What are /r/ReelToReel's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Yup, the choice of cable is definitely the issue here. The cheapest solution for you would be to use one of these Y-splitters plugged into the r2r, then connect an additional 1/4" guitar cable from that to your input.

Link for Y-Splitter

Link for Guitar Cable (you probably have one of these lying around already though)

(Links were the first hits I found off amazon, I've never used either of the cables personally, but they should work just fine for this application)

First off, awesome score! That's a pretty handsome deck! A power cord isn't going to be a big deal, a lot of old appliances use similar ones. I got one on Amazon for a Teac I had, just had to trim it down with a razor blade to fit inside the socket. After that it may or may not need a new belt which I'm sure are available. It's tough finding tapes but they're out there if you keep an eye out. If you can't find a tape, a good test of the audio side of things is to run audio onto the input and back out (either into an amplifier or headphones) and play with the volume/tone controls. That will give you an idea of what's working and if anything needs to be cleaned. Any more questions feel free to ask!

I got it from amazon and are for ceiling fans. The other reel with the 50/60 switch I used a .8uf and a 1+2uf in the 2nd picture and ziptied them. The first picture is my 60hz only machine.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0Y5QY4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I could have got it from ebay cheaper, but didnt want to wait a week since I had time this weekend to do the machines.

Your link is for the TC-530. OP, here is a belt kit for the TC-350. Replace them all while you have it open: Complete Belt Kit for Sony TC-350 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0765QLLL8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.U6sFbJC02NHB

>it is NOT the same as a modern pc power supply cord, it is a two pr

Any suggestions on finding that special power cord ? I bought this on Amazon but it does not fit , and sounds like it is grounded wrong ?

ac cord

It’s easily found on Amazon as a “ceiling fan capacitor”: https://www.amazon.com/CBB61-Ceiling-Running-Starting-Capacitor/dp/B084RHZBM7

The uF rating needs to be identical and the voltage rating needs to be same or higher on the replacement.

Tested with AC USB fan.

Even with fan visible on top of deck, at highest speed it only adds 1.5db above ambient quiet room sound 10’ away. At the medium fan speed, it adds .5db.
Put fan behind the open cabinet, the highest speed barely adds 1db across the room. It’s a winner for $5 on Craigslist. Out goes the heavy metal fan.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MWH4FL4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you for the very detailed response! Would this be what it is? https://www.amazon.ca/HQRP-2-Pack-Ceiling-Capacitor-Coaster/dp/B01MQYWEMY

With replacing it would I need to solder anything? Or is as easy to replace as tubes?

I bought a very similar Griffin Rack for my 38 and it was a game changer for me. I added star washers to the angle adjustment knobs for a better hold because it had a tendency to rotate backwards toward the heavy end with the motors and transformer. Other than that it has been functioning great for a little over year now. I was pleased to find that the tascam M30 mixer that the 38 is often paired with fits perfectly on the bottom supports too. With a rack shelf to hold a couple reels, I can keep everything I need in one spot.

You can do it yourself, but it takes a little work. If your reel to reel has an audio output jack (assuming it uses an RCA connecter) You need an RCA to 3.5 mm cable like this one. Next you need to download Audacity to your computer. Then plug your RCA to 3.5mm into the audio input jack on your computer and run Audacity. Press record on audacity and then press play on your reel to reel.

You mean like these right?

Tnisesm 2Pcs Fan Capacitor CBB61 1.5uF 450V AC 2 Wire for Ceiling Fan Motor Start Run Capacitor TN-CBB61-1.5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0876LRRJJ/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_YCVTM3E64ER59HK80NZR

How about one of these? For $10, it is worth a punt. It would be interesting to know how you get on with it. I have no idea how Behringer make stuff so cheap but I've always found it does the job.

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-U-Phono-UFO202-Audiophile-Interface/dp/B002GHBYZ0

I hope this isn't the case, but some of the Akai decks use a cam made from potmetal to set the operating mode. These have a tendency to shatter or crumble. If that happens you'll need to get a replacement.

