Ampex MM-1000 Story...

**evm1024** · 10-17-2009

Cory,

There is a photo that I want to see.....

And that is the photo of Mrs Sweetbeats standing next to your Ampex with a smile on her face

**sweetbeats** · 10-17-2009

Um...Right. Good point. I'd like to help you see that picture.

I'm pretty sure the odds go up of snapping that photo if I can find somebody that wants to buy my nice dead Tascam 58 with a parts deck, a host of new parts and a complete headblock...know anybody? heheh...

**sweetbeats** · 10-20-2009

Okay. Most importantly, I found somebody to take possession of the nice dead 58. Haven't suggested the photo yet to the Mrs. But, there is potential.

Plus, we have some bites on our vintage upright "cabinet grand" piano we are trying to unload for free. It needs help but has a gorgeous sound. My point? The MM-1000 takes up slightly less space and so the net volume of stuff will decrease overall. Picture here we come!!

Seriously now.

I've had little time to even look at the MM-1000 ("Massive Matilda" as I've dubbed it...), but I have spent a little time (almost literally) climbing around inside and taking a mental inventory of what's there and the condition of the different components...this is the 8-track for me. Most things are in pretty good shape, just need cleaning up. I don't see corrosion anywhere so that's good. I've learned where some of the stuff that was not mounted is supposed to be mounted (namely one of the power supplies).

Thanks to David "thinbrownline" I have an OEM power cable coming. I was going to rig up a temporary but I decided that the first thing I want to do is isolate the 3 power supplies and scope those rails to make sure they are healthy and within spec before I let them power systems. So the step prior to that is to learn how everything interconnects so I can isolate the power supplies, and prior to that is locating a manual. Really, really sketchy to dive in without a manual. So to that end I now have (thanks to a couple Ampex List members) a copy of the Ampex Training Manual on the MM-1000. It is not the complete manual but it does go over the transport components and operation, the theory of operation, much of the maintenance stuff, and it has some parts lists and drawings and schematics. 73 pages worth. Still looking for a full manual, but this will get me going.

Something I learned:

The capstan shaft is belt drive, but it uses a mylar belt...where you get replacements I have NO idea...lookit the capstan assembly; the black thing hanging down is the motor itself and the housing to which it attaches is the belt housing and the shaft housing itself. Just massive:

The upright rack I got with the $300 haul is an OEM Ampex rack (made by some other company) that matches the MM-1000 and was one of the options for holding the 8 additional electronics modules when ordering the 24-track model. So that's really cool...explains why the paint scheme matches the MM-1000 and everything. Here's a shot of an MM-1000-24 from the training manual with the optional rack...the system on the left:

And this is kind of neat...a shot of the underside of the transport also from the training manual:

**oyoyoy** · 10-21-2009

i love my ampex its has such a warm sound

**sweetbeats** · 10-21-2009

What model is it?

**cjacek** · 10-21-2009

Man, now THAT'S what I would call a proper tape recorder!! I love those huge motors n' things.

Wouldn't it be cool to someday build a proper wood cabinet for it, like in those scans? Say, Cory, is that Mylar belt still good or ...?

**sweetbeats** · 10-21-2009

Daniel, not sure I understand what wood cabinet you are talking about...?

I'll know for sure if the belt is good when I power it up. For now I know that when I spin the capstan shaft by hand it drives motor, so the belt is there and does at least that much, but the truth will be told under load and at speed.

**cjacek** · 10-21-2009

Hey Cory. You know that manual scan that you provided, figure 1-5? It looks like the MM-1000 is in a wooden console of some kind.

Also, isn't Mylar plastic? I wonder if it gets as worn over the years as rubber does or it's good for another decade or two.

**sweetbeats** · 10-21-2009

Daniel, are you talking about the machine on the left, or the machine on the right? Mine is like the one on the left, and in either case there's no wood involved (except for the side panels below waistline toward the front of the console)...its all heavy-guage steel and is the same as what my MM-1000 is presently housed.

I'll be looking closer at the belt but my guess is that it is mylar reinforced...a composite belt. Mylar does not break down like rubber. I figure they had to do that to keep the belt from stretching when the pinch roller is engaged...think about the momentary inertia on a full 14 inch eel of 2 inch tape. It is comforting to know that the MM-1000 transport (and hence the capstan belt) were field-proven on the VR-1000 quad video transport. The instructions for setting belt tension in the manual are very specific, and I figure that is a result of the fact that the belt don't stretch. Tension it too tight and it'll kill your bearings in a relative hurry.

**cjacek** · 10-21-2009

Originally Posted by sweetbeats

Daniel, are you talking about the machine on the left, or the machine on the right? Mine is like the one on the left, and in either case there's no wood involved (except for the side panels below waistline toward the front of the console)...its all heavy-guage steel and is the same as what my MM-1000 is presently housed.

I'll be looking closer at the belt but my guess is that it is mylar reinforced...a composite belt. Mylar does not break down like rubber. I figure they had to do that to keep the belt from stretching when the pinch roller is engaged...think about the momentary inertia on a full 14 inch eel of 2 inch tape. It is comforting to know that the MM-1000 transport (and hence the capstan belt) were field-proven on the VR-1000 quad video transport. The instructions for setting belt tension in the manual are very specific, and I figure that is a result of the fact that the belt don't stretch. Tension it too tight and it'll kill your bearings in a relative hurry.

Oh, OK, I guess I must have been reading into that console diagram a bit too much but, yeah, I now see what you're saying.

Man, that's mighty interesting about that belt and we could be in luck and no replacement might be necessary.

Is the belt easily seen and accessible?