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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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Sony TC-105 Reel-to-Reel Recorder
Greetings --
This is a unit I have bought on eBay recently. It functions reasonably well almost in every sense but one: I can hear only two of four tracks. Would anyone know a reason for this? If repair is necessary, where? I live in the Washington, DC area. Thanks and regards |
#2
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JonathanM () writes: Greetings -- This is a unit I have bought on eBay recently. It functions reasonably well almost in every sense but one: I can hear only two of four tracks. Would anyone know a reason for this? If repair is necessary, where? I live in the Washington, DC area. Thanks and regards Is it supposed to play 4 tracks at a time? I thought 4-track often meant stereo, in two directions, not 4 tracks at a time. Even when 4-channel came along in the seventies, they either used a different scheme or they used encoding (depending on the 4 channel method). Michael |
#3
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"Michael Black" wrote in message ... JonathanM () writes: Greetings -- This is a unit I have bought on eBay recently. It functions reasonably well almost in every sense but one: I can hear only two of four tracks. Would anyone know a reason for this? If repair is necessary, where? I live in the Washington, DC area. Thanks and regards Is it supposed to play 4 tracks at a time? I thought 4-track often meant stereo, in two directions, not 4 tracks at a time. Even when 4-channel came along in the seventies, they either used a different scheme or they used encoding (depending on the 4 channel method). Michael Yes, 4 track means 2 channel stereo one direction and 2 channel stereo the other way. Anyway, the odds are oxidation on the record/playback switch in these old tape recorders. Switch needs cleaning. Due to being left probably unused for nearly half a century it's managed to get the contacts oxidised on the rec/play switch - and if you don't know where to find that and how to clean it take it in for repair as you are dealing with a bit of history here. Paul |
#4
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"Michael Black" wrote in message ... Is it supposed to play 4 tracks at a time? I thought 4-track often meant stereo, in two directions, not 4 tracks at a time. Even when 4-channel came along in the seventies, they either used a different scheme or they used encoding (depending on the 4 channel method). Michael Yes, 4 track means 2 channel stereo one direction and 2 channel stereo the other way. snip Paul The Sony TC-105 is a quarter track mono unit. In normal use the track selector switch (marked "TRACK EXCH") would first be set to tracks 1,4. After two passes of the tape, one in each direction, the switch is reset to tracks 3,2 and two more passes are made. In this way the tracks are recorded or played in the sequence 1, 4, 3, 2. Alan. |
#5
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Jonathan,
I used to own a TC-105, and it is a mono machine. The switch on the front will allow you to listen to the left or right channel, assuming a stereo, 1/4 track tape. So the good news is that there is nothing wrong with your tape recorder, but the bad news is it will not do what you want it to do. Regards, Tim Schwartz Bristol Electronics JonathanM wrote: Greetings -- This is a unit I have bought on eBay recently. It functions reasonably well almost in every sense but one: I can hear only two of four tracks. Would anyone know a reason for this? If repair is necessary, where? I live in the Washington, DC area. Thanks and regards |
#6
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Thanks, Tim. I am pretty sure that this machine should allow me to
listen to all four tracks. After all, they were taped originally on a similar machine in the 1970s. I have no doubt of that at all. Might there still be another reason? On Thu, 03 Feb 2005 13:25:46 GMT, Tim Schwartz wrote: Jonathan, I used to own a TC-105, and it is a mono machine. The switch on the front will allow you to listen to the left or right channel, assuming a stereo, 1/4 track tape. So the good news is that there is nothing wrong with your tape recorder, but the bad news is it will not do what you want it to do. Regards, Tim Schwartz Bristol Electronics JonathanM wrote: Greetings -- This is a unit I have bought on eBay recently. It functions reasonably well almost in every sense but one: I can hear only two of four tracks. Would anyone know a reason for this? If repair is necessary, where? I live in the Washington, DC area. Thanks and regards |
#7
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Thanks, Paul, I don't suppose, given your UK location, that you'd know
where in the USA I might be able to have it repaired or serviced responsibly, would you? On Thu, 3 Feb 2005 06:20:39 +0000 (UTC), "Paul Brooks" wrote: Yes, 4 track means 2 channel stereo one direction and 2 channel stereo the other way. Anyway, the odds are oxidation on the record/playback switch in these old tape recorders. Switch needs cleaning. Due to being left probably unused for nearly half a century it's managed to get the contacts oxidised on the rec/play switch - and if you don't know where to find that and how to clean it take it in for repair as you are dealing with a bit of history here. Paul |
