revox b77 - oh mercy!

tapeboy

New member
After using a whole careful day on finding a way in to replacing a vu meter lamp on my Revox B77, I found that to pull out the plastic piece that the lamp plugs into out of the socket was almost impossible. I had to use some mini-pliers and I can see that the plastic lamp holders don't look good any more. DAMN!!! Anyway I put both lamps in only to find the plastic holders are so buckled by the pliers, they don't feel like going all the way down and guess what! One of the vu meters turns out not to be functioning anyway! ANDDDDDDDD!!!!..... the transport has suddenly stopped working!!!!! The capstan is turning but press play, rewind etc. and NOTHING!
All this happened 'cos I wanted to change a light bulb. Now I am looking at my machine with tears of frustration in my eyes, 'cos it don't bloody work anymore. Is it time to send it in for repair?!!
 
The Revox tape decks are built like tanks, and, if it was working before you went poking around, I doubt that you did any harm to it. However, they are sort of modular tanks, and you may have disconnected something accidently.

If I remember correctly, the transport switches or buttons are right below the VU meters on the B77/PR99, right? If so, look carefully around in that area for things that you might have disconnected or bumped. Also, the B77/PR99 transport switches are known to be kind of a problem as they age, so they might be sensitive to bumping or jostling.

The only USA authorized service center is JM Tech Arts, in TN. The web site is at www.jmtecharts.com

They sell a tech manual for the Revox tape decks that was written from their own experience and has lots of helpful tips and hints. Or, so I hear. Never got around to ordering one myself. It sells for $45 including shipping.

If you don't have the Revox factory service manual for the B77, it would help to get one of those too. They can be found on eBay frequently, or maybe you can find one to download at no cost. That is how I got my PR99 manual.
 
As mentioned, the unit is very modular so check the connections on the VU meter and the transport buttons. Beyond that, it's either a matter of finding an engineer or trying to isolate the problem with a continuity tester and so on.

If nothing is happening, my first guess would be that something has come unseated at either the transport buttons or control board end.

The service manual is available on ftp://ftp.studer.ch
 
tapeboy said:
..... the transport has suddenly stopped working!!!!! The capstan is turning but press play, rewind etc. and NOTHING!
All this happened 'cos I wanted to change a light bulb. Now I am looking at my machine with tears of frustration in my eyes, 'cos it don't bloody work anymore. Is it time to send it in for repair?!!

Today I changed 2 fuses, which I assume are for the reel motors. Bingo! The B77 is back! Now I have to sort out the dead VU meter and a way to squash the light holders down in to the 'too small' holes!
 
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