NAB adaptors that don't suck?

Could sombody explain what he did in that viddeo for those of us who don't own pioneer hubs? I can see that he jammed some q-tips inside of there, but I'm not sure what their function is.
 
The Pio hubs have tabs that press against the ID of the hub to prevent rattling. Over time I suppose they get tired, so the Q-tip chunks keep tension on them.

@ braxus: New Teac hubs won't rattle, but when they're 20 years old you'll notice small cracks at the base of the tabs.
 
The Pio hubs have tabs that press against the ID of the hub to prevent rattling. Over time I suppose they get tired, so the Q-tip chunks keep tension on them.


I did the exact same thing except I used rubber wedges. :thmbsp:

Works perfect!

Marc
 
Pioneer NAB reel adapter hubs

The Pioneer reel adapters came in two styles, the original PP-220 and the later PP-220A, both shown here.


MVC-004F.jpg



You'll notice that they look pretty much the same from the front, with the exception of the model number. But if you look closer, you will see 3 slots in the PP-220A that are not in the PP-220.

Here's the view from the back.


MVC-005F.jpg



Now you can see a lot of differences!

The PP-220 on the left has a smooth bowl and has three "pads" attached to help snug it against the reel adapter sheet. The PP-220A on the right has no such pads, but has a bifurcated tab that goes into the slots of the reel as well as an added tab on the bowl to keep the adapter snug into the reel.

One can assume that after 30 years, the plastic no longer has the same amount of tension that it once had and may not hold the reel as snugly. It is into these slots that the poster inserted a portion of a Q-tip in an effort to provide additional tension.

Both of these adapters were designed to be used with the 0.9mm thick reel adapter sheet that came with them to compensate for the difference in reel height between a plastic and a metal reel.
 
Crown NAB reel adapters

The one's that came on my Crown SX824 decks work very well. I'll take a picture this weekend and post it.

Crown RTR decks were often found in the home stereo environment, but were used much more in a professional or commercial setting. The functionality of the NAB adapter hubs had to do several things. They had to hold the reel securely enough to prevent the loss of a reel during fast forward or rewinding operations as well as be quick and easy to use. You wouldn't want to spend much time fumbling with a reel adapter when changing reels if recording live, or during broadcast playback.

As the proud owner of several Pioneer RT series machines, I am very familiar with the hub adapter operation with the PP-220 and PP-220A adapters. Although they look nice and mine work well, it is more complex than with the Crown adapters.

The earlier style Crown reel adapter, shown here without a reel attached, is a simple to operate device. The center hub acts as the tensioner on a spring that can be tightened and loosened in order to increase or decrease the circumference of the spring.


MVC-006F.jpg



As the center hub is "backed off", the tension on the spring results in a decrease of the spring circumference, which allows you to easily slip the reel onto the hub. After the reel is placed on the hub, you tighten the center hub which spreads the spring out and secures the reel.


MVC-007F.jpg



There was a later style hub adapter that was even easier and quicker to use. It utilizes 3 spring-lock tabs to secure the reel.


MVC-003F.jpg



You simply place the reel onto the hub in the correct position and press the hub down until you overcome the spring tension on the tabs and the reel drops into the correct position and is locked into place as the spring tabs return to their normal position, securing the reel.


MVC-002F-5.jpg
 
These are the best NAB adapters. They are similarily to the Pioneer PP220A, but the difference is that the 3 posts are mounted on a piece of steel (flat spring).
They adapt automatically to each NAB hole size, clicking in strongly enough to hold a full reel of tape to fall out when holdig the NAB hub in the hand with the reel down side.
They also don't scratch the reels because aren't locking by rotation.

dscf0413m.jpg


I have them in silver and red color as pictured with 12 or 24 side holes.
These NABs are made of full aluminium block and the 3 posts of polished stainles steel.

Vlad
 
The Hubs that came with my Technics 1506 are great. They have no identifying names on them though, so I have no idea if they are original with this machine or not. But they fit nice and tight, and I have several different brands of reels.
These being the only ones I have any experience with, though...I have a couple of questions. There are 3 steps for each flange of the reel shaft....is this normal? Also, they are numbered 1 and 2. Why would one need to know which is which?
 
Oh, mine is one of those "knock off"" kind and cost me only US$28 plus shipping and the funny thing - fits very well in my TEAC A-3300S.......maybe they are made for TEAC only. I d'ont hear any noise and they d'ont shake too.:thmbsp:
original.jpg

Antonio
 
Those are the fake TEAC NAB's. I still have a set of the name-brand ones somewhere....
Sure, they are the fake one but i have to say that seller does not advertise as TEAK in any way. What is the most important to me, as I sayd before, is that they work very well. They are not made BY teac, they are made FOR teak.
Rgds
Antonio
 
Sony made some awsome adapters for their 750 series machines though. These sinch-down on both the spindle and the reel much like the Akai adapters do, but unfortunately these were not one-piece units like the Akais.

