I have an Otari 8 Track MX5050 MKIII 1/2 inch machine. Track 1 is cutting in and out. I have been able to record, but very little, if anything, is audible on playback. Nothing shows up on the VU. If I quickly switch between repro and sel-rep, audio comes in for a second and then fades out right away. Track 1 has played maybe 1 out of the last 5 times I have tried it.
Sounds like a relay issue...
The machine was recently de-magnetized and calibrated. During the de-mag, the wand briefly touched one of the heads. Could that have caused this? How do I go about trouble shooting?
What kind of wand and did it have a protected tip? If the tip isn't protected and it touched the head it could
scratch...if it has a prtected tip it is extremely unlikely that it could scratch and therefore it wouldn't be a cause to consider.
Have you tried cleaning the eraser head? Just put a little head cleaner on a cotton swab and rub it over the head. I have a can from like, the 90's that my daddy gave me, it's some tascam stuff, so I don't know where abouts you'd find that stuff now-a-days. Anyways, if some nasty looking black stuff comes off then the head was just really dirty.
When cleaning heads you want to clean ALL the headstacks, not just the erase head. Cotton swabs are fine but 100% cottom makeup remover pads are much more effective. New head cleaner can be found. MG Chemical makes an audio and video head cleaner, or easier yet is isopropyl alcohol in at least 91% purity. 99% is preferred but hard to find. Good quality denatured alcohol is another worthy alternative.
yeah, i clean the heads pretty diligently. it was suggested that i try cleaning the switches. do you know what i should use for that?
DeoxIT D5. That's the one without lubricant for metal-to-metal contacts. DeoxIT D100 is another good one to know about if the contacts are really scungy.
Hey guys - try to find contact cleaner or preferaby deoxit to clean switches (I believe deoxit has a lubricant).
No, only certain types like the DeoxIT FaderLube F5 have a lubricant. D5 or D100 are for metal-to-metal contacts in switches or connectors.
Also - be careful when demagging! Bumping the heads (if you demag is not protected by plastic) can permanently magnetize the heads...
No. That is false. Bumping the heads has nothing to do with megnetizing. The risk is that bumping the heads with a non-protected wand tip could
scratch a head. Now, shutting the demag unit off when it is close to the headstacks? THAT can permanently megnetize the heads.
Another suggestion is to re-seat the amp cards in your 5050, but honestly I'd look to a relay problem. May be time to replace them. The relays on the amp cards handle source switching on the output side (sync or repro or input) and also engage the record amp section. If the contacts are tarnished or if the reeds are weak etc. etc. they won't switch and pass signal reliably or at all.
