Head Help

[daddyK]

Hi – Could someone please give their advice on this head – any help or opinions would be gratefully received – Many thanks

[Zaphod B]

I was almost afraid to open this thread!

(Oh..sorry, I got lost on the way to the Cave. )

[daddyK]

does it look really bad??

[MCI2424]

Originally Posted by daddyK

does it look really bad??

That head LOOKS bad, but to be fair, check it yourself. Put your fingrnain where the tape slides across the head (in the center) and see if there is a groove cut in. You should feel it on the top and bottom of where the tape goes over the head. Any excessive grooves would mean a re-lap. The shape of the wear on the heads should be worn straight up and down and not uneven (like an hourglass, right side up triange or upside down triangle).

Judging by the worn tape guide in the pic, the head is worn the same. JRF are the ones to re-lap but you will need an alignment tape, a manual and some tools to fix it. You also need to rotate the guides etc.

Looks like a Fostex B or E 16?

[daddyK]

you know ur stuff - is indeed a fostex e16 - its on a ebay bid so I think ill leave it - thanks for ur help - wish I had ur knowledge It just looks bit worn to me - got a lot to learn

[krhall]

umm according to that pic the head looks to have more wear at the top end than the bottom end as if the bottom part of the head is further out.
This could mean that the tape is not sitting level on the head.

If it was my machine i wouldn't take any chances on relapping i would just replace the entire head.

I Know it costs about 300 GBP for a 16 Track 1/2 inch head but small price to pay for a good reliabe machine

Keith

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by krhall

I Know it costs about 300 GBP for a 16 Track 1/2 inch head but small price to pay for a good reliabe machine
Keith

Can you still get Fostex heads?

[krhall]

i heard that there is a fostex dealer in london that can especially order new heads.
But to be certain i am not 100% sure

The figure i got was from a recent auction that ended a few weeks back
this was for a rec/play E16 16 track 1/2 inch head

The rec/play head on my model 80 (8 track 1/4inch) has some wear and i dunno if that could be causing tracks 1 and 2 to produce little if any sound on playback (i have been using tracks 5 and 6 instead because of this).

I am going to replace the model 80 with a Revox A77 or B77 that takes 10.5" reels and is capable of speeds 3.75IPS and 7.5IPS

Keith