Very informative alignment video Tony! For those old enough to remember the service areas in your local stereo stores growing up, this is a refresher on the top shelf skill sets these men and women had and used on a daily basis to repair and make this equipment right. It's amazing what we took for granted or just filed away as "magic" to make these tape decks do the right thing the right way. Thanks for the video Tony; looking forward to the next one.
So good to see this classic back and running better than new. I was a kid when this was made. Just out of High School. I had too many Cassette Decks, just never one of these. These have gone sky high fully restored and ready to go.
Really enjoying these Tony, thankyou. I am however beginning to feel I may have bitten off more than I can chew with my Nakamichi Dr-1 refurb...Despite your calm and logical demeaner in these videos I do feel a little overwhelmed with the prospect of aligning and calibration!
Aligning a tape deck is no easy feat. You'll need a lot of specialized tools to do a complete makeover. Besides necessary spare parts, you'll need test cassettes, alignment tools for tape path and head geometry, a proper oscilloscope and even gauges for torque and parameters like pinch roller pressure. I reckon it is cheaper to send in a deck to a specialist unless you plan on restoring/repairing a bunch of them.
@@svenschwingel8632 And those "good" test cassettes cost about $75 each. I have 3 different test tapes from e-bay and the 3kHz signal varies from each up to 15Hz and the wow and flutter on 2 of them goes from 3000 to 3008!!!! soo proceed with caution... they will get you close not exact.
@@426hemicuda1090 there is a guy named Alex Nikitin who has a company called A.N.T. Audio. He sells test tapes that he creates himself which are very close to what you can get from Gennlabs at a decent price with internatiinal shipping. You might want to google his site and check it out ...
"Shut off the line input volume to "0" and raise the input of the line terminals" means turn the volume all the way down and then turn it back up to whatever. Basically what you did.
Did the test tape 333hz 0db tone verify the 0db reading on the meter after adjustments? I noticed that this deck is calibrated using the 160 nWb/m flux density which is quite modest compared to many other later decks which commonly used the 250 nWb/m setting. The difference is almost 4db. This means that recordings made on this deck will show up -4db down on some later decks. The recorded output level should mirror the VU meter reading as set for recording, but as you mentioned, tapes vary and their sensitivity could affect this tracking. I would certainly make my own recording at 333hz 0db to see how closely the output level shows on playback. A record/ playback frequency response test by sweep or spot frequencies would be good at -20db.
Yes, 0dB with this deck is for 160 nWb/m. Dolby reference is usually around 200 nWb/m and modern decks have indeed a 250 nWb/m scale. It's important to know so you can level recordings appropriately.
The whole concept of these test cassettes has been a real learning experience for me. Although there are standards out there for compact cassette recording and playback, I'm finding out that the specific tape for aligning a specific tape deck can be anything BUT standard! Later on in the alignment procedure, there is a section for aligning the record/playback frequency response. I think it will address some of this things you mention. I can't believe how many steps there are to aligning this thing! The only thing that was harder than this was the alignment of the HP audio spectrum analyzer. Thanks for the info and for the comment!
My level calibration tape made by TDK, TA-01 LEVEL, is full track and states: freq 315Hz. level -4db, reference level: 0dB(250pWb/mm at 333Hz). This is what I have been using to calibrate 0dB on the VU output meters for years. Does all that translate to 160 nW/m?
Nice I have to fix mine I will send it to fix soon it just stop working maybe new belt n lubricant those motor it just don't want to play oh rewind oh forward it use to sound nice n clear n classic is worth fixing a tape deck like that one you got good 70s hight end tape deck n look beautiful too
Hi Tony, great vids. My problem living in Africa, cannot get test tapes, can you do a vid on one making one's own basic test tapes, for Playback and rec gain, and bias setup. The trick is getting the test tapes to the correct mV or dB level on the tape when recording. I have a good direct drive machine to make decent test signal recordings but setting db is tricky. I use a signal gen and have a pico scope which also has a sig gen output. Thks Tony, hope the CT scanners arent keeping you too busy. Im repairing linacs now...
I believe the SM's 1.12V voltage setting for the playback is wrong, it should be 710mV. If you playback the 333Hz 160nWb/m tape with the decks output at the click-stop the decks meters should be at 0db. The test tape playback a +5db on my deck, it plays back at 0db at 710mV . I did some searching and Gennlabs (who makes the cal. tapes) confirmed this. Check it out let us know what you get on the test tape playback.
