Moggy's HiFi Antics presents...... Accidently acquired within the last few days. I hadn't previously even thought of such a machine but it does tick all the boxes except for 3.75ips.
You're right to wait for the new belts. I had a TEAC/TASCAM 32-2B which had the same "closed-loop dual capstan" configuration, where the right side capstan turns slightly faster than the left side capstan, and this is what provides the correct tension within the tape path ( between the pinch rollers ), provided the belts are in good shape and the pinch roller mechanism is lubricated and spec'd properly. So until you get those belts, it'll be enough of an exercise to perform maintenance on the pinch roller assemblies, with some clearances being only 1mm! You'll notice a BIG difference with 2-track half-track recording, even if it does cost twice as much in the tape dept., it yields almost zero crosstalk and a higher S/N Ratio. Good luck, and thank you, I'll be following you
For some reason some comments aren't shown, I can only surmise that they have problems with security. I have reached 300 subscribers, thanks to you all, not because I need the adulation but because the more who watch this stuff will help get the information to others. Also, I like the video-making process, always have. I have no plans to monetise my channels (yes, I have many). I've learned a lot from watching other u-toober's vids. None of us can be expected to know everything about everything. .... Now, while I have your attention it seems I was right to be suspicious: the X2000M has TWO belts, not one. I finally found a website that showed the layout. 553469 0000 is capstan:2T belt (one driven by motor) and 553469 3000 is the capstan belt (which I'd say is the larger flywheel belt). There are literally many tens of videos on X2000R belt replacement but NONE for the X2000M. I plan to rectify that. :-)
I have the same machine. Bought new in the mid-90s ... three tapes recorded with it ... and since then, it 'lived' in my attic. With just about 50 hours of operation. Sad. This device was one of the reasons, I started looking into tape deck repair. Together with my TEAC Z-7000 tape deck, it forms the "final boss" so to speak, which I am slowly but surely working my way towards. Next year at the latest, I would like to put both of them back into operation, in a pristine technical and optical condition. But until then, I still have a lot to learn. So I'll have a very close look at your repair :)
That is sad, but life gets in the way of us all. I've only just got back into cassettes in the last year after realising what I'd been missing. The last 20 years I've been caught up in the hirez music throng which is still great but I was feeling a little nostalgia about my recording days. I used to record a lot of VHS as well. Just recently I thought I'd try a reel to reel even though I swore to myself decades ago that I would never get into R2R because of the cost. While not cheap, vintage tape machines are more affordable for me now than back in the day. R2R and cassette will be just part of my audio arsenal until I croak. I'm planning for a retro setup in my living room apart from my main hifi/HT setup. I should get the belts in a few weeks, everything takes many weeks to come to Oz. See you then.
@@MoggysHiFiAntics Speaking about belts - I've just had a quick look into my machine. Both belts are still there, but the big one is already in the "composting" phase. As a precaution, I cut it straight through and luckily got it out in one piece. The belts seem to be made of different materials. So I can only hope for you, that somebody has removed the big belt from the device at some point, otherwise it will be a very sticky affair ;)
@@MagicMaus29 Thanks for confirming that it has 2 belts. :-) My 2nd belt is nowhere to be found. I reckon that somebody replaced the belt thinking there was only 1 to be changed. Why they didn't see the 2nd belt I dunno. The flywheel is clean. When I pull it apart I'll see if it hasn't fallen down into the guts . Good news , ta.
the reason why the tape is wobbling, on top of belt failure, may be improper surface wear of the pinch rollers. These machines were made precisely, so even a very small slope on the profile can make a difference. This is usually cured (worked around) with untightening the right nut on the top side of the machine - roller pressure adjustment nut. Also, be sure to take apart the tape lifting mechanism, clean it thoroughly with rubber rejuvenator and lubricate: quick moving parts with full synthetic oil, slow moving parts with grease lubricate 105. Stay away from lithium grease.
Interesting. I use Dow Corning DC4 silicon grease these days. Pensioned off my Lithium. Apparently it's the plastic parts that don't go well with lithium especially with cassette decks. I would think that lithium with R2R decks that are mainly metal would be fine but I do intend to use the silicon in future to be on the safe side. All of the lifting mech is stuck. I will pull apart all that stuff when I get my new belts. Time waster until then. The rollers look ok but I will get new rollers since I plan to keep this beast. I have rubber renue if I think the old rollers need it. I will tension everything to the specs. I use 3in1/sewing machine oil which is fine but if you can name a good synthetic oil then I'm listening. Thanks for the thoughts. I really like my X-2000M, it looks so modern.
