You never cease to amaze me. Working through that dense jungle of cables and switching those connectors with such confidence and getting it to work. Truly very impressive.
Awesome as always .I was remembering back at early 1990s .A couple of things I remembered that many of the machines were designed intentionally to only be worked on by that specific company. So many of the ridiculous designed components specific to be able to repair by that particular company . Like with most were being setup a built even then by computers to not be able to be fixed by hand.The best example was a neighbor bought a specific high end car and had a Right rear Drum problem. He could not fix it simply because you had to specific tool you could not by over the counter . His car setup on blocks for a year until this tool was found in Italy. He did get it fixed and used for years .But was stunned that it was so hard to get the tool.In the early 1990s this was a push by many industries to block right to repair by the average joe. It is a secret then. Now its an obvious reality today being talked about. Glad you got it fixed.Im learning more and more of what happened to many of the electronics I had.I did not have the skills or repair equipment to even fix them Nice to know I was not crazy at how they were designed to not be able to be fixed then and now you have proved they can be 🤪
Right to repair or lack of it was pushed by a big companies like Apple. They did it to protect their intellectual property. If repair parts were readily available the competition would buy those parts and reverse engineer them and make clones. Apple was the first to start this BS and then everybody else followed suit.
We went through many of these Sony home unit DAT machines at the CBC. In Vancouver we used the home units modified to record at either 48KHz or 44.1KHz via the front mode switch (under the SONY logo). It was a number of years before we started to get the pro units for DAT to DAT editing and very soon after that computer digital editing took over and we were mastering to CDR's and the home units went to many peoples homes until they died for numerous reasons. Primarily from lack of use and/or no service support. I remember that they tended to love to eat tape when they were starting to go bad. The first minute on each tape we recorded tones so that that would be what got eaten rather than the program material when loading and ejecting cartridges.
Yes DAT saw plenty of use in production. I used it to record voice over copy for dubbing in as the announcer would typically record in a booth somewhere and then I would just have the tape of the voice over script and punch it in on the video when editing. I rarely saw the talent when we farmed it out. He got a fax of the copy would lay down the copy and send the tape over. As you know tine was money and these personalities charged typically 100 per minute so we just let them read the copy a few times through and then we could pick and choose what we wanted in post.
Some of these transports can really test a persons sanity, I have one which is similar to your one (DTC-300ES) everything is aligned as per the service manual, nothing is gummed up, it plays a tape no problem, it even will let me forward and backwards cue the tape, but if I hit stop then want to fast forward for some reason the two big metal ring gears don't quite push up the sliding bar on the left hand side, if I push FFWD and quickly push up the sliding bar with a screwdriver it fast forwards or rewinds the tape, I aligned the rotary encoder and the big metal ring gears but it still doesn't work, unless there's a hidden pin switch I'm not aware of?
All of the DAT machine I've accumulated do that studder (timestamp 20:11-20:12) Do you think there's any possible way to re-make one of those tension bands? I'm still learning about this. You're the best source of information. It would be cool if you could make a video about all the components on the head mechanism and what they do or how they're supposed to operate.
This DAT machine is used for music only or Video and music? Glad you got it working again! A lot of work goes into these machines just to fix them but it's what you like to do!
The 75ES was sold in Europe as the 55ES. This was the last iteration of the 3DD mechanism in an ES machine that was any good before Sony started to do it cheap with the 57ES/59ES/60ES and their DATM100 mechanism series. If anyone asks me what Sony DAT to get, I'll always tell them to go for a 4DD ES machine - the ZA5ES is a really great-sounding choice.
@@12voltvids strange. The only machines I own that can really handle the thin DDS2 120m tapes are my 4DD machines (a PCM-2700 and two ZA5ES). Granted: DDS2 was never intended for use in DAT decks but they handle them just fine 😬 But I also own a PCM-R300 and a ZE700 which are 3DD (late iterations) and have built-in thintape recognition via an additional microswitch. These were really decent 3DD machines.
@@svenschwingel8632 the trouble with the direct drive reel tables is the inertia of the rotors. They tend to cause tape slap on High speed winding. I haven't had any problems with the thin data tapes on my 75es or da40 decks.
@@12voltvids interesting aspect about the rotors. I have yet to run into problems with these machines and I really love my 4-head 2700 for its monitoring and the smooth operation which seems to be inherent in the DATM5x 4DD series. The 3DD always operate so noisy with all their click-clack 😬
Hi Dave...I found the problem on my TRV-340E...the pinch roller was not running free. Washed it out with surgical spirit and nice running free now and not chewing on my tapes any more. Question...must I oil it a bit or leave it running dry?
The problem with oil is that it will fly out in FF or rew. Remember that 8mm keeps the pinch roller engaged for FF/rew. Running dry will wear it out faster. So yes it needs lubrication but a miniscule amount. Into the bearing. This means removing the roller and attempt to get a tiny amount of lube into the bearing.
@@12voltvids Thanks and much appreciated. Will do. Nice to have my digital8 up and running again...mostly due to your videos...totally addicted now and watch every single one. Tomorrow I can archive my last few tapes. Stay safe.
I do take in work. I get stuff shipped in all the time and locals bring me stuff on a regular basis. I just don't do this full time now and never guarantee i can fix anything as parts can be an issue. Like this one. It was given to me actually over a year ago. I didn't look at it for quite awhile as I had other stuff. When I did i found the drum motor was shot and fortunately a viewer has a chassis they donated and i was able to swap the drum and backtension band to make a working machine. Many times this is what needs to be done to repair these machines.
Try to keep these units functional. There is so much original dat material that musicians have stored away. I do lots of dat to wav transfers for many musicians. That's the main reason i keep these units all running.
Hi Dave! I have a question for you. I have a 55ES with very similar mechanism with yours. When I press AMS FF or REW (go to next or previous song) the machine successfully finds the mark and start playback but the relay does not kick in so i have no audio. I must eject the tape or press multiple times stop -> play to make it work again. Do you have any idea what is the problem? Could be electronic issue or mechanical? Thanks and great video as always!
@@12voltvids caps in head preamp already replaced... hope its not the head because that means game over... unfortunately you are very far away from me to send you the unit for repair...
@@zulumax1 playing the hundreds of existing tapes I have. Some people made their mix tapes on cassette, others used reel to reel, I used dat. These are actual mixed tapes that i DJ'ed using 2 turn tables, 2 CD players and a mix board. Other tapes are aircheck tapes recorded off c bans satellite. I have many bootleg tapes too I traded with other collectors. So any time i can get my hands on a good machine I grab it. Especially when it's free. I never have any trouble selling one when I have too many. I have 2 now i will be looking at selling. One Panasonic and a tascam da30.
Good repaired. The best system overall was MiniDisc. Philips would not end magnet tape and move on. Philips made it difficult for Sony when they tried with MiniDisc. Sony won the war!
@@12voltvids Yes I know. But other than that, minidisc is better. Towards the end of its life came HI-MD PCM which came far too late. If I remember correctly, minidisc lived longer than DAT did. Minidisc had much better editing capabilities and was much faster than DAT was. Minidisc tried in a way to replace the compact case.
You never cease to amaze me. Working through that dense jungle of cables and switching those connectors with such confidence and getting it to work. Truly very impressive.
I make it look like I know what I am doing.
That DAT loading mechanism is amazing. Such Acrobatics with that tape. Also fascinating how similar it is to VHS, in design.
Awesome as always .I was remembering back at early 1990s .A couple of things I remembered that many of the machines were designed intentionally to only be worked on by that specific company. So many of the ridiculous designed components specific to be able to repair by that particular company . Like with most were being setup a built even then by computers to not be able to be fixed by hand.The best example was a neighbor bought a specific high end car and had a Right rear Drum problem. He could not fix it simply because you had to specific tool you could not by over the counter . His car setup on blocks for a year until this tool was found in Italy. He did get it fixed and used for years .But was stunned that it was so hard to get the tool.In the early 1990s this was a push by many industries to block right to repair by the average joe. It is a secret then. Now its an obvious reality today being talked about. Glad you got it fixed.Im learning more and more of what happened to many of the
electronics I had.I did not have the skills or repair equipment to even fix them
Nice to know I was not crazy at how they were designed to not be able to be fixed then and now you have proved they can be 🤪
Right to repair or lack of it was pushed by a big companies like Apple. They did it to protect their intellectual property. If repair parts were readily available the competition would buy those parts and reverse engineer them and make clones. Apple was the first to start this BS and then everybody else followed suit.