I here that but will it mess up the rest of the adjustments? Will it increase the Volume of the recorded Tape? After making a Tape and than Play the tape in Different deck Its Very low Playback Volume and the volume Output is turned all the way up? I need to fix this.
hey Tony, for the level and balance adjustments you did at the start, I wonder if it would work to use one of those tape head jack adapters and inject a stereo signal of the necessary frequency.
I've had emails, messages and comments about this. The short answer is that it won't work, but the reasons why are very interesting. I will begin the next video with a comment about these adapter cassettes. I have one, so I'll get it out and we'll do some tests. ;)
I have been frustrated with old Pioneer service manuals (CT-F6262 , CT-F7272). There seems to be some mistakes or else some things got lost in the translation from Japanese to English.
TDK D was historically close to IEC zero sensitivity through its many versions at 315-400Hz so it will not throw you off by much on Dolby level REC Cal. Its curve is bit treblier than IEC. BASF Ferro used to be bang on for IEC sensitivity and HF curve also.
To be honest, you can calibrate the internals to almost any tape you want since the 1250 has an external 3-point calibration that will allow you to max out even really exotic formulations. Just don't use pure chromes for internal Type II calibration on a japanese deck - go for the cobalt-doped instead. Like the TDK SA or Maxell XL-II.
@@svenschwingel8632 You can, but you should also establish zero sensitivity is zero indeed on the external dial. Else its confusing and you shorten its useful compensation range. Which is usually only +/-3dB to start with. Pure Chrome developed a problem, many sealed NOS samples having lost much sensitivity. Deterioration in decades of storage. Cobalt doped formulations on the other hand still behaving in spec mostly.
@@somebodyx the pure Chromes were very different even when brand new. And since they were made almost exclusively by BASF, you'll find a lot of european decks like Revox, Dual and the likes with a factory calibration for pure Chrome instead of Ferricobalt. The problem with deterioration over age is also well-known among tapeheads and I have experienced that myself with a batch of beautiful NOS 1989 BASF Chrome Maxima II. But you are right: if you calibrate the deck's internals to something close to IEC reference tape, you will have that +/- range for external calibration. Then again: if you only use one tye of cassette (like I did back in the day with the mighty TDK SA-X), you might just as well use the internal calibration for that. It's pretty easy to set up on a 3-header anyway 🤷🏼♂️
@@svenschwingel8632 Hi, I don't have a fixed alignment European deck in my collection. But I have an autocal Revox B215 that I fully restored. It additionally offers a duplication industry style 120uS type II Rec mode for exploiting type II tapes better. Other than that its autocal system isn't set too different for base bias between German and Japanese type II formulations. Judging from the service manual's dB chart for BASF SONY TDK using a plug-in bias adjuster. There is only 1dB check point difference between them. I have that adjuster module and I aligned the deck with it. The autocal sets chrome or cobalt with same ease. Before that, I traced and repaired an issue in its serial to parallel data bus area that wouldn't kick start the bias oscillator. After replacing almost a hundred ageing Frako & Philips caps with Nichicon UFG & UKZ the sound quality went up to a very satisfying level. So much so that I stayed away from modifying the op-amps and CMOS switches types for now. Azimuth and speed are very steady. Compatibility is very good across commercial and home made tapes especially after little tweaking with the M-300 gauge. W&F was initially bad but after fitting new factory sourced pinch rollers gives 0.025% RMS steady on WFGUI with an ANT speed tape for the test.
I have a 1250 and a 900 which is the same as the 950 less metal tape capability. I think the 900 has automatic sensing for chrome tape which the 950 does not have, as I recall.
Se puede decir que son idénticos, pero el 950 tiene un selector de cinta, donde eliges entre STD, CrO2, Fe-Cr y Metal mientras que en el 900 solo tienes para elegir entre STD y Fe-Cr, ahora no se, si el CrO2 es automatico.
Hi tony when you use to separate test meters together , do you ever find that they read different to each other . I know when I was working as an electrician we would send our test equipment off to be recalibrated, yet when we tested them against a known sources they would still always read slightly differently from each other . I just wounded if this can be an issue in your field of work . When working with 230/ 400 v a bit of discrepancy is neither here or there, but with your minute amusements could this be a problem ? Best wishes and kind regards as always. 😀👍👍👍
The nice thing with the Keithley 2015 (and the non-audio 2000 meter) is the switching between front and rear jacks can be used to switch between left and right channels therefore eliminating calibration differences between instruments. I'm lucky enough to have both a 2000 and 2015, the 2015 likely came from the same batch as Tony and many of the other electronics youtubers have. The 2000 I bought as faulty and repaired. Both went for calibration at the same time but there are still differences.
