Sony TCD 7 DAT fast forward problem

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Hi -

I have a Sony TCD 7 portable DAT and when I try to fast forward tapes,
it often says the tape is blank, when I know it's not. This stops the
machine from fast forwarding.

Has anyone else experienced this problem, can anyone give me any
pointers or recommend a repair centre in the UK?

I have never cleaned the heads - could this be causing the problem?

Thanks for your advice

SM

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

>
> With any DAT problem, cleaning the heads should be the first thing you do
> to either eliminate the problem or to find out whether the problem is
> elsewhere. You won't be able to easily get inside the machine to clean
> them manually, but you could buy a DAT head cleaning tape which may well
> do it for you.
>
> I find it strange that owners of a reel to reel will clean their heads on
> a regular basis, whereas DAT owners seem to think they can get away with
> never cleaning them EVER!
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Gareth.
>

Sorry, forgot to answer the question - yes, dirty heads could cause this
problem if the frequency response of the heads have been affected by dirt.
Various tracking and other data could disappear at the higher speeds (and
frequency) of fast forward and reverse.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

a guy on ebay has offered to repair for £40, but I'll try the head
cleaning 1st!

i want to sell the unit anyway, but want to make sure it's in tip top
condition for the buyer.

Gareth Magennis wrote:
> >
> > With any DAT problem, cleaning the heads should be the first thing you do
> > to either eliminate the problem or to find out whether the problem is
> > elsewhere. You won't be able to easily get inside the machine to clean
> > them manually, but you could buy a DAT head cleaning tape which may well
> > do it for you.
> >
> > I find it strange that owners of a reel to reel will clean their heads on
> > a regular basis, whereas DAT owners seem to think they can get away with
> > never cleaning them EVER!
> >
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Gareth.
> >
>
> Sorry, forgot to answer the question - yes, dirty heads could cause this
> problem if the frequency response of the heads have been affected by dirt.
> Various tracking and other data could disappear at the higher speeds (and
> frequency) of fast forward and reverse.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

thanks Noel - do you know how I would go about doing this? I've tried
the head cleaning...

Noel Bachelor wrote:
> On or about 16 Jun 2005 08:58:24 -0400, Scott Dorsey allegedly wrote:
>
> > <lubaloo@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >I have a Sony TCD 7 portable DAT and when I try to fast forward tapes,
> > >it often says the tape is blank, when I know it's not. This stops the
> > >machine from fast forwarding.
> >
> > This is one of MANY common problems with those machines. That one is
> > caused by the control head not contacting the tape properly. There
> > are a lot of things that can cause it.
>
> There isn't any control head as such. The track finding pulses and subcode
> are written at the ends of the tracks, with the subcode data outside the
> ATF pulses. If the tracking angle is slightly out, the subcode is first to
> go. The disappearance of A-Time and missing start IDs etc is usually the
> first a user notices.
>
> If a cleaning tape doesn't solve the problem, then the machine probably
> needs alignment.
>
>
> Noel Bachelor noelbachelorAT(From:_domain)
> Language Recordings Inc (Darwin Australia)

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Gareth Magennis <sound.service@btconnect.com> wrote:
>"sm" <sammenter@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:1119431570.057308.233510@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>> thanks Noel - do you know how I would go about doing this? I've tried
>> the head cleaning...
>
>Even if the alignment is out, the machine should play back tapes recorded
>itself. Misalignment means it won't play back tapes from another machine
>(or tapes made on your machine some time ago when the alignment was better)

Maybe, but those machines have such tiny head drums that you can find
all kinds of tape-to-head contact problems as well. And if the tape
isn't touching the head, it won't record or play properly.

You can't believe how much I hate those things.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

hi gareth
it plays / records perfectly
even this problem is only sporadic
thanks for your advice

Gareth Magennis wrote:
> >>Even if the alignment is out, the machine should play back tapes recorded
> >>itself. Misalignment means it won't play back tapes from another machine
> >>(or tapes made on your machine some time ago when the alignment was
> >>better)
> >
> > Maybe, but those machines have such tiny head drums that you can find
> > all kinds of tape-to-head contact problems as well. And if the tape
> > isn't touching the head, it won't record or play properly.
> >
> > You can't believe how much I hate those things.
> > --scott
>
>
> Not as much as I hate them. I attempted a repair once and vowed never to go
> anywhere near them again. Also the reduced head size means a greater angle
> of tape wrap (and drag) and I seem to remember reading somewhere years ago
> that this threw up all sorts of design issues and compromises. Basically
> it's a rubbish idea.
>
>
> Gareth.