Fostex R8 Reel to Reel - Possible to make a DIY remote control extension cable?

_brian_

_brian_

Member
Hi every one, I was just wondering if I could make a Fostex R8 remote control extension cable. I think every one knows how hard to come by these things are now and don't want to pay over the odds for it!

A question on the side:

The R8 is getting sluggish - especially if it's not in use constantly. The reels seem to run slow for a while and the recording sounds like a horrible nightmare from a hammer horror film. It then picks up pace after a while and returns to normal speed. Anyone have any experiance with this and what can be done to remedy the fault?

Thanks a lot guys and gals :)
 
Just a little update, I took the machine apart and found the capstan motor, drive belt and pulleys. The pulley wasn't cracked - it was firmly on the motor drive shaft. There was a lot of rubber particles around the capstan pulleys and some actually on the machine. I'm not sure if the drive belt may have been catching the chassis causing the drive to slow, then as it continued to run the belt centralized on the pulleys meaning the belt wasn't rubbing anymore against the chassis. This may have been the problem or perhaps the belt was slipping. I cleaned the pulleys with degreaser, and I cleaned the belt in soapy water. I came up with the idea of turning the belt inside out.

Well, I'm happy to report my first delve into the guts of any kind of reel to reel resulted in it being repaired. For how long - I don't know. The recorder is working perfectly now though.

So, with that out of the way, it's back to the original question of the possibility of making a DIY controller extension lead. :P
 
It's possible, but not so easy.

If you can find those very damn special types of connectors then you can make the cable.
I could not find them anywhere. Actually I could not even find any info on what those connectors are called, so if you don't know the "name" you don't what to search. :(

So without those connectors there are two possible ways to make the "long distance" remote, and both are destructive, meaning that you'd have to do some "damage" to the machine to achieve the goal.

The first and somewhat easy way to simply cut and extend the existing cable. You'll need a 12-wire/conductor cable. I think you can use some computer cable, like a scsi cable for example, or a parallel port cable.
It's not gonna be a pretty one, but will work. Also you will not be able to put the "remote" unit back onto machine.

The second way is to go around and actually install diffrent connectors to the machine and to the remote and make up the connecting cable. 15-pin D-sub connectors will do.

There 's a good space on the machine between ins/outs and sync connector for the d-sub. It will be really hard to install a connector into the remote unit though...there's no space. If I remember correctly there is a bit of space on the right side, but I am not sure.
It is possible however to actually hardwire the cable on the remote side ( put it in place of the short cable.) (if someday you want to undo the long cable, you can put the short one back).

I've traced all the wires (from the connector jack to the control board) inside the machine already. Go to this page and click on "FOSTEX R8 - [CONTROL UNIT CONNECTOR WIRING DIAGRAM]" there:
MZE-Electroarts Entertainment - MZEntertainment.com: Dr. ZEE WORKSHOP FOSTEX R8 Analog Reel-To-Reel multi-track Tape Recorder

There are two connectors on the control board J11 and J17, thats's where the wires from remote jack go to. So you will need to make connections from your new d-sub to those J11 and J17 and follow the diagram.

Also you can simply hard-wire long 12-wire cable between the machine and the remote.
I would not go longer than 12-15 foot though.

In any case, DO NOT start cutting and drilling without a really good plan. :D

good luck
 
Thanks DR ZEE, I thought about cutting the cable, but to be honest I'd rather take a more passive approach. Although the recorder is not mint I still like to preserve it as it's my little link to the past.

The connector is a 12pin DIN, the only problem I see is perhaps the locking collar. I found a connector online which seemed a close fit, but cannot find it now.
 
_brian_ said:
...
The connector is a 12pin DIN,....
Click to expand...

Uh, I wish it was that simple... heh heh :p

Also, No such thing as "close fit" in this situation. I've spent hours and hours trying to find the damn thing. I gave up, period,

If I decide one day that I must have long cable remote (which may happen) I most likely end up hardwiring the cable on both ends (the machine and the control unit). This way it can be undone and no ugly extra holes and such.

:)
 
Yeah it's very annoying. What i might* do, is cut the thin wires at the control pad just before they enter the insulation i could then install small discreet inline crimps so that the whole cable modification can be reversed easily - just by attaching taking out the crimped exctending cable.

I'm very good at soldering, but frankly I dont want to mess with the board - even with a temparature controled iron. I'll have to see. There does seem like a lot of room inside the control pad that could be put to good use.

PS I love this recorder, it's working perfectly now. So happy with it. :)
 
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