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Aiwa F770 cassette from 1985

N

N Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
According to the internet a respected deck in its day.
Had to deal with the slip clutch buried in the mechanism. Photoed before
disassembly just in case. Reassembled and the 2 pinch wheels were fighting
one another. A strange pair of springs one acting against the other for the
"reverse" pinch wheel assembly. I must have put one of these springs back
with wrong anchor position. Correcting that and its playing and FF and REW
ok.
These units are called 4 head, 4 pairs of screened stereo wires going to the
head but all seem to relate half the tape. So one question is why 2 pinch
wheels when there seems to be no proper "reverse" side play or loop control
function as a fixed head.
Repeat sends back to replay the same side.
The "reverse" pinchwheel seems to operate only just clear of the reverse
capstan spindle and has a strange guide that protrudes around the pinchwheel
and into the recess of the cassette - what is the function of that
protrusion and a non pinching pinch wheel ?
What do the 4 stereo heads do ?
 
D

Dave

Jan 1, 1970
0
N Cook said:
According to the internet a respected deck in its day.
Had to deal with the slip clutch buried in the mechanism. Photoed before
disassembly just in case. Reassembled and the 2 pinch wheels were fighting
one another. A strange pair of springs one acting against the other for the
"reverse" pinch wheel assembly. I must have put one of these springs back
with wrong anchor position. Correcting that and its playing and FF and REW
ok.
These units are called 4 head, 4 pairs of screened stereo wires going to the
head but all seem to relate half the tape. So one question is why 2 pinch
wheels when there seems to be no proper "reverse" side play or loop control
function as a fixed head.
Repeat sends back to replay the same side.
The "reverse" pinchwheel seems to operate only just clear of the reverse
capstan spindle and has a strange guide that protrudes around the pinchwheel
and into the recess of the cassette - what is the function of that
protrusion and a non pinching pinch wheel ?
What do the 4 stereo heads do ?

I think its an ADF 770. Could it be a 3 head model?

one that can replay the tape while it is being recorded ?
 
N

N Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dave said:
I think its an ADF 770. Could it be a 3 head model?

one that can replay the tape while it is being recorded ?

Yes F770 on the front and AD F770 on the back.
Yes 3 head , presumably one erase head and one double head, 2 motors.
why would someone need to replay at record - some semi-pro facility for EQ
checks ?
 
These units are called 4 head, 4 pairs of screened stereo wires going to the
head but all seem to relate half the tape. So one question is why 2 pinch
wheels when there seems to be no proper "reverse" side play or loop control
function as a fixed head.
The "reverse" pinchwheel seems to operate only just clear of the reverse
capstan spindle and has a strange guide that protrudes around the pinchwheel
and into the recess of the cassette - what is the function of that
protrusion and a non pinching pinch wheel ?
What do the 4 stereo heads do ?
why would someone need to replay at record - some semi-pro facility for EQ
checks ?

Sounds like a quality cassette deck.

2 pinchwheels are used to pull the tape taut as it passes over the
heads. The reuslt is a dramatic increase in reliability of tape to
head contact, thus eliminating a common cause of poor quality sound.

4 heads are used so that one can listen to the played back signal
during recording. This enables several things:
1. you can adjust the bias and hear the result almost instantly,
which makes a quality improvement with many tapes
2. If there is muck on the head, a bad tape, incomplete erase, or any
other recording problem, you know immediately, and dont waste a lot of
time making a dud recording.

Sounds like its well worth fixing.

As for the pinchwheel protrusion, I dont know what it looks like so
its impossible to say. Peraps its a small protrusion designed to hold
the cassette in exactly the right position, cheaper decks often dont
have accurate cassette shell holding, with predictable inconsistent
results on tape to head contact and alignment.

PS all this technology goes back to the 70s, there was a late 70s
Pioneer that had all the above, and is/was still one of the best
cassetts decks 20 years later.