I always found that there are far worse devices to work on than Sony DAT decks.
Pioneer "Reference Master" cassette mechanisms come to mind ... 😂
@@svenschwingel8632 ya, Panasonic DAT
@@svenschwingel8632 Panasonic G mechanism VHS VCRs.
We went through many of these Sony home unit DAT machines at the CBC. In Vancouver we used the home units modified to record at either 48KHz or 44.1KHz via the front mode switch (under the SONY logo). It was a number of years before we started to get the pro units for DAT to DAT editing and very soon after that computer digital editing took over and we were mastering to CDR's and the home units went to many peoples homes until they died for numerous reasons. Primarily from lack of use and/or no service support. I remember that they tended to love to eat tape when they were starting to go bad. The first minute on each tape we recorded tones so that that would be what got eaten rather than the program material when loading and ejecting cartridges.
Yes DAT saw plenty of use in production. I used it to record voice over copy for dubbing in as the announcer would typically record in a booth somewhere and then I would just have the tape of the voice over script and punch it in on the video when editing. I rarely saw the talent when we farmed it out. He got a fax of the copy would lay down the copy and send the tape over. As you know tine was money and these personalities charged typically 100 per minute so we just let them read the copy a few times through and then we could pick and choose what we wanted in post.
Great repair video! Thank you.
Actually a great title to the video!
As always you amaze me!!!
Some of these transports can really test a persons sanity, I have one which is similar to your one (DTC-300ES) everything is aligned as per the service manual, nothing is gummed up, it plays a tape no problem, it even will let me forward and backwards cue the tape, but if I hit stop then want to fast forward for some reason the two big metal ring gears don't quite push up the sliding bar on the left hand side, if I push FFWD and quickly push up the sliding bar with a screwdriver it fast forwards or rewinds the tape, I aligned the rotary encoder and the big metal ring gears but it still doesn't work, unless there's a hidden pin switch I'm not aware of?
Great work.
I ve learned a lot from you.
All of the DAT machine I've accumulated do that studder (timestamp 20:11-20:12) Do you think there's any possible way to re-make one of those tension bands? I'm still learning about this. You're the best source of information. It would be cool if you could make a video about all the components on the head mechanism and what they do or how they're supposed to operate.
It lives to see another DAT 👍
This DAT machine is used for music only or Video and music? Glad you got it working again! A lot of work goes into these machines just to fix them but it's what you like to do!
DAT. Digital Audio Tape.
Love my DTC-700 (rebadged 75es)! Although the best player in my collection is my tried and true DTC-1000es. A BULLETPROOF player.
And thanks to the subscriber that sent you the other deck :-D
A bit of a fight but worth your effort and time.
The 75ES was sold in Europe as the 55ES. This was the last iteration of the 3DD mechanism in an ES machine that was any good before Sony started to do it cheap with the 57ES/59ES/60ES and their DATM100 mechanism series. If anyone asks me what Sony DAT to get, I'll always tell them to go for a 4DD ES machine - the ZA5ES is a really great-sounding choice.
The 4dd had their own issues. The 3dd were actually gentler on tapes.
@@12voltvids strange. The only machines I own that can really handle the thin DDS2 120m tapes are my 4DD machines (a PCM-2700 and two ZA5ES). Granted: DDS2 was never intended for use in DAT decks but they handle them just fine 😬
But I also own a PCM-R300 and a ZE700 which are 3DD (late iterations) and have built-in thintape recognition via an additional microswitch. These were really decent 3DD machines.
@@svenschwingel8632 the trouble with the direct drive reel tables is the inertia of the rotors. They tend to cause tape slap on High speed winding.
I haven't had any problems with the thin data tapes on my 75es or da40 decks.
@@12voltvids interesting aspect about the rotors. I have yet to run into problems with these machines and I really love my 4-head 2700 for its monitoring and the smooth operation which seems to be inherent in the DATM5x 4DD series. The 3DD always operate so noisy with all their click-clack 😬
What was that last white plastic piece that was replaced for?
