Unpacking New Alignment Tapes │ Aligning Azimuth on Cassette Decks
Vložit
- čas přidán 1. 02. 2024
- I recently bought some alignment tapes to assist in aligning cassette decks. Let's take a look at those, use one of them to align the azimuth on my TC-K45, and I'll give you my take on "audio grade" capacitors while we're at it.
Feel free to yell out any German words you may see in this video as loudly and aggressively as possible.
Facebook: / theweatherwolf
Insta: / oklawolf
Camera gear I use:
Nikon D800, Nikon Z50, iPhone XS Max & 13 Pro Max, DJI Action 3, Autel Evo Nano+, Autel Evo Lite+, DJI Mini 3 Pro
Music:
Cosmic Cycler (cosmiccycler.bandcamp.com)
猫 シ Corp. (catsystemcorp.bandcamp.com)
Diskette Park (diskettepark.bandcamp.com) - Zábava
Just made my Saturday!
Cassettes will never go outta style!
I tested my speed tape from Hans Roth on my Teac V7000 (quartz lock dd dual cap) and mine was spot on. My azimuth tape is slightly out though when compared with my original Teac 8khz azimuth tape!
Nice video! Instead of using the probes with your oscilloscope you could also use a standard stereo cinch cable together with two BNC-to--cinch adapters. Check the Dolby playback levels for your carver using the Dolby level tape. The best method is to measure directly on the pins of the IC itself CX20187............pins 21,22........245 mV (-10 dBu) (RMS)
I tried a set of these tapes. I'd say they'll get you close enough. Results were good. I consider these the initial alignment before I try my expensive masters. As to Sony grease.... that's not grease. It's 30 year epoxy! 😉
Very nice & informative video. 👍🙏
As I wrote on one of your other videros, it is sad to see such bad tapes being used as reference taps, it should be TDK MA-R of max 10 min for that kind of thing.. It is a sad trend that those who sell this kind of equipment just think about making money, cheap plastic taps.
I don't blame you because you are doing a good job with what you have.
I never ever saw a MA-R tape used for that from the original reference tape makers. Get real! The guy that is making these tapes is doing what he can with the material which is now available. BTW those MA-R tapes are often loosing binder which makes them sadly no more than collection objects.
The text on the cassette below should mean that the tape was checked after recording on this or that cassette player. According to Hans, the recording is done on a Studer professional machine.
Hi WW,
*Frequency Response Tape:* If this is a true 1981 Prague playback EQ standard, then your SONY TC-K series (and mine too!) may not produce a flat (or even nearly) response. That is 50Hz to 10Khz as a starter.
Why? - Sony (and I guess many of the others too!?) seem to adhere to some older IECI (1970s) standard, of which I am not certain about. Certainly Sony seem to push their pre-emphasis quite high (high freq boost on Rec) and thus a stronger playback de-emphasis. Their S/N claims in their brochures seem to suggest this. I am not alone on this thinking, I know some serious fellow 'tapeheads' are of the same thinking too.
All this talking from me!, I really do need to check out my set of Hans Peter Roth tapes ..................
That music tape in both decks are indicative of a bad recording. When Dobly C is flipped, very little, if any highs are reduced. I despise Dolby B, thought it was a bad attempt to roll of highs to mask tape noise. Either way, when you set the Dolby levels, make absolutely sure that the inject tones and output of the Dolby chips are spot on according the service manual. It will make a huge difference. Also look at the the playback Freq Response settings. Best of luck!
The 4th tape is for checking head hight.
Jeremy, your Dolby mistracking may be due to incorrect playback levels. I didn't hear if you checked that or not, but since you have the new tape, it doesn't cost anything to find out.
That could well be. I've noticed the tapes done with the XK-007 aren't pushing the meters on the Carver as high as other decks. I'm kind of fed up with it so I'm taking a break for a while.
@@Oklawolf Yes, I could hear that you sounded a little stressed in the video. Best to take a break and let it rest for a while, it's not as though you're late for a parade ...
