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i might be getting one of these soon.



(edit) and i made my own thread about it

Do those heads look weird?

antispatula wrote:hey! Thanks, yeah, it was an increaible deal, even though I nearly killed myself a trillion times in my car (I had to pick it up in the heart of SF, never driving there before, and being a new driver......)

Oh! I get it! Thats more simple than I thought, thanks!

Where did it come from? A person or a studio. If so, what studio?

If you live near the bay area, and you have a problem in which you get totally stuck, I know a tech who used to work for Otari. He's not cheap, but he's good. He's done a lot of work on the MTR-100 at the place where I work.

Ben Adrian

full point wrote:Do those heads look weird?

i don't know.. i've been around a tape machine once or twice before.. seems like the heads would be a common thing to replace though, no?

Just acquired a MkIII-8 and had some questions...

1. The maintenance section of the manual says the capstan sleeve bearing should be lubricated with Anderol #456. Has anyone here done this maintanence? If so, where did you find Anderol #456? Is there a more readily available substitute (3-in-1 oil)?

2. How can I tell if my machine is IEC or NAB eq? The manual only mentions that the eq can be changed by changing the pc board assembly. I've read that different 5050-8 decks came with different eqs. Is there an ID on one of the circuit boards?

3. Can the impedance roller be cleaned with the same head cleaner I use on the heads and tape guide metal parts?

4. How do I remove the headphone volume knob and test oscillator knob so that I can remove the front panel? The volume knob especially was wobbling and I wanted to try to tighten it up and clean the contacts...without breaking anything.

Thanks in advance for your help!

PWP wrote:2. How can I tell if my machine is IEC or NAB eq? The manual only mentions that the eq can be changed by changing the pc board assembly. I've read that different 5050-8 decks came with different eqs. Is there an ID on one of the circuit boards?

It's IEC. Unless you mod it, it only does 15 ips. NAB is an American standard set for machines that run at 30 ips. You can actually set your Otari up for NAB, but it wasn't meant for it.