​

Ooh, looks like you might be able to get one 3D printed:

https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/akai-came-b2-4000ds-compatible-with-more-models

Well it would throw the head alignment out. Have you looked into sound filters? I then you could research plugins for audacity, fruit loops etc. there are hundreds if not thousands that can affect, distort, modify sound.

http://www.audacityteam.org/download/plug-ins/

Got the issue resolved. Both forward and reverse play work perfectly now. I purchased a 24VDC DPDT relay with a base from Amazon. Mounted the relay up top in an empty space. Desoldered the old relay cube and ran new cabling up to the relay. Fixed the issue. From what I am reading is these cube relays “TEK-36” which are known for failure are the culprit for the reverse play issue. I saw the video where the guy cleaned the contacts and was able to get it to work. However if it’s prone to failure I would rather replace it with new to get it to work. Besides if it goes out again, all I have to do is pop out the relay from the base and replace. The part was $8.99 on eBay. A really cheap fix price. Here is the link below.

Baomain General Purpose Power... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ILPM86Y?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Find a store that sells sewing machine accessories. You want a vial of sewing machine oil. It's a light oil that's perfect for tape recorders.

You can also get this from Amazon.

Apply a couple of drops (and no more!) to the base of the capstan where it emerges from its bearing. Unscrew the 3 3/4 i.p.s. sleeve before you do this. Don't have any tape threaded, either. The oil is penetrating and should disappear into the bearing after a few seconds of the capstan turning. Mop up any excess with a dry cotton swab, and if you perchance get any on the rubber pinch roller, be sure to clean it with a swab moistened with isopropyl alcohol.

Take the opportunity to make sure your erase and record/playback heads are clean as well.

Craig (Sanyo to the rest of the world) made some solid little tape recorders in the late Sixties. Enjoy yours.

Amazon has left hand threaded metric M5 bolts such as this one: https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-M5x20mm-Socket-Reverse-Thread/dp/B074T6CH25

What length and head style do you need?

Http://McMaster.com is also a great place to source things like this, here’s a query that should have what you need: https://www.mcmaster.com/screws/system-of-measurement~metric/thread-size~m5/

The goto replacement for these old motor run capacitors these days is to use ceiling fan capacitors of equivalent capacitance (and equal or greater voltage). It’s a different shape but smaller so should fit in fine. Here’s a suitable ceiling fan cap you can have in a day or two: https://www.amazon.com/uxcell-Capacitor-Metallized-Polypropylene-Capacitors/dp/B07JKWBL3S/

Thanks for the reply! When I searched the power ratings on back, I got inconsistent results and this seemed to be the most convincing link.

https://www.amazon.com/Listed-Cable-Replacement-Power-Prong/dp/B0025ZPX6O/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=ac+input+120v+60+c%2Fs+50w&qid=1615326707&sr=8-13

It is wild to me that the power rating isn't listed on this thing though!

Any idea on the reels? All of my searching suggest almost all reel-to-reels use 7" reels but some use 10"

So I kinda understand the capacitor part now, but since we are combining a 3.5 and 1.5 uF, couldn’t I just get this 5 uF to only use 1?

New Tech Ceiling Fan Capacitor 2 Wire 5uf https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A3KHCE4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_HfiUFbQRKCCAC?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

This one worked for me. Make sure to read the instructions carefully and unplug it immediately after use, or you could damage your machine/tapes. But provided you do it right, it is a safe and often effective process.

I used this 2uF cap: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JM31MGF

I was unable to find an actual 0.5uF cap, so I used two 1uF caps in series, to make a 0.5uF cap. Here is a pack of 4: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CG6PCRB

Actually when it arrived I realized they were 1.2, not 1, but the combination of two in series yields a 0.6uF cap which seems fine anyway.

These aren’t very large, about 1.5 x 1 x 0.5 inches each. I just wrapped the three together with some electrical tape, soldered on some short colored wires to make connecting them to the tape deck easier, and zip tied the bundle in place of the original large cylindrical dual cap.

I don't know much about DIN connections, but it seems that 7 pin was used on a bunch of Bang & Olufsen gear / Euro stuff. Here's some sort of 7 pin to RCA adapter on Amazon. Not sure if it's stereo in or out though, you'd have to research that. Maybe in the German manual you can see if there is a pin out diagram?