@@Oklawolf Being frustrated with cassette decks is the default experience! ;o)
Don't worry about the meters not reading the same from deck to deck, I don't know all the reasons, but there are decks out there where the track widths are probably not the same, hence a 1dB/2dB down/up isn't so surprising? Not to mention slight head wear, and tape wrap around the head face ..... I could go on. Yep, take a break from this - it'll clear your mind. :o)
They don't get much more stressful than an Aiwa transport, at least so far. They always fight me. Then again I'm getting used to them now and I do have a Nak classic transport on the shelf, so expect me to change my opinion on that REAL quick.
I recently learned that the fixyouraudio speed tape is not accurate because of an error in the Sony deck. You might want to check that out, the HPR speed tape might be accurate after all. thr 315Hz 250nWb/m tape is similar to the Dolby tape, only a higher level accoring to the din standard (1.3 db higher)
Got these tapes around 2 or 3 years. They all work fine but some of my machines don`t like the short 15 min length. The Technics RS-B727 with no back tension adjustment is one candidate for the speed/W/F tape.
If my RS-B755 can't manage a good speed test tape, I'm hoping one of the two closed loop dual capstan quartz lock units I'm bringing in from Japan can do it. At this rate one of them might even be here before the parts for the Technics show up.
Hi WW,
I also bought this package about 7 months ago. I haven't checked it through thoroughly, however, the azimuth tape does not match well with other azimuth tapes I have: ANT 10Khz , ABEX 10Khz, and a TEAC 6.3Khz - all full track. They all basically match well with each other, but the HPR tape does not. As much as 150°-180° out at 10Khz. I must put this tape in a different shell so that I can make a definitive judgement.
That's a concern of mine. Every machine I've tried it in shows as being out of alignment with it. That said, it did help me line up the Carver again - that machine has never worked or sounded better.
Just moved mine into a brand new Maxell UR shell. Results are different but not by a lot. I'm leaving it in the new shell - there were no anti-friction sheets in the HPR shells.
@@Oklawolf We can easily obtain slightly different results just by rewinding the tape over again and then press PLAY again; there's bound to be small shifts here and there etc, but I've found that often (not always) the azimuth slowly drifts back to the setting I initially made. So I guess the change of shell hasn't really made much difference for you?
IMO, honestly, cut your loses, and buy an azimuth tape from Alex Nikitin when you have the cash.
Regards
Eric.
I planned to, but I'm also not going to stress out too much over using the one I have. The difference between shells was not enough to worry me.
"the azimuth tape does not match well with other azimuth tapes I have: ANT 10Khz , all full track. They all basically match well with each other, but the HPR tape does not. As much as 150°-180° out at 10Khz. " Same! good to know that somebody had the same problem and it was 180 off from my A.n.t combination Tape (My Best tape For Azimuth, Speed and W&F)
Bad results with Dolby B and C: Try recording with the MPX filter engaged! (Seems it's not just for recording FM stereo any longer!)
This is my experience. Reason? Don't know! Perhaps massive RF pollution compared to the 1980s: wifi, bluetooth, dimmable LEDs, mobile phones.
Obviously the tape has to be recorded and played back with the corresponding Dolby settings. (MPX filter, though, has no effect on playback.)
You are right! It seems that quite a lot of DAC's produce some high-frequency disturbances which misguide the dolby circuit into thinking that the high-frequency 's coming from the audio signal., so it mis-tracks during recording.
Hi WW,
My advice: Save up and order an A.N.T azimuth full track. Also, a Dolby Level tape from the same guy. Yes, expensive I know, so start with just the azimuth.
*Listening to azimuth variations:* You can get a good idea of where the azimuth is on a pre-recorded tape (or any) by playing back the tape through headphones.
Set .. dolby=off, treble up, and bass down. Listen in for the clearest and highest treble. You can estimate where it is between two points where you sense it
is out, and 'phasy' sounding. Natural clean sounding treble is where it is at!