Always wanted a dat machine back in the day but wife wouldn't let me spend the money on one lol
Wife always doesn't want me to spend money on things. I have to keep reminding her that we can afford it. Can't take it with you.
In some of your videos you have USB socket hub with meter where did find that?
Hi Dave...I found the problem on my TRV-340E...the pinch roller was not running free. Washed it out with surgical spirit and nice running free now and not chewing on my tapes any more. Question...must I oil it a bit or leave it running dry?
The problem with oil is that it will fly out in FF or rew. Remember that 8mm keeps the pinch roller engaged for FF/rew. Running dry will wear it out faster. So yes it needs lubrication but a miniscule amount. Into the bearing. This means removing the roller and attempt to get a tiny amount of lube into the bearing.
@@12voltvids Thanks and much appreciated. Will do. Nice to have my digital8 up and running again...mostly due to your videos...totally addicted now and watch every single one.
Tomorrow I can archive my last few tapes. Stay safe.
This dude is good...man I wish he took work in...I have plenty...I have the same deck..it great when it works :-)
I do take in work. I get stuff shipped in all the time and locals bring me stuff on a regular basis. I just don't do this full time now and never guarantee i can fix anything as parts can be an issue. Like this one. It was given to me actually over a year ago. I didn't look at it for quite awhile as I had other stuff. When I did i found the drum motor was shot and fortunately a viewer has a chassis they donated and i was able to swap the drum and backtension band to make a working machine. Many times this is what needs to be done to repair these machines.
Looks like you spent a lot of time working on DATs, and all of them fixed !
Try to keep these units functional. There is so much original dat material that musicians have stored away. I do lots of dat to wav transfers for many musicians. That's the main reason i keep these units all running.
Hi Dave! I have a question for you. I have a 55ES with very similar mechanism with yours. When I press AMS FF or REW (go to next or previous song) the machine successfully finds the mark and start playback but the relay does not kick in so i have no audio. I must eject the tape or press multiple times stop -> play to make it work again. Do you have any idea what is the problem? Could be electronic issue or mechanical? Thanks and great video as always!
Error count too high likely. Could be bad heads or bad caps in the head preamp.
@@12voltvids caps in head preamp already replaced... hope its not the head because that means game over... unfortunately you are very far away from me to send you the unit for repair...
Do you repair Song Handycams? Do you have an email to contact you?
Sony **
It's DAT resurrection.
Doesn't a Dat need tape bias, recording and playback levels adjustment after replacing the head?
No. Digital. All dat tapes are metal tapes. All needed is tape path alignment. These are like a little VCR.
👍
Sir ,
Do you have a good, working Sony DAT system for sale?
No not selling at the moment. I may have a da30 to sell soon.
Ok sir
What would one use a DAT recorder for nowadays?
@@zulumax1 playing the hundreds of existing tapes I have. Some people made their mix tapes on cassette, others used reel to reel, I used dat. These are actual mixed tapes that i DJ'ed using 2 turn tables, 2 CD players and a mix board. Other tapes are aircheck tapes recorded off c bans satellite. I have many bootleg tapes too I traded with other collectors. So any time i can get my hands on a good machine I grab it. Especially when it's free. I never have any trouble selling one when I have too many. I have 2 now i will be looking at selling. One Panasonic and a tascam da30.
Excellent! Thanks!
Good repaired. The best system overall was MiniDisc. Philips would not end magnet tape and move on. Philips made it difficult for Sony when they tried with MiniDisc. Sony won the war!
Minidisk was a compressed format. More comparable to mp3 than uncompressed datnwhich had higher spec than cd.
@@12voltvids Yes I know. But other than that, minidisc is better. Towards the end of its life came HI-MD PCM which came far too late.
If I remember correctly, minidisc lived longer than DAT did.
Minidisc had much better editing capabilities and was much faster than DAT was.
Minidisc tried in a way to replace the compact case.
@@ford1546
Dat was a professional format used in every recording studio in the world. It was also heavy in film and TV production and radio.
I knew this would happen.