Otari MX tansport problems

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jbeaner

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I just acquired an Otari MX7800 1" 8 track in fair to good condition. Fired it up and all seemed well until I tested the fast forward and rewind. The motors bog down in both directions. I immediatly noticed a wobbly take-up reel. The tape does drag on one portion of the take-up reel. I also noticed that the 15 year old tape that came with the machine was flaking and pretty dirty.

Could these be the reason for the high tape tension? Would a new take-up reel and new tape correct these problems?

The manual also mentions something about adjusting the pots for tension to the line voltage of the power supply. Not sure if that would have anything to do with it.

I will be getting a new reel of tape and a new take-up very soon.

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.
 
First guess is that the tape is sticky. Don't use your tape any more and test it with a new tape. If it is still wonky let us know and we'll look at plan b.:D
 
And, thoroughly clean the entire tape path before you put on the new, fresh reel of tape!!!

Sticky shed tape can leave a horrible mess behind, especially on the heads!

Cheers! :)
 
Thanks much. I have several hours of cleaning to do because of this sticky tape business. I should have known better. The guy that I got the machine from threw in a reel of Ampex 406 and said it was a good "one pass" reel. Considering Ampex stopped making tape in the mid 90's plus the layer of dirt on the machine I should have avoided it. Every part of the tape path is coated with junk now. Other than that, the machine seems to function perfectly.

Any suggestions for a good cleaner? Iso alcohol or is there something better?

I am new to this forum and must say it has helped me immensely.

Thanks again. I will keep you posted.
 
I just found the "Sticky Shed Help Thread".....This forum rocks!
 
And rock it does...ineeed.

Welcome!

Iso alcohol is a good cleaner to use. Don't use it on any rubber. You can use window cleaner or dilute soap and water on the rubber parts. Once they're clean just plain old water works good on the pinch roller.

You can use a piece of old t-shirt with the alcohol on it for the tape path parts, but stick to 100% cotton makeup remover pads for the heads or 100% cotton swabs, but the makeup remover pads are my preference, especially on heads that size.

Good luck!
 
Methanol also has a bit more cleaning horse-power then the isopropyl alcohol but is extremely flammable so only use it in a well ventilated room and absolutely no smoking or open flames of any kind should be adhered to.

It will cut your cleaning time half pretty much.

Cheers! :)
 
Yes. I have been to told to avoid using alcohol on rubber. Surprisingly the manual for this machine recommends using isopropyl alcohol on the pinch roller.

"use isopropyl alchohol to clean all tape guiding components including the capstan shaft and the rubber pinch roller."
-from the manual

I think I will avoid it anyway.
 
So I cleaned the hell out of the tape path, got some new tape, straightened the take up reel and all works great.

Thanks Guys.

Now I have to figure out why the channel 8 input isn't working......jeepers
 
if it has a remote with switches the switches might just need to be exercised. you also might try de-oxit on the connections. Also - did you check to make sure the machine has all of the channel cards?
 
Yep. All the channel cards are there and even some extras in a box.

Falken is right, the remote switches seem to be causing the problems. The deoxit helps.

Besides the little quirks here and there, this thing sounds great.

Just got a Tascam M-520 console to pair up with the Otari and an Ampex ATR-700 I have had sitting around for years. Of course they all need a little work, but nothing major(vu bulbs, counter belt and a good cleaning).

Thanks for the help everyone.
 
are you having problems on channel 8? is your tape path straight?
 
Yes, a real live mouse, droppings and all. I wish I would have just opened the channel amp up right away. Instead I spent a day swapping channel cards and messing with input cables.

The damage was pretty bad, but salvageable. I cleaned it out and replaced all the chewed wires and fur clogged pots. luckily the only parts damaged are available at the electronics store across the street. Took about 10 bucks and 4 hours to do the work. Not too bad.

I finally have a fully functional 1" tape machine.:D

Now its time to learn how to calibrate this beast. I have plenty of manual and thread reading ahead of me.

Cheers.
 
Otari MX7800 8 tracks manual

jbeaner said:
I just acquired an Otari MX7800 1" 8 track in fair to good condition. Fired it up and all seemed well until I tested the fast forward and rewind. The motors bog down in both directions. I immediatly noticed a wobbly take-up reel. The tape does drag on one portion of the take-up reel. I also noticed that the 15 year old tape that came with the machine was flaking and pretty dirty.

Could these be the reason for the high tape tension? Would a new take-up reel and new tape correct these problems?

The manual also mentions something about adjusting the pots for tension to the line voltage of the power supply. Not sure if that would have anything to do with it.

I will be getting a new reel of tape and a new take-up very soon.

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...



Hi, jbeaner, and scuse me for this invasion.
I'm searching everywhere the Otari MX7800 8 tracks manual. But i can't find it. I read that you have the manual. Could you write me a mail at ninobruno@libero.it?

We can talk about the matter. Thank you and greetings

Nino Bruno
 
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