Are you going to check or replace any of the electrolytics? I had several bad ones on the motor controller servo board on both my Pioneer RT-701 and RT-702. Those do produce much more heat than the CT-F1250 however. I have a museum quality CT-F1250 that will need work as well as a CT-F900. Been watching this series closely, great job!
All the electrolytics on the motor board were replaced. The audio path caps were replaced on the mother board, even though they tested good. I did not replace the others, as they were all testing good. Thanks for the comment!
I am really enjoying this series! :) as I am currently aligning an Aiwa AD-F810 3 head and a same year Kenwood. I have found that the tape speed adjust in both deck's motors is soo sensitive. I can not get closer than .5% at 3kHz.
@@michaelweser2553 I was thinking of turning the motor pot up and putting a 10 turn pot inline with the motor wires and adjusting it there. Am I being too picky????
@@426hemicuda1090 I don't think that this would work. Inside the motor is a circuit which controls the speed and makes shure, that it stayes stable within a range of load (tourqe). You can't just put a resistor in series with the motor. You'd have to replace the pot inside the motor with a 10 turn one.
The speed control pot develops oxidation. I turn the pot up and down many times just through the target range with the power off. This usually makes them less touchy in most cases. I had one in my Panasonic RX-5250 boom box that would keep drifting off speed, so I gave it a very small shot of deoxit cleaner, been rock solid on speed for a year now. Just checked it the other day and it was 3003 on a 3000Hz test tape.
Hi Tony! You mentioned in one of your vids that you have an extra machine just like this one that you use for spare parts. I’m asking cause I am on the hunt for a tiny but vital part that I need for my own restauration, namely the tape guide RNK-348. It is attached to the left pinch roller but for some reason it is missing from my machine. I am really desperate, without the tape guide, the machine spits and eats tape. I guess my question is, do you have this tiny piece of plastic? And if so, would you sell it? Love your videos. Truly top of the line. Some of them, I’ve watched twice. Greetings, Toby from Sweden
Interesting to watch, but way out my depth. I can follow the units Hz, db, mV.... Like watching a artist paint, I know what oil paints and brushes are, but.... Thanks for sharing.
This would be someone's job all day every day so they would have an optimised bench setup and not need to refer to the instructions for each step. It's also likely that different parts of the alignment were carried out by different people on a production line basis. But as you can see, that's still a cost and as with record decks, mechanical precision and correct alignment are vital for good performance. You can see why cheap decks are disappointing.
@@simonparkinson1053 I just retired a year ago from electronics fabrication and manufacturing. One person would probably specialize in only some of the calibration, then it goes down the assembly line to the next station. When you are doing the same adjustments every day you can do it in your sleep, you get really fast at it. There would also be quality inspection checks and verifications along the way. Dr. Demming taught the Japanese statistical process control and manufacturing techniques after WWII.
Really? The input impedance of those meters, which in the case of the 2015 is in the Gigohms, will make no difference. Tony had the outputs terminated into 51K resistors - within the range the alignment procedure specified.
A retired former professional repairman I know told me that especially Sony was very lax with their alignments, even with their top of the line ES components. In his opinion, Sony was constantly wasting 25% of their deck's actual capabilities.
Even if you took a tape deck into a shop to have it "calibrated" the results would sometimes be worse than before it was messed with. I can usually tell by using a deck weather it is out of calibration and needs to be aligned. As a collector I keep a set of calibration tapes just to check out and see if it needs alignment without taking the covers off.
I wonder if you could reliably use one of those "car audio cassette" to 3.5 TRS adapters to inject a signal of indefinite time length instead of having to rewind an actual cassette tape.
For general fault finding, yes of course - but not for an alignment. The tape itself is a calibrated reference signal source. For example you can download and burn a test CD, but you could not record your own reference signal cassette unless you had a deck which fully complied with the standards and put the exact magnetic flux on the tape for each frequency. That's why test tapes are expensive.
The test tapes are calibrated for level based on magnetic field strength energy on the tape measured in units called nano webers per meter, or nWb/m. It would be hard to know what the magnetic field strength of the adapter output would be, and it would not be consistent across a wide band of frequencies, eq. comes into play. The gap between the two devices would also be hard to maintain as a tape would be.
