The Official Elcaset thread!

[DENNYDOG]

I have an athletically near mint Sony EL-5. It has bad transport issues though. I bought it at an Estate sale, and discovered that I knew the deceased. His name was George Cheston, from Q.E.D. Laser in Willowbrook, IL. Is there anybody who can repair these? I would like to get it working, and then sell it. This would help prevent somebody from parting it out, which the idea of makes me cringe, because George took meticulous care of it, so I would like to sell it that way.

Also I had an idea: It looks like the way the tapes are designed, one might be able to de-wind one, and then wind some NEW, or NOS, good quality tape on to it. I was thinking Maxell UDXL-180B. That's 1 mil though.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

I have read elsewhere that Sony had a special formulation for their Elcaset tape. Threading new tape into old cassettes would be a waste of time as the formulation wouldn't match the eq and bias of the decks.

I have also read that the type I tapes have a problem with shedding and the type II tapes do not. The problem must have arisen from the way they were stored as I have never had a problem with either type shedding with all of the tapes I have. Btw I have well over a hundred of each so I feel can say it isn't a problem with the tape itself.

The Elcaset tape is identical to the R2R tape in terms of width (1/4") but the need to squeeze adequate duration in a relatively small cartridge calls for thin tape. There is exactly the same need generated by 7" reel decks and there has been tripple length tape available, allowing 3600ft to fit on a 7" reel. This is ultra thin tape and I suspect it's the same used in Elcaset.

Apart from that, there are three grades of tape on Elcaset standard. Fe2O3, FeCr and CrO2 equivalent marked Type I, II and III.

Good luck finding Type II and III Elcasets. As for Type I tape, IIRC, the specs for Elcaset were somewhat more stringent compared to cassettes and Reels and the bias needs are specified with close tolerances.

The type III tape is super rare and have only seen a couple of tapes in the past three or so years I have owned my machines. Type II tapes are very common (if you want to call Elcaset tapes common) and just as easy to find as type I tapes.

 

[SX-1010]

Here in Sweden there is a site called "Tradera" It's similar to Ebay.

Just saw these Elcasets tapes forsale. Highest bidder gets the tapes.

http://http://www.tradera.com/Sony-Elcaset-Band-stora-kassetter-auktion_107915028

http://http://www.tradera.com/Sony-Elcaset-Band-stora-kassetter-auktion_107915058

http://http://www.tradera.com/Sony-Elcaset-Band-stora-kassetter-auktion_107915079

http://http://www.tradera.com/Sony-Elcaset-Band-stora-kassetter-auktion_107915110

 

[Old_School]

This may be an odd first post - I've been lurking here for a little while.

I recently got three Elcaset decks in a pretty good transaction, but we aren't talking Thrift Shop score type of money. I got two EL-7s and one EL-D8 portable, along with 20 FeCr 90 min tapes, and 11 Type I (blue) 90 min tapes, plus a remote and tape winder, and three of the 30 min demo tapes.

The bad news: the two EL-7s don't work (hopefully "yet"). One has no working tape functions (FF/RW/Play) and the other will RW and FF, but it played for about 30 sec, slowed down and then stopped. I haven't tried the D8 yet. I'm hoping this is a simple (i.e. belt) fix, but does anyone have any insight into the symptoms to pass on?

 

[koltrast]

The EL7 is 3 motor deck, so I would guess it's a control problem in deck 1. Do the transport buttons light up at all when you press them? Do the capstans spin?
Deck 2 sounds like a capstan belt problem to me. If the capstans spin continuously in stop mode, then your motor is ok. Belts are available, believe it or not, but I've never bought one myself, so I can't say if they are any good.
Don't give up on them, these are amazing decks when they work properly.

 

[DaWoofer]

So whats the difference with Elcaset tape and 8-track tape?

 

[Old_School]

I don't plan to give up. As odd as they are, they're pretty neat. I'd really like to be able to get at least one up and running. From what I can find on the web and through email to some experts, the main thing is to get them cleaned up and new belts first. The EL-7 is over-built, and should last forever (unlike the format).

 

[ussexplorer]

I don't think I even seen a deck in the wild.

I don't even think I have seen a deck in the wild. Though the tapes I believe I have years ago. I remeber seeing some tapes that was unidentified. NO it isn't the RCA tape carts that used normal reel to reel tape. I know what those already. So it must have been these. So many early formats of tape. Most seem to be from the 50's and a attempt to replace reel to reel tapes. I can only imagine why sony would try to replace another good product. Seems like sony has so many failed formats. If it wasn't so current market status. The blue ray would have died. Epsecially from my understanding HD dvd was mostly the winner until it was anounced RCA? was giving up.

TTFN,

Josh

 

[SaSi]

I don't even think I have seen a deck in the wild. Though the tapes I believe I have years ago. I remeber seeing some tapes that was unidentified. NO it isn't the RCA tape carts that used normal reel to reel tape. I know what those already. So it must have been these. So many early formats of tape. Most seem to be from the 50's and a attempt to replace reel to reel tapes. I can only imagine why sony would try to replace another good product. Seems like sony has so many failed formats. If it wasn't so current market status. The blue ray would have died. Epsecially from my understanding HD dvd was mostly the winner until it was anounced RCA? was giving up.

TTFN,

Josh

Only in the case of Elcaset, it isn't an early tape format. Rather a *late* tape format (pun intended). I think it is that last of the analog cassette formats with DCC being more recent but digital.

 

[Old_School]

For those who haven't seen what it looks like compared to a compact cassette and a CD:

 

[koltrast]

I was playing with my EL7 this weekend and was surprised to notice that the capstans don't spin constantly when powered up like they do on all my other tape decks, so I was wrong in an earlier post.