*Recorded Flux:* The flux density level is quote in nano-Webers per metre, pronouncing 'Weber' the German way, and abbreviated as nWb/m.
Dolby Level = 200 nWb/m (ANSI standard), which is the general and common standard. There is a DIN Standard equivalent, but is (or should be) obsolete.
*Thread:* The azimuth (and height) threads for the heads are probably best served with a lighter bond?, I believe there is, or nearly enough friction between nut and bolt
interfaces as the springs increase the coefficient of friction between the two anyway. Clear nail varnish should be fine, I use it, never had a problem. Other may disagree, but
any super-glue is too excessive IMO. Remember, you may have to get this stuff off again.
Super glues are often overused, simply because they are too easily available, and we as consumers are too lazy to seek alternatives.
Regarding 'impedance', it is pronounced 'impeed'+'dance', with no break in pronunciation.
Your point to the thread locker is correct, additionally, the purpose of that spot of torque seal on the head is tamper identification rather than rotation prevention, you're entirely correct about the springs providing the necessary force. The tension of a fine pitch thread with a spring like that, outweighs the extremely brittle nature of the lacquer, and even more brittle shellac, or any other paint on plated steel, by an order of magnitude at least. We use this all the time in order to quickly spot any fastener that has loosened up and is about to fall out of its torque spec.
@@asbcustom Ha ha ... yes Peter, I completely forgot about tamper identification! When I first saw the traditional paint on the azimuth screw when I was a kid back in 1973 (on cassette, although I played with R2R from about 1969 ... 1971), my first thought was 'well, at least no one has broke the seal on this ...'. You've just brought back a memory! :o) Come to think of this memory recall, now I remember the old Philips R2R I played about with, and yes, there was a paint seal on that too.
Heavens above - I wore that thing out!
Happy days!
I suppose it can't do any harm to add some additional seal, especially since some decks are 'press hammered' by the user over the years with mechanical cassette head transports. Personally, I have never encountered the screw turning without some thread lock, but there are probably exceptions to the rule. Yes, the fine thread (with a shallow ramp angle) reduces the risk of slippage IMO. Good point you made there Peter.
I'll be using nail polish for everything from now on. You'll find out what color in the next video. Personally, I'm just irritated the factory put so much paint lock on this one that I couldn't engage or move the screw. The XK-007 was no problem to adjust. Of course, I did also find better screwdrivers on Tuesday before tangling with the other machines.
@@JamesE707 I love that I revived a pleasant memory for you.
This thread gives me an idea for a test video about locking paint on screw heads vs their spring-loaded torque. I believe I have all the necessary gear with which to conduct such a test. Stay tuned.
@@Oklawolf Try undiluted acetone for about 15 mins, and if no good, maybe Peter can suggest something? Paint remover must surely work too, you should be able to get it cheap enough.
As former technician on Sony Betamax/Video 8 and Hi8 I only accept alignment tapes from the source / brand manufacturer. Every product has its service manual where these alignment tape are mentioned by partno. and how to use them. Yes they are hard to find and expensive when it is not commercial used. I never invest in 3rd party alignment tapes no matters it is audio or video consumer products.
It just so happens that the guy who did these tapes was working for Phillips doing.... yes alignement tapes. He uses those original tapes from Philips as a reference. He uses a open reel Studer machine to record the cassette tape full track outside of the shell and owns also the machine to charge that tape into a cassette. The cassette shells that he is using are the best still available, but it's quite possible that transferring a azimuth tape into a better quality shell would provide better results. There are no more new tapes made from any of the original brands so this is one of the three reliable sources still making them. I'm happy that he's still doing it. Soon the people and the knowledge will be gone...
My Sony TC-K45 will never look as good as yours - mine has no side panels! It makes all the difference IMO.
I've given up trying to find the rest of those decks with the wooden panels. When I do find them, they're destroyed. So I'm thinking of making new panels for the ones that don't have them.