[QuadList] VTR drum refurb--For Ampex VPR machines/BVU-950 internal TBC question

[Ted Langdell]

Hi, Shai,

On Mar 27, 2012, at 2:15 AM, Shai Drori wrote:

> Please excuse cross posting.
> For a project I'm involved in we are trying to revive some old VTRs that have been sitting in storage. No one knows for sure actual working condition, but  the tech says they were shelved working but with worn out head drums. Does anyone know of a source for NOS heads or a company that can refurbish the heads in these VTRs? I have already contacted Videomagnetics, but I wonder if there are other options?

Worn out head drums:  Upper drums?  Lower drums? The heads in the upper drums?

VideoMagnetics has a relatively low-cost "Get your head examined" program... the Head Health Checkup that will report on head, head-drum and Scanner life and advise of condition and needed service or refurbishment.

For Ampex one-inch Type C Helical machines such as you mention below, there are several options:  

Checking just the heads, which pop in and out of the scanner assembly's upper drum.  

You are unsure of what shape the rest of the machine is in, so sending in the complete scanner would give you a clear picture of what is happening with the heads, upper drum and scanner.  

There are calibrations that are done to the scanner as part of the checkup. You'll get a report about bearings and other essential parts that may need attention, and the cost.

I've sent a flyer via separate e-mail.

> Also, given a choice what would be a better VTR to revive the PR-6 or the PR-2b? We got 3 of each?

I think you mean the VPR-6 as compared to the VPR-2B.

The VPR-6 is a newer machine.  Since it's newer, they may have fewer hours on and fewer miles/kilometers of tape run through them.

If you're lucky, you may have manuals for the machines, and if you're even more blessed, a maintenance log for each machine indicating various routine services and parts replacements, and unusual events where service and/or parts were needed.

The manuals are helpful because they'll help identify things that need checking and replacement at various intervals as well as inspection and measurement procedures.

The machines need to be thoroughly cleaned inside and out, checked for obvious mechanical issues (loose parts, sticky linkages, other things that say "fix before powering up." 

Long-time maintenance engineers will have a mental or physical checklist of things to examine and measure before full power up... such as checking the fuses, power supply voltages, that all the boards necessary are present in the correct slots and properly seated, etc. arms and linkages move as intended, pinch roller is in good shape, capstan shaft and motor are not a problem... etc., etc., 

But at some point, the machines have to be powered up and checked to see whether they operate. If they do, what issues does each exhibit?

From there it can be seen which machine(s) might be the least problematic to bring to factory spec.

Do the TBC's work properly?

The VPR-2B's came with a physically much larger TBC than the VPR-6's.  The VPR-6's newer TBC (TBC-6? TBC-7?) may offer better performance—if working properly and is properly adjusted. It may also consume less power and generate less heat.

I recently went through this with process with a trio of Ampex VPR-80's. Tim Stoffel and Ken Zin worked on what we all at first thought was the "best" machine and put time and some parts into. Then found while running the machine for several days that it had some problems that couldn't be resolved easily.

I'm glad we had a fourth machine and TBC-80 (and interconnecting cable) from another source that HAD behaved well and is still doing so for the customer.

So you'll need to have a clue as to how much engineering time (=$) the project can afford to check through the machines, and then to put into a given machine or machines. 

Machines this old, and that have been out of service for a while can be a Pandora's box... or a jewel when turned on and brought to life again. Hope for the latter and be prepared for the former.

> Does anyone have thoughts about the bu-950? Should we use it with an external TBC or is the one in it good by today's standards?
> Cheers
> Shai


There's been discussion about that here, on Old VTR's and the AMIA-L fairly recently. I'd point you to David Crosthwait's reply on the AMIA-L October 22, 2011 to the thread "Umatic Players."

The general thought seems to be that if the BVU-950 and internal TBC meet factory spec, you should be in fine shape.  If the internal TBC has the freeze frame option board, you'll also have some noise reduction.

The Sony BVR-55 remote control and multi-pin SubD cable is needed to adjust. They're pretty cheap on ebay these days, and I suspect there's no difference between a BVR-55 and a '55P (the P for PAL)... but I haven't had a maint. manual to confirm.

Perhaps one of our PAL area users can confirm?

Hope this is 

Ted

Ted Langdell
Secretary
Fifth Annual Quad Videotape Group Lunch at NAB
12:30pm, Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Lower South Hall REAR food concession area

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