MS 16 Calabration

  • Thread starter Thread starter ron-e-g
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ron-e-g

ron-e-g

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Hello. I'm doing some exploring on my MS16. I open the amp. cover and see all the pc cards. I also see arms on both sides, one of each has a spring attached. What I don't see, is how to adj. the trims on these cards. Or..what these disconnected arms are for. The manual is real un-clear in this. Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks,
Ron
 
Are you opening the amplifier cards or the transport ? All the audio adjustments are done on the amp unit and the transport adjustments on the recorder itself. What type of adjustment you want to do? Do you have the manual ? The arms that you see I am assuming are the ones that hold the cover. The trims you can see them on every card they are white plastic. There are three of them that are a little inside but they are reachable as well. Don't move them unless you know exactly what you want to calibrate and you'll need some basic equipment to do the calibration. if you share more details of your intended adjustments we can help you more
 
Thanks for your response fgonza2.

I am opening the amp cover (guess it's not connected to the arms). The adjustments I speak of are, SYNC EQ, REPRO EQ, LOW FREQ, REPRO LEVEL, SYNC LEVEL, REC EQ, REC LEVEL AND BIAS LEVEL.

More importantly, INPUT LEVEL, PEAK LED, and METER LEVEL located behind the outer adjustments.

I do have what I believe to be the manual. It's titled, Operation/Maintenance.
 
What is the current symptom ? Do you also have a calibration tape and a RMS level meter ?
 
fgonza2 said:
What is the current symptom ? Do you also have a calibration tape and a RMS level meter ?
Click to expand...

I have the MRL @ 30 ips tape. I'm sortta stuck in limbo right now, I also have a M600 console with no user manual. If you know anything about the board you know it's not conventional. All D-sub connectors with the exception of 24 XLR ballanced. So I'm not sure how to connect the MS16 properly. I'm pretty sure I have all the necessary cables D-sub to D-sub and D-sub to XLR male x16, and D-sub to XLR female x16.

There were even two interface cables Tascam model PW-88AC2 (don't have a clue)! And some sort of prototype interface for a Sony 5800

Any-hoo while running the MRL tape I noticed the VU meters on the recorder vary some. From everything I've read they should be identical. I managed to get a signal into the MS16 from the M600's tone generator by plugging in some of the (24) D-sub connectors hanging from the back of the console to one of the six TT patchbay's. It showed track 12/13 with no signal input.
 
The manual spells out in specific order what you do and with what gear. Review it.

From memory, setting the input level via 1Khz tone generator at precisely 1.23 volts and then reading that voltage back on a separate VTM meter connected to the output jack of the channel under test with the deck set to monitor input and adjusting the R206 trim pot on the channel's card until the VTM meter reads back the correct voltage.

The next step is to adjust the VU meter, then the peak LED and then with your calibration tape loaded on the machine, actual repro levels off the repro head.

There are of course several mechanical alignment steps to do first before any of the levels are messed with and the service manual spells all of those out too. There are also several steps after the first few I outlined, which also need to be done by the book.

My best advice is to follow the manual to the letter and do not skip any steps or alter them or the order in which they need to be done. Otherwise, you may end up screwing up all subsequent readings, making the entire effort a waste of time and possibly damaging the deck by working off of bogus previous settings. The initial mechanical set up is not something you do as ritualistically as the levels check up but it should be done at least once initially with you as the new owner to ensure that the previous owner didn't mess any of that up. And once done, you'll know that you've got a proper base to work onward from. Kind of like building a house. You want a straight and level foundation to start with.

If you don't know what you're doing, don't do anything! And instead seek out a local repair technician who does and who makes house calls and insist that if he comes over to do this set up, that you are there to watch what he's doing and to have him show you in person and at your learning pace, all the steps so that you'll be able to do this on your own in the future. This is what I did and was well worth the effort and expense. And of course always having the manual handy and re-reading it as many times as necessary until it sinks in and makes sense to you.

Do not expect anyone on the Internet to step you through this. :)

Good luck.

Cheers! :)
 
All good words Ghost of FM. Bottom line..I don't know what I'm doing, (yet) but I never let that stop me. And if I don't try and learn...I never will. There is not any experienced technician in my area to watch or even contact, (that I have found). So I'll just keep poking around and asking dumb questions until I get to where I need to be. Keeping in mind there has not been a commercial Reel to Reel manufactured in the last 20 years it won't be easy. But in my mind, the best place to start is where people of similar likes, and experiences congregate. Is a good place to get information on the same things. You know..Been there done that!

I don't expect a walk through. As you stated the Manual does that. But it sometimes helps to have opinions from others that have already been down that road. To someone such as myself. It all seems a little daunting at first.

Thanks for your help.
Ron
 
I agree fully that it is daunting at first. And if there's no experienced techs in your area, then it makes it that much harder.

But the manual is genuinely your best and most faithful friend. And you've also got an MRL tape which is vital for setting up proper flux levels in repro so that once set, you'll be able to set up the bias, levels and EQ to that fluxivity standard that your recording tape, (456, 499, GP9) will give you. The test tone generator on your mixer is not a replacement for that. It's for other stuff like I outlined in my previous post and only useful if it outputs the correct voltage.

So the basics of it are setting up the mechanics first, to know everything is mechanically aligned, then to get the correct input levels, then to set the VU and peak metering and then to move onto to repro settings to serve as the base reference for your record levels. And always in that specific order only. Once all done, simplified steps like just the MRL tape and a quick record level tweak will keep things consistent.

Also keep in mind that the machine is pretty stable once set and does not have to be constantly messed with. But do it right at least once and then you'll have less headaches down the road.

About your channels 12 and 13 not showing any signal, try jiggling the cards left to right a little bit to see if they kick in. Card connectivity issues can be a common issue with these decks and dead relays are also common service items. If you're going to re-seat a channel card, (un-plugging and plugging back in), power down first! Also, never attempt to calibrate the deck cold. Turn it on and let it warm up for at least 30 minutes to let the circuits stabilize. Again, all of that too is in your manual.

Also, treat that MRL tape like gold. Keep it away from all souces of magnetism and never play it on a dirty deck. Clean the heads first!!!!!!!!!11! :D

Cheers! :)
 
Last edited:
The Ghost of FM said:
I agree fully that it is daunting at first. And if there's no experienced techs in your area, then it makes it that much harder.

But the manual is genuinely your best and most faithful friend. And you've also got an MRL tape which is vital for setting up proper flux levels in repro so that once set, you'll be able to set up the bias, levels and EQ to that fluxivity standard that your recording tape, (456, 499, GP9) will give you. The test tone generator on your mixer is not a replacement for that. It's for other stuff like I outlined in my previous post and only useful if it outputs the correct voltage.

So the basics of it are setting up the mechanics first, to know everything is mechanically aligned, then to get the correct input levels, then to set the VU and peak metering and then to move onto to repro settings to serve as the base reference for your record levels. And always in that specific order only. Once all done, simplified steps like just the MRL tape and a quick record level tweak will keep things consistent.

Also keep in mind that the machine is pretty stable once set and does not have to be constantly messed with. But do it right at least once and then you'll have less headaches down the road.

About your channels 12 and 13 not showing any signal, try jiggling the cards left to right a little bit to see if they kick in. Card connectivity issues can be a common issue with these decks and dead relays are also common service items. If you're going to re-seat a channel card, (un-plugging and plugging back in), power down first! Also, never attempt to calibrate the deck cold. Turn it on and let it warm up for at least 30 minutes to let the circuits stabilize. Again, all of that too is in your manual.

Also, treat that MRL tape like gold. Keep it away from all souces of magnetism and never play it on a dirty deck. Clean the heads first!!!!!!!!!11! :D

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

That's helpful

Thanks,
Ron
 
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