ADAT Type II Frozen/Stuck Tape

M

morion

New member
I just received my first ADAT machine (Type II XT) in the mail today from ebay and plugged it in. I ignored the manual's warning about S-VHS tapes and went for a High Grade Maxell 160 tape from Radioshack. Formatted the tape, maybe accidentally recorded over the data portion with a second unfinished accidental reformatting (bad idea in retrospect, but as I said I am new to this stuff). I recorded some tracks and when I played them back they sounded really weird and distorted, clipping and whirbling. I tried lowering the input levels to no avail. I thought maybe it was the aforementioned formatting problem so I tried to give that another go. When I came back to the machine it had stopped at 17 minutes and then when I pressed stop it said 55 minutes (the actual length of the tape). I rewound it, it didn't seem to want to play. I ejected and put it back in and then everything froze up. I turned the unit off and on, reset it. Still, no button seems to do anything, the tape is stuck and the time counter is just dashes. It's making those noises I recall my VCR used to make when it was having some problems with a tape... I'm not sure what my next move is here. Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
Yikes. Who services decks now? (I don't know any more. We used to go to Studio Maintenance center in Marin.. but if I recall I think he said he was moving to Russia or something.. :confused::)
If you're inclined, take the top off, get a hold of the cleaning instructions, get the non-lint cloth and tips, 99% alcohol, and take it real slow.
 
Taking the top off was the best way to get the tape out for sure. There is a rod to the right of the chasis that, when turned counter clockwise, will ease the thing out. I had to slice the tape, but the deck is unfrozen and functional as far as I know until I get a proper S-VHS to test and see if the distortion is still there.
 
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