@@MoggysHiFiAntics sewing machine oil is too thin, the recomendation I got from guys who did these decks by hundreds was AMS Signature Synthetic, but I got myself a small bottle of Sta-Bil 2-cycle and it seems to work fine. In fact, any full-synthetic automobile/motorcycle oil would do. I have an X-2000R and I serviced it a few weeks ago by myself (with some advice from those professional guys). As for Rubber Rejuvenator, the reason I mentioned it wasn't the pinch rollers (especially since you're buying new ones anyway), but the tape lifter assembly, specifically the old decomposed grease that's gunked it up. It will be very tough to "unglue" it without physically bending the parts in the process. You either need to use a heat gun (potential risk of overheating the poor-old tension spring) or a strong solvent appropriate for the job. The latter was my case, and RRJ does it just fine (and you don't need to waste the whole bottle, just spray a few times). Also, make sure you take the capstan assembly completely out (that includes - motor, flywheels, tape lifter assembly AND head stack), then take the head stack and the motor plate off, next come the flywheels - you'll need to wipe them carefully (and relube) anyway, so off and apart they go. Then you take JUST the tape lifter part (leaving the other parts behind) and service it in a location away from everything else to avoid damage. These machines are really fragile, every wrong move can render them malfunctional. Sorry if some of the things I wrote are too obvious for you, I'm just trying to help save your device from becoming another outparting unit on e-bay.
@@jamescache1768 You may have a point, I've only been oiling cassette decks so far whereas R2Rs have much sturdier larger mechanics. Thanks for warning me of the danger of rapid dismantling. Sometimes the obvious is what needs to be said because of getting too blaze with repairs. You may not see it on screen but I really do take my time on these repairs. I really want this one to work. :-)
There are points which I will make in the videos to come but one thing to note here is that the flywheels for the 2000M are the same size. Same part number! That means that both capstans and pinch rollers rotate at the same speed. There is no faster take-up capstan to pull it through. This mechanism seems to rely entirely on the torque of the back tension of both reels to keep the tape tight on the heads. More discussion to follow.
I really could use your help. My local tech and I haven’t been able to find the problem on my X2000R. The recording button is faulty, it’s stuck on flashing red, it could not be turned off. The problem is believed to be related to capstan motor not working, we traced the problem to the bottom board but have not found the culprit yet. The one ohm resistor for the twin 24V power supply for the capstan motor and the bottom “logic” board kept burning, unless we unplugged the 5-wire connection to the bottom board.
@Warren MacDonald got it all right, especially about how the closed loop dual capstan system works. There's one machine you might upgrade to from that one, and that's the Otari MX-55N. There are several variants of this machine, and the one I have has a quarter-track playback head as well as the usual half-track heads. It is also available with the wider 2.75mm half-track heads. The Otari is entirely direct drive - no belts at all. And it can be set via an internal DIP switch to run at 3.75 and 7.5 IPS or 7.5 and 15 IPS. It will play 30 IPS as well, but will not record at that speed. It is a true studio mastering deck, and as such has all the controls you need to align it available behind a flip-down door, and it even has an internal oscillator and internal monitor speaker. No service gear needed except a #0 phillips screwdriver (to adjust bias) and a 3/32" flat blade (to adjust everything else). You will, of course, want to align the playback first with a good quality test tape (I use MRL test tapes). Of course, it's not autoreverse, being a half-track machine.
I get the general idea of twin capstan, similar to cassettes. The lack of reverse doesn't bother me. 2400ft 10.5in reels give plenty of music time. I'm sure there are nicer and better machines out there such as Otari and Tandberg. I will see how this goes. Teac seems to me to be a good compromise between consumer and prosumer or even pro. I'm still not sure if I'll continue indefinitely with R2R, I love my cassettes though. I've only paid A$700 for both the A2000 and X2000 so that amount I can bear. I now have about 60+ reel tapes and I reckon that will be enough. If these 2 machines work well then I'll sell my A3440 and A3300S-2T after full repairs. I've ordered a couple of 1/4in quad tapes so I'll see how 4ch goes on the A3440 but I suspect it's too niche, even for my surround setup. My Tascam 234 will suffice I reckon for quad. Who knows, I might get a real bug up my arse and go further with R2R but not at this stage. All good. Thanks for comment. It's nice to get back talking to fellow tapists, I didn't for so long, like so many others I suppose.
