Reel To Reel Annoyance

[mistermax]

I f what you say is true then I must be a lucky S.O.B. because I have never had a plastic warped Reel and that's with over a hundred of them empty, on hand.Many more full of Tape

I would say you are very lucky. Out of maybe 250 plastic 7 inch reels that I have, I would guess 25% are warped.

 

[hertzdonut]

This screw on an RT-707 does not adjust the reel table height, it simply disassembles the reel hold-down clamp. The reel table height on these machines is adjusted by loosening the set screw illustrated in the picture in post #10.

You are correct, that screw on the front spindle is just for taking the spindle apart on the RT-707 and RT-701 models.

You are absolutely right. Apologies for my error.

 

[cnolanh]

This screw on an RT-707 does not adjust the reel table height, it simply disassembles the reel hold-down clamp. The reel table height on these machines is adjusted by loosening the set screw illustrated in the picture in post #10.

You are correct, that screw on the front spindle is just for taking the spindle apart on the RT-707 and RT-701 models.

This is really helpful to know. The screw looks the same as on the 10.5" machines but has a different function. My apologies for making an assumption that they all worked the same way.

 

[GPS16]

Hi,
The height of the reel tables on a 707 is done as per the picture in post 10. The brake drum height is the reference then the reel table is fixed to it. I adjusted mine with the covers off and a reel of tape in place ready to run. The tape was played for a while at the fast speed. The position of the wrap could then be clearly seen. The set screw for each table was loosened, in stop mode, and adjusted. Then the taped played for a while longer. The tape wrap was central in the reel quite quickly. If memory serves, the brake drums on my machine were fixed to the shaft with 3 set screws 120 degs apart. Bear in mind that the take up reel is the only one which can be adjusted. The tape needs to be played in both directions to do both tables.

Also bear in mind that if the reel tables get a clout, they can shift inwards on the motor shafts. Was the tape scraping on the outer side of the reel!! Unless there is a mechanical problem with the motors, this should be a one time adjustment unless the reel tables have seen some mechanical abuse. If the covers are off manually release the brake and judge the end float of the motor itself. If this is too large then the reel height will be able to shift anyway.

GPS16

 

[mistermax]

This is really helpful to know. The screw looks the same as on the 10.5" machines but has a different function. My apologies for making an assumption that they all worked the same way.

They do work the same way. At least on the 909 and 707 (I own both). The screw on the face of reel spindle does not "adjust" anything, on either deck. The 901 may be different, but I doubt it. Refer to the service manuals, they are free at hifiengine.

 

[cnolanh]

They do work the same way. At least on the 909 and 707 (I own both). The screw on the face of reel spindle does not "adjust" anything, on either deck. The 901 may be different, but I doubt it. Refer to the service manuals, they are free at hifiengine.

I wonder if we are misunderstanding each other about the RT-90x series. I do have the service manual. But the reel height adjustment I'm talking about is simpler, and is mentioned on page 9 of the RT-909 owner's manual. I use it all the time:


If that screw doesn't turn on your machine, is there a chance it's just turned all the way against its inner or outer stop?

 

[mistermax]

Hm. That is interesting. Now I can't wait to get home to try it. Will follow up, but yeah, I just looked at my owners manual and it certainly says that. Funny because the service manual shows the other, more complicated way to adjust reel height, as indicated above on the 707.

 

[cnolanh]

I wonder if the more invasive option is to set the reel table generally in the right range, and then you can fine-tune it with the screw on the front.

 

[Blue Shadow]

service manual shows the other, more complicated way to adjust reel height, as indicated above on the 707.

The base (internal) reel table adjustment should be done to get the table at the proper height. The 909/901?(I know 909, had one) external adjustment is to make the adjustment easy when changing reels. But the base adjustment needs to be done to allow this to happen.

If the base adjustment is done to use one type of reel (thick plastic or thin 10½" metal) and the external adjustment is set wrong there won't be any further adjustment to accommodate the other reels. I don't know if the SM addresses how to set the external adjustment when doing the base adjustment or not. Just something to consider if a 909 owner reads this thread while thinking of making the adjustment.

 

[mistermax]

Um, well, it's true - I am very happy to report! One of the tables on my 909 was adjusted all the way in, raising possibly the issue mentioned by Blue Shadow. The other was stuck and took a lot of (careful) effort to get it to move, like it hadn't been turned in a long time. It was set at about the halfway point, it turned out. This a great revelation to me (apart from making me feel pretty stupid, which I can live with). My Teac A-2000 has adjustable reel tables, with a screw on the face of the tables. I love that feature, and wished the Pioneer decks had it. Now, this is even better, because with the Teac you have to take the reel off to adjust it.

Thanks cnolanh and others for being kind enough to educate me (and maybe others) on this!

mm

 

[cnolanh]

Um, well, it's true - I am very happy to report! One of the tables on my 909 was adjusted all the way in, raising possibly the issue mentioned by Blue Shadow. The other was stuck and took a lot of (careful) effort to get it to move, like it hadn't been turned in a long time. It was set at about the halfway point, it turned out. This a great revelation to me (apart from making me feel pretty stupid, which I can live with). My Teac A-2000 has adjustable reel tables, with a screw on the face of the tables. I love that feature, and wished the Pioneer decks had it. Now, this is even better, because with the Teac you have to take the reel off to adjust it.

Thanks cnolanh and others for being kind enough to educate me (and maybe others) on this!

Glad you got it working, mistermax! There's no shame in learning something. I only discovered this feature after having the deck for a good while, and it's really helpful. Apparently the base setting is good on my deck because I can easily compensate for metal/plastic/warped reels with the simple screwdriver adjustment.

Now I'm curious about whether my Teac A-3340S has any kind of easy reel table adjustment...

 

[Blue Shadow]

This a great revelation to me (apart from making me feel pretty stupid, which I can live with).

Geez, if someone doesn't quote my post, I just go in and edit to help make it look like I'm less stupid than I am.

Glad we (that seems to be all of us) have figured out that the RT-909 has externally adjustable reel tables and the 7" machines do not. This makes complete sense because the big reels have variable thickness and the smaller reels are generally the same thickness, not needing anything other than the initial setting (and subsequent settings if the tables get moved.

 

[mistermax]

It does make sense. OTOH, I can tell you I really like having the feature on a 7 inch deck, as well (eg the Teac). Even moving around among various 7 inch plastic and metal reels, I find plenty of reasons to want to tweak the reel height. It would be nice to know what other decks have this, generally (eg Revox, Studer, Otari etc).

 

[steerpike2]

On all Revox machines, reel table height is set by washers of varying thickness and number.

 

[eddisc]

Glad you got it working, mistermax! There's no shame in learning something. I only discovered this feature after having the deck for a good while, and it's really helpful. Apparently the base setting is good on my deck because I can easily compensate for metal/plastic/warped reels with the simple screwdriver adjustment.

Now I'm curious about whether my Teac A-3340S has any kind of easy reel table adjustment...

MY 3340S has NO external adj. :-(