Ampex AG-440B-8 Story...

[sweetbeats]

One down, one to go!

Got one of the PSU's rebuilt last night. I tell ya...replacing components that aren't on PCB's requires a little more creativity...there were only 4 caps to replace and I chose to replace the rectifier diodes and bleeder resistor, but it took a good chunk of time last night. On a PCB you can heat and suck the solder and the component is easy to get off, but when the guts aren't on a printed circuit board the tails of the components are wound around terminals and so there is a bit more care, time and attention required to get the old stuff off.

Anyway, I succeeded (though I haven't smoke tested it yet...).

Here is the bottom of the PSU with all the old stuff removed ready for the new stuff to move in...the big hole is where the terminals of the new big filter cap will be, and you can see the three wires that connect to that cap and the terminal strip in background where the diodes will connect:

Filter cap in place along with the recitifier diodes:

And here's the whole mess put back together along with a 0.01uF bypass cap that was recommended. I crimped each bundle on the ring connector and then filled it up with solder. It is kind of fun to do this kind of work because you get to be a little creative with how you route things and lay certain things out...not that I did it the best way...Open to suggestion on that. Tried to keep safety in mind in routing things to avoid the potential for short circuiting. There is a plate that covers most of these components and, again, this is the bottom side of the PSU which gets bolted to a heavy steel shelf which is bolted to the 440 console frame so very stable and protected but...

For contrast here again is the before picture of the same area posted somewhere earlier...

Now to the three caps on the underside of the lid of the PSU...here is the before:

And here is the after:

This part was harder than doing the work on the underside because of the tight proximity of all the terminals on the connectors you see there that go to all the electronics modules, and because of the aforementioned winding of component tails around the terminals. In some cases I just clipped and removed everything from a terminal where I had slack and re-stripped wire ends to resolder everything.

Here is a closing shot with the PSU sitting how it is oriented in the console with the lid open...you can see the top of the big filter cap there along with the new caps on the lid...dusting my hands off and looking ahead to giving the second PSU the same treatment.

 

[sweetbeats]

Been busy on other stuff so I have done very little on this project since recapping/rebuilding the first PSU, but I did source an original wired remote for the 440.

 

[ofajen]

Been busy on other stuff so I have done very little on this project since recapping/rebuilding the first PSU, but I did source an original wired remote for the 440.

Sweet! I had one just like that for my AG-440B 1/4" machine.

I need a remote for my M-23, too, but I haven't found one from the usual places. Looks like I will have to piece it together.

On the plus side, I have a transport remote assembly (the button switches mounted on a small metal frame) from an M-79 remote. The build out on the M-79 was entirely different, but I think the switches are the same and will work.

I have to buy a cable and the appropriate connector. The good news is that I just found out the details of what plug I need to connect to the machine. My manual has the wiring for the remote, so once I get the plug it will just be a matter of a bit of soldering.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[Echoplex]

Greetings to all. I just joined this forum after following this great thread. You have a great project and are doing superb work! Having restored a Ampex 400c 1" 8trk in 2004 and then an Ampex 440C 1/2" 4trk in 2005 I can relate to your mission.


I replaced every cap from top to bottom which was a JOB!!! It took weeks. The heads were relapped by John French. 40% head life was left in the 1" deck and 90% on the 4trk heads. Every channels/transport nook and cranny was cotton swabbed, dusted, buffed cleaned. There is a stainless steel commercial polisher for the metal parts. I found the original manual remotes (two) and schematic for the 8trk.

Some of the uber rare schadow (spelling) switches (wink buttons) were shot. I found original repleacments which was a real trick, but I bought a lifetime supply of the different colors. I also added the grey balancing transformers on each channel electronic.

The 440's function very well and I use them for some select projects. They sound rock solid and are hard to beat!

 

[sweetbeats]

Wow!

Okay...those are nice systems!

MAN! clean-clean-clean.

Thanks for sharing and welcome!

