Woo-hoo - Otari!

Sam Cogley

Sam Cogley

Last of the Time Lords
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I grabbed an Otari MK-5050 BII2 today at a college surplus auction, all I've done to this point is power it up on the dim-bulb to check for shorts. So far, everything seems OK. The tape path is filthy, I need to clean it before I even think about loading up a crappy blank tape to test the drive motors. The capstan is spinning just fine. Cosmetically, it's only OK, with some significant scraping on one reel retainer. It's a rack-mount unit, so no case.

What do I need to know about this beast? I know I need to find some XLR/RCA adapters for it to be of much use. How do I tell if it has the 4-track playback head? Some brief research seems to indicate that most BII2s have the extra playback head, but I haven't found a switch to go back and forth from 2 to 4.

Yes, pictures are forthcoming. And no, you REALLY don't want to know what I paid for it and THREE Variac-branded variacs. Someone might shoot at me.
 
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Funny thing was, it wasn't even with the rest of the studio electronics - it was in a pile of junk, face down, outside. Along with the Variacs. I think about three people knew there was an RtR in there. The only other bidder wanted the junk for scrap value.
 
Congratulaitons! These are fantastic machines.

The 2/4 track switch is under the flip-up head cover. And if you can't see four heads, then this option won't be there.

And you can test the tranport by just pulling-up the forward tape guide, and pressing the buttons.

The only problem with the XLR adapters that you buy is that the output of Otaris are wired backwards from the the standard. So most adapters short the wrong pin. This can easily be fixed though by re-wiring the pins that short.

If you can find a copy of the manual for ths unit online, it will show you exactly how to wire adapters correctly for this machine. Good luck!
 
The audio gods have really smiled on you! Not one, but three genuine variacs. Oh, and an old tape recorder thrown in for free? CONGRATULATIONS on a great grab! :thmbsp:

Whoever put that deck out there, goofed. Any "flippers" who passed up on it, goofed. The guy who only saw scrap value there, goofed. You knew better, and because of that, you scored! Just goes to show what having a little more knowledge than the next guy can sometimes bring you.

Where does one register to become officially jealous? :D
 
beemer said:
Congratulations!

Price spread on Otari's is all over the world, however even those which have been rode hard and hung up wet may still amaze you. These machines were built for 24/7 production use, and it takes quite a bit to kill them off.

I'd be willing to bet you did really well!

Best,

Paul
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Let's just say that the whole pile of junk was quite a bit less than my usual bar tab.

I'll run outside and look for the switch now. When I was first inspecting it, I'm pretty sure I counted four heads.

Update: drug the big beast inside and fired it up for some tests. The left drive motor works fine, the right is frozen (it will turn by hand, but with a lot of drag). The capstan motor is a bit sluggish, probably from being grimy and a lack of use. Both brake solenoids work fine, I'll have to open that motor up and find out why it's dragging. It is a four-head machine, I found the playback switch way up under that flip cover. How do you reverse the tape to play back the other two tracks of a 4-track tape? When I try the two different test buttons under the meters, the left meter stops about one notch into the red, the right pegs all the way up. Not sure what that means.

I've only heard one Otari deck in my life, for a few minutes, playing through some JBL 4311s. The sound was astonishing, I can't wait to get this beastie alive again.

Is there any way to modify it to run at 3.75ips as well as 7 and 15? If there is, my Akai GX-1820 may end up with my dad. Then I'd need to find a good 8-track machine to replace the one in the side of the Akai...
 
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Paul, it's possible that you've nailed the problem. The reel motor that won't turn is also the one with the badly scraped retainer - and this thing was laying face-down. If I didn't recognize the name Otari, I probably wouldn't have flipped it over. Now to figure out how to loosen the table.

It looks like two of the motors sold for a very reasonable price on eBay two days ago - if it is dead, I'll wait for another good deal to pop up.

Mine is definitely not as pretty as yours. :thmbsp: I also see that your machine has another strip of that crenellated trim at the bottom - my rack-mount unit doesn't. I should probably add that to the list of things to locate so I can properly build a case, as I have no rack.
 
