Thinking of selling my Ampex ATR-100's

evm1024

New member
I'm not using my Ampex atr-100s much now. I'm torn between keeping them and selling them. Both are halftrack machines, one is 1/4" the other is 1/2". They are both functional and appear to have been atr-104 once upon a time. They could be used as-is or sent off to ATR Services.

I'm really torn on keeping or selling. I do expect to go sailing for 5 years (starting in 2 years or so) so they would end up sitting in storage....

I'm in PDX.
 
I just acquired a 1/4" ATR 102...that I will be overhauling in the coming months, but it's complete and probably just needs some basic TLC...been sitting unused in a theater storage space for 15-20 years.

TBH, I'm not sure what I will do with mine once it's back to full operational. I have a much more compact Otari MX5050 BIII, the last model ever made, and it's basically brand new. I know it doesn't have the "mojo" of the Ampex...but it's a sweet deck that takes up 1/3 the space of the Ampex.
I'll decide later...and if I keep the Ampex, the Otari would also stay...but Ampex ATR 100 series decks can fetch a decent price if you find the right buyer who can come pick it up (or is willing to pay for the freight).

So how much use have you been getting out of them up to now...or were they more about "vintage collection"...?
 
I've not gotten much use in the last few years. I primarly like to recore pipe organs and moving them around takes a lot of coordination.

Major mojo...
 
Hey Ethan...I know those decks...they still keeping the Fiat company?

Hey are the amplifier electronics discrete or opamp-based? And what is the audio power rail amplitude?
 
The electronics use a LM318 opamp (if I recall right) and a bunch of discrete transistors. The 318 was damn fast for its time, 15 MHz BW and 50 V/uS slew rate. The deck has transformers and use a servo loop for tape speed and reel tension.

A good upgrade is to replace the metal "capstan" (it does not have a capstan really) with one of the urathane ones. I've done that to the 1/2" deck.

There is a video of an ATR recording (or was it just playback) with a block on the takeup reel. THe tape just jumped up and down as the reel went round. But he playback had no or little wow from it. Impressive. But I can't find the video.
 
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