Loved the reel to reel recorders, played with one for hours and hours when I was a child. Brilliant fun, then when I was older, played music at a slower speed, played for hours, days without changing the tape, lower quality of course, but I was busy doing something else anyway.
Great video, I’ve just ordered new belts for my 3000x, they don’t look too problematic to replace. I think I will need to order a new rubber tyre for the pinch wheel too.
@@g4nsj Belts changed but turntables rotating in opposite directions. Supply reel clockwise, take up reel anti clockwise. Looks of fragments of dried cork found inside top cover. I noticed it does need a new pinch wheel tyre as the old one in crazed and hardened. All too much for my patience/skill set so I’m afraid I’ll have to admit defeat and sell it on, pity really as it was working well until Sunday (if a little noisy)
Hi Ray, thanks for sharing this interesting video. My dad used to prefer reel to reel tape recorders, though over the years, they became unusable. Thanks to a friend, I was able to record the old recordings all to cassette tape, as the tapes were literally on their last legs. My dad to save money, used to record over his tapes several times, which later caused them to become very work and brittle. Fortunately, I was able to save at least the last recordings intact and later we wiped the material from the original tapes before disposing of them. The cassette copies actually play quite well. Obtaining replacement parts for tape recorders, including cassette recorders is becoming very difficult, with the later radio cassette recorders being the hardest. I had two Panasonic radio cassette recorders in that situation and ended up donating them to our local repair shop for spare parts. I still have other tape recorders that play and record okay. Anyway, take care and all the best. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
Nice of you to play a short blast of the Tony Blackburn show, which I suspect was from the mid to late 70s. Those were the magic days of pop radio and far more entertaining than today's rubbish. Loved the reel to reels Ray and my 70s Akai was great and lasted many years.
I recently got my hands on a Tandberg 3600XD and replaced the brake pads much like you did along with replacing all rubber parts akin to your solutions. The only issue remaining is a fuse that keeps burning out due to shorting somewhere, so I’ll have to look into where the electronics are shorting out. Really great video, really helped me to get going with fixing the mechanical bits on the deck
I'm glad you found the video useful. I still haven't finished working on my Tandberg. The rewind doesn't work properly but I will get there, in the end. Cheers, Ray.
Good idea with the square section belt on the idler…I have somewhere a Sony R to R to finish which has noisy idlers I’ll give that a try, as for these capacitors most of the old ones are still better than some of the modern ones today even after 50yrs.
Hi Peter, the square section belt certainly does the job. I think you're right about the caps. I think I'll leave the original one in place. Cheers, Ray.
Hello from Australia! Thank you for your fantastic and very informative video. I also have a Tandberg 3000X R to R tape deck that needs some work done to restore it to its former glory. My unit had a pinch roller with a flat spot, and I sent it to the guy in the US caIled Terry who has a business called "Terry's Rubber Rollers". After 5 weeks, I got back in mint condition, with the tape now running through smoother than it ever had before, with no hiccups or dropouts while playing. I believe Terry shaves a small amount of rubber off a rubber wheel while it is rotating in a machine. Here are a couple of questions:- (1) Wouldn't increasing the diameter of the Idler wheel by adding a rubber tyre as you have done, change the speed of the copper flywheel and capstan and therefore change the tape speed, even slightly? (2) This model Tandberg has three small 24V 1W (42 mA) MES bulbs - one for each of the left & right VU meters, and one at the rev. counter to indicate that the machine is ON While the 2 meter bulbs are OK, his latter one does not work, and needs replacing, but I can't work out how to get at it. I thought I might be able to take out the counter or the ON/Off switch but have also drawn a blank with this. Can you or anyone else advise me about access to the ON/OFF bulb to replace it? ( I really don't want to disassemble too much of the mechanics in the area).
I'm glad you go the pinch wheel worted out. The diameter of the idler wheel doesn't affect the speed of the flywheel. The same with a record deck idler wheel, it doesn't alter the speed of the turntable. I'm afraid I can't help with the replacing the bulb, that's something I've never had to do. Hopefully, someone on here can help? Cheers, Ray.
