Otari Mx5050 B-2HD Calibration issue

T

thereelman77

New member
Hi their.

Recently I posted regarding my teac 80-8 calibration, a journey that was completed successfully.

Now I'm onto my 2 track.

I'm attempting to calibrate Record Equalization on the deck and following the manual, I'm running into an issue:

The manual simply states "connect the audio oscillator to the INPUT of the recorder". Now, the problem is that, the known set up of the Otari decks is that they were wired pin-2 hot or pin-3 hot or whatever, so I re-soldered the MIC INPUT back when I got it, to whatever the modern standards are (the opposite of what I stated previously) so that the XLR cables would receive a good signal.

Can I use the MIC INPUT to calibrate the deck or do I have to re-solder the INPUT as well? Because the issue is that the MIC INPUT has a an Attenuator switch for 0db, -20db, & Off and I'm not sure where to set it. When it is on OFF= I get the same level input signal as I did from the input, even with the INPUT knobs cranked. When it is in -20db/0db= I get a much hotter signal, registering on the VU's, but also a noise increase.

Thoughts?
 
Yes the inputs should be rewired. It is easy to do, you will find a connector internally, 3 pins that goes to the XLR input socket. Swap pink and white no need to resolder if you do it at the header. Mic input has much more gain and probably diff EQ. You want to calibrate with the inputs not the mic input as it will affect levels.
 
thinbrownline said:
Either input will be fine. As long as you can get the tone you are injecting to read 0VU.
Click to expand...

the machine has both input and mic calibration. if you use the mic input, you wont be calibrating the input level properly, so when you feed 0Vu from a console or any other source externally, it will not be as reference level. When you calibrate this machine you want to calibrate, input and output levels as well. not only bias, EQ. So it is better to use the input level. The hot/cold pin swap is required if you ever plan to use RCA-XLR adapters as some of them will drive the cold pin to ground in that case you wont get any audio. So if you swap those you are safe to use the machine with the most popular standard and dont worry about it anymore.
 
I agree, use the Line Input....and yeah, just rewire the connectors (I did the same thing on my BIII), it's pretty easy on the 5050 decks to pop that back panel and solder right there.
 
Alright,

So we have tried to re-wire the XLR LINE IN's according to the manuals specifications with no luck.

But now a new problem has come up....the deck will not turn on.

The last thing we did was re-wire last night, after testing we had no luck. We shut it off and walked away from it for the night.
Blown fuse/capacitor/power supply/etc.?

Any thoughts?
 
I am having a problem with the MRL tape I purchased.

During the 10khz section the hi-freq. EQ for channel 1 will not go up to 0vu, only up to -1.

Also the tape is shedding every time I play it and leaving gunk on the heads and rollers as well as little piles of tape shreds.

Are my heads shot?
 
If it's a new tape from MRL or a reseller, ask about returning it. If it was from ebay, you're kind of screwed...
 
No, it's a new MRL...Direct from US Recording media. I don't think it's the tape though. It seems to have lessened with the shredding since I stood it upright. But I still can't calibrate the HI Freq. EQ on the deck with the tape...
 
thereelman77 said:
It seems to have lessened with the shredding since I stood it upright.
Click to expand...

Maybe a possible tape path issue then...?...like the tape was rubbing something the wrong way in the horizontal postion...? Check it out with a different tape so you don't trash the MRL too much.

Then again, it could just be an MRL that was sitting around for a long time. I believe MRL tapes have a date-of-manufacture on them...it might be just a letter/color code if I recall. If it is a real old one....let them know. Send it back for a fresh tape.

Here's a copy of the Otari Alignment Manual in case you don't have a complete one.
Check that it is applicable for your 5050, as they have changed throughout the years a bit, so the VR numbers/positions might be different.
AFA as your EQ issue....it could be that your deck just doesn't have enough to give you anything higher....age, etc....?


OtariAlignmentProcedures.pdf
 
Thanks for the reply.

It may be the metal roller to the left of the heads, it seems to be spinning sporadically. But most of the appears by the playback head/pinch roller area. As far as I can tell it doesn't seem to be spooled incorrectly (unless a previous owner messed with the rollers or tape guides). It doesn't seem to be shedding with my new RMG tape... Most likely a bad MRL, like you said, probably sitting around for a long time.
I'll have to wait a another week and a half though....
 
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