04-04-2020, 06:46 PM
After a long walk this morning, today I have completed the repairs on the tape recorder, the one outstanding problem was traced to a poor contact on the record/playback switch. Aparently the input to the first stage amplifier from the tape head shoud be shorted to ground in the record position, it isnt usedas the mic input goes to the second stage when the mic is inserted into the jack socket. What was happening was that if no input jack was connected then the amplifier would oscilate at high frequency and motoboat too. I had changed and padded out most of the capacitors before finding the real problem being that the input wasnt being shorted, an application of electrolube and a tweak to the switch contacts has cured it so I removed the padding capacitors and put the screws back.
Then it was time to look through my collection of old tapes, most are from my old Sony stereo '80s recorder which I dont have any more, some play ok if there is nothing on the other side of the tape. One in particular of some jazz music recorded off the radio in about 1990 plays very well. I have the output connected to the KT66 valve amplifier and lowther horn LS. Most interesting was a small tape I found when clearing out the house of my Father in law after he passed. It was recoded in a local church and featured him singing in a choir back in 1960. I played it to Jenny, my wife who also sings and she joined in with the excepts from Handles mesiah. It was probably recorded before she was born - how vintage is that.
Stay safe, David.
Then it was time to look through my collection of old tapes, most are from my old Sony stereo '80s recorder which I dont have any more, some play ok if there is nothing on the other side of the tape. One in particular of some jazz music recorded off the radio in about 1990 plays very well. I have the output connected to the KT66 valve amplifier and lowther horn LS. Most interesting was a small tape I found when clearing out the house of my Father in law after he passed. It was recoded in a local church and featured him singing in a choir back in 1960. I played it to Jenny, my wife who also sings and she joined in with the excepts from Handles mesiah. It was probably recorded before she was born - how vintage is that.
Stay safe, David.