Thanks for your reply. I looked again at the question of the flywheel speed, and using a little Algebra, concluded that you are quite right. Its speed is not determined by the diameter of the idler wheel. If we say that the diameter of the motor pulley is M and the diameter of the idler wheel is I, then the ratio of motor speed to idler speed is M:I or M/I. Similarly, if the diameter of the flywheel is F, then the ratio of idler wheel speed to flywheel speed is I:F or I/F. To get the ratio of motor speed to flywheel speed, we just need to multiply the 2 fractions together, i.e. M/I x I/F. The two "Is" (representing Idler wheel diameter) cancel out, giving us a ratio of motor pulley speed to flywheel speed that is the same, no matter what the idler wheel diameter is. In your case, putting a tyre on the idler wheel makes it run slightly slower because its diameter is greater, but this is exactly compensated for by a different ratio of idler wheel diameter to flywheel diameter. I finally managed to get access to the bulb holder for the ON/OFF light. With the machine upright, once the holder was off its mounting bracket, it needed to be pulled UP (away from the counter), not to the right as I was trying to do. There was just enough wire soldered to the bracket to allow it to come out sufficiently for the changing of the bulb. Also appreciated the information on your video about the 4 washers on the pinch roller shaft. I had a look at mine, and there are none. I also checked on the 3000X manual, and they are there on an exploded view of the pinch roller. They all have the same inner & outer diameters, but 2 are 0.3mm thick, and 2 are 0.5mm thick. I hope to soon get in touch with a Tandberg guy in Norway called "Lasse Hovde" to see if I can get new or used replacement washers, some spare 24V 1W MES bulbs, and L & R reel tables with good cork clutches. Then I think I'll have to do some clutch and brake adjustments. With that, I will close. Thanks again. Rod Peeler (rpeeler@vtown.com.au)
Oh Ray, the memories of marking tape with a grease pencil and cutting with a razor blade. Degauss those blades first or you'll get a nice "click" on the tape splice. Good times making those disco remixes that went on for 30 minutes from one track on the 12" disk. 👍
Hello ray ...I've got a tandberg 3500x the rewind and the fast forward are not functioning I thought it may be the belt ..but looking at your video I suspect it's the cork cluthes can u advise me how to remove the turntables to replace them ..I meant to mention there's a lot of what looks like cork debris under the turntables
Hi Ray, yes, the price of leader tape, on Ebay, is absolutely ridiculous. Fortunately, I bought some old NAB reels, off Ebay, and one reel contained a long run of leader tape.
Interesting vid mate,thanks. What's the format of this machine please? 2 tracks in each direction or 2 tracks in one ( full width of the tape and can't be turned over)?
Some strange looking square/rectangular resistors on one of the boards. Were these normal for that era? I've not seen those before. Maybe I'm too young.....
Hello. Lots of ideasyou have givrn me. I was given two of these, both in reasonable playable condition but within minutes of turning them on and them actually playing correctly wisps of acrid smoke started coming from the base of it. Shortly after the motor slowed down and stopped It seems to come from the transfomer area on which is a big component next to the fuse. Any idea why both of them caused this to emit smoke and then stop working?
Thanks Ray, great video. Please do make another one when its complete, absolutely brilliant piece of history.
Yes, I will make a follow up video. Glad you liked it. Cheers, Ray.
Loved the reel to reel recorders, played with one for hours and hours when I was a child. Brilliant fun, then when I was older, played music at a slower speed, played for hours, days without changing the tape, lower quality of course, but I was busy doing something else anyway.
I used to play with my dad's reel to reel in the late 50s. As you say, great fun!
Great video, I’ve just ordered new belts for my 3000x, they don’t look too problematic to replace. I think I will need to order a new rubber tyre for the pinch wheel too.
It's a great machine. Good luck with the project.
@@g4nsj Belts changed but turntables rotating in opposite directions. Supply reel clockwise, take up reel anti clockwise. Looks of fragments of dried cork found inside top cover. I noticed it does need a new pinch wheel tyre as the old one in crazed and hardened. All too much for my patience/skill set so I’m afraid I’ll have to admit defeat and sell it on, pity really as it was working well until Sunday (if a little noisy)
@@crawfiecam I'm sure it will sell easily. You're rigjht, let someone else have the worry.
