fostex e16

elly-d

elly-d

Member
hello,

im new here, but i have had problems and this looks like a great place to start. in fact i don't know why i have not been here before.

anyway, i just bought a fostex e16 and i am beggining to think i have been had. i don't know much about all this as it is my first reel to reel, but it is not running at 15ips, its running about half that speed. its not been serviced since i got it but its not erasing either. not well anyhow. i can't find anyone to service this thing in my area, around manchester, UK.

well does anyone know anyone? or has this happened to anyone elses e16?

cheers.

ellis.
 
- How are you determining the speed?
- What kind (brand/model) of tape are you using?
 
hi, i am judging it from the counter which half real time. (and a little experiment with tape and markers). as i say i just got it and i have 2 tapes. an old ampex 456 which doesn't work, i guess its wrecked. and a newer ('professionally erased' apparently) quantegy 456, also second hand. could the fact that its old tape be the problem? it does run at a constant speed though.

thanks for the reply.
 
Look and see if there is a label on the tape box that looks something like the pic below. The label is usually on the edge of the box. There could be a label on the reel itself on the back flange.

In the pic below there is a string of numbers to the right that begins with 92. The first two digits represent the year the tape was made. If it starts with 94 or below your tape probably has sticky shed syndrome. For example if your number is 89217 your tape was made in 1989 and is no good.

It will cause various problems including the machine running at a slow speed from increased friction. If your tape is too old you will need to get a new reel to properly test your E-16.
 

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ok, thanks so much beck. im onto it straight away.

i don't suppose you know of any sites/books that could teach me how to set the darn thing up (the only manual i can find is a very distorted file of a photocopy, with pages missing). i mean i don't class myself as particulary clever, but this thing makes me feel stupid. i get the impression that there are controls for the set up but i don't know where to find them. and when i find em well i wouldnt want to twiddle.

cheers.
 
oh and my tapes are - '92 - sticky sticky and 98 sticky if the player working or ok if the player is bust.

:0
 
elly-d said:
oh and my tapes are - '92 - sticky sticky and 98 sticky if the player working or ok if the player is bust.:0
Click to expand...

1998 tape should be okay. If you have the patience, you can set the machine playing and time how long it takes to get through the reel with a stopwatch. At 15ips it should last for about 33 minutes. Not the most accurate but if it lasts for 60 or more, something's definitely afoot.

*EDIT*
...not that you have to watch it the whole time of course.. you can leave it running in the corner while you do something else, and keep tabs on it. The TSR-8 will make a big clunk when it runs out as the tension arms release, the E16 will probably do the same.
 
Yeah, 1998 Quantegy is fine... providing that's what it really is.

One of the problems with buying used tape is you can't be sure that the tape on the reel is the tape that came on it. In a busy studio or even in storage tapes and boxes can get mixed up. There are also unscrupulous sellers on eBay and even seemingly legitimate sites selling one-pass that will put old tape on newer reels.

Another problem is that once you run a tape with sticky shed you have to thoroughly clean the tape path with 90+ percent Isopropyl alcohol, or denatured alcohol. The bad tape leaves residue on the machine, so even if your other tape is ok, it’s running on a contaminated tape path. A contaminated tape path can also ruin a new tape by leaving residue that will cause dropouts. It can be a mess.

The only on-line source I know of for setting up Fostex machines is below. You really need the manual before you can work on it since each model is different.

http://synthetizer-sche.chez-alice.fr/listtape.html

For general knowledge check the following thread.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=201120&highlight=links

(By the way may need a zip repair utility to fix zip files downloaded from archive.org. Power Archiver or certain versions of Winace among others work fine.)

I don’t have any Fostex decks, but there are many here that do. They can help you with the particulars.

Most importantly take your time in the research phase before tinkering with that machine. Whatever its condition, you can make it worse if not careful.
 
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thanks so much guys, i will post back when i get it sorted, im gonna go get a new tape tomorrow.

thanks again. :)
 
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