Tape deck collision damage

[microgoat]

I picked up a Pioneer RT-701 on ebay to add to the vintage tape deck collection. Always liked the low-profile Pioneers, and the price was right, even for one with "known issues", namely a pretty good whack during shipping to the previous owner. The front chassis is bent. And since everything mounts to it, that's kind of a big deal.

Fortunately the previous owner was a multi-line warranty tech and knows what it needed, and the parts were included.

I decided to take the easy way out and found a replacement chassis panel from a 707; I'm confident that it will work since the 701 is just a 707 with some bits left out.

Found a 51-lb package on my step today. Inside I found this:



Along with a bunch of pieces parts. Time to tear it down and get to work!



Front panel off. Yep, she's bent.



Head mounting panel is bent, too. Lucky for me the seller included a new-used set on a straight panel. I even remembered to write down the wiring before desoldering the heads.



Getting down to the bones now. Should have the front off by the end of the evening.

UPDATE: The new chassis has a broken pinchroller pivot axle, and it's the only part that doesn't screw on. Good thing I know how to braze

[EeePee]

That sucker got a headphone out on it?

[GySgt Hartman]

Real easy way to fix it:

hit it with a sledge hammer, real hard, repeatedly...

[microgoat]

Originally Posted by EeePee

That sucker got a headphone out on it?

Of course. Quarter-inch, even.

Originally Posted by GySgt Hartman

Real easy way to fix it:

hit it with a sledge hammer, real hard, repeatedly...

I'd rather do that to Baller's iPhone.

[GySgt Hartman]

Originally Posted by EeePee

That sucker got a headphone out on it?

Originally Posted by microgoat

Of course. Quarter-inch, even.

I bet it's mono...

[EeePee]

I figured it was one on the left, but maybe they had three mic in 1/4" jacks.

[EddieO]

I had a friend score one of these at an auction for dirt cheap....not sure if it was the same model. It didn't really work, so what we ended up doing was cutting a slit in it and installed a highend CD player behind it. Basically just the slit showed and the small LCD for the track, along with a tiny hole for the IR sensor.

We then wired it up so the stuff still moved as the CD played. When you hit stop, forward, back, etc the tape moved in the direction the CD player thought (was more of generic action). It was pretty trick. We just put some blank tapes on it. Damn tape cost more than we paid for the unit!

We then mounted it and I kid you none, every person though the old tape was playing the songs. Chicks dug it.....so did someone else. He came home one night to find his house broken into. Only thing stolen....it. They left a $2000 plasma, which was about the same damn size! Tons of other stuff worth more than it.....I think in the end, we had maybe $500 in it, with most of it coming from the cd player we put in it.

Later EddieO

[microgoat]

Originally Posted by GySgt Hartman

I bet it's mono...

Only if I screw up the wiring. Quarter-track stereo. It's old but not that old (1977).

Originally Posted by EddieO

We then mounted it and I kid you none, every person though the old tape was playing the songs. Chicks dug it.....so did someone else. He came home one night to find his house broken into. Only thing stolen....it. They left a $2000 plasma, which was about the same damn size! Tons of other stuff worth more than it.....I think in the end, we had maybe $500 in it, with most of it coming from the cd player we put in it.

Later EddieO

That's an easy mistake, these things sound as good (or better) than CD when properly set up. This one does 30-24,000 +/-3dB, 20-28,000 overall

I feel ya on the stolen unit. I lost a Teac A-6300 to a thief back in 1988. Fawker also stole my beer out of the fridge.

[microgoat]

Passed the initial smoke test, and it's alive!



Here you can see the booger-brazed axle. Hard to get enough heat into this thick steel, but it got the job done even if it's ugly.



Still to do: brake adjustments, head adjustments, clean & demag, install the faceplate and figure out where it's going to go in the stack.

[chino63]

Nice job Stu. I've got a 1908 steam powered movie projector that's in need of refurbishment when you have time.

[EeePee]

Originally Posted by microgoat

That's an easy mistake, these things sound as good (or better) than CD when properly set up.

Wanna prove that?

[microgoat]

Originally Posted by EeePee

Wanna prove that?

Anytime, cupcake.

Here's my fix for the tension arms:



For a given wire diameter, a shorter spring is a stiffer spring. Found these in my junk drawer and connected them with a short length of brass rod. Now the tensioners actually tension.



Head alignment...



and test tones. She's ready for prime time now!

[EeePee]

Cool! I'll be over for Thanksgiving.

Alright, so list a couple tapes you have so I can become acquainted with the music.

[microgoat]

I only have a couple pre-recorded tapes, the rest are all dubs that I done myself. But Chet Atkins My Favorite Guitars is one of them and well worth a listen.

[slobin3d]

something wrong about a 1977 reel to reel hooked up to a computer.....

[tcrawler]

Reel to reel, my dad had a teac set up he got from germany.

[microgoat]

A lot of these were sold at PX's. During the Vietnam era it was mandatory to buy stereo gear on the base.

And here she is on top of the stack:



The stack itself is more taller, too.

[CD13]

Whats that at the bottom of the stack? Some kind of marry go round?

[GySgt Hartman]

Hey wait a minute, where's the 8-Track...?

[toyofast]

All that and still no iPad