Is that a 300-series tube module with the 1/2" 4-track? I notice there are 4 solid-state modules there but then the 5th tube module...

Did you restore those systems or did they come to that nice?

 

[Echoplex]

Wow!

Okay...those are nice systems!

MAN! clean-clean-clean.

Thanks for sharing and welcome!

Is that a 300-series tube module with the 1/2" 4-track? I notice there are 4 solid-state modules there but then the 5th tube module...

Did you restore those systems or did they come to that nice?

Thank you...yes they all have been re-capped, polished and nit-picked over. They were not scratched to start with which helped. Mainly it was the grime and 30yrs of dust.

That is an Ampex 400 channel actually..made in 1953 for the short lived 400 transport....(now used as mic pre). Those are older pix...here some new ones. Also I use the 350 now a mic-pre along with the other discrete pre's in the rack. You can see the channels are super clean on the 4trk.

Also some pix of my tedious tie-wrapping bonanza and snake connections for the back of the 1" 8trk.

I replaced a couple bad VU meters recently but the decks are holding up well. They are made of solid metal as you know so the should outlast us!!!

E

 

[Echoplex]

and another...

 

[cjacek]

Echoplex, those right there are almost enough to trade my entire line of TEAC / TASCAM recorders / mixers for. I always was a fan of the look and simple functionality of those early Ampex machines. The reason I never picked one up is because most are dirty, worn and banged up but not yours, man, what wonderful condition these are in! I too love the neat setup and cabling in the back.

 

[Echoplex]

Echoplex, those right there are almost enough to trade my entire line of TEAC / TASCAM recorders / mixers for. I always was a fan of the look and simple functionality of those early Ampex machines. The reason I never picked one up is because most are dirty, worn and banged up but not yours, man, what wonderful condition these are in! I too love the neat setup and cabling in the back.

Hey Thanks!! It was a lot of work...really years to be honest. Procuring them, getting heads done, finding the caps for the re-cap etc etc...what a journey. I would not want to go through it again. I cannot see ever getting rid of them after the work done now. I know them isnide and out. If I can be of any help let me know as I have gone through some trial and error.
Re-capping cards is a trick to make it clean.

They are serious high end discrete machines and sound very nice. Think back when they were $16,000 new (8trk). That's like $50,000-$60,000 today!!

I have a hybrid setup...analog/digital that works well for me. I just do live band tracking very little overdubbing. Sometimes with tape sometimes not.

 

[Echoplex]

here are some re-capped card shots...C32 is the big one and needs done first.

 

[technoplayer]

Man, I wish I could get my two 440-C machines to look like that. They are reasonablyy clean as is, but need to be gone thru. I sourced up a pair of very nice stanless front panels for them, but haven't been able to score any of the button caps (hint hint). Sure wish I knew of a source for those.

 

[Echoplex]

Man, I wish I could get my two 440-C machines to look like that. They are reasonablyy clean as is, but need to be gone thru. I sourced up a pair of very nice stanless front panels for them, but haven't been able to score any of the button caps (hint hint). Sure wish I knew of a source for those.

Which decks do you have 8,4,2trk? There is a superb commercial stainless polisher made by 3M that works well for the deck. For things like the wheels, which get grungy, I used 0000 steel wool. You cant see in the pix I posted that well but the wheels or "rims" are super shiny which looks better IMO.

Also the fan under the deck gets really full of junk. It was pain to remove but once it was off I cleaned 30yrs of dust and soot, so now the fan runs better, smoother and quieter.

About those switches they are all but unobtainium these days. I cleaned out the folks who had them which was some years ago. Basically I bought enough to service each channel. I will look and see if I have any to spare but I doubt it. PM me.

E

 

[technoplayer]

Thanks Echo. I have a pair of 440C two tracks. I have considered converting one to a 4 track half inch, maybe just using the electronics packages from both to make one machine. That way I could switch between 1/2" 2 track and 1/2" four track. I'd also plan to put the 1/4" 4 track play head in. That would probably make the most sense considering how I use these. The Russ Lang consoles they are in came with both the 2 bay and four bay bridge risers, so the cabinet would be right. (I have pics of them in a previous thread, but when I try to reattach them here it won't let me. ???)

