atkelar | Restoration Project #25: Wire Recorder, Part 2 @atkelar | Uploaded May 2021 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Most people nowadays think of reel to reel tape recorders as the "oldest" or "original" form of magnetic audio recording. But before the tape technology, there was "wire recording". It is the same basic concept, but uses a thin steel wire as a medium. Because it is so thin, it can only hold so much magnetism. To get usable audio frequencies out of it, the recording speed had to be rather high and the wires would snap... there are officially suggested "knots" on how to splice the wire in such a case.
Devices are still around on e-bay, so I wouldn't consider those to be "collectors items". Since I wanted a usable and decent looking unit, I decided to refurbish it on the outside and replace all the old capacitors on the inside for starters. This turned into quite a project, so here is part two, the mechanical part, and as soon as I have the electronics finished, I'll follow up with the final part!
In this part, I'm cleaning up the mechanical elements: from the motor to the spools. When I was almost done, I also found a service manual online which explained a few quirks. I am well into the electronics too, but still waiting for some spare parts to arrive; hopefully it will be done by next week so I have the third part ready in about two weeks!
0:00 Intro & Final Case Steps
1:25 Mechanics Disassembly
4:22 Pesky Rivets / Motor Disassembly
5:42 Cleaning the Sheet Metal / Paint
6:47 The Head
8:42 Repaint Spools / Reassembly Start
9:40 Motor Assembly / First Try
10:20 Grease / Motor: Second Try
11:00 Motor: Third Try / Motor Lever
11:45 Main Axels / Break Pads / Oiling
12:34 Head Mounting / Greasing / Spools
13:23 Motor Switch / Soldering
14:23 110V 60Hz vs. 50Hz / Trial Run
15:02 Theory of Operation
16:40 Summary / Credits / Outtake
Music:
My Train's A Comin'
Unicorn Heads
(YouTube Audio Library)
You can support me on Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/atkelar
Most people nowadays think of reel to reel tape recorders as the "oldest" or "original" form of magnetic audio recording. But before the tape technology, there was "wire recording". It is the same basic concept, but uses a thin steel wire as a medium. Because it is so thin, it can only hold so much magnetism. To get usable audio frequencies out of it, the recording speed had to be rather high and the wires would snap... there are officially suggested "knots" on how to splice the wire in such a case.
Devices are still around on e-bay, so I wouldn't consider those to be "collectors items". Since I wanted a usable and decent looking unit, I decided to refurbish it on the outside and replace all the old capacitors on the inside for starters. This turned into quite a project, so here is part two, the mechanical part, and as soon as I have the electronics finished, I'll follow up with the final part!
In this part, I'm cleaning up the mechanical elements: from the motor to the spools. When I was almost done, I also found a service manual online which explained a few quirks. I am well into the electronics too, but still waiting for some spare parts to arrive; hopefully it will be done by next week so I have the third part ready in about two weeks!
0:00 Intro & Final Case Steps
1:25 Mechanics Disassembly
4:22 Pesky Rivets / Motor Disassembly
5:42 Cleaning the Sheet Metal / Paint
6:47 The Head
8:42 Repaint Spools / Reassembly Start
9:40 Motor Assembly / First Try
10:20 Grease / Motor: Second Try
11:00 Motor: Third Try / Motor Lever
11:45 Main Axels / Break Pads / Oiling
12:34 Head Mounting / Greasing / Spools
13:23 Motor Switch / Soldering
14:23 110V 60Hz vs. 50Hz / Trial Run
15:02 Theory of Operation
16:40 Summary / Credits / Outtake
Music:
My Train's A Comin'
Unicorn Heads
(YouTube Audio Library)
You can support me on Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/atkelar
