Din

J

jackthecat

Member
Hi.

I have a question about recording.

I have a TEAC A-4300SX (Reel to Reel) running through my Sansui 1000X (Tuner), and my turntable is a Sansui SR-2050C.

I am trying to record a couple of old albums onto reel tapes. My question regards the connection between the tape deck and tuner.

I am using a DIN cable so as to eliminate so many wires. Playback is fine, but I can't seem to record. Do I need to add output wires from the tuner to the deck? Or should I eliminate the DIN connection and use the RCA type cables?

I have one other question that just dawned on me. The settings for bias on my deck are simply '1' and '2'. There is a chart in my manual that tells what settings I need to use for which type of tape, but the tape I am using is not listed. I am using AMPEX 406 tapes. The tape itself is black and is manufactured by Quantegy. I took a look around the Internet for some information and found that this tape is also listed as 2" on 10" reels. Mine is 1/4 inch on 7" reels.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
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When you say "tuner", I'll assume that you mean receiver. I would try regular patch cables. Also check/clean any "Tape Monitor" switches. Do you get meter deflection when you attempt to record? Any sound from the headphone jack?
 
I started writing an explanation on the pinout but I soon realized that it would confuse anyone further...

So, here is a page with the actual pinouts for various DIN/DIN cables. Notice the pin layout on the top left and right corner of the page. The pins aren't numbered in sequence. Never understood why.

Living in Europe and using German made audio systems mainly, made me fairly fluent with the DIN cables and indeed helped me establish soldering skills. But these cables are a mess. I found the RCA plugs to be a blessing. I suggest you take Strawman's advice and use "regular" cables.
 
LOL! I tried making my own DIN cable from discarded keyboard cables Sasi. It seemed like a cleaner option for my Akai X-150 that used 1/4" jacks to RCA adaptors. What an abomination. I eventually got it to work, but it did look like hell. :D
 
A fair amount of machines set their DIN RECORD INPUTS thru the MIC INPUTS. Check on your machine to see if you have two different sets of pots ie: LINE and MIC/DIN. You may not be using the correct pots.

Larry
 
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Strawman said:
When you say "tuner", I'll assume that you mean receiver. I would try regular patch cables. Also check/clean any "Tape Monitor" switches. Do you get meter deflection when you attempt to record? Any sound from the headphone jack?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm sure that's what I meant. I'm not even sure of the difference.
Sorry. Anyway, I tried the patch cables and it works just fine. Thanks everybody.
 
Tuner: Just an FM/AM or whatever band ... tuner with just output jacks to connect to an amp or pre-amp.
Receiver: A Tuner and an integrated amp bundled in one. Makes for less space and clutter for small power amps or ... GREAT receivers both in looks and size.
 
Strawman said:
Good to hear it's working. That's a nice deck. :thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Well, thank you all for the help, and for pointing out that I have a receiver: A "[t]uner and an integrated amp bundled in one [that] Makes for less space and clutter for small power amps or ... "

That was the first time I have ever recorded onto reel to reel. Damn! The sound is nice! I recorded a couple, well one and a half, Alice Cooper albums: "Love it to Death" and "Killer." My albums are old originals, and I wanted to preserve them. The vinyl is still shiny (I was an anal kid) and the covers are still fairly fresh. On the first album, Cooper has his thumb sticking out of his fly, something they airbrushed out later covers, and on the second album, I still have the attached calendar that came with it.

I did the recording at 7.5 ips, but I'm wishing I had saved room and recorded at 3.75 ips. However, the recording sounds so good that I don't want to record over it.

Has anyone here had any experience with AMPEX tapes? I got to the end of the reel and couldn't figure out how to re-attach the tape in order to continue recording in the other direction. There was no slot B for me to slip the end of tape A into, so I just held it with my finger and gave it a couple of tight wraps.

I did learn an obvious lesson, though: I can only record in one direction! I needed to change the positions of the full and empty reels so that the tape could pass over the one erase head on the left side!
 
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