Ferrograph restoration

[arjoll]

Hi - after getting my GX265D running I have been given another challenge.

A far bigger one - a Series 2 Ferrograph

These were made between 1952 and 1957, with this apparently being an earlier one made for export (from the UK).

I will attach some photos of the start of the project - if anyone is interested in how things go (or, better still, has some advice!) please let me know and I'll post updates. All the originals are 3MP, I've shrunk the ones I'm posting down a bit.

Thanks
Andrew

 

[arjoll]

Ferrograph as delivered

This was dad's pride and joy in the 60's, but has been stored for quite a while. The heads are a tad grubby....

 

[arjoll]

Internals

The deck is absolutely solid, but a quick check shows that all the linkages are ok, reels are turning freely and the brakes are good. Not bad for 50 year old rubber parts!

Note in dscf0735.jpg you can see the GX265D in the background, and if you thought sticky shed was bad check dscf0736.jpg - not sure how all these bits of tape got in there, but someone didn't have a good day!

 

[arjoll]

Modules

The amplifier module and power supply after being removed from the unit. After these were taken I cleaned some of the dust off the chassis and cleaned the contacts on the valves.

 

[arjoll]

Modifications

These pictures show the 'optional' tape counter (only fitted as standard on late series 3's as far as I can tell) and the 'optional' pause button in the head cover, standard from series 4 but available as an option in series 3. This cover was fitted to a series 2 and certainly wasn't the original.

 

[arjoll]

Miscellaneous

These show the inside of the gutted case - before cleaning - and a note of the optimum bias. The Weare & Wright deck that was the basis of the Ferrograph was assembled by hand and the optimum bias voltage adjusted for each individual head.

No queries about whether this will handle GP9

The tape specs were based on WW372/49, from the manual:

For the sake of completeness and as it is referred to in the General Specification, this Appendix is included. Being originally drawn up in 1949 certain of the tolerances on physical dimensions quoted may not necessarily be identical with those since proposed as international standards.

Some major items:
* Coercivity - HC = 255 oersteds
* Remanance - Br = 0.58 maxwells
* Width - <= .249" and >= .245"
* Thickness of backing plus oxide - <= 0.0022"

And most importantly (remember this is the spec of a new spool of tape):

There shall be not more than one splice in a reel of 1,200 ft and the requirements of 4.3 above [consistency of reproduced level] shall be met as though no splice existed.

Cya
Andrew

 

[cjacek]

Phew! WOW!! That's one mean, well built deck! Thanks for sharing your project but, to be perfectly honest, I don't envy the work you'll have to put in to make this thing presentable ..

Where was the recorder stored ? It's looks like the elements got to it pretty bad. You say it still works ? No smoking electronics ??

Again, thanks for sharing and I for one would love to see the end product.

They don't make 'em like they used to, huh ?

~Daniel

 

[regebro]

Cool. You have a bit of rust there, (and some rubbed of color, of course) but otherwise it looks to be in excellent condition. Good luck with the restoring!

 

[arjoll]

Phew! WOW!! That's one mean, well built deck! Thanks for sharing your project but, to be perfectly honest, I don't envy the work you'll have to put in to make this thing presentable ..

My first aim is just to get the thing running - then clean it a bit. I don't think it will ever be particularly pretty, but it shouldn't be as grubby as it is now!

Where was the recorder stored ? It's looks like the elements got to it pretty bad. You say it still works ? No smoking electronics ??

It was probably last used in the late 80's, then stored in dad's garage/workshop until around '98-'99, then in the garage in my previous house until 2003, then in dad's garage (different house) until the end of last year. Since then its been in my new workshop. It looks far worse than it actually was - a few cobwebs on the bottom and lots of MDF sawdust from when dad made some shelves in the garage.

I'm not going to fire it up until I have finished checking the electronics and replaced any capacitors in areas prone to failure - fortunately its not old enough to have those horrible wax/paper caps, but there are a pile of electrolytics that could give problems. Through George West's Ferrograph site I have tracked down a guy in the UK who's been repairing these for 50 years, so should be able to get an idea of what caps should be replaced before even attempting starting it up.

After that my next concern is the wound components - hopefully they've held up ok. There wasn't excessive moisture in any of the areas it was stored - and our climate is quite temparate and not particularly humid which has no doubt helped.

Mechanically the deck appears fine - even the rubber idlers, brakes and capstan appear ok (things are reveresed from what we're used to in this deck - the capstan is rubber and the idler is bronze, and they're similar sizes!).

They don't make 'em like they used to, huh ?

Certainly don't! I suspect that a more modern 'semi-pro' unit like a Tascam 22-2 won't look quite as good 50 years after it was first used!

FYI I've attached a picture of what it would looked like new.

Thanks for the encouragement!
Andrew

 

[arjoll]

Cool. You have a bit of rust there, (and some rubbed of color, of course) but otherwise it looks to be in excellent condition. Good luck with the restoring!

The rust isn't bad - just a little surface stuff on the catches. The underside of the deck is in great condition, but its a matter of seeing how bad things are with the caps, inductors and motors. Everything spins freely which is a good start!

