atkelar | Restoration Project #18 - Reel To Reel Recorder (Part 1) @atkelar | Uploaded November 2020 | Updated October 2024, 9 hours ago.
I always had a thing for these open reel recorders... But as a child,
these were still "audiophile" grade equipment and way beyond my families
price range. Earlier this year I came across an affordable unit that
seemed like a nice candidate for restoration.
It is branded as HIFIVOX MHB 14 - but the backside says "UNITRA ZRK"...
as far as I can tell, this makes it a Polish base unit that got rebadged
by several other "big name" brands, including Grundig. I have no
idea what the original model number is, as the serial number sticker is
missing and the "ZRK" Google results show several similar but not exactly
the same models. If anybody has an idea - or better yet, a manual - please
poke me!
Originally, I intended to have this video as a single parter, but a slight
mishap involving a screw and a few transformer windings caused my progress
to stop very short of completion. A new transformer is on order and hopefully
there should be a part two for the next episode!
Donate a few bucks for some coffee (or some equipment upgrades)
ko-fi.com/atkelar
Chapters
0:00 Intro / Specs
1:00 Disassemble Case / Stuck Wire
2:12 Disassemble Tape Mechanism
3:22 Switch and Potentiometer Cleaning
5:24 Tape Counter
6:08 Felt Replacement
7:09 Case Rebuild
9:40 Reassembly / Rubber Buffers / Tape Switches
10:58 Tape Drive Mechanism
12:07 New Belts / Flywheel / Head Unit
12:55 Tracking / Heads / Pinch Roller
14:09 "Auto Stop" / Preview / Credits / Outtake
Music:
My Train's A Comin'
Unicorn Heads
(YouTube Audio Library)
I always had a thing for these open reel recorders... But as a child,
these were still "audiophile" grade equipment and way beyond my families
price range. Earlier this year I came across an affordable unit that
seemed like a nice candidate for restoration.
It is branded as HIFIVOX MHB 14 - but the backside says "UNITRA ZRK"...
as far as I can tell, this makes it a Polish base unit that got rebadged
by several other "big name" brands, including Grundig. I have no
idea what the original model number is, as the serial number sticker is
missing and the "ZRK" Google results show several similar but not exactly
the same models. If anybody has an idea - or better yet, a manual - please
poke me!
Originally, I intended to have this video as a single parter, but a slight
mishap involving a screw and a few transformer windings caused my progress
to stop very short of completion. A new transformer is on order and hopefully
there should be a part two for the next episode!
Donate a few bucks for some coffee (or some equipment upgrades)
ko-fi.com/atkelar
Chapters
0:00 Intro / Specs
1:00 Disassemble Case / Stuck Wire
2:12 Disassemble Tape Mechanism
3:22 Switch and Potentiometer Cleaning
5:24 Tape Counter
6:08 Felt Replacement
7:09 Case Rebuild
9:40 Reassembly / Rubber Buffers / Tape Switches
10:58 Tape Drive Mechanism
12:07 New Belts / Flywheel / Head Unit
12:55 Tracking / Heads / Pinch Roller
14:09 "Auto Stop" / Preview / Credits / Outtake
Music:
My Train's A Comin'
Unicorn Heads
(YouTube Audio Library)
