Hope I don't regret this...

[technoplayer]

Long story short: saw a newly posted local Craigslist for an Ampex 440C
Half inch 4 track. $350. Guy is moving out of town the next day (red flag # 1) and last minute decides he doesnt want to haul it across the country. He claims low usage. (red flag #2) So I go to the storage unit its in (red flag #3).

Yeah, its a complete and original 440c half inch 4 track in the Ampex cart with a remote. It is also the filthiest, nastiest machine I have ever laid eyes on. I see corrosion, oxidation, dirt, bug parts, cobwebs .....just not pretty. Covers are missing on the electronics modules. The inside of the belly pan from under the transport looks like it had water sitting in it at one time. (fortunately, it was separate from the machine).

Powered it up and FF and REW work very quite, the electronics seems to come to life, but no capstan movement. Ok, so I have a spare capstan motor so thats not a problem. $350 is a problem.

So why didnt I walk away??

>> Half track heads with intact ruby guides look NICE. Maybe low hours??
>> The capstan motor is a SERVO unit. Worth the effort to troubleshoot!!
>> All of the schadow switches on the modules work. I have rarely seen a 440C where at least one was not broken. Picky item, but again may point to low actual usage
>> Opened up each electronics module and they look clean
>> Had the remote.
>> Ampex floor cart....dirty dirty dirty but still has the (nasty nasty) belly pan that most are missing. No damage and nothing a clean and paint wouldnt fix

Now... low hours does not make up for barn-find condition, but I do have the parts and etc. to restore it. So, heres a machine I do not need and a project I do not have time for.

Took it home for $150. If its a toad I can keep the parts I want and get back my investment from the rest.

No pics yet...it is the first piece of gear I have ever bought that I will not take into the house. Its that nasty. Its in pieces all over my garage shop.

So maybe ok?? If I pull this off I will feel like I have brought the dead back to life

 

[SteveM]

Sounds like a score to me.

What are "schadow switches"?

 

[technoplayer]

The select switches on the 440C are pushbuttons that mechanically change color when they are pushed in. I think schadow is the brand (??). On the 440C they are either red or green when pushed in, and black when not. There is a little set of shutters that cover the color when the switch is "off". Its nice as you can see the settings from across the room.

They are neat but since the "color" part is anchored with a fragile plastic prong, they tend to break as they age, then you get color all the time or the little shutters open only half way or some thing irritating like that. . It does not affect the function of the switch in any way; you just lose the visual indication. I've mused about trying an LED conversion.......

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Is that a picture of the machine you just bought?

It cleaned up pretty good if so!

Cheers!

 

[technoplayer]

Ha! No, just a ripoff pic to answer the switch question,

 

[technoplayer]

Ok...Pix

The right hand reel adaptor is frozen to the takeup shaft. I am trying some penetrating oil, but might have to surgically remove it with my dremel tool.
I have a spare tension arm and capstan cap, so I wont even mess with those.....just replace
The rusty belly pan looks like it had water standing in it? The outside is fine though, so a wirebrush / prime/paint will get this right.
Surface corrosion on the upper deck components, but doesnt seem to have affected the headblock. The top surface seem to have the worst issues.

Anything painted black...the reel table surrounds, the entire cart structure..needs a scrub (or sand) and repaint. For the sake of protecting the pieces, I am working on cleaning up and restoring the cart first so I have something the hold all the other parts while I work on them

Surprisingly the bottom side of the machine is essentially corrosion free....dirty but ok. .

 

[technoplayer]

The servo box is undamaged and complete (I have the card pulled out in that picture) but the motor did not turn in my storage unit test. I have not tried it now that its at the house. I need to clean up all the connectors and check continuity. Yes, that is a broken lock tab stuck in the connector!! The top of the servo box, like all top surfaces, shows surface corrosion. As does the top of the electronics stack

I wish the card covers were in place, as it might have stopped the corosion under the front of the cards. Most of the cards themselves look ok. I am concerned about some component lead oxidiation, and on the equalizer trim pots on the front of the cards....need to be a clean and sub them into one of my working 440's to see if they are a problem. I am going to have to completely gut the electronics modules to remedy this issue..

This was a very nice machine....I wonder what turn its life took that it ended up in this condition is a storage unit....

 

[sweetbeats]

Techno,

I saw that listing and though it was a mighty-fine deal...the pics in the listing didn't look too bad but I guess that was only part of the story.

Is that rust in front of the cards in the amp modules, or is it just yuck?

The servo getting power? Dunno how it is on that one but mine has a small twist-lock power connector to tie into the line power...

So it came with a spare halftrack block???

And you got it for $150???

Corrosion is the bane of any refurb project so that's a real bummer. The rust on the belly pan is probably just from ambient moisture I'd guess...cold damp air dropping.

 

[technoplayer]

Can't trust the 2" square lo res picture you get on Craigslist. It was only a 30 minute drive across town, so I had nothing to lose by checking it out. For the price I wont lose anything if I have to part it out.
I havent dug into the electronics yet, except to take off the top covers and scope out the insides....all good and clean. I THINK its rust on the edges, so as I said Im gonna have to dissassemble the modules.

I thought I only saw the one cable going to the servo box, unless there is a bottom side connection. I have to remove it from the cart for cleanup so I will get a good look all around at it.

The corrosion I've seen is mostly the exposed top surfaces and the mounting screw heads. The underside of the transport actually looked pretty good...only dirty, not corroded. I have a clean spare front plate casting, so it gives me the option of removing each component from the current plate and inspecting/ refurb as I build on the clean one. Corrosion is insidious, as you dont know what its affected. I expect to have some component level issues here and there.

Only one headstack but as I said it looked good to my eye.

Plan: Refurb the cart first, troubleshoot the servo unit, then clean and service the transport, then each electronics module one at a time. As I indicated this thing is in my garage shop, so I want to do all the dirty work out there.
The servo unit fix is key since if it doesnt work, i will need to swap in an ac motor.
Getting the cart done first gives me a place to mount each component as its finished. My studio space is on the second floor, so its gotta go up in pieces anyway, and I can swap modules in from my other 440's as needed.

 

[SteveM]

Techno,

I saw that listing and though it was a mighty-fine deal...the pics in the listing didn't look too bad but I guess that was only part of the story.

Cory, do you look through Craig listings in every state?