Around November last year I started getting a hankering for a reel to reel tape recorder. I don't know why, I just did. When I worked in a hi fi shop for a while back in '76 I used to sell Sony TC377's and the Akai 4000 series so I thought I'd get me either one of those.
The Sony didn't quite fit in my little turntable stand/table but the Akai did but as the Sony was a nicer machine I thought if I get one I'll make another stand to accommodate. So off to Ebay I went and was firmly outbid on ever single Sony TC377 I started bidding on. They went for between £180 and £220 each time, a little more than I wanted to pay.
So I tried for an Akai 4000 but they were going for around £120 and most weren't in good condition. Then in December I spotted an Akai 4000DS Mk II that looked to be in good condition but the seller would only entertain collection, he didn't want to post it, he lived in Swindon and I reside in SE London.
I managed to win the auction for £60 and on a very rainswept and windy New Years Eve I drove to Swindon to collect the reel to reel. The M4 resembled a deluge with the rainfall. The machine looked to be in good nick, came with the original manual and an Akai service/parts guide.
Bought a reel of tape (the machine came with one empty spool) and made a recording. About three quarters through playback however I noticed wow and flutter which got worse the closer it got to the end of the tape.
Time for a service then. Managed to get a drive and counter belt from Ebay but I could only find one seller and he wanted to sell a repair manual with the belts, no option to buy them on their own. Cost about £20 for all three items so I bought them. I was a bit miffed though, I thought 'I don't need no manual'.
I was wrong. I did need the manual, it proved to be a very worthwhile purchase.
So today I finally got round to a service/belt change and now all is good, no more wow and flutter on playback, I've just finished listening to a fresh one hours' recording and it sounded very good indeed.
Here it is on the operating table:
Lower panel removed
Upper and lower front panels removed:
One factor which may have seriously degraded the sound was the state of the heads. When I took these pics I'd already cleaned the playback head but it was in the same condition as the erase and record heads here:
Close up:
And cleaned:
The whole machine chassis comes out of the wooden case, to enable its' removal these two screws at the bottom have to be removed and also four screws through the feet at the rear:
Basically I just cleaned everything that moved that mated with another surface with isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds. I also used a fibreglass pcb cleaning brush to clean all the black residue that had gathered between the teeth on this cog wheel:
And here it is out of the case:
It was very dusty inside but I've seen worse
Dust:
More dust
Used a cleaning brush and vacum cleaner to remove most of the dust. I'm so glad I hung on to my demagnetiser
And here we are, making a recording
Home made interconnects, all parts from RS, the larger twin core and screen microphone cable they sell, both cores twinned up to the gold plated phono plugs. I've used this combination for around 30 years, works for me.
It was very fiddly indeed replacing the drive belt, without the manual I very much doubt I would have managed it, it involved loosening off the flywheel whilst making sure a ball bearing doesn't come adrift; wiggling the belt through the space created by loosening the flywheel; then pulling the belt out through a hole in the front of the machine. Then refitting in reverse.
I almost swore. Almost.
It can be seen from one of the pix that the rubber/plastic surround on the left hand tape spool turntable has perished and broken and come adrift. I didn't notice this and when I first reassembled the machine it wouldn't work as that surround had jammed between the turntable and the front plate.
So I had to take the front panels off again and I superglued the surround on and it is now secure.
I so love new toys and old tech
If anybody wants a copy of the manual for the price of a postage stamp, PM me.