Your machines look incredible!! What a cool set-up, and how pumped you must get using machines that you restored so well. The 440's are IMO some of the most solid machines ever made. Wish they would have come with tape counters however.

Mine are functional but need to be gone thru the way you and Sweetbeats have done. A lot of fine cleaning, re-capping, bearings, etc. Part of my rationalization for building a four track is that I will only have to totally go thru one transport. I would keep the other intact however, as I hate to cannibalize a complete machine unless it is total trash, which mine are not.

 

[Echoplex]

Thanks Echo. I have a pair of 440C two tracks. I have considered converting one to a 4 track half inch, maybe just using the electronics packages from both to make one machine. That way I could switch between 1/2" 2 track and 1/2" four track. I'd also plan to put the 1/4" 4 track play head in. That would probably make the most sense considering how I use these. The Russ Lang consoles they are in came with both the 2 bay and four bay bridge risers, so the cabinet would be right. (I have pics of them in a previous thread, but when I try to reattach them here it won't let me. ???)

Your machines look incredible!! What a cool set-up, and how pumped you must get using machines that you restored so well. The 440's are IMO some of the most solid machines ever made. Wish they would have come with tape counters however.

Mine are functional but need to be gone thru the way you and Sweetbeats have done. A lot of fine cleaning, re-capping, bearings, etc. Part of my rationalization for building a four track is that I will only have to totally go thru one transport. I would keep the other intact however, as I hate to cannibalize a complete machine unless it is total trash, which mine are not.

I think very few tape machines were made as heavy duty as the 440's. My dream machine is a MM1200 16trk. I had a troubled MM1100 16trk for a short time and then passed it on. You know it's time for me to look at some 1200's again. Since they use the same electronics (cards) as the 440's I can re-cap them. The transport is where I would be in the dark.

I think you should invest in re-capping and overhauling them. I could re-cap all your cards if you are not wanting to do it yourself and you only have 4 total sets. I have all the parts on hand. It's kinda a must at this point as those caps are dried up and they can take a head out if the record card cap fails.

Do you use your decks for final mixes?

 

[technoplayer]

A re-cap would be nice, but I probably need to lay out an entire program of restoration before committing to one small part. Please note that I am not in the league of most of the people on this board. I mostly use my gear for personal music enjoyment, remixing, archiving, transfers, etc. I have some nice equipment, only because I am averse to noise and crap sound, and I grew up in the analog world using a lot of other peoples gear like this before I could affoed to acquire it for myself. I tend to get emotionally attached to gear, and thus buy with the thought that I will keep it forever.

I currently use a Revox PR99 MkII for my half track work. It's not as stout as the Ampexs by a long shot, but its rather nice, and is pristine.

I love the big mutitrackers like yours, but I would have use for it, and it would be a shame t let it sit.

On the other hand......,

 

[sweetbeats]

Gotta chime in...love the dialogue. Thanks again for contributing, echo.

Yeah, I have all the caps to recap all the cards...C32 was indeed at the top of the hit list as well as a mod to disable the path to the record head when not in record mode...the "A" models were this way and for some reason they changed it on the "B" models...the suggestion was from Larry Miller, the project manager for the 440. He was gone before the "B" series came out and belabors why Ampex changed it on the B.

I'm replacing all the caps in the electronics as well except for the multi-section cans...gonna leave those for now as they have to do with switching and timing of such which is less critical...not in the audio path. Of course I'll have to do it at some point but it will be more of a project to replace those two big multi-section cans with 8 separate caps...a little spendy too so I'm prioritizing. I'm replacing the single section large can though as that filters the incoming power to the module.

Its going to be awhile before I get to the electronics though...I'm focusing on other projects at the moment so the 440 is in the back seat, and then when I do get back to it I'll be focusing on rebuilding the second power supply first, then refurbishing the console (which is going to be a task...I want to clean all the cable jackets which are really grimy which will also mean replacing all the zip ties), and then finishing the rebuild on the transport. Then I'll put those things back together and make sure the transport functions are working before I move on to the electronics.

Its hard to stay away from it for long though. As you can see in the posts above I tend to peck away at it as a diversion from some of the more mundane things I'm working on. The Ampex is more fun to work on. Not that the other projects aren't fun but the Ampex is really different and there is more creativity involved in the refurb. And maybe there is the element of mojo...the machine has it, and every little step reveals it more and that is toward the ultimate end of it being able to function again. It'll be a really fun and new experience for me to see what it does with audio.

Oh, and I didn't have to clean my console fan because it looks like somebody removed it with a blunt object...at least they got most of it removed...

If I can be of any help let me know as I have gone through some trial and error

I'm sure I will have questions. a couple of the folks over at the Ampex List have been invaluable but I don't like to bug them too much.

One question: The wire that carries the bias current from one power supply over to the next...did you replace yours at all? The jacket on mine seems sort of tacky and I considered replacing it with new but I'm wondering if there is a special wire to use considering what the wire is carrying...

OH! Another question...what do you use to lubricate bronze bushings?

I wish my 440-8 was as "scratch-free" as yours. MAN that's a pretty looking system. Did you repaint the lower cowling? its so shiny. My 440 was beat up, raped of critical parts and left for dead. Would I have been better off looking for a complete system? Maybe...would have been less work that's for sure, but I've got this one and it'll have my "signature" on it and indeed like you I'll certainly know it inside and out, right down to the last snap-ring. And I nearly have all those critical parts that were taken from it...I think that's a pretty monumental accomplishment...I knew it was going to be a challenge in the beginning and people warned me, but I understand better now. Word of advice for readers looking into getting something like this: if it has been used as a donor deck, you may be better walking away unless you are looking for a parts deck. All I still need is the viscous-type reel idler flywheel.

Did you re-cover the transport frame? The wood frame to which the transport attaches? It is covered in a thin vinyl material that cracks and shrinks over the decades...I'm trying to decide what to do about that...

For things like the wheels, which get grungy, I used 0000 steel wool.

I'm going to have to abraid and respray my wheels which are grungy and rust tinged...

The Russ Lang consoles they are in came with both the 2 bay and four bay bridge risers, so the cabinet would be right. (I have pics of them in a previous thread, but when I try to reattach them here it won't let me. ???)

Techno, I have that Russ Lang console that came with my parts 440...can you describe how they "won't let" you reattach them? I could see how the 440 electronics go in mine and we can compare notes about the hardware in the bridge...

You know it's time for me to look at some 1200's again. Since they use the same electronics (cards) as the 440's I can re-cap them.

Same as the 440C right? The B and earlier cards are different as the heads are different, at least on the 1" transport...

 

[Echoplex]

For the motor I use an oil I bought from an Ampex parts house. Cannot remember the name off hand though. As for the cards yes your right the C heads are different however I am not sure how different the cards are and if each is different or just the record. I had a couple "B" machines way back.

Basically the MM1200 cards are very similar to the 440's and or the same as the A&B so it would not a be hard to re-capp them since I already had a crash course in doing so. It's the MM1200 transport that would be alien to me but I believe it was rock solid. It was the 100 that was the troubled child as I recall. I am sure I could get to the 1200's power supply and re-capp it. A 1200 is on the horizon for me it's just a matter of time and finding one that is cheap but not beat.

Like yourself the only caps I did not replace were the two large multi's in the channel electronics. The one other large one by the meter (cannot remember it's function) was replaced. I also replaced all of the transport caps, power supply and the reel motor caps.

Yes the cowling cover was sanded and repainted as it needed it. The transport button assy was polished and repainted as well. The psuedo wood grain is in great shape so need to mess with it in my case.