Hi Ray, thanks for sharing this interesting video. My dad used to prefer reel to reel tape recorders, though over the years, they became unusable. Thanks to a friend, I was able to record the old recordings all to cassette tape, as the tapes were literally on their last legs. My dad to save money, used to record over his tapes several times, which later caused them to become very work and brittle. Fortunately, I was able to save at least the last recordings intact and later we wiped the material from the original tapes before disposing of them. The cassette copies actually play quite well. Obtaining replacement parts for tape recorders, including cassette recorders is becoming very difficult, with the later radio cassette recorders being the hardest. I had two Panasonic radio cassette recorders in that situation and ended up donating them to our local repair shop for spare parts. I still have other tape recorders that play and record okay. Anyway, take care and all the best. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
I love the old reel to reel machines. Some of the tapes I have are 50 years old bd they do suffer from a little drop out.
Nice of you to play a short blast of the Tony Blackburn show, which I suspect was from the mid to late 70s. Those were the magic days of pop radio and far more entertaining than today's rubbish. Loved the reel to reels Ray and my 70s Akai was great and lasted many years.
Those shows had a character of their own.
A lot of stations these days appear to follow the same format.
I have a few recordings on Tony Blackburn from the good old days. Love to listen to them again and again.
I recently got my hands on a Tandberg 3600XD and replaced the brake pads much like you did along with replacing all rubber parts akin to your solutions. The only issue remaining is a fuse that keeps burning out due to shorting somewhere, so I’ll have to look into where the electronics are shorting out. Really great video, really helped me to get going with fixing the mechanical bits on the deck
I'm glad you found the video useful. I still haven't finished working on my Tandberg. The rewind doesn't work properly but I will get there, in the end. Cheers, Ray.
Great project. Good luck with the repairs.
Thanks!
Lovely job, Ray. Tape machines have played a big part in my life. Funny to think Big Data and the 'Cloud' still rely heavily on tape, isn't ??
They are great machines. You’re right about big data. Some things never change.
Good idea with the square section belt on the idler…I have somewhere a Sony R to R to finish which has noisy idlers I’ll give that a try, as for these capacitors most of the old ones are still better than some of the modern ones today even after 50yrs.
Hi Peter, the square section belt certainly does the job. I think you're right about the caps. I think I'll leave the original one in place. Cheers, Ray.
Hello from Australia! Thank you for your fantastic and very informative video. I also have a Tandberg 3000X R to R tape deck that needs some work done to restore it to its former glory. My unit had a pinch roller with a flat spot, and I sent it to the guy in the US caIled Terry who has a business called "Terry's Rubber Rollers". After 5 weeks, I got back in mint condition, with the tape now running through smoother than it ever had before, with no hiccups or dropouts while playing. I believe Terry shaves a small amount of rubber off a rubber wheel while it is rotating in a machine.
Here are a couple of questions:-
(1) Wouldn't increasing the diameter of the Idler wheel by adding a rubber tyre as you have done, change the speed of the copper flywheel and capstan and therefore change the tape speed, even slightly?
(2) This model Tandberg has three small 24V 1W (42 mA) MES bulbs - one for each of the left & right VU meters, and one at the rev. counter to indicate that the machine is ON While the 2 meter bulbs are OK, his latter one does not work, and needs replacing, but I can't work out how to get at it. I thought I might be able to take out the counter or the ON/Off switch but have also drawn a blank with this. Can you or anyone else advise me about access to the ON/OFF bulb to replace it? ( I really don't want to disassemble too much of the mechanics in the area).
I'm glad you go the pinch wheel worted out. The diameter of the idler wheel doesn't affect the speed of the flywheel. The same with a record deck idler wheel, it doesn't alter the speed of the turntable. I'm afraid I can't help with the replacing the bulb, that's something I've never had to do. Hopefully, someone on here can help? Cheers, Ray.
Thanks for your reply. I looked again at the question of the flywheel speed, and using a little Algebra, concluded that you are quite right. Its speed is not determined by the diameter of the idler wheel. If we say that the diameter of the motor pulley is M and the diameter of the idler wheel is I, then the ratio of motor speed to idler speed is M:I or M/I. Similarly, if the diameter of the flywheel is F, then the ratio of idler wheel speed to flywheel speed is I:F or I/F. To get the ratio of motor speed to flywheel speed, we just need to multiply the 2 fractions together, i.e. M/I x I/F. The two "Is" (representing Idler wheel diameter) cancel out, giving us a ratio of motor pulley speed to flywheel speed that is the same, no matter what the idler wheel diameter is. In your case, putting a tyre on the idler wheel makes it run slightly slower because its diameter is greater, but this is exactly compensated for by a different ratio of idler wheel diameter to flywheel diameter.