 

[arjoll]

Update

Hi - a quick update.

This project has cost me my first NZ$31 - thanks to me nicking the top of the main power amp output valve (EL84). A bit sad to think that this valve lasted 50 years until getting its first lot of TLC and then....damn clips.

I'm replacing the broken Mullard EL84 with a new JJ Electronics valve from Prosound NZ. $26 + $5 freight. That's about US$22 all up.

Will keep you all informed....

Cya
Andrew

 

[cjacek]

Hi - a quick update.

Thanks for the update, Andrew.

~Daniel

 

[arjoll]

Update - May

Hi - I've realised its been quite a while since I posted an update on this project.

I've cleaned things up a bit more, but the whole unit is still sitting on my workbench with the amp and power supply modules out! Haven't had time to do a great deal on it because of a combination of a couple of largish implimentations at work and the broadcasting stuff I've been doing.

Anyway, in the last week I have chased up the EL84 valve (tube for any North Americans watching ) which I broke and tracked down a cheapesh (NZ$17.50, US$12.50 or so) Eastern European one. It should be here next week, at which stage I should be able to power this thing up for the first time in 15 years and see what happens.

I've also just bought this which should be turning up in the next day or so. It appears to be a series 3, and given the colour may even have stereo playback heads. After getting it and powering up the original I'll determine if its a parts machine or a worthwhile project.

Anyway I should have a bit of work on in the next few weeks with this! I'm also about to get a Tascam 32 , and have made contact in a guy in Alexandra about possibly buying his late model Ferrograph 2A, complete with two 8.25 inch Ferrograph hublock spools and a ribbon mic. Not sure if I'll grab it, but apparently he has an old Ampex which is 'taking up a lot of space in the shed' which I can take away.

All of this makes me concerned . I've seen the photos of Dave's collection, complete with unopened/bubblewrapped stuff... If I end up with an Akai GX265D, a Tascam 32, two Ferrograph 2A's, a Ferrograph 3 and an old Ampex, does that make me a A Reel Vintage Person?

Cya
Andrew

 

[arjoll]

Update

OK, thought I'd give you another update.

This week my new Sovtek EL84 arrived, NZ$12/US$8.40 - not a bad price at all . Today I got stuck in and started testing the unit.

Powering it up I got a cracking noise an wee puff of smoke from the deck once the HT came up - cut the power and investigated. After various checks I discovered the insulation on the windings on the solenoid appears to be breaking down - disconnecting one side still presented a problem, disconnecting the whole thing eliminated the problem. DC resistance is 3.5k through the coil and 150k to chassis through a multimeter, but the solenoid is energised from HT (runs between HT and the anode of the output valve - I'm not very knowledgable on valve technology, but guessing that there's not full HT across it but its 'floating' just below the HT voltage), so its got 300+ volts between it and ground, which is why I suspect insulation breakdown.

I also have a potentially dead capstan motor - although more likely its bearings have dried out. It's trying to turn!

Other than that the deck does most things it should - both reel motors do their thing, brakes are good, amp and record metering are good.

I've contacted some Ferrograph experts about these problems, and if the worst comes to the worst I have another one that I can pull parts from; but its always nice to have two working decks (eh Reel )!

On the plus side - the deck wiring is a lot easier to follow than my Akai - the difference between full mechanical control and the servo control of the Akai with all its microswitches and solenoids!

Anyway, hope this informs. Anyone with previous Ferrograph experience is welcome to jump in! (even better, someone with a model T1404 hold-in solenoid ).

Cya
Andrew

 

[arjoll]

It works! Sort of...

Hi - the latest news. The Ferrograph works!

Today I finally managed to have another look at it. The solenoid is definately cooked. The specs show that it should be 330 ohms (it measures about 3.5k) , and substituting a 330 ohm 5 watt resistor shows 9 volts across the resistor and about 33 mA current through it. Nothing that would cause excessive heat!

Other than this, today I tracked down the last actual fault (a broken wire off the second valve in the preamp stage - kind of important ) and after re-lubricating the bearings on the capstan motor have a working Ferrograph - you just have to hold the 'start' lever in because of the lack of hold-in solenoid.

Putting on an expendable tape (a 1970's compilation of James Last - urgh ) the sound quality is pretty reasonable, and after lubricating the motor the speed is stable, no hint of any indentation or problems in the idlers - the Ferrograph uses idler drive onto a flywheel.

The next step is to clean up and check the other Ferrograph I bought for parts. My thought is that I check its solenoid in situ before taking the plunge and moving it over.

Anyway - if anyone has winding details for a Ferrograph T1404 solenoid please let me know!

Cya
Andrew

 

[evm1024]

I have some tape for you if you want it

Hi,

Cool project. I've restored some 60 era computers before (PDP-8) and know some of the joys of early hardware.

I do have a few reels of '60s Ampex 521 acetate tape that I can donate to your restoration if you want them. They are in good condition for the age and in nice boxes.

Let me know.

You are in NZ. Been a long time since I was there. I drove from Aukland to Wellington. Very nice place, I hope to get back some day.

Regards