines.
These were top notch years ago. I have had several and every one worked exceptionally well
Man, what a pro! Inspires me to get my old Akai deck running again. Thanks for posting.
You are the man! Dig the open reel format. My Dad still has his Teac he got when he was in Vietnam, but she is in need of a total overhaul, however the newer Akai he has that looks pretty close to the 61 model, but newer, has taken over where the Teac left off.
Great work Doug, wonderful to see an Akai on the bench. I’m very fond of open reel machines and have been restoring them for many years, they are electromechanical wonders that can still perform incredibly well when brought back to spec.
Very great watch Doug! Always enjoyed seeing you start with an issue and work your way up to a finished result! Hopefully you had a very merry Christmas! All the best to you in 2021
Love the old reel to reel machines, I still have two, a Teac and an Ampex, the quality was nothing but good and well built. I need to work on the Ampex, it has clutch problems, the Teac works fine after going through it replacing caps, noisy preamp transistors and doing some work to the transport, oiling, belts etc.. Thanks for the video, I knew the sound quality was going to be good from this machine!
So happy to see another wonderful video from you!! A Christmas treat indeed! Many thanks and please come back soon. Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Looking forward to more of your great works in 2021.
I noticed that over the years you are very meticulous and take pride in all of your repairs.
What a tragic story Sir. That machine has never been used. If your storey is correct, it was sent home by someone that never returned and by the looks of it, was put into storage for his return, that never happened. Thank you for such an instructional TH-cam post Sir.
You’re a legend for posting this! Thanks so much
Outstanding video! A lot of history in your basement.
Nice tape recorder you got here. I also have my Akai 1721W which was a typical reel-to-reel tape recorder from the 1970’s and it still sounds good, but this unit is a beast. I also another reel-to-reel tape recorder is my Concord 220T from 1964 with a hybrid tube and transistor amplifier and it still works but the sound is muffled, but it sound great when running at 7 1/2 IPS, and sound good 3 3/4 IPS and sounds poor at 1 7/8 IPS. I checked the inside and it looks fine and all of the original caps are okay, but it needs some recapping. The ones that I checked are Matsushita capacitors which were all Japanese made used for all models for both Concord and Panasonic machines.
There was another model that is similar to this is the Roberts 990 tape recorder which was identical to the Akai M5, but used the same design as the Akai M5, but this model was originally came with the Akai EA-10 extension arm for playing 10.5 in. reel tapes for longer recording time. This machine is very expensive and it’s been popping out on eBay where it goes up for a ridiculous amount of money.
First class work from start to finish, truly inspiring.
Beautiful work Doug.
Happy another second upload a nice treat. M-9 Akai
Awesome Job! Beautiful Machine!
Thank you for taking the time to share.
Would love to see some more videos Doug. I look forward to seeing them
Wish you could upload videos more often. Anyway thanks very useful and interesting.
So helpfull! Glad you decided to make this video. I'm about to pickup a M-8 and happy to find your pro work!
I have a 1967 Roberts 770X Reel to Reel and would like to restore it just like you did with the M5. Great job in explaining the major faults on these recorders. I also have a Akai 1800SD and two Akai 2000SD recorders and two Fostex 8 Track Reel to Reel recorders which are both in excellent condition. The Akai recorders are the ones I would like to restore. I'm kinda new with electronics but am learning and collecting electronic test gear so I can save a few of these wonderful machines.....
I own an Akai M8 in great working condition, same model as the 770X. It sounds amazing to my ears. Definitely worth restoring.
My father got the Akai M8 when he was stationed in Japan in the 60's also Navy. One of the selector switches has been broken though. May have been me messing with it when I was a kid, or the bakelight just got brittle. Bit thank you for making this, I intend on doing a full restoration.
I have an Akai M8 that my father brought back from his service in Germany in the late 60's. I've had a little work done on it and it's in great working condition. I love the sound of it. I might even prefer the sound of it over my Tandberg deck which is a decade newer and also sounds really good. Definitely worth restoring.
Excellent video! I've watched many of your prior work on here and you seem to be slowing down as of late? I HOPE TO GOD your doing great and can produce many more of the same type of stuff in the future. From old color tv's, to radios, to seeburg goodies etc etc etc----love love LOVE them ALL!!!!!!! THANK YOU for the education/entertainment thus far!!!!!!!
Really glad to see you doing a new upload. Really enjoy your postings!
Fantastic to see another video from you, Happy New Year
Thanks for posting. A lot of great info. It'll help with my TEAC.
I realize life happens, but I do miss the frequency of your videos.
Thanks for watching! I do have a new video coming next month
Happy new year. Love your classic test gear. I still use my Simpson 260 almost daily.