NT
 
B

bz

Jan 1, 1970
0
N Cook said:
According to the internet a respected deck in its day.
Had to deal with the slip clutch buried in the mechanism. Photoed before
disassembly just in case. Reassembled and the 2 pinch wheels were
fighting one another. A strange pair of springs one acting against the
other for the "reverse" pinch wheel assembly. I must have put one of
these springs back with wrong anchor position. Correcting that and its
playing and FF and REW ok.
These units are called 4 head, 4 pairs of screened stereo wires going to
the head but all seem to relate half the tape. So one question is why 2
pinch wheels when there seems to be no proper "reverse" side play or
loop control function as a fixed head.
Repeat sends back to replay the same side.
The "reverse" pinchwheel seems to operate only just clear of the reverse
capstan spindle and has a strange guide that protrudes around the
pinchwheel and into the recess of the cassette - what is the function of
that protrusion and a non pinching pinch wheel ?
What do the 4 stereo heads do ?


Could it be an auto reverse deck that reverses when it hits a metal band or
transparent area of the tape, near the end of the reel?

One set of heads plays/records in one direction and the other set
plays/records in the other direction?

I seem to remember Aiwa had some like that.
My shop used to work on them in the early 70's (back when I had a shop).

The strange guide could be a 'tape tension' sensor. It may have been
disabled at some time in the past to fix some problem.

Google shows several "Aiwa F770 Three-Head Studio Quality Cassette Deck"
listings, so the chances are that it is to allow 'sound over' recording by
playing back and mixing in new audio and then recording that, after the
sound that was just played is erased.

One last possiblity, the second pinch roller could be for a second
recording speed. I seem to remember some machines that played that trick to
allow multi speed recording.






--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

[email protected] remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap
 
B

bz

Jan 1, 1970
0
N Cook said:
Yes F770 on the front and AD F770 on the back.
Yes 3 head , presumably one erase head and one double head, 2 motors.
why would someone need to replay at record - some semi-pro facility for EQ
checks ?

not replay at record. Get the sound currently on the tape off, mix it with
some new sound and re-record it.

Les Paul and Mary Ford used to do multi part harmony with just two singers
and two guitars by such a method.





--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

[email protected] remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap
 
R

Rick

Jan 1, 1970
0
bz said:
not replay at record. Get the sound currently on the tape off, mix it with
some new sound and re-record it.

Les Paul and Mary Ford used to do multi part harmony with just two singers
and two guitars by such a method.

--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

[email protected] remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap

When you get to this era - not necessarily. If the deck had any bias
adjustment control then you needed a three head setup to compare the
sound coming off the tape to the source in order to tweak the bias
setting to an optimum position for the tape being used. Funny that my
TEAC V770 has this option and the model number is so similar to the Awia
unit here.

Rick
 
C

clifto

Jan 1, 1970
0
N said:
why would someone need to replay at record - some semi-pro facility for EQ
checks ?

That was an expensive and desirable feature. You knew immediately if there
were problems, such as badly set record gain, dirty heads, tape path
problems, etc. etc. Anyone who's ever made an important recording and
found out at playback time it didn't work would give his auto-reverse
for this feature.
 
N

N Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
Sounds like a quality cassette deck.

2 pinchwheels are used to pull the tape taut as it passes over the
heads. The reuslt is a dramatic increase in reliability of tape to
head contact, thus eliminating a common cause of poor quality sound.

4 heads are used so that one can listen to the played back signal
during recording. This enables several things:
1. you can adjust the bias and hear the result almost instantly,
which makes a quality improvement with many tapes
2. If there is muck on the head, a bad tape, incomplete erase, or any
other recording problem, you know immediately, and dont waste a lot of
time making a dud recording.

Sounds like its well worth fixing.

As for the pinchwheel protrusion, I dont know what it looks like so
its impossible to say. Peraps its a small protrusion designed to hold
the cassette in exactly the right position, cheaper decks often dont
have accurate cassette shell holding, with predictable inconsistent
results on tape to head contact and alignment.