#8
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JonathanM wrote in message ... Greetings -- This is a unit I have bought on eBay recently. It functions reasonably well almost in every sense but one: I can hear only two of four tracks. Would anyone know a reason for this? If repair is necessary, where? I live in the Washington, DC area. Where does it say "4 Track"? What is the age? -- N |
#9
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JonathanM wrote in message ... Thanks, Tim. I am pretty sure that this machine should allow me to listen to all four tracks. After all, they were taped originally on a similar machine in the 1970s. I have no doubt of that at all. Might there still be another reason? Looking at this picture of one here http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos...corder_web.jpg , it looks like a standard *stereo* four track tape machine. That is, it plays two tracks on one side of the tape, and two on the other. The tape you have was recorded on a 4-track multitrack recorder, which would look something like one of these - http://www.electrofix.com/teac3440.HTM and allows all four tracks to be recorded/played at the same time. |
#10
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"Harvey" wrote in message ... Looking at this picture of one here http://www.oaktreeent.com/web_photos...corder_web.jpg , it looks like a standard *stereo* four track tape machine. That is, it plays two tracks on one side of the tape, and two on the other. I sure don't remember any reel to reel recorder that let you flip the tape over (or run it backwards) for extra storage. Were there any more like this? -- N |
#11
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I sure don't remember any reel to reel recorder that let you flip the tape over (or run it backwards) for extra storage. Were there any more like this? -- N Almost all of them did. The only ones that didn'e were pro level multitracks. If you play a tape recorded on a multitrack on a standard 1/4 track machine you only will hear 2 of the tracks, and if you trun the tape over you will hear the other 2 tracks but backwards. The tc-105 is a 1/4 track machine not a multitrack. It will play only 2 of the 4 tracks at any one time. |
#12
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"Bill Renfro" wrote in message
... over you will hear the other 2 tracks but backwards. The tc-105 is a 1/4 track machine not a multitrack. It will play only 2 of the 4 tracks at any one time. Close: it's 4 track mono. You can play only ONE of the 4 tracks at a time. The "exchange" switch lets you choose which one on a given side. |
#13
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"Buck Frobisher" wrote in message ... "Bill Renfro" wrote in message ... over you will hear the other 2 tracks but backwards. The tc-105 is a 1/4 track machine not a multitrack. It will play only 2 of the 4 tracks at any one time. Close: it's 4 track mono. You can play only ONE of the 4 tracks at a time. The "exchange" switch lets you choose which one on a given side. Interesting. I fixed a lot of Sony's and others but never anything like that. -- N |
#14
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Don't think you never will get 4 simultaneous audio channels from a Sony TC-105
or '105A. They are 4-track, 2 channel machines. In 1/4 inch tape parlance this means: 4 linear tracks (with guard bands) consisting of a stereo pair for each direction. A hint about the machine's number of tracks is: How many VU meters are on the front panel? Two or Four. That's how many tracks it can record and play at the same time. Greetings -- This is a unit I have bought on eBay recently. It functions reasonably well almost in every sense but one: I can hear only two of four tracks. Would anyone know a reason for this? If repair is necessary, where? I live in the Washington, DC area. Thanks and regards webpa |
#15
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"WEBPA" wrote in message
... Don't think you never will get 4 simultaneous audio channels from a Sony TC-105 or '105A. They are 4-track, 2 channel machines. In 1/4 inch tape parlance this means: 4 linear tracks (with guard bands) consisting of a stereo pair for each direction. A hint about the machine's number of tracks is: How many VU meters are on the front panel? Two or Four. That's how many tracks it can record and play at the same time. Dude, it's a MONO machine. ONE VU meter. On each side of the tape the "track exchange" switch allows you to select which of the available tracks on that side you can play. Then you flip the tape over and have the same choice on the other side. In other words, -no- stereo playback. Or record, for that matter. -- "Stay strong. Be brave. Wait for the signs." Regards, Frank Johansen Aurora, Ontario |
#16
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"Buck Frobisher" bravely wrote to "All" (05 Feb 05 10:33:43)