Fantastic vídeo!!! I have a Akai M6 model. Wonderful machine.
Best job.I have ever seen.I have one but M7. Thanks
keep the videos coming!!!! I have the Roberts version of this
Great work Doug. Looks like fun.
Absolutely amazing!
Great job Sir.
Nice assembly build!
I'm going to watch as soon as I have more time! 😁
Fine workmanship, sir.
Love the tune at the end. It sounds great.
Nice to see more videos from you! Great job. I have an AKAI reel to reel, but of a much more newer vintage. :)
Fabulous job and thanks for showing me I don’t have a chance in hell of restoring one of these and to stick to my basic radios 😩😩😩😖😖😖😢😢.
My dad found one curbside and gave it to me-most unusual, as he was more inclined to pitch stuff out than recover...
Great work. A very merry Christmas to you and your family.
raddest possible song for the finale.
Woah! Thank you for a new video. I love your work!
That looks beautiful.
This is a great video. I had acquired one of these machines. Or rather my father did. Used. When I was just, 8 1/2 years old. It was, to say the least, extremely groovy. To this 8-year-old. They got my hands on it. To discover what it could do. What it had. What it was capable of doing. Because I knew already. The year before at 7. That I would make, Audio and the Recording Arts & Sciences, along with broadcasting. For my lifelong career. A decision I made very consciously at 7 years of age as in 7 as in seven. And not a day before! 7. It hit me like a brick. I was hooked. I was addicted to Pro Audio, for the rest of my born days.
Now what was cool about my M-5. While it was most definitely only a, 2 speed machine. With that mechanical belt shifter gizmo. To change the speeds. For, 3.75 and 7.5, inches per second. It also had a capstan shaft sleeve. With a knurled nut, holding it down. And you could slip that over the capstan motor shaft. And you now had a machine that would roll at 7.5 and 15 IPS. Wow we wow wow! And!
With that gigantic knurled knob on the top of the head mounting stack. It could reposition the 1/4 track stereo head. By shifting it in an upward and downwardly position. So as to be able to play back not only the 1/4 track recordings you had made. But could also playback 1/2 track recordings made on professional machines! Like the Ampex 350-2's. Could be played back on that Aikai M-5.
Mine also had that pair of, 8 inch full range, Aikai speakers. That you could mount on the walls. Up above your head. And they would be angled down upon you. Control room speakers! Morbidly obese, 8 inch, AURATONES!!! That were not in a cabinet with a finite resonant frequency. Because it was not a rectangular box. They were great and tight sounding! And you were driving them from the tube amplification coming from your M 5. It was, in short, fucking fabulous! And I had my imitation Ampex 602 only better.
I would keep and use that machine until I was 15 years of age. When I then first got hired as an engineer in radio at a college radio station at 15 years of age. Because I had already acquired my FCC 3rd Class Radiotelephone license at, 15 years of age. And I knew I was on my way in my career field. When this college radio station just handed me the keys to the radio station. Because my shows were on off-hours of normal operation. Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons! And they entrusted a 15-year-old kid. The youngest they had ever had working at the Community College of Baltimore's, WBJC-FM 91.5. An NPR affiliate and fine arts station for Baltimore. But I would only last therefore a couple of years until I was, 17. When I had to let it go. To take this other job.
Though, I resigned from the FM station. I did not give up on my career. My new job. Was now at the largest, multiple room, recording studio facility. South of New York City. One of the few, 24 track studios, then, in the world. In 1973 which opened in 1972. And I never had to be a gopher. I never had to sweep the studios, clean the bathrooms, make coffee or run errands. I was hired on as a full-blown Production and Maintenance Engineer. Of this multimillion dollar facility. When I was, 17. Where I then got to use the tape recorder of my dreams! The Scully 280's. The Ampex MM-1000 and the MCI JH-10, FT, 2-4-8 and 24 track recorders.
And just a few years afterwards. In 1979. At the ripe old age of, 23. I find myself in charge and in control. As the, Quality Control Manager and Final Test Engineer and overall troubleshooter. Who saved the company. For this little legendary tape recorder manufacturer by the name of, Scully. I was the last of the last. Of one of the greatest recorder manufacturers, ever known, throughout the world. After, of course. I had also been factory trained as an authorized warranty service technician. For these other, little-known professional recorder companies by the name of, 3M, Ampex and MCI. Where, when I lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I was within walking distance. Only a few hundred feet away. From the original MCI factory. I was closer to MCI than to the Advertising have agency I was working for down by Fort Lauderdale beach. It was very funny. I was also indirectly involved with MCI and prior to that, Ampex. As I did troubleshooting for both companies. And I was a customer. Of both companies. One I could just walk in the back door of the shop at. Anytime I wanted to. At MCI.
