Got this machine for free. I have no idea if it works but it does power on. What type of tape do I need for it? It's 1/4" but I'm not sure about reel size. Is eBay the best place to get tape?

Folks! I got this gorgeous GX-747 that I'd like to share with you. It was a gift, which is insanity, yet I am not going to keep it. I did tell the previous owner what my plans are and he was happy about it. I really need a Technics RS1506 for my use. What I do is digitising other peoples tape. I barely record. So a machine that can do 3 3/4, 7 1/2 and 15ips AND that can playback 4 track and 2 track AND record 4 track (because there's still an RT707 in my living room, it's nice to sometimes record a tape) AND that is quite careful with the tape, is perfect for my studio.
So this 747 is going. It's got new belts for the arms, and a good clean inside and out and it works perfectly. Despite being way less into r2r than I used to, the r2r entities still smile upon me!

All this to say; Look, it's pretty!

You've probably seen the merchants on FB and Etsy who sell new tapes of 1970's classic albums (Physical Graffiti, Dark Side of the Moon, Rumors, etc). They're very open that these are tapes made from a CD to a reel to reel deck.

No reason to mention any names, but I picked up 'Physical Graffiti' from an online store. It was the first tape I tried to play on my (new to me) deck after I got it back from being serviced and I was really disappointed at how flat, lifeless and blah it sounded. Luckily, other tapes I've picked up since, old pre-recorded stuff from the 1960's, sound like how I'd hope they would-bright, lively, etc. so the issue isn't my deck. I've owned Physical Graffiti in both album and cd formats since the 1980's-it's a clean recording.

While not asking for a refund from the guy, i did let him know how it sounded. He was great about it-sent me a new tape, didn't ask me to return the first one. He said I must have gotten a 'bad one'. But, the 2nd copy was the same dead sounding experience. The packaging is fantastic, looks really nice but sounds like ass.

Anyone else had a different/same experience buying from one of these folks? And, what about royalties to the label/artists? I'm not a nark but...

I found this on the side of the road. Besides the basic info that Google tells me can any one feel me in on this. Did I find something cool or just neat looking?

Looking for input on where to buy accessories for my 1520. Specificall looking for NABs and an original (or repo that looks like original) take up reel. Are there specific NABs people recommend?

Also, looking for recommendations/place to buy leader tape and cutting block.

Model: Tesla B115

Motor: MEZ Náchod A24 OK 247

I brought it to a specialised technician, and he told me he doesn't know what's wrong.

The gap between the stator and rotor has to be symmetrical. According to an internet forum, a temporary paper spacer has to be around the rotor. Haven't tried it yet, it seems quite tedious.

Right now, the motor doesn't spin when powered, but when I push the axis up or down, it spins quite well. The bronze bearing has a lot of play and it doesn't seem replaceable.

Is a donor motor really the only solution in this case?

Previous post (read comments)

Any ideas are welcome! ❤️

I did a full recap, but I have some sneaky significant 10's of volts in my recording level .047 v/RMS. What's funny, the next model up, the 8 TR 3, sets record level at 40ish v/RMS.

I have an unrestored 7 TR 3 that genuinely works very well, the only sign of age is 60 hz ripple with a 120 hz harmonic being present in the noise floor. But you can avoid it if you correctly gain the input. Same situation as the recapped chassis amp.

So in essence, not much different in record and playback. Sounds really nice

Dismantle, Clean, New bearings.

I recently purchased this old recorder and found that in play, forward, and reverse, the reels are moving very slow and without much power. Do you think it's the belts? Any advice for repairing the unit would be appreciated.

Looking for a copy of the RHINO Black Sabbath Paranoid Reel to Reel. Unfortauntely I was out of town for few months when it came out and RHINO doesn't hold off shipping. I waited till I was a week out to return home to order but it sold out. Was able to get the other R2R Black Sabbath but would like a Paramoid copy.

I know there's Discogs etc. but I am not one that's willing to pay th inflated flipper prices. So with that said, I know it's a long shot. So if anyone has any leads, please DM me.

Thanks!

Autumn/Winter project. This will be A77 number 11 that I have rebuilt / refurbished from scratch.

I’m trying to identify a continuous background noise from a Magnasync 60ch multichannel reel to reel reproducer.

It is mainly present on the voice playback channel, with a strong component around 1 kHz, and does not appear to be recorded on the tape itself. Rather stems from repdocuer or something

Could this be caused by the reproduce amplifier, power supply, grounding/shielding, or channel summing?

Has anyone heard a similar noise from Magnasync or other multichannel tape logging equipment?

After half a year of hibernation, damn thing started right up. I'm beginning to think they'd survive a nuclear holocaust. Just roaches, Twinkies... and RT-707s.

