Synchronizing two Fostex E-16 - what's needed?

lovebuzz

New member
Could anyone shed a light on what additional hardware is needed to sync 2 Fostex E16?

I own two E16s and 4050 autolocator/remote. One of them E16s was bought for spares, because it didn't work properly. But lately I've managed to get it back to life and so I thought - why not make 'em be friends so I could have 32 (30 actually) tracks of analogue instead of just 16.

As far as I understand essentially I would need Fostex 4030... Would that be enough? Can I hook up my E16s to 4030 and operate them both via 4050? Or I also need 4035 as a sync controller?

And another question is - is it possible to use some other sync box instead of 4030? (I need 220V version of it and had no luck so far in finding one, so I thought maybe there are some "easier to find" alternatives?)
 
Shouldn't be a problem, I was sync'ing two Fostex R8s with just a 4030 and two home made cables a couple of years ago. Still have that stuff, hard to sell :facepalm:
 
You could possibly use some other sync boxes...like Timeline MicroLynx, which I use for my Otari...assuming they wrote code for that deck (I would have to look at my unit to see if they list anything for the Fostex...but the real Achilles heal ends up being the communications cabling. It's like...people hold on to the units, but no has the cables.

You can make your own...but, you need to know the pinout for both ends...etc.
I had to make my own cable from the MicroLynx to the Otari, but I have the cable diagrams. The hard part was finding the connector that fit on the MicroLynx because it was something esoteric and not used for many other things.
I think the Fostex connectors are also kinda oddballs if I recall...at least on the E-series.
On my Fostex G-16 (which I no longer have) it was a breeze, 'cuz the sync box was on the deck as an added option which I got.

TBH, if that other deck is just "kinda running"...you might not bother. Make sure that it's recording quality is as good as the other one before you try putting together a sync solution.
 
On my MycroLynx with version 1.33 software...for Fostex it only shows "FOSTEX Model 20" as the choice.
Of course, that doesn't mean it won't work with the E Series....because for my OTARI MX80...I use the "MX70" option on the MicroLynx...and it works fine.
 
Hey guys, thanks a lot for your input, didn't expect to get it that quickly:)

Now the picture is clear, and as Miroslav has mentioned - my task #1 for now is to make sure this second E16 of mine is actually properly working, which would mean it is worth to proceed with sync project.

I've adjusted all mechanical and tape tension related things and it's time to move on and make recording tests. Unfortunately I've already noticed wow and flutter problems are present. I will try to re-center capstan's PCB print coil as mentioned in manual and see if it helps..
 
Have you tried swapping it with the other machine, just to make sure?

Yes, actually it is exactly what I am doing:) Original pinch-roller is looking totally overused (I am expecting to get a replacement this week), so I borrowed it from the second machine (which doesn't have wow flutter problems)
 
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