sweetbeats
Reel deep thoughts...
I'm more or less putting this up as a place-holder while the information is fresh in my mind...This came up on eBay. Got it for a pretty good price but it needs help for sure. I'm just in process of doing some coarse cleaning and running an inventory of obvious parts needed before it goes into storage. Not going to touch this much for awhile until some other projects both studio and home-related are finished, and also not until I sell some gear.
So the bottom line is that this thing is pretty straight but it looks like a deck that has been used as a parts deck...some tape path components are missing (scrape-flutter filter, head shields for instance...simple stuff like that ), the monitor head is beat up...pretty much no hope in that one so that stinks...didn't figure that out until I got it home and looked closer...covers are missing to some things, but it looks like it might clean up pretty good. It has the (apparantly) more desirable AC capstan motor and it is a 'B' model which included a lifter delay circuit so the tape wouldn't hit the heads until the transport came to a stop...all the electronics modules are there and are also 'B' variety which had improvements over the 'A' electronics, but there is one repro card missing (each module has three cards, one each for bias, record and repro) from a couple modules, and a couple others that are suspect...shoulda pulled the covers off before driving away...It did come with a new pinch roller, spare relay, a dummy plug and some used tape so that is good...just need all the stuff that attaches the roller to the arm... Anyway, the gentleman I bought it from was really, really nice and has a collection of some of the most wonderfully eclectic and desired vintage gear...wow. So here are some pictures and then it is going away for awhile.
Have to have a picture of the gear in the Subaru...everything fit...barely:
Here it is unloaded, front view:
And the back view:
And here are the electronics modules that are obviously not in the rack with the transport...nobody but nobody would be able to safely move that thing with the electronics in it...it was a bear with the rack empty:
The transport:
And the underside of the transport:
Headblock:
A closeup of the repro head:
And a closeup of the sad, sad monitor head...it appears that it sustained a hefty impact. See the crushed laminations on track one, and compare this picture with the one of the repro head and you'll notice that the monitor head looks like it separated from its base and its been hot-glued together and even the mounting plate looks tweaked:
And just for fun the erase head:
Power supply unitswoo-hoo:
A bias card...I'm so used to the PCB's in my Teac/Tascam gear...these are so different. Really hefty...thick...and there is so much solder on them; on the traces:
And last but not least I thought this would be fun...here is a Tascam 48 amp card with the equivalent of the "amp card" of the 440, the electronics module:
Well, that's all for now!
So the bottom line is that this thing is pretty straight but it looks like a deck that has been used as a parts deck...some tape path components are missing (scrape-flutter filter, head shields for instance...simple stuff like that ), the monitor head is beat up...pretty much no hope in that one so that stinks...didn't figure that out until I got it home and looked closer...covers are missing to some things, but it looks like it might clean up pretty good. It has the (apparantly) more desirable AC capstan motor and it is a 'B' model which included a lifter delay circuit so the tape wouldn't hit the heads until the transport came to a stop...all the electronics modules are there and are also 'B' variety which had improvements over the 'A' electronics, but there is one repro card missing (each module has three cards, one each for bias, record and repro) from a couple modules, and a couple others that are suspect...shoulda pulled the covers off before driving away...It did come with a new pinch roller, spare relay, a dummy plug and some used tape so that is good...just need all the stuff that attaches the roller to the arm... Anyway, the gentleman I bought it from was really, really nice and has a collection of some of the most wonderfully eclectic and desired vintage gear...wow. So here are some pictures and then it is going away for awhile.
Have to have a picture of the gear in the Subaru...everything fit...barely:
Here it is unloaded, front view:
And the back view:
And here are the electronics modules that are obviously not in the rack with the transport...nobody but nobody would be able to safely move that thing with the electronics in it...it was a bear with the rack empty:
The transport:
And the underside of the transport:
Headblock:
A closeup of the repro head:
And a closeup of the sad, sad monitor head...it appears that it sustained a hefty impact. See the crushed laminations on track one, and compare this picture with the one of the repro head and you'll notice that the monitor head looks like it separated from its base and its been hot-glued together and even the mounting plate looks tweaked:
And just for fun the erase head:
Power supply unitswoo-hoo:
A bias card...I'm so used to the PCB's in my Teac/Tascam gear...these are so different. Really hefty...thick...and there is so much solder on them; on the traces:
And last but not least I thought this would be fun...here is a Tascam 48 amp card with the equivalent of the "amp card" of the 440, the electronics module:
Well, that's all for now!
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