The Official Elcaset thread!
- Thread starter Bigerik
- Start date
hi Tony, well i could'nt wait and I have taken out the transport and have removed the brakes and yes they are worn. Could you please tell me when I take of the worn pads and then put the brakes back in to test the thickness of the rubber in the rest position..ie when the tape is not loaded should the rubber be hard up against the take up reels or just slightly away from them as in your picture ?
i'ts just that befor I took them out they were both touching the wheels where as in your picture your rubber breaks are just away from them.....I hope thats clear
cheers
Brian
i'ts just that befor I took them out they were both touching the wheels where as in your picture your rubber breaks are just away from them.....I hope thats clear
cheers
Brian
Flaxmill19
Active Member
Hi Brian,
Good to see you have started. I will go off memory and see what happens.
First, do the pinch rollers move up and down easily? You should be able to easily lift by hand and they drop on their own weight and spring tension, this is important as it will confirm that the brakes are in the correct position. If they don’t move up and down easily they most likely have dried grease preventing easy movement. If this is the case remove the old grease and re-grease. You can do this by moving the pinch roller mechanism into different positions and cleaning as you go.
Second, when there is no power to the head assembly the brakes should be on, when you energise the brake solenoid the brakes will come off, then you should have a small gap between the brake pads and the brake discs (as shown in the photo). Because the rubber has a much higher friction, and the stroke on the brake pads is fixed the thickness of the rubber is critical to get both the correct braking force and pad clearance when the brakes are off. I found this to be a fine line and that’s why I had a range of rubber pad thicknesses made. As mentioned previous you need to trial different thicknesses to get the right one. I found that of the three machines I have replaced the pads, the thickness has been different on all. As a matter of fact on one machine each pad had a different thickness.
This may not have been the case for the felt as this is not so critical the felt may slightly contact and the reel spindles will still turn OK, whereas with the higher friction of the rubber, this must have a gap when the brakes are off.
Hope that helps, and not confuse you:scratch2:
Tony
Good to see you have started. I will go off memory and see what happens.
First, do the pinch rollers move up and down easily? You should be able to easily lift by hand and they drop on their own weight and spring tension, this is important as it will confirm that the brakes are in the correct position. If they don’t move up and down easily they most likely have dried grease preventing easy movement. If this is the case remove the old grease and re-grease. You can do this by moving the pinch roller mechanism into different positions and cleaning as you go.
Second, when there is no power to the head assembly the brakes should be on, when you energise the brake solenoid the brakes will come off, then you should have a small gap between the brake pads and the brake discs (as shown in the photo). Because the rubber has a much higher friction, and the stroke on the brake pads is fixed the thickness of the rubber is critical to get both the correct braking force and pad clearance when the brakes are off. I found this to be a fine line and that’s why I had a range of rubber pad thicknesses made. As mentioned previous you need to trial different thicknesses to get the right one. I found that of the three machines I have replaced the pads, the thickness has been different on all. As a matter of fact on one machine each pad had a different thickness.
This may not have been the case for the felt as this is not so critical the felt may slightly contact and the reel spindles will still turn OK, whereas with the higher friction of the rubber, this must have a gap when the brakes are off.
Hope that helps, and not confuse you:scratch2:
Tony
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Hi Tony, well I replaced the brakes and they work perfectly, thanks to you and your instructions.
I do have one more issue and that is when I fast forward or rewind at the end it does not switch off infact it has just ripped the tape from the reel !! boy its got some speed. both of the sensing lights are lit so I'm not sure why....any idea ?
cheers
Brian
I do have one more issue and that is when I fast forward or rewind at the end it does not switch off infact it has just ripped the tape from the reel !! boy its got some speed. both of the sensing lights are lit so I'm not sure why....any idea ?
cheers
Brian
Flaxmill19
Active Member
Hi Brian, I have never had a problem with the tape activated auto shut off. You say that both sensing lights are on. You should only have one sensing light on the left hand side as viewed from the front. My thoughts would be to check the shut off voltage and if required adjust RV705 as detailed on page 23 of the service manual. If you haven’t got or cannot achieve the correct voltage, I would be looking at the semiconductor Q745, there are heaps of information on this site on how to check these by a lot more experienced people than me. try this one http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=43186
Regarding the tape transport functions.