BTW what does this record head mod do sonically you mentioned that Larry Miller suggested??

 

[sweetbeats]

The difference in cards between the original 440 and B series with the C is just with the record card. The Repro card can accomodate the difference, but the record cards are incompatible.

Good luck in your search for a 1200. I'll certainly flag you if I run accross anything. AFAIK if you consider the 440 as formidable as you do I beleive the 1200 is on another level.

The electronics mod shuts off the record head or heads when not in record ready mode or actual record. It is a backup safety, not an audio-path mod. I'll dig up the detail and post back.

The one other large one by the meter (cannot remember it's function)

That must be a C electronics thing...no large cap by the meter in the B electronics...there is a relatively large one behind the card cage...the output coupling cap. Also a must replace.

 

[Echoplex]

The difference in cards between the original 440 and B series with the C is just with the record card. The Repro card can accomodate the difference, but the record cards are incompatible.

Good luck in your search for a 1200. I'll certainly flag you if I run accross anything. AFAIK if you consider the 440 as formidable as you do I beleive the 1200 is on another level.

The electronics mod shuts off the record head or heads when not in record ready mode or actual record. It is a backup safety, not an audio-path mod. I'll dig up the detail and post back.



That must be a C electronics thing...no large cap by the meter in the B electronics...there is a relatively large one behind the card cage...the output coupling cap. Also a must replace.

RE: 1200 decks. Well the other level for me would be 16trk's instead of 8 and a counter combined with a more robust and refined transport. Ideally I would use 11-12 tracks at once since I do live recording 99% of the time in my studio. I also like the idea of a more compact deck. The 440c 8 is huge (tall refrigerator) and 1200 is more like washing machine (box).

I kinda doubt there would be a big difference in sound between the 440 and 1200 but some may have a different exp. I never got to use my 1100 so I cannot say yet.

I need to look at one of C channels and see what caps are left...I thought I got them all save the multi-section. The large cap on the left side (c deck) may have bee nthe output cap. There was a VERY small cap on the octal socket for the balancing transformers that I also replaced.

E

 

[sweetbeats]

That small cap on the octal is only needed if using the plug-in mic tranny's...I was advised to remove that if I'm not going to use those, but no harm in replacing it either.

I would wager very little difference in sound quality between the 440C and the 1200...electronics are very similar and same head design.

The 440-8 is a bit of a tower isn't it?

Just check the schematic for the C electronics to ID what that cap by the meter is...I think it is just a difference between the original 440 "A" and B electronics and the C...I'm pretty sure the output coupling cap behind the card cage is the same on both...it is a 500/50V...it is a critical audio path cap. Steve Puntillilo of Sonicraft commented that it was like "taking a blanket off" his mixes when he swapped those out.

Yes, the 1100/1200 was designed from the ground up for 2" tape...the 440 was never designed for even 1" tape. The 1200 is in a legendary class. The only issues I've heard with the 1100/1200 tape path is that there is a significant amount of unsupported tape and a high summed wrap angle so flutter was a "problem" but that was in head-to-head comparison with an 1100 and a 3M M56 which has, like, the shortest amount of unsupported tape and lowest wrap angle of any transport, and I understand the M56 transport design had issues with tape stretch and breakage...not abounding but it was of some concern at some point. The 1100 was bare bones IIRC...no meters and no flutter filters. The 1200 managed flutter with the two flutter filters and you can get a rolling guide kit too which greatly reduces the wrap angle, though it is something like $200 per guide or maybe that's for the whole kit, but it is certifiable quality. And the reality is that all this is severe hair-splitting...the flutter specs are amazing off a stock unit. Its just that the M56 has amazing-amazing flutter specs and whether or not a human can hear the difference is highly debatable. I know I can't, and if somebody wanted to give me my choice of an M56 or an MM-1200 I'd take the 1200 because I have more familiarity with the Ampex products, and I like 'em!