I always see the debate whether analog or digital sounds best. That is a personal preference. However for analog for analog to sound its best everything has to be just right. Also if you take the time to restore a deck, use and enjoy it. Rubber parts deteriorate from the day they were made. At least give your machine a run thru once a month or so. Belts sitting in 1 spot too long can get an elliptical shape which may or may not work out
I must admit that the cassette deck series is boring me. I lived through the rise and fall of compact cassettes, and I never understood WHY somebody could think about making compact cassettes a HiFi item! These cassettes are not high quality by nature, and tweaking them to record (and play back!!!) the HiFi frequency range was basically a wasted effort. Really, who was ever preferring a cassette over a LP? Just my two cents :-)
Not too sure anyone prefers a cassette over an LP, it is sort of like the cat person vs the dog person argument. Cats or dogs? Yes. They are different animals kept for different reasons. The point is people needed a compact medium that could record and play back music from other mediums that was portable and most importantly could be played in a car. Apples and oranges to an LP or even reel to reel. That said, people also wanted the best equipment they could get for that medium, it is part of the hi-fi system. Maybe a wasted effort in YOUR mind, but for people of my generation it was really the only choice for portable music. You would record the LP or even FM stereo and play the tape back in the car or on the Walkman.
I used to think the same way. Back when cassettes where in their hey-day, I was a teenager and didn't have access to high end tape decks. By the time I could afford a high end deck, CDRs were all the rage and tape had become obsolte. But all these videos on youtube about tape made me curious of how good tape could really be. So I bought a broken 3 head deck, repaired and adjusted it. The test tape cost more than the tape deck! I learned a lot of stuff I wish I had known like 25-30 years ago. I also learned that tapes can sound really good when properly recorded. And the amazing thing is that even my walkman from all those years past had excellent quality. It never sounded this good as I wasn't able to make such good recordings as I can now make. So I started to make mixtapes again, listening to them on my walkman when I'm out and I enjoy using cassette tape more than ever before.
Before CD and MP3, this was the only practical way to play your music in the car or on the go, with your portable device. It was also the only practical way to make your own recordings inexpensively. It just shows how far we've come in such a short time! I agree with you, though. When I was at home, nothing could beat the sound of the turntable and my Kenwood receiver or my Fisher X-101-C amp. Good times!
@@xraytonyb Tony, maybe my rant was mistakable. My concern was not against compact cassettes per se. I used them a lot in my cars back in the day. Of course I also had a Walkman. I just don'f see any sense in making HiFi recorders. As you learned in this series, maintainance of these units is not for the faint at heart. And besides, in a car, you cannot hear the difference if the recording was done on a 100$ unit or on a 750$ unit.
With all that being true, the real question is WHY are they becoming so popular AGAIN in 2021? I have a collection of vintage decks, reel to reel and cassette, including the CT-F1250, CT-F900, and a Nakamichi Dragon. Even the best compress the high frequencies. BTW I did like the prerecorded cassette version of Led Zeppelin II better than the LP because they cut back the bass on the album to prevent skipping on the drum solo last track of side 2. Probably 90% of prerecorded cassettes were not hifi sounding at all. We always made recordings on a good high end deck off of LP for mobile devices back in the day, but I don't get the resurgence myself.
Very informative alignment video Tony! For those old enough to remember the service areas in your local stereo stores growing up, this is a refresher on the top shelf skill sets these men and women had and used on a daily basis to repair and make this equipment right. It's amazing what we took for granted or just filed away as "magic" to make these tape decks do the right thing the right way. Thanks for the video Tony; looking forward to the next one.
So good to see this classic back and running better than new. I was a kid when this was made. Just out of High School. I had too many Cassette Decks, just never one of these. These have gone sky high fully restored and ready to go.
Awesome Tony! Extremely informative.
More cassette deck refurbishments please Tony. I enjoy watching your excellent videos.
Persistance can be mundane, but it helps with the carry on of the detail. Another good session with no left turns. Thanks for the look.
Super, Greetings from Poland.
Hai fatto un bel lavoro su un registratore leggendario
Really enjoying these Tony, thankyou. I am however beginning to feel I may have bitten off more than I can chew with my Nakamichi Dr-1 refurb...Despite your calm and logical demeaner in these videos I do feel a little overwhelmed with the prospect of aligning and calibration!
Aligning a tape deck is no easy feat. You'll need a lot of specialized tools to do a complete makeover. Besides necessary spare parts, you'll need test cassettes, alignment tools for tape path and head geometry, a proper oscilloscope and even gauges for torque and parameters like pinch roller pressure. I reckon it is cheaper to send in a deck to a specialist unless you plan on restoring/repairing a bunch of them.
@@svenschwingel8632 And those "good" test cassettes cost about $75 each. I have 3 different test tapes from e-bay and the 3kHz signal varies from each up to 15Hz
and the wow and flutter on 2 of them goes from 3000 to 3008!!!! soo proceed with caution... they will get you close not exact.
@@426hemicuda1090 there is a guy named Alex Nikitin who has a company called A.N.T. Audio. He sells test tapes that he creates himself which are very close to what you can get from Gennlabs at a decent price with internatiinal shipping. You might want to google his site and check it out ...
@@svenschwingel8632 Thank you!!!
"Shut off the line input volume to "0" and raise the input of the line terminals" means turn the volume all the way down and then turn it back up to whatever. Basically what you did.
Perfect !...cheers.
Did the test tape 333hz 0db tone verify the 0db reading on the meter after adjustments?
I noticed that this deck is calibrated using the 160 nWb/m flux density which is quite modest compared to many other later decks which commonly used the 250 nWb/m setting.
The difference is almost 4db.
This means that recordings made on this deck will show up -4db down on some later decks.
The recorded output level should mirror the VU meter reading as set for recording, but as you mentioned, tapes vary and their sensitivity could affect this tracking.
I would certainly make my own recording at 333hz 0db to see how closely the output level shows on playback.
A record/ playback frequency response test by sweep or spot frequencies would be good at -20db.
Yes, 0dB with this deck is for 160 nWb/m. Dolby reference is usually around 200 nWb/m and modern decks have indeed a 250 nWb/m scale. It's important to know so you can level recordings appropriately.
The whole concept of these test cassettes has been a real learning experience for me. Although there are standards out there for compact cassette recording and playback, I'm finding out that the specific tape for aligning a specific tape deck can be anything BUT standard! Later on in the alignment procedure, there is a section for aligning the record/playback frequency response. I think it will address some of this things you mention. I can't believe how many steps there are to aligning this thing! The only thing that was harder than this was the alignment of the HP audio spectrum analyzer. Thanks for the info and for the comment!
My level calibration tape made by TDK, TA-01 LEVEL, is full track and states: freq 315Hz. level -4db, reference level: 0dB(250pWb/mm at 333Hz). This is what I have been using to calibrate 0dB on the VU output meters for years. Does all that translate to 160 nW/m?
@@zulumax1 it should. 160 should be around -4 if the standard is 250 at 0.
But there are formulae around to recalculate if you want to be sure.
is this why my Recorded tape Played on a different Deck are very low output even w the output turned all the way up?
Hi tony, simple question where do you connect the OScope to?? is it directly to the outputs on the deck??
Nice I have to fix mine I will send it to fix soon it just stop working maybe new belt n lubricant those motor it just don't want to play oh rewind oh forward it use to sound nice n clear n classic is worth fixing a tape deck like that one you got good 70s hight end tape deck n look beautiful too
Hi Tony, great vids. My problem living in Africa, cannot get test tapes, can you do a vid on one making one's own basic test tapes, for Playback and rec gain, and bias setup. The trick is getting the test tapes to the correct mV or dB level on the tape when recording. I have a good direct drive machine to make decent test signal recordings but setting db is tricky. I use a signal gen and have a pico scope which also has a sig gen output. Thks Tony, hope the CT scanners arent keeping you too busy. Im repairing linacs now...
I believe the SM's 1.12V voltage setting for the playback is wrong, it should be 710mV. If you playback the 333Hz 160nWb/m tape with the decks output at the click-stop the decks meters should be at 0db. The test tape playback a +5db on my deck, it plays back at 0db at 710mV . I did some searching and Gennlabs (who makes the cal. tapes) confirmed this. Check it out let us know what you get on the test tape playback.
I here that but will it mess up the rest of the adjustments? Will it increase the Volume of the recorded Tape? After making a Tape and than Play the tape in Different deck Its Very low Playback Volume and the volume Output is turned all the way up? I need to fix this.
hey Tony, for the level and balance adjustments you did at the start, I wonder if it would work to use one of those tape head jack adapters and inject a stereo signal of the necessary frequency.
I've had emails, messages and comments about this. The short answer is that it won't work, but the reasons why are very interesting. I will begin the next video with a comment about these adapter cassettes. I have one, so I'll get it out and we'll do some tests. ;)
@@xraytonyb Awesome! I've always wondered about that, but never tried it myself. Would definitely make for great video content.
I have been frustrated with old Pioneer service manuals (CT-F6262 , CT-F7272). There seems to be some mistakes or else some things got lost in the translation from Japanese to English.
Also the CT-F950
TDK D was historically close to IEC zero sensitivity through its many versions at 315-400Hz so it will not throw you off by much on Dolby level REC Cal. Its curve is bit treblier than IEC. BASF Ferro used to be bang on for IEC sensitivity and HF curve also.
To be honest, you can calibrate the internals to almost any tape you want since the 1250 has an external 3-point calibration that will allow you to max out even really exotic formulations. Just don't use pure chromes for internal Type II calibration on a japanese deck - go for the cobalt-doped instead. Like the TDK SA or Maxell XL-II.
@@svenschwingel8632 You can, but you should also establish zero sensitivity is zero indeed on the external dial. Else its confusing and you shorten its useful compensation range. Which is usually only +/-3dB to start with.
Pure Chrome developed a problem, many sealed NOS samples having lost much sensitivity. Deterioration in decades of storage. Cobalt doped formulations on the other hand still behaving in spec mostly.
@@somebodyx the pure Chromes were very different even when brand new. And since they were made almost exclusively by BASF, you'll find a lot of european decks like Revox, Dual and the likes with a factory calibration for pure Chrome instead of Ferricobalt. The problem with deterioration over age is also well-known among tapeheads and I have experienced that myself with a batch of beautiful NOS 1989 BASF Chrome Maxima II. But you are right: if you calibrate the deck's internals to something close to IEC reference tape, you will have that +/- range for external calibration. Then again: if you only use one tye of cassette (like I did back in the day with the mighty TDK SA-X), you might just as well use the internal calibration for that. It's pretty easy to set up on a 3-header anyway 🤷🏼♂️
@@svenschwingel8632 Hi, I don't have a fixed alignment European deck in my collection. But I have an autocal Revox B215 that I fully restored. It additionally offers a duplication industry style 120uS type II Rec mode for exploiting type II tapes better. Other than that its autocal system isn't set too different for base bias between German and Japanese type II formulations. Judging from the service manual's dB chart for BASF SONY TDK using a plug-in bias adjuster. There is only 1dB check point difference between them. I have that adjuster module and I aligned the deck with it. The autocal sets chrome or cobalt with same ease.
Before that, I traced and repaired an issue in its serial to parallel data bus area that wouldn't kick start the bias oscillator. After replacing almost a hundred ageing Frako & Philips caps with Nichicon UFG & UKZ the sound quality went up to a very satisfying level. So much so that I stayed away from modifying the op-amps and CMOS switches types for now. Azimuth and speed are very steady. Compatibility is very good across commercial and home made tapes especially after little tweaking with the M-300 gauge. W&F was initially bad but after fitting new factory sourced pinch rollers gives 0.025% RMS steady on WFGUI with an ANT speed tape for the test.
Excelente video Tony, bastante parecido a los ajustes de mi CT-F950.
I have a 1250 and a 900 which is the same as the 950 less metal tape capability. I think the 900 has automatic sensing for chrome tape which the 950 does not have, as I recall.
@@zulumax1 El 950, tiene para cinta de Metal.
Se puede decir que son idénticos, pero el 950 tiene un selector de cinta, donde eliges entre STD, CrO2, Fe-Cr y Metal mientras que en el 900 solo tienes para elegir entre STD y Fe-Cr, ahora no se, si el CrO2 es automatico.
@@zambrano966 CrO2 automatic sensing. The switch does not matter.
@@zambrano966 Since they don't make FeCrO2 tape, just leave the switch in STD and the machine will sense tape type.
Hi tony when you use to separate test meters together , do you ever find that they read different to each other . I know when I was working as an electrician we would send our test equipment off to be recalibrated, yet when we tested them against a known sources they would still always read slightly differently from each other . I just wounded if this can be an issue in your field of work . When working with 230/ 400 v a bit of discrepancy is neither here or there, but with your minute amusements could this be a problem ? Best wishes and kind regards as always. 😀👍👍👍
The nice thing with the Keithley 2015 (and the non-audio 2000 meter) is the switching between front and rear jacks can be used to switch between left and right channels therefore eliminating calibration differences between instruments.
