Itam 805 knacked

[My Name]

Hi Kids
I have recently become the proud owner of an Itam 805 8 track tape machine. Trouble is it doesn't work! There are a couple of problems that I won't bore you with now but I am am in desperate need for some info on the machine, ie. user manuals and service manuals etc. Can anyone help

Cheers

[The Ghost of FM]

Here ya go!

http://boletin.itam.mx/

[snipeguy]

Ghost, you is one funny hoser.

[My Name]

OOOO you git i got all excited for a moment

[The Ghost of FM]

Originally Posted by My Name

OOOO you git i got all excited for a moment

Sorry bud.

I thought it was an April fool's joke!

Who the hell has ever heard of Itam?

Got a picture of this beast?

Cheers!

[My Name]

this is the beat

It was made in 1973 in London. I think they were one of the first

[Herm]

That is one cool lookin machine.

[snipeguy]

Seven deadly sins or not, I want one of those in my living room. Check out the teak. That is the Austin Powers of tape decks.

[My Name]

it would be even better if it worked.

But yeah she is a sexy beast

[arjoll]

The only thing I could find out about this model was that each channel uses four 709 op-amps. These things (which were before my time) can apparently self-destruct quite easily.

If the transport works ok then there could be a problem there - it would help to get more info on your problem.

I'm not sure what op-amps are pin compatible, but the 709 is externally compensated so any replacement would need a modification to the ciruitry to remove the compensation (if you used an internally compensated op-amp like the TL071) or be externally compensated itself (not sure what current op-amps are, but the LM301 certainly was).

Cya
Andrew

[arjoll]

Originally Posted by My Name

It was made in 1973 in London. I think they were one of the first

Yes, apparently they were the first to do a 1/2" 8-track. Should be a beast if you can get it going.

Cya
Andrew

[My Name]

OK,
ther are two problems. Firstly it seems that the each of the track boards are dead. there is definately power going to the boards but as I say they seem to be dead. the second thing is that the FF anf RWnD buttons work but the play doesn't. It could be a problem with the mechanics but I can't see anything obvious.

I don't know much about electronics or howthese things work and was hoping to teach myself about it by making this thing work. If the boards are fried is it possible to replace a part on the board and how would i find out which part is dead.

This is a big project so I gues the best thing to do is start with the transport problem first.

I think it would be great to get an old dog like this back on it's feet, not just for my benefit but for historic reasons aslo. (Am I spouting bullshit?) If anyone agrees please say, or disagrees.

Any help is great

[snipeguy]

Originally Posted by My Name

.......
I think it would be great to get an old dog like this back on it's feet, not just for my benefit but for historic reasons aslo. (Am I spouting bullshit?) If anyone agrees please say, or disagrees.

Any help is great

If it was me, I'd have that baby in pieces before you could say "Yeah, Baby!". I'm going to give you some some really, really basic advice that I could have have used when I first got in this analog rescue game. Clean, Clean, Clean. Get the canned air and Caig De-oxit and start cleaning. I mean everything. Especially:
-any multi-pin connectors between CB's and power supply and head assembly, etc.,etc..
- all the pots and swithches
-the whole transport path (use denatured alcohol for this)
-check the CB mulipin seats(if it has them)
-check all internal fuses(out of circuit if possible)
and I can't forget the famous:
-use fresh tape as old tape might have Sticky Shed Syndrome.
Good luck with that groovy deck, Baby.

[My Name]

this is actually really frustrating cos i can see what is happening whith the transport problem but i don't know aht the bloody part is and is pretty tough to describe.

There are three of these objects on the pcb, one for FF, one for RW and one for play. It is about 1"x1 14"x1/4". It is transparent and there are wires and things inside and there are contacts that are activated when the FF or RW buttons are pressed. The play one shorts out whaen play is pressed, ie. the contacts dont seem to make contact and there is an arc of electricity. It is not this component that is at ault as i have already switched them and the problem stays whith the play button.

I have checked all the obvious, loos wires fuses etc. and i can't see any probs.

Any thoughts???

[snipeguy]

Originally Posted by My Name

this is actually really frustrating cos i can see what is happening whith the transport problem but i don't know aht the bloody part is and is pretty tough to describe.

There are three of these objects on the pcb, one for FF, one for RW and one for play. It is about 1"x1 14"x1/4". It is transparent and there are wires and things inside and there are contacts that are activated when the FF or RW buttons are pressed. The play one shorts out whaen play is pressed, ie. the contacts dont seem to make contact and there is an arc of electricity. It is not this component that is at ault as i have already switched them and the problem stays whith the play button.

I have checked all the obvious, loos wires fuses etc. and i can't see any probs.

Any thoughts???

Is it one of those transparent flapper switches?

