My baby is going in for surgery.

  • Thread starter Thread starter The Ghost of FM
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The Ghost of FM

Banned
Well, after a year and a half of not recording a thing, I finally got back into it this past labor day weekend and had a great start to redoing an older tune but my 16 track was giving me some grief with a few channels that kept cutting in and out so I have decided to bite the bullet and get the machine professionally fixed once and for all and get the heads re-lapped with a fresh calibration while its on the bench.

I know it's unheard of these days to drop close to a gee note on fixing an older machine but I figure it's not worth much in its current condition and I'd really like to get another couple of decades out of it and out of me so while there is still a great technician available to do the work, I'm gonna get it done and then get back to making music again. ;)

Cheers! :)
 
Get well soon 16.

:)

You slumming with us 38ers again then?
 
Bill Furnett said:
Get well soon 16.

:)

You slumming with us 38ers again then?
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Yup. ;)

But, I don't think it will take too long to do, perhaps a week or two and I'll be back in business. :)

Truth is, my MS-16 has had a problem with intermittent channel cards for quite some time and I've tried almost everything in the DIY realm to fix it myself, buying replacement channel cards, new relays and I still can't get to the bottom of it...basically, the motherboard that the 16 channel cards plug into must be at fault because putting in a brand new card doesn't solve the problem. That main board is buried deep inside the amp module and I would even dream of trying to disassemble that unit to get to it and techs in Toronto and California has told me that's were the problem lays so if I want to actually use it as a 16 track instead of a 10 or 11 track, it's got to be done.

Cheers! :)
 
This thread is inspiring me to get my 38 serviced. I miss the reels going 'round and 'round.....
 
MadAudio said:
This thread is inspiring me to get my 38 serviced. I miss the reels going 'round and 'round.....
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That's the funny part!

I've got a mint, 100% functional, near zero mileage 38 and never use the damn thing. :o

I've been so in love with sound and production possibilities of my 16 track that my 38 has largely just collected dust for the past several years. :(

I've kept it for doing smaller projects and because I have a few reels of 1/2" projects from the past.

What's wrong with yours?

Cheers! :)
 
Dogman said:
Best wishes for your baby Ghost..... :D
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Thanks man! ;)

Say?

Shouldn't you be banned already? walters said he's got the ear of god round these parts?! :p

Cheers! :)
 
Sweet, serviced and ready for action - sounds like you've got a date, Ghost! :D
 
The Ghost of FM said:
Thanks man! ;)

Say?

Shouldn't you be banned already? walters said he's got the ear of god round these parts?! :p

Cheers! :)
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I've been waiting to be slapped, but all the nachos are gone now...he missed out.... :D
 
cold solder joint

The Ghost of FM said:
Yup. ;)

But, I don't think it will take too long to do, perhaps a week or two and I'll be back in business. :)

Truth is, my MS-16 has had a problem with intermittent channel cards for quite some time and I've tried almost everything in the DIY realm to fix it myself, buying replacement channel cards, new relays and I still can't get to the bottom of it...basically, the motherboard that the 16 channel cards plug into must be at fault because putting in a brand new card doesn't solve the problem. That main board is buried deep inside the amp module and I would even dream of trying to disassemble that unit to get to it and techs in Toronto and California has told me that's were the problem lays so if I want to actually use it as a 16 track instead of a 10 or 11 track, it's got to be done.

Cheers! :)
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Not that it means much at this point or that it applies to your deck....

I've been finding a number of cold solder joints on the motherboards of my 32 and 34B. Of course it is a much easier motherboard to get a visual inspection on a 34b than a MS16 (not that I've ever seen one).

I should be sure to get a photo and post it next one I come across for those who do not know what they look like.

--Ethan
 
evm1024 said:
Not that it means much at this point or that it applies to your deck....

I've been finding a number of cold solder joints on the motherboards of my 32 and 34B. Of course it is a much easier motherboard to get a visual inspection on a 34b than a MS16 (not that I've ever seen one).

I should be sure to get a photo and post it next one I come across for those who do not know what they look like.

--Ethan
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I'm pretty sure that it is also going to be a case of a number of cold solder joints on the MS-16's motherboard also but it is a two sided board with traces on both sides of the board along with a series of switching relays, some of which must be bad at this point because I get different dead channels depending on whether I'm monitoring the sync or repro head and other dead channels when I'm just inputting signal to record.

I would full well imagine that I have contributed to the amount of colder solder joints but jiggling the channel cards to get them to work temporarily during various tracking sessions over the years.

My technician tells me that the whole board will likely need attention.

Here's a picture below of the amp section with the cover off and the 16 channel cards installed. Each car is about 6 or 7 inches long and the motherboard they attach to is buried about midway inside that component.

Cheers! :)
 
evm1024 said:
I should be sure to get a photo and post it next one I come across for those who do not know what they look like.

--Ethan
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Yes, please post a pic EVM when you find one. Are they easy to spot?
 
Seems you guys have the equipment that just gives me a .......Hard On! :D :D Hey, should we send get well cards? :confused:
 
apl said:
Good luck, Ghost!
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Thanks, Arvo! :)

The ambulance arrives tonight to take the patient away. :o

After that, it's in St. Patrick's hands. :cool:

Patrick is the technician at Tele-tech in Markham Ontario, where the machine will be operated on.

www.tele-tech.ca/

Cheers! :)
 
Good luck Ghost. That is one fine machine you've got there, and I'm sure she'll pull through fine.
 
Aw, why bother? Scrap that dinosaur and go digital!!!

PSYCH!!!............... :eek: ;)
 
A Reel Person said:
Aw, why bother? Scrap that dinosaur and go digital!!!
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hah huh
.. I actually had a "thought": "Aw, why bother? ignore the dead channels and just use the ones that still breath" :D

seriously, Jeff, good luck and all that :)
 
Dr ZEE said:
hah huh
.. I actually had a "thought": "Aw, why bother? ignore the dead channels and just use the ones that still breath" :D

seriously, Jeff, good luck and all that :)
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I've been working with it under that scenario for the past 3 years and I'm getting tired of laying down a track , hitting RTZ and then listening back to silence on varying channels during the same session! :o

Anyway, Patrick showed up tonight with his van and we wheeled it down to his truck, gently laid it on its back on a pad and he's going to re lap the sync head tonight and do the rest of the work tomorrow so, I'll have my baby back in less then 24hrs, delivered right to my door! :) That's what I call real service!

Cheers! :)
 
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Good luck with it, you don't know how lucky you are to have a tech that close..............the nearest reliable Tascam guy to me is about a 12 to 13 hour drive away :eek:
 
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