I'm lucky enough to have both a 2000 and 2015, the 2015 likely came from the same batch as Tony and many of the other electronics youtubers have. The 2000 I bought as faulty and repaired.
Both went for calibration at the same time but there are still differences.
Are you going to check or replace any of the electrolytics? I had several bad ones on the motor controller servo board on both my Pioneer RT-701 and RT-702. Those do produce much more heat than the CT-F1250 however. I have a museum quality CT-F1250 that will need work as well as a CT-F900. Been watching this series closely, great job!
All the electrolytics on the motor board were replaced. The audio path caps were replaced on the mother board, even though they tested good. I did not replace the others, as they were all testing good. Thanks for the comment!
I am really enjoying this series! :) as I am currently aligning an Aiwa AD-F810 3 head and a same year Kenwood. I have found that the tape speed adjust in both deck's motors is soo sensitive. I can not get closer than .5% at 3kHz.
Yeah, I recently fixed some of my tape players and decks and the pots in the back of the motors are really hard to adjust.
@@michaelweser2553 I was thinking of turning the motor pot up and putting a 10 turn pot inline with the motor wires and adjusting it there. Am I being too picky????
@@426hemicuda1090 I don't think that this would work. Inside the motor is a circuit which controls the speed and makes shure, that it stayes stable within a range of load (tourqe). You can't just put a resistor in series with the motor. You'd have to replace the pot inside the motor with a 10 turn one.
@@michaelweser2553 Thanks... I'll just settle for 3010Hz then hehe
The speed control pot develops oxidation. I turn the pot up and down many times just through the target range with the power off. This usually makes them less touchy in most cases. I had one in my Panasonic RX-5250 boom box that would keep drifting off speed, so I gave it a very small shot of deoxit cleaner, been rock solid on speed for a year now. Just checked it the other day and it was 3003 on a 3000Hz test tape.
Hi Tony! You mentioned in one of your vids that you have an extra machine just like this one that you use for spare parts. I’m asking cause I am on the hunt for a tiny but vital part that I need for my own restauration, namely the tape guide RNK-348. It is attached to the left pinch roller but for some reason it is missing from my machine. I am really desperate, without the tape guide, the machine spits and eats tape.
I guess my question is, do you have this tiny piece of plastic? And if so, would you sell it?
Love your videos. Truly top of the line. Some of them, I’ve watched twice.
Greetings, Toby from Sweden
It is a complete unit. I didn't have to "borrow" the head from it. Someday, I will get it cleaned up as well.
Interesting to watch, but way out my depth. I can follow the units Hz, db, mV....
Like watching a artist paint, I know what oil paints and brushes are, but....
Thanks for sharing.
Can't believe the manufacturer would go through all this before boxing up! Would they have a quicker more cost effective way?
This would be someone's job all day every day so they would have an optimised bench setup and not need to refer to the instructions for each step.
It's also likely that different parts of the alignment were carried out by different people on a production line basis.
But as you can see, that's still a cost and as with record decks, mechanical precision and correct alignment are vital for good performance.
You can see why cheap decks are disappointing.
@@simonparkinson1053 I just retired a year ago from electronics fabrication and manufacturing. One person would probably specialize in only some of the calibration, then it goes down the assembly line to the next station. When you are doing the same adjustments every day you can do it in your sleep, you get really fast at it. There would also be quality inspection checks and verifications along the way. Dr. Demming taught the Japanese statistical process control and manufacturing techniques after WWII.
Both of your meters will drag down the voltage reading, I have a HP 410B meter that I use.
Do you mean by operating both at the same time?
Really?
The input impedance of those meters, which in the case of the 2015 is in the Gigohms, will make no difference.
Tony had the outputs terminated into 51K resistors - within the range the alignment procedure specified.
The bulk of the cost of the original manufactured deck must have been the calibration and set up. I do wonder how well it was done as time went on....
A retired former professional repairman I know told me that especially Sony was very lax with their alignments, even with their top of the line ES components. In his opinion, Sony was constantly wasting 25% of their deck's actual capabilities.