So this little old high school dropout with nothing more than a GED. Had a sweeping effect. Across the entire analog tape recording industry. I read how the FUCK did this happen??? This was not supposed to happen! I don't have that education for this. I was just very very good with this. Rather remarkable with this stuff. I would have to say about myself. And I really don't know why? I just wanted to be a decent engineer. And I guess I accomplished my goals and professional ideals and accomplishments. And whoever thought this would happen?
So I had a most remarkable career. Within the analog magnetic tape and recording studio and broadcast industries. I mean I can hardly believe it. And now I am retired at 65. What a ride!!! Indeed I have had one of the most fabulous careers in the Pro Audio Industry. As I got in very early. When my daddy used to play violin in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. And for these early black owned record label startups by the name of Motown and Stax Records. And he was taking me down to the recording studios starting when I was 7. And it wasn't hard for me to make my career decision standing in the control room at United Sound Systems Inc. in Detroit, Michigan. During an, Eddie Floyd, string, overdub session. When I made my lifelong career decision. Looking at the audio console. That had been custom-built, in-house. And their brand-new 8 track Ampex AG-440-A along with an Ampex 351-2. And custom modified Skelly 270 player. With recording electronics.. That had no name tag. And I remember this other gizmo in the rack called a Fairchild Reverb-A-Tron. And even at age 7. I already knew. That was an electronic, acoustic reverberation device. Sitting next to it was another big gizmo. It was huge. And it said limiter. And I wondered. What people wanted to limit during a recording session? What does it limit? Why would they want any limits? And what is it there to do? I was asking myself at 7 years of age. Until I realized what I had been missing when I was 15. And that was this thing called the limiter and/or dynamic range compressor. And then I found I wanted more than bass and treble controls. I wanted some knobs to affect the middle midrange. And I acquired a pair of consumer, BSR McDonald Metro Tech, 1 Octave, 5 band, graphic equalizers. I could start rocking and rolling!
So I basically had 4 channels of a high-end audio console. Without ever having a high-end audio console. That early in my career. As an,, Professional Audio Engineer. And then I also acquired a pair of SHURE, M-67, microphone mixers. And a DBX consumer 160 limiter called the 119. And then came my custom 4 spring pan, reverberation device. The sound really sucked. But I now had electronic reverberation. Almost as good as that, Fairchild Reverb-A-Tron. So I was a happy camper. With my own little home studio set up. And then a major 24 track recording studio to go to work at every day. At 17 years of age! Back in 1973! When there were only 4 recording studios in all of Baltimore! And I had just gotten hired for the newest and largest one! Because yes! I am that good at what I do. It came built-in with me. I don't know why? But I figured. I just had to roll with it. I had discovered, my talents in engineering.
I would go on later to teach college professors about the Recording Arts & Sciences. And how to do it. How to do it, professionally, coast-to-coast and around the world on satellites. Which is what I did for NBC-TV for 20 years LOL. Also, later on. I'm one of the top broadcast and audio engineers in the world. I'm a world-class, world authority on magnetic audio recording. How the hell did this happen??? But it did. And I am. And you are very cool sir! You got a great collection! And you've got one of my previous recorders. And it was a great machine with a great pair of speakers. A better than Ampex 602 imitation. Because with the Ampex 602. You needed a pair of their suitcase sized, powered loudspeakers. But not with the Aikai M-5. You just plugged in the speakers! And so it also had great headroom from its output of all small envelope glass tube circuitry. It was better than Ampex 602! It was an improvement upon the 602. And it was a hell of a lot more versatile. With 3.75-7.5-15 IPS tape speed capabilities. Recording in 1/4 track stereo. Being able to also playback, 1/2 track stereo. That machine was heaven on earth! And at 65 years of age. Not having the machine since 1970. I still dearly miss it. It was a machine I never wanted to get rid of or leave behind. But I had to. And I've been grieving over that ever since.
Interesting comment. How do you think the Akai M-8 stacks up against the M-5? I own one and I think it sounds fantastic. If I'm not mistaken it was the last tube driven reel to reel from AKai and one of the last tube decks of any manufacturer. Why don't you just buy a used M-5? Surely they're not too hard to find.
:51:04 Sounds like another "Command" performance! Excellent video, Doug! Thanks so much! BTW, never heard a snazzier version of "Baubles Bangles and Beads." :-)
I have a Roberts 1650 (similar to Akai) that is running a tad slow. I read that the motor might need oil. I saw in the video you mention polyurethane foam but I'm not sure where it goes specifically on the motor as the current motor doesn't have one. Can you share a little more detail? Thanks.
