Project: Restoring a Teac A-480 Stereo Cassette Deck.

This month was a good one for me, beside the Teac A-3440 Reel-To-Reel Tape Player/Recorder, with help from someone closer to the western border of the country, I was able to find a new item for my collection: a Teac A-480 Stereo Cassette Deck.
I will use the same naming convention: " Project: Restoring...", but for this one... there is nothing to restore, it works as it should be. It was very well kept and used. All I did was to clean the Deck and to remove some dust inside; I will post in the next few days some information about the cleaning operation, with pictures.
I am also waiting to receive the Service Manual and Parts List I found on ebay. I will also look for some technical specifications and I will post the information here.
Until then, imagine how Eric Clapton - Unplugged sounds on this machine... unbelievable.

Project: Restoring a Reel-To-Reel Tape Player/Recorder: TEAC A-3440.

There is a while since my last post; there is not so much time available as it used to be last year. But I was still looking for some new items to add to my collection. At some moment, when I received help for my Rostov 105 project I saw for the first time a different reel-to-reel tape player/recorder, a TEAC A-3340S.

Ever since, I was looking constantly for such a similar model. Now I have a TEAC A-3440. I just took it few days ago; I was doing some tests with the previous owner, and generally speaking it works just fine. It needs some cleaning inside, especially some contacts for the electronics modules, and some lubrication. So far I was able to lubricate the pinch roller, the capstan - by removing the dust cap, and the left side guide roller. It plays very nice, I did not test the recording function yet, and it is moving the tape fast forward and rewind, as it should be. It also brakes quickly, and generally speaking it is functioning quietly.

You can see below some pictures of it and one movie:

Project: Restoring a Remote Control Unit For a Reel-To-Reel Tape Player/Recorder: OLIMP DU-005 - Remote Control Unit.

I would like to kindly ask for help from my blogg visitors: I am looking to buy a remote control unit for OLIMP DU-005.

Please leave a comment here if you can help me.

Thank You for your help.

Accessories: Pinch Roller Professional Cleaner And Revitalizer.

I would like to introduce a new section, or new label, to my blog: Accessories. In this section I will post my experience with different products that I am using to "maintain" my devices in good condition or to "enhance" my analogical music experience.

Today I will present a product for pinch roller cleaning. I did some readings on the Internet related to pinch roller cleaning and the general idea is that it is not good to use cleaning solutions based on alcohol or having solvents based on soap. So, until now I was using baby wet wipes to clean the pinch rollers from my both RTR's.
I don't know if those wipes were good or bad, but in parallel I was looking for a specialized solution. I have found this product on the Internet, on a Romanian "e-Bay" like web site: Okazii.ro .

I used one cotton bud to clean my OLIMP RTR pinch roller and also the two rubber rollers on the transport system.
I can see below the dirt removed after 10 hours of use:

I will see if in time the rollers will stay soft and will keep the tape grip.

ONKYO SC-380: Data Information And Technical Characteristics.

I will prepare in the next few weeks a new set of movies with the new equipment I have recently added to my collection.

Before doing that, I have one more presentation to make: my set of speakers – ONKYO SC-380.

I have these speakers from the same reliable source from where I have bought the turntable.

Technical characteristics: 

• Maximum power input: 100W;
• Impedance: 6Ω;
• 3 way system;
• Frequency response: 45Hz – 33 KHz;
• Sensitivity: 90dβ.

Before making new movies, I have one more problem to fix: my camera. The sound recording of my camera is horrible; I will try to use a different one.

Project: Restoring a Remote Control Unit For a Reel-To-Reel Tape Player/Recorder: OLIMP DU-005 (in Russian: ОЛИМП ДУ-005).

Another week... another purchase.
Today I've added a new device to my collection; it is the Remote Control unit OLIMP DU-005 (in Russian: ОЛИМП ДУ-005 - Система Дистанционного Управления).
Basically it is a unit that controls remotely the functions of a reel-to-reel compatible unit (Russian RTR's like Olimp 004 and 005, Electronika-004, and maybe other models I do not know about). It has also a power distributor module; it can supply power to 3 other devices.
I will start looking for specifications of this unit and I will make them available here.
Also I have to look for the connection cable between this unit and the RTR, I do not have this cable yet. Maybe the Russian visitors of this page can help me, if not with the cable, maybe with the connectors.
Please see some pictures below (the unit and the connectors):

Project: Restoring a Reel-To-Reel Tape Player/Recorder: OLIMP MPK-005 S-1.

I would like to introduce my second Reel-To-Reel Tape Player/Recorder: OLIMP MPK-005 S-1 (in Russian: ОЛИМП МПК-005 С-1).
I am not able yet to say anything about it, I've just bought it 4 hours ago. I finished a short exterior cleaning and now I am listening a tape using my headphones. In Play mode it works great with an 18cm tape. I will come back with details as I will be able to find any, I have to translate the user manual first, is in Russian.
Anyway, I am happy to find it and have it; I was looking for such a machine for some months.
Below you can see two pictures: