Don't buy a teac reel to reel!!!

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That is unless you own a teac test tape specific for your machine.
I am having a nightmare trying to get a test tape with a 400hz tone on it. This is the frequency at which the playback eq does not effect the playback level. if you can't get a tape with this frequency on it you are screw when it comes to calibration :mad:

EEEEsh I have never been this frustrated with a machine before in my life!!! Why the hell did they choose 400hz when any other test tape will have 500hz on it :mad:

If anybody out there has a calibration tape with NAB eq and a 400hz tone on it, can you let me know where you got this frm as it may help prevent premature balding :eek:
 
My Name said:
If anybody out there has a calibration tape with NAB eq and a 400hz tone on it, can you let me know where you got this frm as it may help prevent premature balding :eek:
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I forget whether it's IEC or NAB, but I do have a 400hz TEAC test tape - got it from ebay, I'm afraid.
 
jpmorris said:
I forget whether it's IEC or NAB, but I do have a 400hz TEAC test tape - got it from ebay, I'm afraid.
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Your a lucky git. I saw one on ebay in the states and i was outbit by a few cents while i was distracted by the missus.

Don't suppose you'd sell it or rent it even?
 
My Name said:
Your a lucky git. I saw one on ebay in the states and i was outbit by a few cents while i was distracted by the missus.
Don't suppose you'd sell it or rent it even?
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I might, since I bought it as a cheap (if flawed) alternative to an MRL tape so I could do basic head alignment. Now I've got a proper MRL I don't really need it anymore.

I've just moved house though, so finding it again might be a problem.
 
That would be fantastic! I'll PM you my email address so if you find it mail me and we can make a deal.
 
If it doesn't work out I'd call MRL and ask them. I'm sure they'd make you a tape with 400hz tone on it.
 
I really doubt it makes a huge difference. I thought that you were supposed to use 1k anyway... Isn't that the difference between 350 and 370 nwb/m?
 
It's not critical. 500 Hz will work just fine. Some TEAC machines call for 400 and others 700 Hz, but most half-tracks are referenced to 1kHz. I’ve standardized to 1 kHz with no problems. In fact when calibrating my 22-2 I follow the procedures for the 32… 250 nWb/m @ 1 kHz.

I’m not sure why some of the TEAC decks were using 400 Hz. Dolby NR uses that frequency for calibration and it’s also commonly used to measure distortion levels, so maybe they were killing 3 birds with one stone.

As FALKEN already mentioned about the flux number confusion, 355 nWb/m and 370 nWb/m are both +6, but the latter is measured with a 700 Hz tone instead of 1kH. Same thing when you see 250 nWb/m and 260 nWb/m figures. 250 is measured with 1kHz.

If you don’t want to start from scratch and recalibrate the whole machine you can use 500 Hz. However, you can start from the beginning and change everything to 1k reference.

The first step is sending a 1k tone through the input and adjust operating levels so the output reads what it would if using 400 Hz.

For example, a -10dB1kHz tone fed into the RCA inputs of a TASCAM 22-2 should show a voltage of 0.316V (316 millivolts) at the RCA outputs with the VU meters reading 0. Once that is set all you have to do is follow the playback and record calibration procedures using 1kHz instead of 400 Hz.

:)
 
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Found it - mine is a YTT-5001 'Level Set' tape. It gives 400Hz at 0dB (at 185 nWb/m) when played at 7.5ips. Is that what you're after?
 
It's not critical. 500 MHz will work just fine.
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Uh, right-- assuming you mean 500Hz, not 500MHz! I doubt you'll see any difference on the meters in any part of the alignment. You certainly won't hear any difference in the results.
 
Wil816 said:
Uh, right-- assuming you mean 500Hz, not 500MHz! I doubt you'll see any difference on the meters in any part of the alignment. You certainly won't hear any difference in the results.
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................... :eek: :D
 
What about adjusting the playback EQ? If you set your levels using a 1K tone then adjusting the EQ will affect th output level will it not. I thought the point in the specified playback frequency was at a frequency that would not be affected by adjusting playback EQ.

JP that will do just fine thanks. I've left you my e-mail address so let me know how much you want for it... :)
 
My_Name, the adjustable filter used to adjust the high-frequency response has a very low Q. If you adjust the 10KHz response up or down 3dB for example, whatever minute effect it will have at 500Hz will be almost exactly the same as the minute effect it will have at 400Hz. You'll get a little more difference at 1kHz, but still not a lot. For some parts of the alignment, it's not essential that things be so perfectly exact.
 
That is contrary to what i have experienced while setting up both my teac machines. the eq adjustments have quite an effect on the playback level
 
The difference between 400 and 500 Hz will be rather insignificant though. I used to work at TEAC. I fixed about a thousand machines while I was there in the early 80's and always finished the job by going through the alignment process. But with any make of recorder, if you make a big change in one adjustment, you may need to go back and re-check earlier adjustments. The adjustments are not completely independent of each other. They do affect each other a little.
 
My Name said:
That is contrary to what i have experienced while setting up both my teac machines. the eq adjustments have quite an effect on the playback level
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By the way, what model TEAC deck are you working with?

I've done full calibrations on the X-3, Realistic TR-3000 and TASCAM 22-2 over the years. Really anything between 400 Hz and 1 kHz is within the proper range for setting zero. But regardless of which frequency you choose the NAB EQ curve is referenced to 1k. A typical spec might say 30 Hz to 20 kHz +/- 3dB reference 1k. The difference will be negligible with zero set using 700 or even 400 Hz if viewing a plot of the response curve.

Machines will vary of course, but the machines I’ve listed above are virtually flat between 400 Hz and 1 kHz at 7.5 ips, and in the case of the 22-2 both 7.5 and 15 ips.

The bottom line... there is really no practical difference between 400 Hz and 500 Hz from the perspective of your machine.

Personally, beating the bushes for the TEAC tape with the 400 Hz tone is very low on my to-do list. I've got a standard MRL tape that I use on my 1/4" hi-fi and half-tracks that works perfectly.

Hope that helps

:)
 
This is a ridiculous thread title that I happen to come upon. Having worked on Teac products as well as many other products through the years about 43 of them now, I can say that most peoples problems calibrating decks or working on them stems from their lack of basic knowledge of the machine or any machine. I don't care like some E bay sellers if you have sold 500 of them and had no complaints. The fact that if you do not use the correct methods of adjustment, then they were all wrong and no complaints from and customer does not validate that you did it right- They are ALL wrong.

EQ is not set with 400 Hz anyway and the use of a 400 Hz tape again confirms that the person is asking for the wrong thing. It has been very EASY through many years to get an alignment tape from MRL or even STL and in early days from Teac. Sony had them too. You just contact a dealer and they could get them for you- of course you need all the other equipment too. They are not free and neither is the equipment to work on decks. That is why Technicians charge money for doing the job.

So to say to someone don't buy a Teac because of this absurd reason you have is just making an idiot of yourself to most the people that do know what they are doing and to the rest you will steer them to Akai type machines which are built poorly and really at this point re not repairable.
 
While I was looking for pertinent subject matter around here that I would respond to, I happened upon this post. I do not make a habit of bringing up real old subjects but because I found this post from way back I thought than anyone from this point forward should be enlightened. I spend most of my day on two benches in my basement so being in the basement is not all that bad a thing to do.
I fix Teac, Pioneer, Studer, Sony and Technics decks all the time. One or two MRL tapes is all that is needed and a couple more if you want to get fancy.
 
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