cjacek
Analogue Enthusiast
Daniel, The channel cards are accessed behind the VU meter front panel. You have to undo the 4 front fascia hex screws and then pull the front panel away from the cabinet a few inches. There are wire harnesses still connected at that point and there is enough slack in them to place the panel down, in from of the amp unit so that you can do the various calibration adjustments when needed.
The cards themselves are much bigger then the cards in my MS-16 and I assume much of that is because of the two speed operation which requires different settings for each speed. Luckily though, because you have input and output pots on the front panel, you can tweak those when needed rather then doing a full blown calibration each time. Keep in mind though that those controls are only active when the un cal. light is on, on each channel and that's switched off and on by the pushbutton beside the lamp. They do that so that if you are strictly running your levels from the mixer, you can have a set straight level in and out, just like you would on an 8 track series recorder with no external pots.
The manual, if and when you get it, will step you through the whole procedure. A nice thing about a 4 track is that it takes a lot less time to do then a 16 track!
About loosing quality in the digital transfers, this is where having some very high end digital equipment is going to come in handy. The quality of the A/D converters will be all the more important now for preserving as much of the detail and tonality as possible...though in reality, I don't know if in fact digital is yet capable of all the subtle details and space that your deck can capture. At 30 ips, your deck is flat from 30-28Khz +/- 2db. with a s/n ratio of 76 db...pretty much like having Dolby C without the extra circuitry or NR artifacts!
It's a slippery slope!
Cheers!
Jeff, you're awesome man! Thanks for all the info.
As I sat down to look through the forum, a few hrs or so ago I had an inkling that indeed the 4 screws and front face had something to do with accessing the amp cards but now you've confirmed it! Seems like a piece of cake now. Thanks!!
Oh, BTW, to side step for a sec, one of the reasons I dislike hiring a tech to do the work for me is because of what I've found with the ATR. No, no worries, it's fine but some of the screws are almost stripped, no doubt, by the service guy trying to gain access (by any means necessary
). See, that's what I hate.. the blatant disrespect, even in the form of such tiny details. A few stripped screws on the screws you mention but I think I can still undo them. Again, thanks for guiding me through, Jeff.
Yup, yup, I agree on the digital transfer thing.
Sometimes not knowing is best. 
Maybe I'll drop the guy an email and ask about shipping.. At the same time I don't want to potentially prevent a transaction between you and him.