Even if you took a tape deck into a shop to have it "calibrated" the results would sometimes be worse than before it was messed with. I can usually tell by using a deck weather it is out of calibration and needs to be aligned. As a collector I keep a set of calibration tapes just to check out and see if it needs alignment without taking the covers off.
Maybe have it all in one video condensed instead of multiple parts.
I wonder if you could reliably use one of those "car audio cassette" to 3.5 TRS adapters to inject a signal of indefinite time length instead of having to rewind an actual cassette tape.
I wondered that also..
For general fault finding, yes of course - but not for an alignment.
The tape itself is a calibrated reference signal source.
For example you can download and burn a test CD, but you could not record your own reference signal cassette unless you had a deck which fully complied with the standards and put the exact magnetic flux on the tape for each frequency.
That's why test tapes are expensive.
@@simonparkinson1053 thank you!
The test tapes are calibrated for level based on magnetic field strength energy on the tape measured in units called nano webers per meter, or nWb/m. It would be hard to know what the magnetic field strength of the adapter output would be, and it would not be consistent across a wide band of frequencies, eq. comes into play. The gap between the two devices would also be hard to maintain as a tape would be.
And this is why I stream music now 😂
I always see the debate whether analog or digital sounds best. That is a personal preference. However for analog for analog to sound its best everything has to be just right. Also if you take the time to restore a deck, use and enjoy it. Rubber parts deteriorate from the day they were made. At least give your machine a run thru once a month or so. Belts sitting in 1 spot too long can get an elliptical shape which may or may not work out
I must admit that the cassette deck series is boring me.
I lived through the rise and fall of compact cassettes, and I never understood WHY somebody could think about making compact cassettes a HiFi item!
These cassettes are not high quality by nature, and tweaking them to record (and play back!!!) the HiFi frequency range was basically a wasted effort.
Really, who was ever preferring a cassette over a LP?
Just my two cents :-)
Not too sure anyone prefers a cassette over an LP, it is sort of like the cat person vs the dog person argument. Cats or dogs? Yes. They are different animals kept for different reasons. The point is people needed a compact medium that could record and play back music from other mediums that was portable and most importantly could be played in a car. Apples and oranges to an LP or even reel to reel. That said, people also wanted the best equipment they could get for that medium, it is part of the hi-fi system. Maybe a wasted effort in YOUR mind, but for people of my generation it was really the only choice for portable music. You would record the LP or even FM stereo and play the tape back in the car or on the Walkman.
I used to think the same way. Back when cassettes where in their hey-day, I was a teenager and didn't have access to high end tape decks. By the time I could afford a high end deck, CDRs were all the rage and tape had become obsolte. But all these videos on youtube about tape made me curious of how good tape could really be. So I bought a broken 3 head deck, repaired and adjusted it. The test tape cost more than the tape deck! I learned a lot of stuff I wish I had known like 25-30 years ago.
I also learned that tapes can sound really good when properly recorded. And the amazing thing is that even my walkman from all those years past had excellent quality. It never sounded this good as I wasn't able to make such good recordings as I can now make.
So I started to make mixtapes again, listening to them on my walkman when I'm out and I enjoy using cassette tape more than ever before.
Before CD and MP3, this was the only practical way to play your music in the car or on the go, with your portable device. It was also the only practical way to make your own recordings inexpensively. It just shows how far we've come in such a short time! I agree with you, though. When I was at home, nothing could beat the sound of the turntable and my Kenwood receiver or my Fisher X-101-C amp. Good times!
@@xraytonyb Tony, maybe my rant was mistakable.
My concern was not against compact cassettes per se. I used them a lot in my cars back in the day.
Of course I also had a Walkman.
I just don'f see any sense in making HiFi recorders.
As you learned in this series, maintainance of these units is not for the faint at heart.
And besides, in a car, you cannot hear the difference if the recording was done on a 100$ unit or on a 750$ unit.
With all that being true, the real question is WHY are they becoming so popular AGAIN in 2021?
I have a collection of vintage decks, reel to reel and cassette, including the CT-F1250, CT-F900, and a Nakamichi Dragon. Even the best compress the high frequencies. BTW I did like the prerecorded cassette version of Led Zeppelin II better than the LP because they cut back the bass on the album to prevent skipping on the drum solo last track of side 2. Probably 90% of prerecorded cassettes were not hifi sounding at all. We always made recordings on a good high end deck off of LP for mobile devices back in the day, but I don't get the resurgence myself.