Heat made it work. Here is a video I put together, Tried to make it as short as possible with editing but thats not my forte.
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Otari MX-5050 plays fast. Solved !! Next, re-lapping, physical alignment, electrical adjustments and paint job!
- Thread starter Nashou66
- Start date
Tinman
Super Member
You can try re-soldering the pins on the Tach head, but I think we are done beating this horse to death. I have seen this before, so based on your symptoms I suggested this. Yet people want it to be anything BUT that. MAYBE you can fix it, but I'd look to fit another head, I doubt it's very critical.
Would it be an erase head or just a mono head? I read on Tapeheads someone using an erase head from an Akai asset machine .
PS: I already tried removing the potting to see if I could see a loose wire.
Might be able to get deeper into the head but I'll just order some head from eBay etc I guess.
Athanasios
Ok I remembered I had an old cassette Alarm clock. So I took out the play head and tried that.You have to pry off the mounting plate from the old sensor and the two magnets.
I first used CA glue and it came off with the motor vibration , it hit the cogs for a bit but no damage to them or the tape head. So now I am using epoxy and waiting for it to dry before reinstalling it. But for the short time it was in there I believe it will work. The motor slowed down and I had a wave form until the glue gave up and it started scraping the cogs.
It was little shorter so I had to wire it up with the small PCB board differently.
I'll take a pic once I get it re installed.
Here are the old and new side by side. Tomorrow I get the one I ordered . But I think this might work and will keep the other one as a spare.
I first used CA glue and it came off with the motor vibration , it hit the cogs for a bit but no damage to them or the tape head. So now I am using epoxy and waiting for it to dry before reinstalling it. But for the short time it was in there I believe it will work. The motor slowed down and I had a wave form until the glue gave up and it started scraping the cogs.
It was little shorter so I had to wire it up with the small PCB board differently.
I'll take a pic once I get it re installed.
Here are the old and new side by side. Tomorrow I get the one I ordered . But I think this might work and will keep the other one as a spare.
Played a tape and And its way off alignment. I can here , what it seems music playing back wards along with normal music.
Also I can feel the tape path in the heads.
So I ordered
need to check the recording level. Switch on back of 5050 might cover it.
Athanasios
Also I can feel the tape path in the heads.
So I ordered
- Grease pencil
- White leader tape and splicing tape
- and an assortment of wet sanding paper up to 20000 grit.
need to check the recording level. Switch on back of 5050 might cover it.
Athanasios
Yes I had the switch set to 2 track.
I have a Teac a3340-S That I have new heads coming i'll need to do as well.
Nashou
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tapetech
Repair Professional
Impossible. You said you played a 2 track stereo music tape with head switch set to "two track" and you heard forward and backwards music. Not possible because a two track stereo music tape only has music in one direction. You played a 4 track stereo tape because only that format has forward and backwards music. That tape needed switch set to 4T to play correctly.
Post photos of the heads.
Just because you can feel or see a wear groove does it mean the heads are shot.
IF it turns out heads are shot, then sending the the entire headblock (with guides) to JRF Magnetics will give you the best performance. This is not a deck to experiment with.
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Dont have any clear tape. But something is off . I have a Nat King Cole tape as the Rod Stewart tape I don't trust as it's the one I was using first.
So on the first track Mona Lisa it plays fine at the beginning , but then it does that weird backwards playing along with Mona Lisa. Track selector set to 4 track (this is a 4 track tape as was the Rod Stewart) . I re sprayed the track selector switch and worked it over 50 times just in case that might cause the behavior.
But here are pics of the heads, best I could get. not sure if you can see the grooves in the head.
The Orange in the next pic is just a reflection of the Record button
I'll need to order some clear tape, I have some white leader tape coming tomorrow.
Athanasios
Athanasios
tapetech
Repair Professional
If you have any maxell tapes, they have translucent leader tape.
Heads are dirty. You need to invest in some magnifying goggles in order to SEE the dirt on the heads. Don't use alcohol. Acetone will get the old tape residue off. Tapes guides are also dirty at the bottom corner.
4 track head MAY be off in height but hard to tell with photos.
Heads don't go out of correct factory alignment by themselves. They only go out if "messed with" by a human who has no clue.
Heads are dirty. You need to invest in some magnifying goggles in order to SEE the dirt on the heads. Don't use alcohol. Acetone will get the old tape residue off. Tapes guides are also dirty at the bottom corner.
4 track head MAY be off in height but hard to tell with photos.
Heads don't go out of correct factory alignment by themselves. They only go out if "messed with" by a human who has no clue.
Yeah I have tape head cleaner and a demagnetizer . I haven't cleaned the heads thoroughly yet, just a quickie job.
I'll also clean that switch better I bet. read a few post elsewhere that it might be the reason its playing the other side track as well.
Thanks
Nashou
Tinman
Super Member
Those heads have pretty even wear. If you mess with them, you'll never get them the same again and will have to lap them. I'd clean them very carefully and yes.... deoxit ALL switches on ANY Otari. They are notorious for dirty switches at this age. You can undo 3 screws to unplug the whole head stack to clean it much easier.
Nice fix!
Sorry to interrupt but those heads look better than mine. This is a from a gifted MX5050 BIII-2 that was stored in a damp basement near Pittsburgh. Note the live spider above and between the heads at right. It had a Red body with black dots, not native to where I am at. The deck is still bagged/quarantined in the garage to make sure anything else in there can't get out.
@Tinman or @Nashou66
I read some of the switches are sealed on the Otaris and you have to drill or Dremel grind a small hole for DeOxit. Is that correct? I have bent tabs to disassemble and clean some sealed switches before but haven't looked inside this Otari yet.
Sorry to interrupt but those heads look better than mine. This is a from a gifted MX5050 BIII-2 that was stored in a damp basement near Pittsburgh. Note the live spider above and between the heads at right. It had a Red body with black dots, not native to where I am at. The deck is still bagged/quarantined in the garage to make sure anything else in there can't get out.
@Tinman or @Nashou66
I read some of the switches are sealed on the Otaris and you have to drill or Dremel grind a small hole for DeOxit. Is that correct? I have bent tabs to disassemble and clean some sealed switches before but haven't looked inside this Otari yet.
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Tinman
Super Member
The switches are "sealed" but where the corners fold there is a small hole from the process. That is enough to get deoxit in there with the straw nozzle.
And damn.... that deck looks mummified. I put any questionable device in a trash bag, fog some insect killer into it and seal it for a day or two. Works wonders.
And damn.... that deck looks mummified. I put any questionable device in a trash bag, fog some insect killer into it and seal it for a day or two. Works wonders.