--- on the heady topic of " Sony TC-105 Reel-to-Reel Recorder" BF From: "Buck Frobisher" BF Xref: aeinews sci.electronics.repair:9526 BF "WEBPA" wrote in message BF ... Don't think you never will get 4 simultaneous audio channels from a Sony TC-105 or '105A. They are 4-track, 2 channel machines. In 1/4 inch tape parlance this means: 4 linear tracks (with guard bands) consisting of a stereo pair for each direction. A hint about the machine's number of tracks is: How many VU meters are on the front panel? Two or Four. That's how many tracks it can record and play at the same time. BF Dude, it's a MONO machine. ONE VU meter. On each side of the tape BF the "track exchange" switch allows you to select which of the BF available tracks on that side you can play. Then you flip the tape BF over and have the same choice on the other side. BF In other words, -no- stereo playback. Or record, for that matter. BF -- BF "Stay strong. Be brave. Wait for the signs." BF Regards, Frank, I have a small MONO portable German made machine with track switching similar to that. It is a SABA TK125. When it was given the person said it was used by a missionary in Africa, whatever... Anyways, there is only one output tube and only one speaker but it plays back 2 tracks at a time in MONO. There is a switch to select between 1-2 or 3-4. The only odd thing is the DIN speaker socket has both speaker I and II labeled. BUT it is MONO, no doubt about it. After cleaning all the axles and relay contacts it works nicely now. It is very pre-transistor 50's looking, in modern green plastic not bakelite. A*s*i*m*o*v .... That was a fascinating period of time for electronics |
#17
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"Asimov" wrote in message ... Frank, I have a small MONO portable German made machine with track switching similar to that. It is a SABA TK125. When it was given the person said it was used by a missionary in Africa, whatever... Anyways, there is only one output tube and only one speaker but it plays back 2 tracks at a time in MONO. There is a switch to select between 1-2 or 3-4. The only odd thing is the DIN speaker socket has both speaker I and II labeled. BUT it is MONO, no doubt about it. After cleaning all the axles and relay contacts it works nicely now. It is very pre-transistor 50's looking, in modern green plastic not bakelite. I assume that 2 or 4 track heads became available and the Japanese, as is their wont, came up with odd designs to take advantage of them. -- N |
#18
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Asimov wrote: I have a small MONO portable German made machine with track switching similar to that. It is a SABA TK125. When it was given the person said it was used by a missionary in Africa, whatever... Anyways, there is only one output tube and only one speaker but it plays back 2 tracks at a time in MONO. There is a switch to select between 1-2 or 3-4. The only odd thing is the DIN speaker socket has both speaker I and II labeled. BUT it is MONO, no doubt about it. After cleaning all the axles and relay contacts it works nicely now. It is very pre-transistor 50's looking, in modern green plastic not bakelite. A*s*i*m*o*v ... That was a fascinating period of time for electronics Most 4 track mono reel to reels have a selector switch labelled 1-4, 3-2 and PAR (parallel). Position 1-4 (or 3-2), does *not* mean you hear both track 1 and 4 (or 3 and 2) together. It means that track 1 and 3 are the two tracks you use on side one, and after turning the reels over you still have 4 and 2 to use on the other direction. (On a stereo model, 1 would be left and 3 right. same for 4 and 2 on the second side). Labelling of the positions can be different depending on manufacturer (grundig for example, often used the terms 1-2 and 3-4, but in reality they meant tracks 1-4 and 3-2, same quarter track system but i think they just simplified the names a bit for the end-user) Quarter track r2r is not like cassette, there is a grerater space width between the heads: _______________ Track 4 Track 3 --Head Track 2 Track 1 --Head _______________ Unlike the stereo decks, It is not generally possible to record on both 1 and 3 at once on a mono deck as there is only one set of recording circuitry, which was coupled to either the upper or lower head depending on track selector position. However, On playback, if the switch is set to PAR, it will feed the upper and lower head signals to the head amp, and hence play both tracks 1 and 3 (or tracks 2 and 4 if we're talking about side 2 of the tape). It is thus possible to hear left and right (together!) of a stereo tape on a mono quarter track deck. Many mono decks had more than one speaker output, depending on how beefy their amps were. I have some mono tandbergs like that. Some also had a "free head output" which was an unamplfied signal from whatever head was not being fed through the deck's internal amp at the time, theoretically enabling you to connect an auxiliary second head amp (and power amp, speakers etc) and get stereo. hope some of that made sense ;-) Ben |
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