Yes, this is normal, in the play mode, the reel spindles should rotate for nine seconds and then turn off. This is to ensure that when you play a tape from the very start of the tape the clear leader tape will not cause the tape to stop. In fast forward or reverse, the reel spindles turn for a few seconds and then turn off.
Tony
Well today I put my Elcaset back together and it's now working perfectly thank you Tony for all your help. I have adjusted the voltage as you said and the auto stop is now working, although both of my sensor lights are still lit
I'll now put it into my 2 channel system to do some serious recordings
Cheers
Brian
I'll now put it into my 2 channel system to do some serious recordings
Cheers
Brian
Flaxmill19
Active Member
Hi Brian,
I am intrigued with the two lights, you should only have one on the left hand side. Although both the guide pins are the same, to my knowledge only the left has the light. Also the light is on all the time. If you damage a tape and the magnetic surface is removed leaving a clear section in the tape, if the area is big enough the tape will stop at this point, caught me out once.
Anyway, glad to be of help and enjoy your machine, they can certainly produce some great recordings.
Tony
I am intrigued with the two lights, you should only have one on the left hand side. Although both the guide pins are the same, to my knowledge only the left has the light. Also the light is on all the time. If you damage a tape and the magnetic surface is removed leaving a clear section in the tape, if the area is big enough the tape will stop at this point, caught me out once.
Anyway, glad to be of help and enjoy your machine, they can certainly produce some great recordings.
Tony
I've noticed the pinch rollers are a little stiff on my EL7. I guess it's time to have a look in there to clean and lubricate them and to fix the brakes as above.
Any idea how the roller caps come off? There's no description in the manual and I don't want to use a polygrip on them unnecessarily. My deck has the conical caps.
As for the braking issue, I find some tapes stop correctly and others roll a little too far, which has led me to believe there is more to this problem than just replacing the pads. Anybody else noticed this difference from tape to tape?
Any idea how the roller caps come off? There's no description in the manual and I don't want to use a polygrip on them unnecessarily. My deck has the conical caps.
As for the braking issue, I find some tapes stop correctly and others roll a little too far, which has led me to believe there is more to this problem than just replacing the pads. Anybody else noticed this difference from tape to tape?
I think the problem you had is the same as what I had and it is all to do with the brakes. I am not that technical but if you read thru all the posts and follow Tony's advice to take out the mech and replace the brakes is easy. While you have the mech out you can then clean and re grease So that everything moves smoothly
I have also started to take apart my tapes and just dab a little grease around the tape hubs as most of my tapes have become noisy, this makes a big difference on how the tape travels in the machine
Good luck it really isn't that hard to do
Brian
I have also started to take apart my tapes and just dab a little grease around the tape hubs as most of my tapes have become noisy, this makes a big difference on how the tape travels in the machine
Good luck it really isn't that hard to do
Brian
Scrap EL5 wanted
Hi everybody I have bought a MediaTech Elcaset which is a Sony EL-5 with a black fascia.
My thoughts are I would like to get hold of a Sony fascia and fit that as I am not keen on the black fascia.
So does anyone have an EL5 kicking around that they would part out?
Another question a company called "Marrscommunications" is advertising belt kits for the Sony Elcasets aswell as the Technics Elcasets does any one know if they are still in existence as I do not seem to be able to get hold them.
Thanks
Gary
Hi everybody I have bought a MediaTech Elcaset which is a Sony EL-5 with a black fascia.
My thoughts are I would like to get hold of a Sony fascia and fit that as I am not keen on the black fascia.
So does anyone have an EL5 kicking around that they would part out?
Another question a company called "Marrscommunications" is advertising belt kits for the Sony Elcasets aswell as the Technics Elcasets does any one know if they are still in existence as I do not seem to be able to get hold them.
Thanks
Gary
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TheNLOwner
Analog Tape Addict!
Check the Marrs thread, you can see why he isn't answering mails at this point.
Flaxmill19
Active Member
Hi Gary,
I have three Elcasets (EL-7, EL-5 & WEGA E4950) that all have marrs belts fitted, I haven't had a problem with his service, although that was a couple of years back. I think he just gets swamped with businesses and can't keep up.
Regarding your MediaTech Elcaset, can you post a picture of the fascia, if its in good condition I may consider a swap. PM me if you prefer.
