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Revox C278 1/2" 8-track

SaSi said:
The most expensive part to replace (and most critical) are the two heads.
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But heads can be re-lapped. A capstan motor OTOH might run you upwards
of $500. Is Nortronics still in the replacement head business?
 
philcib said:
But heads can be re-lapped. A capstan motor OTOH might run you upwards
of $500. Is Nortronics still in the replacement head business?
Click to expand...
Heads can be relapped IF they are not too far gone. If they are too far gone, then they are useless.

Nortronics is not in business any longer. But some stocks of Nortronics heads may be still obtained from the former vice-president of Nortronics.
 
philcib said:
But heads can be re-lapped. A capstan motor OTOH might run you upwards
of $500. Is Nortronics still in the replacement head business?
Click to expand...
My comment on prices and costs was focused on the PR99 but it is valid for Revox R2R in general. Each brand has their own pricey bits.

A Revox capstan motor can be had for $10~25. A reel motor pair for the same amount. ALL the B77/PR99 audio cards for ~$50. The special to PR99 audio cards are certainly more rare, but I found the two for $25 combined.

Nortronics - as stated - is out of business, but I got two replacement heads for almost $200 incl. shipping. Genuine Revox heads "as new" are pretty seldom to come across, and when you do, be prepared to spend $200~$300 to get them. Worn ones can be had for less than $50 including the nest.

Relapping IS a solution, provided the heads are not totaly worn out. IMHO, 4-5mm flat mirror on the head equals a useless head. 2-3mm is good and such heads sell upwards of $100. Such heads show loss in high frequency and also generate tracking instability that can be measured and heard with test tones but are much less audible with real audio.
 
>The old fellow says the PR99 in a "mono full-track" unit

Well, not much good for home / hi fi use then - it will only record one channel (left OR right), and wont even play vintage tapes recorded on domestic mono machines. Probably only good as a donor machine if you're fixing up another PR99/B77.

The B77 and PR99 came in several *hundred* variants, depeding on the number of tracks, channels, speeds, etc.
 
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