Odie3
When you let the smoke come out, you broked it!
Hi all.
I have really gone down the rabbit hole working on my Dad's TC-255, which has now been put to the side as 'donor' status. I picked up a TC-255 from Ebay that likely had been in a storage unit for years, in a box wrapped up in a sheet with its Sony cover on it. Calling it clean is a understatement. I pulled all the NOS wheels, run-cap and new belts from my Dad's to this ebay unit (also the serial numbers are light years apart and there are little design differences between the two). Now I have read that Sony's are not looked upon in a favorable light due to their simple single motor/rubber wheel design but this TC-255 deck is a labor of love and I've always known it, since my dad bought it before I was born (which was in '68)
While this ebay deck is clean as a whistle and now is mechanically tight as a drum, the heads are worn. Right channel is bright but the left is dull and a bit lower (however sound quality is *much* better than my Dad's).
1. Head coming in from a ebay lot buy. The lot just happens to have a random Sony Head for this deck but it is used and extremely dirty (looks to have sticky tape on it). Was recommended that I lightly/carefully run 1500 Wet Sandpaper on it.,
2. found a place that says they have a +8 head from audioproz.com.
3. Could have one of the heads from the two 255s I have to be 'lapped' @ rfmagnetics.com
All those options are great, just need to figure out which way to go, after I give #1 a try, My real question (sorry it took so long) is once I put any head back on the deck how do I deal with Height & Azimuth alignments?
In my dad's tape stock he has what I *think* I need to use and it seems to be in really good shape. I am not even sure he ever used it. Heck, he might have bought this tape to work in his TC-255 but never got to it. But how does one use it? Do I need a scope?
Thank you for tips and for reading my post.
PS: This is my Dad's before the Ebay unit showed up. This tape was record on the TC-255 it is playing on, from on July 20th 1969. I think everyone will recognize what my dad recorded.
I have really gone down the rabbit hole working on my Dad's TC-255, which has now been put to the side as 'donor' status. I picked up a TC-255 from Ebay that likely had been in a storage unit for years, in a box wrapped up in a sheet with its Sony cover on it. Calling it clean is a understatement. I pulled all the NOS wheels, run-cap and new belts from my Dad's to this ebay unit (also the serial numbers are light years apart and there are little design differences between the two). Now I have read that Sony's are not looked upon in a favorable light due to their simple single motor/rubber wheel design but this TC-255 deck is a labor of love and I've always known it, since my dad bought it before I was born (which was in '68)
While this ebay deck is clean as a whistle and now is mechanically tight as a drum, the heads are worn. Right channel is bright but the left is dull and a bit lower (however sound quality is *much* better than my Dad's).
1. Head coming in from a ebay lot buy. The lot just happens to have a random Sony Head for this deck but it is used and extremely dirty (looks to have sticky tape on it). Was recommended that I lightly/carefully run 1500 Wet Sandpaper on it.,
2. found a place that says they have a +8 head from audioproz.com.
3. Could have one of the heads from the two 255s I have to be 'lapped' @ rfmagnetics.com
All those options are great, just need to figure out which way to go, after I give #1 a try, My real question (sorry it took so long) is once I put any head back on the deck how do I deal with Height & Azimuth alignments?
In my dad's tape stock he has what I *think* I need to use and it seems to be in really good shape. I am not even sure he ever used it. Heck, he might have bought this tape to work in his TC-255 but never got to it. But how does one use it? Do I need a scope?
Thank you for tips and for reading my post.
PS: This is my Dad's before the Ebay unit showed up. This tape was record on the TC-255 it is playing on, from on July 20th 1969. I think everyone will recognize what my dad recorded.
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