Tony
Well after all my angsting about belts idler tyres etc, both the Technics and the Sony machines have belts that are in excellent condition, I use a little rubber restorer on them and they came up like new, so for now I am ok for belts etc.
the Sony was suffering from dried grease on the mechanism so I stripped it completely cleaned and re-greased it so it operates smoothly and as it should, I then went mad and did the same for the Technics.
The Sony how ever does not have original heads in it as I would like to put it back to standard, the Mediatech Head has an extra set of wires that go to one of the Mediatech boards, I presume this is for recording some sort of pulses
so far so good
Gary
the Sony was suffering from dried grease on the mechanism so I stripped it completely cleaned and re-greased it so it operates smoothly and as it should, I then went mad and did the same for the Technics.
The Sony how ever does not have original heads in it as I would like to put it back to standard, the Mediatech Head has an extra set of wires that go to one of the Mediatech boards, I presume this is for recording some sort of pulses
so far so good
Gary
journey
Wow how all this has turned out, 3/4 months ago in the space of a week I had bought two elcaset machines on ebay, both from Liverpool but from separate sellers.
A friend who lives up there collected them for me, I had to wait about 6 weeks until we met up in Cardiff to collect them both.
As the Technics was basically working I serviced that first and installed it in my system and enjoyed it very much
.
The Sony came together thanks to a member on here from New Zealand wanting the black front panel from the Mediatech and I was wanting a standard Sony EL-5 aluminium fascia, that all happened and there I was with a very nearly standard EL-5, Now for a set of heads, Well Tony in New Zealand put me in touch with a guy in Canada who knows just about everything about Elcasets and was able to supply me with a complete Head block assembly for a modest amount, plus a set of spare heads:tresbon:.
He was interesting to talk to as he modifies EL-5 machines to 2 track only and used his own heads, this is how he comes to have spare heads sitting around.
I fitted the head block straight in, azimuth was spot on, just a few tweeks on the internal levels to bring it up to spec. Amazing sound even thought it is the 2 head version>
Like I have always found with Elcaset (I had an EL 5 and an EL 7, 11 years ago)
a real pleasure to use and listen to, I still had some tapes from then and have bought some more I love it.
So thanks to this website and Tony for all there help.
Also thanks to Paul for buying the Technics, once we had spoken on the phone I was really happy that you with your knowledge and experience you had bought this machine.
So there we have it two Elcaset machines saved and in use in the south west of England.........and the UK customs and excise are better off for it:thumbsdn:
Gary
Ps now that's all the good news...............of course I am thinking, if an EL-7 every comes along that I can afford I will have to go for it......................
Wow how all this has turned out, 3/4 months ago in the space of a week I had bought two elcaset machines on ebay, both from Liverpool but from separate sellers.
A friend who lives up there collected them for me, I had to wait about 6 weeks until we met up in Cardiff to collect them both.
As the Technics was basically working I serviced that first and installed it in my system and enjoyed it very much
.The Sony came together thanks to a member on here from New Zealand wanting the black front panel from the Mediatech and I was wanting a standard Sony EL-5 aluminium fascia, that all happened and there I was with a very nearly standard EL-5, Now for a set of heads, Well Tony in New Zealand put me in touch with a guy in Canada who knows just about everything about Elcasets and was able to supply me with a complete Head block assembly for a modest amount, plus a set of spare heads:tresbon:.
He was interesting to talk to as he modifies EL-5 machines to 2 track only and used his own heads, this is how he comes to have spare heads sitting around.
I fitted the head block straight in, azimuth was spot on, just a few tweeks on the internal levels to bring it up to spec. Amazing sound even thought it is the 2 head version>
Like I have always found with Elcaset (I had an EL 5 and an EL 7, 11 years ago)
a real pleasure to use and listen to, I still had some tapes from then and have bought some more I love it
.So thanks to this website and Tony for all there help.
Also thanks to Paul for buying the Technics, once we had spoken on the phone I was really happy that you with your knowledge and experience you had bought this machine.
So there we have it two Elcaset machines saved and in use in the south west of England.........and the UK customs and excise are better off for it:thumbsdn:
Gary
Ps now that's all the good news...............of course I am thinking, if an EL-7 every comes along that I can afford I will have to go for it......................
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