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I love my Otari B3 deck. Its had some hard use, but still keeps ticking. The original replacement heads that I got with my deck were worn right to the nub, so I found on Ebay a replacement set for pretty cheap. And it works great now. Its a shame I don't have room for the deck in my main rig right now to keep it hooked up. I have heard some Bottlehead guys use these decks modified and sound even better then stock.
 
beemer said:
The back cover and the top cover come off as one piece and are held on with a bunch of Phillips head screws. Remove the cover. You'll see that there are two metric set screws that secure the reel table to the capstan motor shaft. Loosen the set screws and move the reel table forward a bit and see what happens.

It's nice to have a clean machine, however your new toy has the look of love and experience to go with it. Think of the story it could tell if it could speak! Enjoy the scratches of experience!

Best,

Paul
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No covers - she's as naked as a jaybird. I'll look for the set screws now.
 
Bingo! 4mm hex screws, pulled the table out by eyeball measurement to the same depth as the left table, and both spin like mad! Gentlemen, I think we have a live one!

Next step, cleaning the tape path and figuring out why the test tone buttons don't get the same response from each meter.

Anyone ever made a cable to connect four XLR plugs to one DIN? The ability to use DIN cables is one thing I really like about my Akai RtR and cassette decks.

*makes mental note to ask next person parting out an MX-5050 on eBay if they have the top cover, screws and side/bottom panels*
 
Here is a couple of hints on the 5050BII:

1) the XLR connectors come from the factory wired pin 3 hot, rather than the standard AES standard pin 2 hot..so conventional adapters will not work. Personally, I am going to change the connectors inside of the deck to standard, and then make up some XLR to RCA cables. I have all the parts to do it.

2) the standard output of the Otari is +4db, and I believe that I have read Sam Palermo saying that DIN was -20, instead of the normal -10db line level, so things might not work too well....you can interface -10db and +4db gear without too much hassle in my experience, so long as some part of the signal path is level adjustable.
 
vinyldavid said:
Here is a couple of hints on the 5050BII:

1) the XLR connectors come from the factory wired pin 3 hot, rather than the standard AES standard pin 2 hot..so conventional adapters will not work. Personally, I am going to change the connectors inside of the deck to standard, and then make up some XLR to RCA cables. I have all the parts to do it.

2) the standard output of the Otari is +4db, and I believe that I have read Sam Palermo saying that DIN was -20, instead of the normal -10db line level, so things might not work too well....you can interface -10db and +4db gear without too much hassle in my experience, so long as some part of the signal path is level adjustable.
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David, that's good info - thanks! On my KR-9400, I don't think there is any difference between the DIN and RCA inputs on the tape loops, but I'll check. If not, it's a minor inconvenience. I did like having one cable making the whole loop, though.
 
Did some tinkering with the Otari. It seems to be playing fine, though the controls could use a DeoxIT bath. Oddly, the left VU meter doesn't move as high up as the right, even though the output volume is the same. Whoever was using it last had the speed set to 3.75/7.5, so that's good for me.

Did they make a 4T record head for these?
 
Sam Cogley said:
Did some tinkering with the Otari. It seems to be playing fine, though the controls could use a DeoxIT bath. Oddly, the left VU meter doesn't move as high up as the right, even though the output volume is the same. Whoever was using it last had the speed set to 3.75/7.5, so that's good for me.

Did they make a 4T record head for these?
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They made a fully 4 track version, same features as a 3340, and with a 2T playback head.

Not sure they made a 4 track 2 channel head, tho.
 
I wonder if it would be possible to install the 4T record head and another slider like the one used for the playback heads. Then it could be switched to record on 1 & 3 or on 1+2 and 3+4. Would this work, or am I totally bonkers?
 
Sam Cogley said:
I wonder if it would be possible to install the 4T record head and another slider like the one used for the playback heads. Then it could be switched to record on 1 & 3 or on 1+2 and 3+4. Would this work, or am I totally bonkers?
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There is no more room in the headblock for that.
 
Sam Cogley said:
What I meant is to replace the 2T recording head with the 4T, then use the switch between recording on 1 & 3 or tying 1 to 2 and 3 to 4 for 1/2 track recording.
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And how would you listen to one or the other? You'd need like 6 heads. You can only install 1 record head in the deck and it would either be 1/2 track or 1/4 track. You can't have both. Keep in mind you'd also need 2 erase heads, each for 1/2 and the other for 1/4 track erasing. I'd just stick to recording on 1/2 track.
 
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