what you did here was exactly WRONG - you should have probably left it alone. But how you actually do this is way more complicated. You first set Playback EQ from a standard level tape, then you set record level using a sytandard ferric tape tpe 1 - then you adjust the bias for flat recording response. then you put in your standard tape with the controls set to zero, and set the tones to make the meters hit the marks. exactly the opposite of what you did.
Sorry to tell you this but... What you really did here is misaligned bias and level CALIBRATION TONE LEVELS. Your actual bias and rec levels did not change. Actual bias adjustment pots are VRG11 and VRG21 for L and R channels respectively. Your sensitivity adjustment pots are VRB11 and VRB21. What you needed to do is adjust your sensitivity and bias with those. Now that you knocked the cal tones levels off, it will be much harder to do. Almost impossible if you don't have test cassette with either 160 nWb/m or 250 nWb/m guaranteed levels. My sincere condolences.
Level(Sensitivity) calibration is very important when one uses any Dolby NR, because it determines the output level to the rec head AFTER dolby circuits. What you've adjusted does absolutely nothing but leading to false reading on the display showing that the tape is calibrated when it's actually not. I wonder how many people were misguided by this video
This video will serve me well , i bought a TD-V661 this summer in a flea market , and it have the same problem ...it don't completely calibrate with some Type 1 tapes ...
Misteur Cassette I hope this will give you the confidence to perform this internal recalibration as well. If you have the last two Maxell XLII generation cassettes, as well as a late 90s TDK SA-X cassette, you can ensure you can get a huge range of cassettes since these are at the extreme opposite of the bias dial. See my second video to see what I mean in the description.
@@tarstarkusz yep, that's pretty much it. The internal pots just acts like the external dials. So keep the external dials centered when you adjust the internal pots.
Hi Zeddie, i got and issue with my jvc deck, the tape does not spin when i press play, ff and rew works, also the belt its in good shape, i have try without tape and play works , as soon I put any tape , the head goes up but it does not spin, do you have any advice?, Could it be the torque or the speed? Im not sure to calibrate that, thanks in advance.
Hey Techie, I purchased this deck about a month ago here in Brazil and made the same adjustments as you. When I monitor the recording it beggins great but later I can hear the previous recording. I guess it's not erasing properly. What do you think it's going on? Left capstan lost it's force or the erasing head doesn't have the right height? Cheers!
It might be the belt if that's the case. Even though it's direct drive, it still has a belt that makes the capstans "closed loop". If it's out of spec, the capstans won't be in sync, causing tape tension to be out of spec, which can make improper contact to the erase head.
That's not the last generation TDK. The last generation TDK appears to look like a Maxell UR tape. As a matter of fact, Maxell actually made tapes for TDK from 2013 and so on. They still sell them here at Target and F.Y.E. on West coast in Portland, Oregon. Limited supply left tho in 2019. These tapes look exactly like Maxell tapes, if you were to remove the printed inlay protective sheets. The hubs, the tape itself. Just the TDK printing on the clear protective sheets inside the cassette is the only thing that's different.
I could be wrong, but I thought it was from this package. vintagecassettes.com/tdk/tdk_files/tdk_year/tdk_03u.htm I didn't actually open this tape myself. It was already unwrapped by someone else, but still new unused. I guess it could have been vintagecassettes.com/tdk/tdk_files/tdk_year/tdk_01u.htm or vintagecassettes.com/tdk/tdk_files/tdk_year/tdk_97u.htm
Same goes for Sony tapes sold today. Same thing. The cassette looks just like Maxell cassette, the only difference is the clear plastic protective sheets inside the cassette with Sony brand on it. Maxell is making money for both, TDK and Sony.
Sony did make these as their last in the US: vintagecassettes.com/sony/sony_files/usony01.htm but they probably made more with the Sony brand with Maxell hubs and leader tape like I shown in my Nagaoka tape winder video. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T-kjnMRSxvc.html
Are you in the US? Because AFAIK, Sony no longer sell their branded tapes here in the US, and neither does TDK. You will only find Maxell UR here, and those are made by a tape manufacturer in Indonesia (Pangang). Maxell is the last of the major players that continued to sell out of the big 3. You will now only find Chinese tapes like Onn tapes at Walmart. Now other companies are starting make their own tapes, such as NAC and FOX RTM. I’m not sure if ATR is making their own or still using old stock. Nagaoka is also selling tapes still in Japan market only, but no one is sure if they are new tape stock or they’re spooling from older stock (or using something made by FOX or NAC) because Cassette Comeback tested them and they performed well, unlike the Chinese made tapes.
@@TechieZeddie Yes, I live in the U.S. in Oregon State on West coast. You are correct, you can't find Sony or TDK's here no more. Fred Meyer, Best Buy, Target, K-Mart, even Walmart all used to sell Sony HF Type I, Sony CD-IT Type II and purple CD-IT Type I tapes, one of my favorite good quality tapes by Sony. Both, the black Type II CD-IT and the purple Type I CD-IT by Sony were the first tapes to vanish here in west coast, leaving us only with Type I Sony HF tapes which were dark tinted colored ones back then before they changed to cheap looking ones. After those cheap one's, came the "Maxell" Sony tapes. At the same time, Target, instead of selling Sony, started selling TDK tapes, which also looked like Maxell tapes. F.Y.E. was selling those "Maxell" TDK tapes as well. Then they started disappearing, Both TDK'S and Sony, Radio Shack brand tapes as well. Leaving us only with Maxell and Onn brand tapes. I haven't tried the Onn brand, but I've heard they're not that good. So Maxell it is.