hi the prices for R2R deck is up big time in the past i used to get them at silly money rs 1700 for £350 tascam 38 as parts £50 uk i am a tec with space to keep decks note i am finding betacam liner audio is now the best sound for the money as R2 R tapes can be juck to age 30min quad audio for £1 each the price of tape is now very silly i got a tascam 34B for low money 3 3/4 7 1/2 i jazzed the speed and eq 3 3/4 on a 10.5 is hard to find in the uk i do play about with decks and make them do things they were not made for otari 12 with a 8 track 1/2 inch 8 tracks change over the head block to play tapes recorded on a deck that went bad and could not be fixed smoking is the word did not get to the cap changing in time
What I saw in your video that the tape is going up and down. I saw your pinch rollers are shiny, that is why the tape is moving up and down. When you see pinch rollers are shiny, they become slippery. Wipe them with fine sand paper and I think you solve that problem. Krikor from L. A. CA.
Actually, once I had cured the tape tension the tape movement became rock steady. I agree that a little fine emery would make the pinch roller better but not enough to cure this problem. Not sure if I dealt with this issue in Part 2 or not. I have totally fixed this unit mainly by adjusting supply and take-up reel tensions. I hope to edit the videos for this soon. Also, I now have a Tentelometer to measure tension so I will adjust tension and brake forces in a future video. So many adjustments were out of whack. I also have 2 new rubber rollers to replace them with if I feel so inclined. Canada is too cold for this black duck. 😀 Winter in Melbourne never gets below 0deg at night. Spring is now upon us.
Nice piece of kit! One question I have: you say it plays 2 track stereo in Master mode, does that mean it will only play two tracks occupying the entire width of the tape, in one direction only? I am a beginner in this fabulous world of reel-to-reel, and just bought an Akai GX-4000D and a Fostex R8, both in good working order, both very cheap, and am really into this matter since!
Yes. 2 track 2channel in 1 direction (aka half track stereo or master 2 track). The 2000M is different in that it records and plays back 2tk/2ch but also has an extra head for playing back only 4tk/2ch stereo. It has an extra head making 4 heads. Thus when I record I use the whole tape for 1 direction. Happily it can playback 4tk/2ch tapes in 1 direction for side A (tks 1&3), turn tape over and then play tks 2&4 (side B). The normal X-2000 and X-2000R will only record and playback 4tk/2ch tapes (3.75ips & 7.5ips) but they get twice the time that I get with 2tk/2ch one direction recording of the 2000M for the same speed. I didn't realise this when I first looked at it but I'm glad because it gives me the absolute best stereo recording (7.5ips & 15ips), just uses more tape.
@@MoggysHiFiAntics Thank you sir! It's all clear and understood. 15 ips is very fast indeed, I would consider the appr 22,5 minutes for an 1800ft reel not suitable for listening to music, but I understand the high speed and subsequently the quality serve a purpose. But as I'm writing this I realize your spools may accomodate more than the 1800 feet. Anyway, thanks for the information. I'll check more of your videos shortly. And have a good night at the opposite side of the globe!
Could be. Dunno. Having only 1 belt instead of the required 2 doesn't help. :-) Won't know until I replace belts and unseize the pinch roller mechanism. Thanks for hint.
It all depends. If actually fried with all melted parts then probably not. If just stopped rotating then it might be just dirty inside and needs to be internally cleaned. Wouldn't know until pulled apart. Reel motors seem to be a fair price but capstan motors are much deareer it seems. I'm after a A-3440 capstan motor and they cost as much as a used machine, crazy. Check prices on fleabay and see if one is affordable for you, otherwise repair might be the best option. If you are in the US then at least high postage won't be a problem for you. I've "repaired" a few reel and capstan motors for cassette decks and they are fiddly so R2R ones might be easier. Actually I repaired two A2000 reel motors (see video). Only 2 choices for you !
There's arguments for both ways. Most esoteric cassette decks use dual capstans. I think it's the ability to not rely on a minimal tension of the reels which can be problematic with large reels, it's easy for a strong reel tension to override the single capstan speed. Dual heads ensure a correct tension across all the heads regardless of reel size, torque and tension. I have no research paper to back up my story either way, just my thoughts.
@@MoggysHiFiAntics On a proper reel to reel machine the tension is kept constant with the tension arms, which is connected to the motor circuitry via photo sensors. That way it doesn't change with how much tape is on the reels or reel size. But dual capstan is easier on cassette decks because of the little space awailable.
