Mci jh-110

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man-bot

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I seriously considering taking the plunge on a non-working JH-110 (that seems to be my M.O. on most of the equip I buy as I'm okay with the soldering iron). It depends on head stack condition... but I wanted to get opinions as to whether it is an upgrade beyond my 80-8.

It is still 8 tracks and ideally I would have 16... however it is unusual that I would have 16 going at once so I figured I could still use 2 - 8 track decks to get what I want done without sacrificing some of the control I like.

What I'd like is opinions as to whether this is will sonically be an upgrade worth it (and the price of 1" tape)... and whether you think I may be in for a world of hurt trying to get it running! (I think it needs the molex connectors cleaned up).

Opinions please and thank you...

Edit - I spoke with the seller and it has "intermittent issues"... likely the connectors I think. It is the "A" version and has been sitting for 6 years...
 
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I've recently started runnin a JH-110 8-track; ours is a later C machine. Excellent machines once you catch up on the maintenance. The A versions are the oldest. Being an A, it almost certainly has some iron in the audio drawers which is cool; later revision went to transformerless designs and have lots more ICs than this one will. I haven't used a 80-8 to say for sure, but I would think that it would definitely be an upgrade. An MCI 1" 8 track with trannies should arguably be one of the best around, and MCI gear is made with lots of still available, relatively inexpensive, off the shelf parts.

You will need clean and re-solder all the Molexes--that is, all the ones on the transport cards and motherboards, and all the ones on the audio cards and audio motherboards. There are also a couple in the power supply on the board in the chimney. It's a tedious job but could be worse. The Molexes will be the #1 cause of intermittent issues. Sometimes the audio cards are especially knackered from years of pulling and re-seating; if this is the case, just add new Molexes. They're readily available from Mouser for cheap.

The A version does not have as many ICs as the later versions, but any DIPs it does have will most likely have the "dreaded red" IC sockets. I wouldn't worry about them as much as some people would have you believe. Just replace the ones that are clearly knackered and causing real problems and don't sweat the rest. My MCI console is full of hundreds and hundres of red sockets and very few have actually been problem children so far.

Being that this is one of the oldest JH110s, and knowing it sat unpowered for a while, it would be a good idea to plan on re-capping the power supply and record and repro cards at least.


In closing, go for it if you don't mind doing a little refurbing and get a great price. These are wonderful sounding machines when brought back to life, but don't pay "too much." A fully refurbished, spit-shined machine from No Brainer is worth some bucks. A knackered fixer-upper from "some guy" is not (so you have that going for you too hehe). Make sure you source a full manual for an A version as they were somewhat different from the B and C versions. You will want those schematics and you will need the manual for the calibration and alignment procedures.
 
I'm certianly itching to grab this thing and make it work. The molex connection reflow doesn't bother me - tedious for sure... but that is always the case with old gear at a reasonable price that needs work! (no other way I could afford it!)

I had read the "A" version used transformers so that always gets me going a bit as well...

So I guess the question really is what is a good price? He wants in the $700 region and I am leaning towards $500 (if the heads are decent which he says they are... waiting on a pic).

Thoughts as to what you think a fair price to pay would be? Ebay pricing is so crazy I find it tough to go by (as they don't sell) and then you always get the threads that start with "I was given a jh-110 for free..." haha. Hard to tell these days!

Mike
 
I would say you're in the right ball park depending on head condition, though if you can drive a hard bargain you might get it for even less. The fact is that people are definitely NOT falling over themselves to buy gear like this, so aim low on the offer and be patient, if the seller declines at first, he may come around after it sits on the market for a while (if it hasn't already).
 
Well I am officially in the MCI club now as the unit is sitting in my garage.

Plugged her in and the reels spin (albeit fast as all get out) and the transport does not seem to do anything... looks like step one is cleaning/reflowing the molex contacts on the transport daughterboard and seeing what happens next! It has power so I'm already a few steps ahead of where I was with my Soundcraft mixing desk.

The seller gave me a garbage bag of cables, an original manual, one ful reel (used) of 499, a take up reel and a tension gauge as well. All in all not a bad buy... will need work but then its 1" / 8 track heaven!

Let the games begin!:drunk:
 
Congrats! Hey, they all need work. Fixing up those Molexes will do wonders. Do all the transport daughtercards and the motherboard right away. Getting all the cable harnesses off the back of the motherboard (and back on again) is a PITA, but trust me...do it all! Then see where you're at, this will probably make it behave much better.

Check and trim your power rails right away as outlined in the manual as well, those need to be pretty right on, and make sure the PSU fans work! Unless they seem to be in perfect working order, just replace 'em.

The tension gauge is a nice bonus, though I've found that our Tentelometer doesn't give an absolute--I use it to ballpak, then get it dialed the rest of the way in by watching the dancer arm and checking 1k tone pitch with the pinch roller pushed away. 499 sounds great on these machines and don't be afraid to go for +9 if you're so inclined.

Have fun!
 
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Thanks! Put the reels on and threaded the tape and they don't spin... With them off they go. Time to get out the schem and volt meter and chase down why the transport and RTZ don't work.

I'll have to take your advice and do the boards up... Feeling like Im not sure where to start. May have to try my hand and if I can't track it down the issues sign up for a Steve Sadler subscription...
 
Briank is right about the power rails. You can troubleshoot the electronics for weeks, but won't fix the problem if the issue is the power supply. Check those out first, and work your way up.
 
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