PS all this technology goes back to the 70s, there was a late 70s
Pioneer that had all the above, and is/was still one of the best
cassetts decks 20 years later.


NT

That explains the multiple heads, the protruding tape guide and the free
running "pinch wheel" but why a contra-rotating spindle adjascent to it if
its not used for any reverse play / review function or any function that i
can see ?
 
N

N Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
bz said:
Could it be an auto reverse deck that reverses when it hits a metal band or
transparent area of the tape, near the end of the reel?

One set of heads plays/records in one direction and the other set
plays/records in the other direction?

I seem to remember Aiwa had some like that.
My shop used to work on them in the early 70's (back when I had a shop).

The strange guide could be a 'tape tension' sensor. It may have been
disabled at some time in the past to fix some problem.

Google shows several "Aiwa F770 Three-Head Studio Quality Cassette Deck"
listings, so the chances are that it is to allow 'sound over' recording by
playing back and mixing in new audio and then recording that, after the
sound that was just played is erased.

One last possiblity, the second pinch roller could be for a second
recording speed. I seem to remember some machines that played that trick to
allow multi speed recording.






--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

[email protected] remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap

The 2 pinch wheel holders are engaged/disengaged by the same sliding plate
so the normal one is engaged against the spindle and the "reverse" one is
close to the contra rotating spindle. There is no possibility of the sliding
plate to do anything else eg swivel to engage one
or the other fully.

The added tape guide is part of the normal swinging mount of a pinch wheel
but extending around a part of the curve of the pinch wheel so intruding
into the tape path.

I'll take some pics tomorrow and upload somewhere.
 
N

N Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
bz said:
Could it be an auto reverse deck that reverses when it hits a metal band or
transparent area of the tape, near the end of the reel?

One set of heads plays/records in one direction and the other set
plays/records in the other direction?

I seem to remember Aiwa had some like that.
My shop used to work on them in the early 70's (back when I had a shop).

The strange guide could be a 'tape tension' sensor. It may have been
disabled at some time in the past to fix some problem.

Google shows several "Aiwa F770 Three-Head Studio Quality Cassette Deck"
listings, so the chances are that it is to allow 'sound over' recording by
playing back and mixing in new audio and then recording that, after the
sound that was just played is erased.

One last possiblity, the second pinch roller could be for a second
recording speed. I seem to remember some machines that played that trick to
allow multi speed recording.






--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

[email protected] remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap


picture with the odd pinch wheel housing on the left, normal one to the
right

http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/aiwa2.jpg
or
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/aiwa.htm
 
B

bz

Jan 1, 1970
0
N Cook said:
picture with the odd pinch wheel housing on the left, normal one to the
right

http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/aiwa2.jpg
or
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/aiwa.htm

Looks like the head has two sets of stereo heads, offset from each other

-
-
-
-

Which would support the two way supposition.




--
bz 73 de N5BZ k

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

[email protected] remove ch100-5 to avoid spam trap
 
B

b

Jan 1, 1970
0
bz ha escrito:
What you have here is a single direction, 3 head tape deck. The
capstans should both go the same way. If not, you have a capstan belt
on incorrectly. Try it.

BTW, the protrusion on the LH pinch roller is a tape guide to ensure
the tape is fed to the pinch/capstan perfectly straight. In some
models of more elaborate decks which had both 3 heads AND
autoreverse, I'm sure i recall having seen it used as the erase head!

-Ben.
 
N

N Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
b said:
bz ha escrito:

What you have here is a single direction, 3 head tape deck. The
capstans should both go the same way. If not, you have a capstan belt
on incorrectly. Try it.

BTW, the protrusion on the LH pinch roller is a tape guide to ensure
the tape is fed to the pinch/capstan perfectly straight. In some
models of more elaborate decks which had both 3 heads AND
autoreverse, I'm sure i recall having seen it used as the erase head!

-Ben.