I just bought some SONY adapters for my Sony TC-756 to replace the 'alternative' adapters that several people here have tried, it seems. I am using Ampex metal reels but cannot get the adapters to firmly grip the reels, and so the reels clatter around during wind/rewind even more than the old $28 units! I am pretty sure I am doing something wrong, or that these are faulty adapters, because I can't imagine SONY making sloppy adapters. Can anyone here share clear instructions regarding fitting/adjusting the Sony adapters?
 
I wonder if these adapters should have originally been fitted with a gasket (e.g. rubber) that interfaces between the reel grip wheel and the reel? That would certainly resolve the rattling issue. I may try to find one in a plumbing store.
 
I wonder if these adapters should have originally been fitted with a gasket (e.g. rubber) that interfaces between the reel grip wheel and the reel? That would certainly resolve the rattling issue. I may try to find one in a plumbing store.

Yep, sounds like you are missing the metal spacer ring. It goes behind the reel and brings it into alignment with the tape path and tightens the reel up to the hold down knob. You might be able to make something that will work, but the reel holders shouldn't have been sold without this essential part.
 

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Yep, sounds like you are missing the metal spacer ring. It goes behind the reel and brings it into alignment with the tape path and tightens the reel up to the hold down knob. You might be able to make something that will work, but the reel holders shouldn't have been sold without this essential part.

Thanks audiojones...you are correct - the spacer rings are missing! :thumbsdn: Shouldn't be too hard to make something work, although for the $70 these adapters cost me, I shouldn't have to do that. :no:
 
Thanks audiojones...you are correct - the spacer rings are missing! :thumbsdn: Shouldn't be too hard to make something work, although for the $70 these adapters cost me, I shouldn't have to do that. :no:

No, you shouldn't!

BTW - I just measured them with a caliper and they are .040 inch thick. You can probably use cardboard or plastic to make them, but the originals are made of very thin metal.

Good luck - they are the best Sony consumer machines out there IMO!
 
No, you shouldn't!

BTW - I just measured them with a caliper and they are .040 inch thick. You can probably use cardboard or plastic to make them, but the originals are made of very thin metal.

Good luck - they are the best Sony consumer machines out there IMO!

Thanks so much! I see we also share an affinity for Shure V15 carts! LOL I am slowly getting this Sony up where it should be in terms of performance. This weekend I will be making all of the electrical adjustments to the 756, which lacks detail and depth (muffled is how I can best describe the sound), even with my new RMGI LPR35 tape. At present, my little TEAC A-4070 sounds way better than the Sony, but I know that will change once the Sony is properly set up :)
 
Thanks so much! I see we also share an affinity for Shure V15 carts! LOL I am slowly getting this Sony up where it should be in terms of performance. This weekend I will be making all of the electrical adjustments to the 756, which lacks detail and depth (muffled is how I can best describe the sound), even with my new RMGI LPR35 tape. At present, my little TEAC A-4070 sounds way better than the Sony, but I know that will change once the Sony is properly set up :)

You're quite welcome!

The V-15 is one of my favorite carts too. I've got a couple of the Type III, one with the HE stylus (in the avatar) and one with a good quality knock-off. I also have a couple of Type II carts, one with the original stylus (still good) and one with a NOS vintage high quality knock off that I suspect is a rebadged Shure. Love 'em!

Anyway, I had that same muffled sound issue with a couple of otherwise decent Sony decks in the past and it turned out that the heads were kind of oxidized or coated with a film that regular head cleaning wouldn't remove (even with acetone). I polished them with very light grade metal polishing compound and they snapped right back into action. The compound I used was aluminum and chrome polish that is "clear coat safe", so it's barely abrasive. I put a little on a Q-Tip and cleaned all 3 heads, then followed with a rigorous head cleaning to get the remaining compound out of there. Glad I didn't have to fool with the alignment, because once those screws get turned things can get out of whack very quickly.
 
I have a Sony 755 Bought new in '79, c/w the optional reel adapters.
They work great, never had an issue. They lock to the spindle and then you tighten the outer collar to grip the reel itself.

The spacer is only required when using metal reels. If you use plastic reels you must remove the spacer to keep the tape path in correct alignment.

nascar03
 
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