[QuadList] VR1200 Transport Hints

[C. Park Seward]

Excellent, Chris. Keep it up!

Best,
Park

C. Park Seward
Visit us: http://www.videopark.com



On Jul 20, 2009, at 10:35 AM, Chill315 at aol.com wrote:

> VR-1200 B Series Transport Notes, Hints and Kinks
>
> This will be a set of thought about the things that I found to keep  
> the transport in good condition.  It will be broken down into the  
> main components for ease of following.  The assumption is that you  
> have all manuals and no procedure will be repeated here.
>
> SUPPLY TURNTABLES
>
>  Do not remove the motor from the deck unless you really have to.   
> There are a set of shims under each of the four mounting holes on  
> the plate these were placed there at the factory to make the  
> turntable parallel to the deck and set the correct height.  We found  
> that there were markings on the back of the deck in pencil that told  
> how much each corner required.  We were very lucky in this  
> instance.  If you remove it, look for numbers on deck, if not loosen  
> motor and then remove one bolt at a time.  Capture all the shims and  
> keep them in separate sets for the correct placement when  
> reinstalling the motor.
>
>  There are two major above deck things to keep in good repair.   
> First is the reel guide that goes in the notch in the tape reel .   
> This is needed to prevent damage to your tape.  If it is not there,  
> the reel may not be grabbed by the hold downs and then the motor  
> will spin very fast.  When it grabs, you have now 1 inch wide tape.   
> The part is changed by removing the reel hold down knob and the  
> parts just below.  There is a screw and washer that hold the bent  
> piece of metal.  Very easy to replace.
>
>  The reel hold downs should be inspected.  If there is any wear,  
> they will not grab the reel and hold it tight to the turntable.   
> These can be inspected at the same time.
>
> BRAKES
>
>  As long as the solenoids are working smoothly, the brakes only need  
> attention in replacement of the bands.  I did a sneaky thing to get  
> me in the ball park.  I would remove the old one, then set a new one  
> next to it.  If they were about the same length, then it would only  
> require minor adjustment.  I always looked to see if the wear  
> pattern was even.  This way you could tell that the brakes were  
> installed properly.  I always cleaned up the area and got all the  
> brake dust out of the machine.
>
> COMPLIANCE ARMS
>
>  There is a silicon fluid that is used to dampen the arms.  If they  
> are bouncing all over the place, then check the dampers and fill up  
> the fluid.  There is a check with the spring scales to tell if the  
> right amount of force is being met.  The two tension arms are the  
> same part number so if you want to swap them to get rid of the  
> groove in the post, it would be a good idea.  You can also rotate  
> the posts to a new spot.  The end of tape switch should activate at  
> the last ¼ inch or so of travel to the bottom.  The brake release  
> should activate about when the arm is at 8 o'clock.  If 9 or later,  
> then out of adjustment.  Mirror image for Take-up brake release.
>
> ERASE HEAD ASSEMBLY
>
>  There were several versions of the erase head.  The B model used  
> the back side of erase with a split to not erase the control track  
> in the INSERT mode.  There is also a CUE track read head for use  
> with the EDITEC.  The only thing that was ever done to mine were to  
> replace roller bearings in the rotating guides.  If the guides do  
> not rotate freely, replace the bearings.  There is one other thing  
> that we did.  We rotated the bottom and top caps to allow the groove  
> that was being worn in the guides to be moved to a non touching  
> location.  After a few years, we replaced the two parts.  Remove the  
> complete assembly from the transport and there are screws on the  
> bottom that hold the rollers in place.  To rotate, just loosen and  
> then rotate.  If replacing parts, you can do most of that from the  
> top without removing the assembly from the transport.  When  
> reinstalling, make sure the assemble is centered rotation wise in  
> its mounting.  If you use the EDITOR and do not do this, there may  
> be a couple of mil displacement for the erase to head wheel  
> distance.  Then you have to get the EdiVue out and make sure that  
> the edits are good.  The Editor book talks about erase timing.
>
> CAPSTAN ROLLER
>
>  Keep it clean and soft.  Do not use Freon or Head cleaner.  Alcohol  
> with lanolin was recommended to us.  When replacing, it is  
> imperative that the roller be parallel to the capstan shaft.  The  
> tape will be skewed up or down and receive edge damage if not done.   
> Depending on the binder, some tapes are more severely damaged.  If  
> you can get an Allen Wrench that has been made with very short stem  
> on it, that will help.  Remove the roller from the capstan arm.   
> Then being very careful, remove the clip on the bottom.  Then start  
> to take the pieces out.  Keep  all pieces in the correct placement  
> and orientation.  These are special washers that have to go in the  
> right order.  See the book.  I would lay it out in a row so that I  
> got everything back in the correct order.  I always checked the  
> bearings when I had it off.  It was just to keep me from having to  
> do it again.
>  After you reassemble the roller, place it on the machine.  Then,  
> push the arm so that the roller just starts to make contact with the  
> capstan.  Look and if it is not evenly doing so, loosen the screws  
> and rotate the roller a bit until you get it perfect.  Try this  
> several times to make sure that it is perfect.  It will keep damage  
> to a minimum.  I never had to adjust the amount of pressure that the  
> roller exerts on the capstan.
>
> That is it for the transport.  Most of it is simple.  Check your  
> torque's once a year or so as they never change.  I did find that  
> they had to be close so that the machine would work well with an  
> editor.  We used the RA-4000 with the VR-1200 along with AVR2's.    
> The other thing was that if the machine took more than 3.5 sec to  
> lock up, then it needed attention.  Capstan roller and Intersync  
> alignment were the first two things that we looked at.
>
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