I had assumed the low-side wow, when i had the springs set wrong, was due to
one pinch wheel fighting the other. Perhaps that black plastic tape guide
was touching the spindle and breaking the whole train , then.
Both capstans in fact do rotate the same way.
Surely you can't have 2 flywheels and 2 capstans with pinchwheels engaging
the same tape, even if connected by the same rubber band.
 
bz ha escrito:

the extra bit is a tape guide for better tape path control.


absolutely, they must rotate same way

Surely you can't have 2 flywheels and 2 capstans with pinchwheels engaging
the same tape, even if connected by the same rubber band.

Yes, thats how they work. The one on the left is driven by the one on
the right via a belt. Belts are a little lossy since they stretch at
one end more than the other, giving a slight speed difference when
free running. Put the tape in and this translates to putting tension
on the tape. Its a very effective method. Once you've had a deck like
this you wont want to go back to the cheaper more common system.


NT
 
N

N Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
the extra bit is a tape guide for better tape path control.



absolutely, they must rotate same way



Yes, thats how they work. The one on the left is driven by the one on
the right via a belt. Belts are a little lossy since they stretch at
one end more than the other, giving a slight speed difference when
free running. Put the tape in and this translates to putting tension
on the tape. Its a very effective method. Once you've had a deck like
this you wont want to go back to the cheaper more common system.


NT

I put the deck back in the chassis to check speed and record function.
If I had not been aware of the features before that i would certainly now on
record.
It routinely uses playback at record as VU and PPM rather than direct from
source. So you set to record a signal and nothing appears on the VUs until
the tape has passed from leader to ferrite.
Nice to have big numbers etc on a proper large clear and bright cold cathode
display.
 
I put the deck back in the chassis to check speed and record function.
If I had not been aware of the features before that i would certainly now on
record.
It routinely uses playback at record as VU and PPM rather than direct from
source. So you set to record a signal and nothing appears on the VUs until
the tape has passed from leader to ferrite.
Nice to have big numbers etc on a proper large clear and bright cold cathode
display.

I dont know the Aiwa one, but typically on this type of deck you can
switch metering and audio output between record head and play head, so
you can run it either way.


NT
 
B

b

Jan 1, 1970
0
I dont know the Aiwa one, but typically on this type of deck you can
switch metering and audio output between record head and play head, so
you can run it either way.

'Tape-source' switch, usually.
-B.
 
N

N Cook

Jan 1, 1970
0
N Cook said:
I put the deck back in the chassis to check speed and record function.
If I had not been aware of the features before that i would certainly now on
record.
It routinely uses playback at record as VU and PPM rather than direct from
source. So you set to record a signal and nothing appears on the VUs until
the tape has passed from leader to ferrite.
Nice to have big numbers etc on a proper large clear and bright cold cathode
display.


Back to the original problem.
The belts had dropped off, obviously perished.
Now , sometimes, on using the power take off to slide up the head carrier
one of the belts drops off. The one that links the 2 flywheels directly
together. The first motor to flywheel belt stays on.
The second belt is driven by a flat pulley driving a vaguely bulbous pulley.
Belt dimensins of width and thickness are much the same as the originals but
obviously the length is less than the perished one - try a longer belt ?
There may be just enough room to add a disc of plastic to the flywheel to
stop it falling off or putting a static guard in place - any ideas?
 
B

b

Jan 1, 1970
0
N Cook ha escrito:
The belts had dropped off, obviously perished.
Now , sometimes, on using the power take off to slide up the head carrier
one of the belts drops off. The one that links the 2 flywheels directly
together. The first motor to flywheel belt stays on.
The second belt is driven by a flat pulley driving a vaguely bulbous pulley.
Belt dimensins of width and thickness are much the same as the originals but
obviously the length is less than the perished one - try a longer belt ?
There may be just enough room to add a disc of plastic to the flywheel to
stop it falling off or putting a static guard in place - any ideas?

I don't understand. have you replaced the belts with new? if so,
nothing should be falling off and nothing will need modifying.

-B.
 
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