Best guess: retired designer ? Great attention to detail, and CAD aware.
Welcome back brother
nice job, looks a nicely kept machine too
What cutting method did you use for the 22 gauge galvanized steel? I can't seem to duplicate your cutting precision.
I had a 1978 AKAI 12 inch with Dolby B
Beautiful
I have a Roberts 990 in very poor cosmetic condition. It had been stored in a shed that was open to the weather for twenty years. I’ve robbed the amps. The transport is a parts unit. If you need it, or want it you can have it for the shipping cost from California. I’ll send it to recycling next week, the first week of Jan 2021.
Is that a tape end sensor hanging down between the two reels? Normally if you didn't thread around it, the machine would not play. I can imagine that not working, but I can't believe you would not have fixed it. Am I missing something?
I really miss your videos, I hope you’re OK. Can you try to post a video or two a year?
Hello, I just found a 1960s tv and wanted to get it fixed up. It turns on and screen is white but I cannot get a picture. I’ve set up a rca vhf connection to a antenna and also tried a vcr player and nothing. Sounds like your in the Chicago land area like myself. Do you do tv repairs?
My hubby has Motorola TP11CE radio it works but the volume button is scratchy when turned and the 2 snaps
on the back are broken..
What are your suggestions to fix it
I would have replaced those huge electrolytics in the amp, while they might test ok now, they are very old and its just a matter of time before they fail. It wouldn't have been expensive to replace them and it helps with futureproofing the unit so it doesnt wind back up on the bench again in the near future. Actually I would have just shotgun the whole thing and recapped it completely because of its age.
Do you still have your LB 22261? would love to see an updated video cheers
I have a Roberts 990 that needs repair. Any ideas where I can get it fixed in the Delaware area? Thanks.
That looks very cool this is up to you, but I would like for you to record another video like maybe you should record an old TV set like you used to the last video you probably know this already was put on one year ago, and I’ve been described to your channel for a great while
Now I miss Jeannie again 🥺
Sometimes the old capacitor can be re-filled with new ones, so it looks original.
Depends on if you like it to look original.
lovely video, Thank you so much
How do you know its an M5? I had an M7 and it looked exactly like this. Have u checked the model plate?
Hey Doug! Good video! Are you ok? I haven’t seen any posts in 2 years on your channel.
Do you know anything about GE Versatronic ovens with a built-in microwave? I own one and GE can't repair the control board relay.
You mentioned that you would be running two of those capacitors in parallel. When you put two in parallel doesn't the capacitance drop by 50%? If that is true then you must choose higher values.
Hello. I'm waiting for you to upload more Seeburg tunes...
One question Doug. Why did you replace AC capacitors with DC caps? Thanks
Film caps are non polarized and ideal for this application. Also they won't deteriorate.
Excellent video! Does anyone know where to find the tape counter belt for Rogers 997 which I believe is nearly identical to this Akai M5 Reel To Reel? Part number and supplier would be great!!!
Remarkable
Yesterday I saw an ad that advertised radio for sale one dollar volume stuck on high thought I can't turn that down
There’s one on eBay in the U.K. for £100.00.
Wow i have one identical to this one . How much are these worth?
Didn't you post a new video on a zenith portable?
I am looking for the Film Caps that you replaced. Please provide me with the company that supplied them Thanks.
Doug do you still have your 1960 Impala and would you sell it??
How much oil did you saturate the polyurethane foam in? Did you apply oil to both sides? I have a motor that I am lubricating and thought your approach is very informative. I simply would like to know the extent of lubrication to apply with this type of foam.
I applied enough oil to completely saturate the foam without it dripping, but still retaining oil. So I would say "overoil" the foam until it drips, then very gently squeeze out just enough so it doesn't drip, but be sure there is still plenty retained in the foam, considering it really can't be easily accessed again unless you take it all apart.
@@drh4683 Excellent. Thank you so much for responding. I got the foam in just today, believe it or not. I had McMaster give me the exact one you purchased. There's enough on this single sheet to repair plenty of other motors that I have here. Synthetic oil should do the trick.
Hello Sir,
Please help me! I have Akai GX365D but the Capacitor 2.0 uF, 1.0uF, C, 250WV AC 1970 was out of work (leaked wax out). Do you have a replacement of it or rebuild the other one? Thanks in advance sir.
Nice professional job one the bracket most people would be slobs and let them flop around or zip tie them to something
Link to the Roberts interview please...
Hello! Please see link to the Robert Metzner interview: th-cam.com/video/_Uu8Dp-PJLE/w-d-xo.html