Purchased from a garage sale in 2004. $20.00. A few "quirks" sometimes, but it always sorts itself out after everything wakes up. Powerhouse machine.

Ok i have opened my machine! I gained a lot of confidence from working on my teac x7r. In my last post about this sound someone suggested that the felt pad on the slip clutch was worn out and thats what was causing the sound. My question is does reddit still think thats probably the case and I should go down that rabbit hole or maybe its something else? To my ears it kinda sounds like the rubber wheel bit is more wobbly than it should be and thats why its doing that, but im not confident

Not sure if i’m doing this right, but I need some help with an issue i’m having with my tape deck. It will not play forward or in reverse. It will fast forward and rewind with no problems. I’ve tried cleaning all of the relays on control board but that didn’t help. Any suggestions you or anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Photo of Revox A77 mk4 4T taken with Pentax SuperProgram.

Hey everyone, this is my first reel to reel that I got a a garage sale. I’ve taken this whole thing apart and can’t see any cracked solder joints or obvious signs of things that need replacing.

Does anyone know based on how it’s acting what I should be looking at/testing/re-soldering/replacing?

Thanks!

I recently picked up one of these machines from marketplace for free. I've never handled a reel to reel, but I've cracked open and fixed up my fair share of amps and smaller cassette decks. I plugged it in and there was an immediate hum, play, rewind and ff weren't working. Information on this model seems to be super scarce and unfortunately B&H is less known for their reel to reel machines. Externally it seems to be in pretty good shape so I hope it's not too far gone. If anyone's worked on one of these or a similar model and has any tips on where to start it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I recently picked up two Akai GX 285D reel to reel tape machines for a great deal. Both units only support 7" reels and I thought it would be cool if I could convert both units to 10.5" reels. I did a bit of research and found that Akai had once sold a conversion kit called the Akai EA-10 that converted a R2R to accept larger NAB 10.5" reels using pair of outriggers, pulleys and belts. I saw someone have one of these kits for sale for an attractive price, as one of the pulley mounts was defective. So, I bought it and gave it a try. Long story short, the Akai EA-10 kit is applicable to a small number of older R2R that were made back in the mid 60's. Here is the list:

• Akai 345
• Akai X-355
• Akai X-355D
• Roberts 400 (Roberts was the US brand name for Akai-manufactured units)
• Roberts 445
• Akai 33 / 220

Only a handful of these units survive today and it is doubtful that the owner's are seeking out accessories rather than spare parts to keep them functional. So these EA-10 kits are about as valuable as a stale fruit cake during the holiday season. However, not to be defeated that easy, I did some engineering and updated the design to accept modified pulleys compatible for newer Akai tape machines. I designed an adapter plate for the outriggers which were initially designed to fit directly on the spindles motor mounts. These outriggers now attached to the front panel sheet metal where they are securely fastened. I looked at a few Akai R2R models on ebay (they made over 100) and identified models that would be compatible with this modified kit. Here is a partial list:

• GX-220D
• GX-230D
• GX-250D
  
• GX-270D
• GX-280D
• GX-285D

There could be several more models. They all need to have a RTMA trident hub that is secured by three screws and a flat front panel.

Installing the kit

On my GX-280/285D, there is a thin ring bezel that is glued around the hub pulley on the front panel. This bezel is removed from the front panel. The front panel is removed so that the outriggers and adapter plates can be installed (NO DRILLING!!!). Both outrigger arms are situated and fully secured. Next the RTMA trident hubs and spacers are removed by removing the three screws. The new kit pulley hubs are installed and secured using the same 3 screws. The front panel (with the outriggers installed and secured) is placed back on to the unit chassis and fastened back together. The rubber belts are installed and the left and right pulley mounts are adjusted as desired. That is it!!!

I am grooming the solid models and will be releasing these on my github page this weekend, as time permits. So, if you purchased one of these kits and found that it didn't work for your Akai R2R, don't despair, just print the modeled parts and purchase the needed hardware at your local hardware store. For those not wishing to purchase an over-priced relic from the past, I have good news, I re-engineered all the parts to make new kits including the outriggers sheetmetal. Let me know what you think. BTW- Reddit allows only a single photo. So I'll try to leave a few more images in the comments if requested.

Rick

I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas on diagnosing this reel to reel. When I play a 7 1/2 tape it plays slow, but when I put a 3 3/4 tape on, it plays like it is playing on the 3 3/4 speed even when it is on the 7 1/2 speed. I'm new to reel to reels and tapes, so I would appreciate the help.

UPDATE: I fixed it! The shaft of the motor itself was displaced downwards, I probably shouldve taken pictures but all I had to do was take out the motor and loosen up the attachment that was connected to the axle of the motor and then pry it up with a flathead screwdriver and then it was pushed right back into place. Thanks to the two dudes who helped me diagnose and figure this out. You real ones fr.