Hey missie, you ruin the door engine by forcing it with your fingers!!! It is written open/close,guess why!!! That's a sacrilege for a cassette lover!!!
JVC calls it "record level". On the circuit board, it says "record gain". Basically it's the amount of current applied to the record heads when there is an audio signal. It's not the same as the record input. The point of this calibration is that if you put in 0 db at the input, when you record, how much power do you need to make sure the signal gets record at 0 db. Some tapes are not very sensitive, so when the input signal goes up to 0db, the only recorded ...for example... -2 dB. So this "rec gain" calibration let's you fix this by making sure 0 db input is 0 db when played back from that tape. The more sensitive the tape is (higher MOL), the less power it needs to be 1:1 with the source input. Sometimes a tape is so sensitive that a 0 db input signal can actually be HIGHER when recorded and played back with the rec gain dialmin the middle. If that's the case, you dial the rec gain down. Also, it's a sign of a good tape if you don't need to adjust, or you need less rec gain to achieve 1:1 Actually, watch Tony's video on recording basics here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fCOBgIiIMEs.html
Randy Harrigan Yes, the deck has them built in. Watch my JVC calibration video to see how it works. JVC TD-V661 Tape Calibration with 1996-97 Maxell XLII Cassette Tape ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QxFMQ8FAdKI.html
I lucked out and got this very deck off online auction for great price and replaced my '84 Pioneer dual deck I bought new in '84 w/this awesome 3-head beauty. Used it for 5yrs+ now, demag & clean the heads regularly, sound is amazing(Kenwood KA-7100 amp+TEAC EQ-10 thru mint Sansui S-917 monitors). However, last month I lost a J. Cash tape after it wrapped around the right-side pinch roller. It was so tightly wound it snapped while I attempted to free it up(moment of silence for NOS "Folsom Prison Blues" re‐issue). Do the pinch rollers need serious adjusting, replacing or time for a rebuild? I love this deck and want to have it tip-top at all times. I appreciate vinyl but, I'm an unapologetic Gen-Xer who still loves his cassettes. Love your vid and I won't even bust your chops over not using the very cool OPEN/CLOSE button for cassette door.🧐
Thanks for not busting my chops, lol. After using so many decks without motorized doors, I keep forgetting my TD-V661 has it sometimes! As for your deck, is it eating other cassettes too? If not, it could just be the tape. If it's doing to other tapes too, then it could be grime on the pinch rollers or capstan. Try cleaning the capstan with ISO (avoid the pinch rollers because ISO can dry it out over time). Use naptha for rubber parts like the pinch rollers. If you tried all that, then it could be the capstan loop belt. So while this deck has a direct drive motor, it's only on the main capstan flywheel. The supply capstan flywheel is driven by the take-up capstan flywheel by a belt. Inspect that belt. I'd first try cleaning it with naptha, or if you can replace it. Just take care to find the right belt because the downside to a closed loop dual capstan system is the tolerance for the right or wrong belt is SUPER LOW! If the spec is off by even a bit, you will have tapes getting eaten or stretched too hard over the heads., Or just have uneven pressure due to high W&F. This is what happened to my JVC TD-V531. I hope you find out what's wrong and get it fixed. Good luck!
@@TechieZeddie I understand forgetting about the auto/mech tape door. As a teen in the '80s I could not afford the higher-end decks like the JVCs(early '90s) or the Nakamichis, only drool over them at Hi-Fi Buys, Circuit City & Service Merchandise (S.M. had awesome electronics showroom). The CASH tape that got eaten was a NOS (New Old Stock) tape still in it's wrapping from an early '90s re-issue. Never happened to any other tape so, I may have over-reacted. Didn't want my treasured/rare Soundgarden tapes to suffer that fate. Soundgarden re-mixed orig tapes from their UltraMega OK album, added more bottom-end and re-released that title on brand new cassettes in 2017. The new tapes are a beautiful clear blue and sound absolutely amazing on a good tape/Hi-Fi rig. Thank you so much for the advice. I will get to work on the JVC this weekend and search out a pro in my area to help get the JVC tip-top. Keep up the great work, love your vids.
@@frankblacks.45 I'd try a tape you're not going to miss. Also being NOS doesn't mean it's good tape. There are NOS tapes that degraded. Even from as "late" as the 90s.
@@TechieZeddie Right, right. That's why I gave you that detail about the tape. I thought the fact that it was unopened/unused for 25+ yrs could be the very reason it got wrecked. You are very sharp/observant and I hold that in high regard. Thank you again for your help. It is very much appreciated.
I feel bad about your ruined NOS tape. Always sad to hear. Remember to FF and REW a tape that hasn't been used for a long while. If it's one of those Capitol label cassettes, I heard they are notorious for getting sticky. Since you said it's from the 90s, that's about the age I hear this happening to. Do a Google search for Capitol XDR sticky tape. Here's a thread that came up for me. There are more. www.tapeheads.net/showthread.php?t=43423
Assuming all parts are good (belts, pinch rollers, etc), see if you can find the service manual so you can find out how to adjust the speed. If you have a serviced deck already, use it to record a 3 kHz sine wave tone (use Audacity to generate it). Then use a software W&F meter to check and adjust speed.
I'm afraid you did it wrong. What you did was adjust the levels of the test tones. What you needed to do was adjust the actual rec level and bias on tape and that uses a different set of pots. You just threw your deck out of alignment, and what's even worse.. now that your tone osc is no longer correct, you are going to have a difficult time fixing it, without the proper calibration tapes.