[My Name]

don't really know. It has a blue cylinder which looks like it surrounds a pole which contracts and pulls the contacts together

[arjoll]

Originally Posted by My Name

There are three of these objects on the pcb, one for FF, one for RW and one for play. It is about 1"x1 14"x1/4". It is transparent and there are wires and things inside and there are contacts that are activated when the FF or RW buttons are pressed. The play one shorts out whaen play is pressed, ie. the contacts dont seem to make contact and there is an arc of electricity. It is not this component that is at ault as i have already switched them and the problem stays whith the play button.

That's a relay. A relay uses one voltage to switch another. You apply a voltage to the 'coil' of the relay and it turns into an electromagnet, attracting another bit of metal to the coil. This in turn closes a set of contacts - think of it like flicking a switch, but using a control voltage instead of your fingers.

It's going to be difficult without a circuit diagram, and a little difficult if you're not sure what you're looking for, but you'll need to find out what that relay is switching. It could be switching an AC voltage to run a motor, a voltage to engage a solenoid or something else. The arcing means there is a bit of voltage there so until you know what it's switching don't touch the contacts.

Try tracing where the contacts of this relay go. Because its transparent you should be able to see the wires on the coil - the blue cylindrical thing - and which pins they're linked to. They are probably spaced away from the other pins. Try to trace where the other contacts go (the ones that should connect) - that part could also be faulty (the fault could have fried the relay).

Finally, you could try replacing the relay. Is it socketed? I'm guessing the answer is yes, given the age and the fact that it was a professional unit. The 'continental/cradle series' from RS Components might be worth looking at, if you can post a photo of the relay it might help someone identify it. Note that if whatever the relay controlled is the problem then its probably going to fry the relay again, but it might be worth trying.

Hope this all helps. Hopefully there's an older UK member lurking around here somewhere who can interject with some more specific advice!

Cya
Andrew

[arjoll]

Sorry, reading the thread backwards again...!

Originally Posted by My Name

Firstly it seems that the each of the track boards are dead. there is definately power going to the boards but as I say they seem to be dead.

That could be those fried op-amps and could also be the capacitors. But it might be an idea to sort out the other issue first....

Originally Posted by My Name

the second thing is that the FF anf RWnD buttons work but the play doesn't. It could be a problem with the mechanics but I can't see anything obvious.

I've addressed part of this in my other post. We're going to need to track down some more detail about this unit to do too much more, unless you decide you want to move to Southland in which case just pop around and I'll have a look at it for you in exchange for some recording time

Originally Posted by My Name

I don't know much about electronics or howthese things work and was hoping to teach myself about it by making this thing work. If the boards are fried is it possible to replace a part on the board and how would i find out which part is dead.

This is a big project so I gues the best thing to do is start with the transport problem first.

Agreed - get the transport sussed. This could end up being a big project, and if you're not heavily into electronics then its very ambitious! Without much knowledge you will need to get the schematics, or hook up with someone locally who knows about electronincs. If its an op-amp problem (I'm not 100% convinced if all channels are dead) then its a matter of finding a drop-in replacement for the 709 or doing some PCB layout modifications.

Originally Posted by My Name

I think it would be great to get an old dog like this back on it's feet, not just for my benefit but for historic reasons aslo. (Am I spouting bullshit?) If anyone agrees please say, or disagrees.

Absolutely! One of the first (or the first) 1/2" 8-tracks is definately worth saving! I'm working on restoring another British reel to reel, a Ferrograph series 2 (mono 1/2 track, c. 1956) and I figure that its worth keeping this kind of equipment going. In your case you could end up with a very usable piece of equipment so you get the double whammy - history and usefulness!

Hope this is of some help, post some pics of the relays etc and lets get this sucker running!

Cya
Andrew

[jpmorris]

Oh, wow. I've never seen the angled ones before. There was an 806 model which looked like a first-generation Otari 5050-8 (two separate units for the transport and the electronics).

This is a piece of history, and I'd kind of like to have one even if it didn't
work

I've heard they're based on the Revox A77.

[My Name]

this is great guys.

I shall take a bunch of pics later this eavening which will probably help.

If there is any of you guys in london who can help, I live there too and i'm sure we could make arrangements.

thanks again for the help guys

[My Name]

OK, tried to take some pickies but you can't see jolly jack bollock on them so I guess i'm gonna have to think of something else.

If anyoune has any ideas where i can find some scematics then tha would be great. I can't find a thing on the net

[MichaelM]

This is all I could find:
http://www.soundhunters.com/forum.html

Under the 'What happened to Itam' heading. General info but probably wont be much help to you....

[Bruce_lofi]

what size of tape is on the itam 806 1/4 or 1/2 inch ?!

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by Bruce_lofi

what size of tape is on the itam 806 1/4 or 1/2 inch ?!

As I understand it, the ITAM was supposedly the first 1/2" 8-track machine, launched in 1973. There was also a 1" 16-track version, which I think came a bit later.

[sweetbeats]

I thought the Tascam 70-8 was the first 1/2 inch 8-track...:???: