Fostex B16 reel to reel information

S

stevemillan

New member
Hi,

I'm after information on the Fostex B16, basically how it works, audio routing, common faults etc.

so if anyone has one or knows about them i'd appreciate some help, so I can get mine up and running.

So far i've repaired the transport, which was meant to be the problem, but I can't get audio in or out.

might be something silly i'm not doing.

thanks in advance,

Steve
 
I've had a b16 for awhile now. The more I use it, the more I like it. It sounds great!! I was lucky to find a brand spanking new set of heads. I put off buying an alignment tape for quite some time (dumb). Get an alignment tape!!

Also, get to know the input selector switches. The manual goes through this pretty well. If your not selecting the input select button you won't see any input on the meters.
The biggest problem I have had with it is the meter led's. They go out. Sort of. Sometimes they'll come back on. Wierd!!

I'd actually like to get another one for parts and such. But, I've had a hard time finding one for anywhere close to the price I got mine for.

Good luck. If you have any specific questions, this forum is the place for answers.
 
much appreciated

cheers for the reply,
I've got the user manual, so i'll investigate the input selectors further.
I did wonder if the heads failed on this machine, does that stop audio travelling to the outputs?
I suppose what i've been wondering is does the audio travel from the inputs to the R/P head then to the outputs, or can it monitor straight from input to output bypassing the R/P head, ie offering a "tape" and "source" option?
I don't understand the audio path yet, can't get hold of the schematics.
I've also been keeping my eye out for reference tape, but it seems quite rare, do you know of anywhere i'm not looking?
if you're after spare parts, alot seem to be the same as the E16, which seem a bit easier to locate.

I'm waiting for a part to come so i can repair the transport, and reallign the heads, I hope you don't mind some further questiond when i do that becasuse i'm sure i'll run into problems

Much appreciate, I'm dying to get this up and running,

Steve
 
I wish you luck mate. Keep us updated on the project. I'd like to go 16-track instead of double 8-track myself when a good deal for a B16 or E16 is offered at a time when I'm not near starvation.
Love the sound of Fostex.
 
You can get an alignment tape from JRF Magnetics or US Recording Media. You don't need a Fostex specific alignment tape, you choose the tape for the operating level you want to calibrate.

As to the LED's going out, this is a common complaint of the Fostex machines, and I've never located a satisfactory answer on why they fail and how to fix them. (I have a few Model 80s, but I'd guess the light assembly is pretty much the same.)
 
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Cheers folks,

finally, a place to buy reference tape. I'm in Scotland so it's not too common round here.

I'll keep progress updates coming as i go along.

cheers
 
I believe Canford Audio still sell them. They aren't cheap, and I think they basically order them from MRL anyway
 
Hi, i have designed an excellent replacement for my fostex B16 led bargraph meters, i used BA682A IC , and micro LEDS , works just fine, original meters are impossible to fix because uses SMD leds and some kind of cheap custom IC.
The only thing i need is the Service manual, impossible to find!
 
MikeyT said:
Steve, what does a reference tape do? I have never heard of this before :)
Click to expand...

An alignment tape has a set of test tones recorded by a known-good machine. The idea is you play back the tones on your machine and adjust the playback and head alignment until your machine plays it back correctly with all the channels reading 0vU, at all frequencies (usually 100Hz, 1Khz and 10Khz, but some also have 16Khz).
Next, you record on a blank tape of the kind you're intending to use the machine with and adjust the record electronics for each channel until it plays back at 0 on all channels. This is annoying on a 2-head machine like the Fostex because you have to rewind and play it back every time. A 3-head machine can play back what's just been recorded so you can adjust the settings 'live'.
Once the machine has been calibrated, you get two benefits:
1. You know the machine is reasonably close to spec (the electronics and mechanical alignment drift over time)
2. The tapes the machine records will be interchangeable on any other Fostex that has been set up to that standard (I think they're 320nWb IEC).

Arguably you could work without one since these days a lot of people are dumping the stuff into pro-tools anyway, and not swapping tapes between machines.
 
Fostex B-16 Recording Problem

Foamfoot said:
I've had a b16 for awhile now. The more I use it, the more I like it. It sounds great!! I was lucky to find a brand spanking new set of heads. I put off buying an alignment tape for quite some time (dumb). Get an alignment tape!!

Also, get to know the input selector switches. The manual goes through this pretty well. If your not selecting the input select button you won't see any input on the meters.
The biggest problem I have had with it is the meter led's. They go out. Sort of. Sometimes they'll come back on. Wierd!!

I'd actually like to get another one for parts and such. But, I've had a hard time finding one for anywhere close to the price I got mine for.

Good luck. If you have any specific questions, this forum is the place for answers.
Click to expand...

So, super old post but I just got one of these amazing machines! Everything seems to be in working order except a few led lights. I am having a problem recording, I am getting a signal on the input but when I hit record, nothing records on the track when I go back and listen to it. Is it common for the recording head to be broke on these? The playback head seems to work just fine. Both heads are pretty dirty from the sight of them, but should something record, even if its really bad quality or really hummy? Am i doing something wrong?

PLEASE HELPPPPP

--thank you
 
NEED HELP! I just got a b-16 and it is not recording. Everything else works. Is it just the recording head? Or am I doing something wrong? Any suggestions? is it common for these heads to break?
 
The B16 uses the same head for record and playback, so if it can play back the head is fine. However, they are narrowtrack machines and quite sensitive to dirt. It can be enough to stop it recording if it's really bad. Clean the heads using isopropyl alcohol and try again.
Out of interest, what kind of tape are you using on the machine? And are you sure it's been loaded correctly (shiny side towards the heads)?

Also - is it failing to record on all 16 channels?
 
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