 

[Old_School]

Got the EL-7s back from the shop fully serviced. Still waiting on the EL-D8. Played them for the first time tonight. The demo tape has amazing sound.

Despite several years of neglect these two decks came back perfectly. Built like battleships. Here's a pic:

 

[DENNYDOG]

Got the EL-7s back from the shop fully serviced. Still waiting on the EL-D8. Played them for the first time tonight. The demo tape has amazing sound.

Despite several years of neglect these two decks came back perfectly. Built like battleships. Here's a pic:

Curious as to where you took them and what they did? Did they repair just the problems you were having with them or did they do any restoration work? It's tough to find any shops that work on decks anymore. Are they known for tape deck repair or is it a regular electronics shop?

Sorry for all the questions. Both of my EL-7's have a couple issues and I'm a little leery about having a shop work on them that isn't known for working on tape decks.

Denny

 

[Old_School]

It's a regular shop here in Ottawa - Centek Electronics. They work on everything from steam driven Victrolas to 60" flat panel TVs. The two guys (really just one, as the other is "semi-retired") have been at it for a lot of years, and have a large stock of NOS parts for various makes, as well as other sources of parts. They are probably the last shop in the area that'll work on tapedecks, though they'll tell you if your deck is worth the repair or not.

As far as the work done on the EL-7s, they just required a cleaning, some deoxit in the various switches and new belts (though one did need to have the glass over the level meters re-glued in place). I'm almost ashamed that I didn't just do that work myself.
The EL-D8 needed a bit more love, as the pinch rollers had seized, and a previous owner had tried to get them to move by brute force on the switch. It bent something, but it was either easy to bend back or he had a replacement, as it works fine now.

 

[Brian]

Old_School, welcome to the board. Do you have a thing for Sony or just happened to be so unlucky ? I've got a few Sony receivers and they are all very fine for laying back and enjoying a good listen. Would you mind editing your profile to include your city and province. It makes it much easier to see who is from where.

 

[Old_School]

Unlucky I guess. I've bounced around alot over the past 30 years, and finally settled in a house with enough space for a "relaxing room." When I opened a bunch of the boxes of my old stereo gear (Panasonic stuff from the late '80s) I discovered my amp was busted, and my speakers were crap (one of my kids had, somewhere along the line, pushed the tweeters in, but they were crap before that).

When I started to look for replacements I gravitated to vintage stuff for a combination of nostagia and quality for the price. I found a Sony STR-7065 for a good price (albeit not yard sale price), and it went downhill from there. The Elcasets fell into my lap when I was looking for a cassette player to use for taping - I have a couple of old cars with cassette decks, so I wanted a good quality tape deck. When I saw the Elcasets I couldn't resist, despite their incompatibility with car tapedecks.

My system is still a work in progress. The Sony receiver drives a pair of Celestion Ditton 200s, with my old Pioneer PL-570 TT still running, as well as the Elcasets and a Nakamichi RX-505, plus a Sony CDP-370 CD deck. Not very hi-fi. I also acquired a Lenco L-78 TT which is my project piece. I'm more into the tinkering than the listening I guess. My car decks are Naks, including a TD 1200.

I also got the Pioneer amp fixed (just needed to jumper the voltage switch - it's a multi-voltage piece I picked up while in the Army overseas in the '80s). It now runs my livingroom setup, which is the matching tuner, multi-disk CD player and a pair of Ditton 100 bookshelf speakers. It's mainly for radio and background tunes when we have guests.

 

[Brian]

Nothing to hang your head over, sounds like a very nice system. The Lenco has real potential. I seem to remember that there is a site for bringing these back and modding them. There are a lot of Sony owners here so welcome to the club or nuthouse, whichever you prefer.

 

[DENNYDOG]

Thanks Old_School! :thmbsp: I will have to agree the Elcaset sure is a fun format to play with. :yes:

 

[Old_School]

Good thing I have two decks. I was recording some of the previous owner's stuff to cassette and the Elacset tape broke. I was in and out of the room, not watching it closely, so I didn't notice until about 2mm thick of tape had managed to wind around the capstan. At least I can play the other one while I'm trying to fix this one.

So far I haven't had any trouble with the FeCr tapes other than a bit of squeeking in some of them (apparently a common problem with old tapes). The tape that broke was the first type I that I'd played for any length of time. It was a 90 minute - should I be wary of the blue tapes?

>Brian,
Not hanging my head at all. I know it's not "audiophile" but neither am I' I like to listen to the music, and my poor abused hearing can't distinguish most of the stuff audiophiles talk about, so I don't worry about it too much. I admire craftsmanship, and the older Sony gear certainly has bags of that. The Lenco is an interesting piece as well. I've checked out a bunch of the Lenco fan sites, and I happen to be in the same area as the Lenco "tuner" guru - Jean Nantais. I haven't met him, but I've met a bunch of people that know him.

All that said - my first priority is to get the %$#$& room sorted out and the gear properly set up. Then I can enjoy it, and enjoy tinkering.

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

I've always wanted to have one but can never get my self to shell out for a piece of gear I'm hardy gonna use not to mention one that you can only get 30+ year old media and even then it's not easy to find. Though good luck to any one that want to get into collecting these beasts.

 

[koltrast]

The tapes themselves are definitely the weak link with Elcaset. I got ca. 70 tapes along with mine, mostly FeCr and about 25% of them squeek mechanically. I have also chewed a few tapes too, but this was before I realised the braking problem on rewind that several of us seem to have. I'm more careful now.