I finally managed to get access to the bulb holder for the ON/OFF light. With the machine upright, once the holder was off its mounting bracket, it needed to be pulled UP (away from the counter), not to the right as I was trying to do. There was just enough wire soldered to the bracket to allow it to come out sufficiently for the changing of the bulb.
Also appreciated the information on your video about the 4 washers on the pinch roller shaft. I had a look at mine, and there are none. I also checked on the 3000X manual, and they are there on an exploded view of the pinch roller. They all have the same inner & outer diameters, but 2 are 0.3mm thick, and 2 are 0.5mm thick. I hope to soon get in touch with a Tandberg guy in Norway called "Lasse Hovde" to see if I can get new or used replacement washers, some spare 24V 1W MES bulbs, and L & R reel tables with good cork clutches. Then I think I'll have to do some clutch and brake adjustments.
With that, I will close. Thanks again.
Rod Peeler
(rpeeler@vtown.com.au)
Reply to rpeeler@vtown.com.au
No file chosen
@@rodpeeler7847 Excellent news, well done!
Well done Roy - love to see another update about how you sort out the rewind Tnx Dave Shaw G4NOW
Great to hear from you Dave. Still having probs with the rewind but I'll get there. Update soon, I hope. Cheers, Ray.
Oh Ray, the memories of marking tape with a grease pencil and cutting with a razor blade. Degauss those blades first or you'll get a nice "click" on the tape splice. Good times making those disco remixes that went on for 30 minutes from one track on the 12" disk. 👍
I remember that! happy days!
Hello ray ...I've got a tandberg 3500x the rewind and the fast forward are not functioning I thought it may be the belt ..but looking at your video I suspect it's the cork cluthes can u advise me how to remove the turntables to replace them ..I meant to mention there's a lot of what looks like cork debris under the turntables
In the 70s I could only dream about owning a tape recorder of that quality de Mike G4VQH
You're right. I had a Ferguson tape recorder. It was all right but nothing like the Tandberg.
Hi G4NSJ,
Just observing the Erase/Rec/PB heads, they are quite far apart. A bit unusual.
Yes, you're right.
Hi Ray, yes, the price of leader tape, on Ebay, is absolutely ridiculous. Fortunately, I bought some old NAB reels, off Ebay, and one reel contained a long run of leader tape.
I'm glad you got a long run of leader tape. I now have quite a lot.
I've got a couple of Ferrographs in my tinkering pile. Interesting to see how you've tackled the issue with the hardened rubber idlers 👍
The Ferrograph machines were lovely. They had three decent motors in them!
Keep Them Coming Ray
@@steve732 I will ! 👍
good ol reel to reels! ive got an old sony a guy gave to me cause he didnt want it no more!
Sony were great, I had one for many years.
@@g4nsj back in the day he was a sony nut! all he ever bought was Sony because of the quality! now a days quality isnt a thing on some stuff!
@@AdamDeal-KF0PRI Too true, quality doesn't seem to matter these days. Sush a shame.
@@g4nsj it truely is!
Thanks. Interesting
Nicely done.
Thanks!
Leader tape: Yes I noticed that too a while back. 'Don't feed the greed' as I say!
Indeed!
Interesting vid mate,thanks. What's the format of this machine please? 2 tracks in each direction or 2 tracks in one ( full width of the tape and can't be turned over)?
It's stereo 2 or 4 track one direction only.
Some strange looking square/rectangular resistors on one of the boards. Were these normal for that era? I've not seen those before. Maybe I'm too young.....
I'm old and I don't remember seeing them before... I shall look into it.
Brillent, takes me back too 👍
Hello. Lots of ideasyou have givrn me.
I was given two of these, both in reasonable playable condition but within minutes of turning them on and them actually playing correctly wisps of acrid smoke started coming from the base of it.
Shortly after the motor slowed down and stopped
It seems to come from the transfomer area on which is a big component next to the fuse.
Any idea why both of them caused this to emit smoke and then stop working?
Sorry, I have no idea. It could be a short somewhere causing the transformer to overheat.
If you can’t get this to rewind, turn the tapes over. And press fast forward like we did in the personal stereo days,😂
Yes, that’s what I’ve been doing. I remember the personal stereo days! 😃👍
Looks like mullard/phillips caps
Yes, could be.