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Old 24th May 2018, 1:53 pm   #18
Techman
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 4,985
Default Re: ELPICO TR400 - Reel to Reel - Low Volume on Playback

Well done for getting the tape recorder working properly again. I was 99% sure it was those capacitors from what you described. Coincidentally, the chap that I got my Elpico recorder from happened to phone me later the same day as I made my last post regarding another radio related matter. I told him that him and his old tape recorder were being 'mentioned in dispatches' on this forum (he's not a member and hadn't seen the thread), so he could have a look if he wanted. I asked him to remind me of the story of this recorder and he told me it was from a car boot sale and that other than giving the mechanics a bit of lubrication that when he plugged it in it worked perfectly. It was only after some time that the sound gradually died, as would be expected as the leakage of particularly two of those Hunts capacitors took effect. I haven't listened to the content of the tape for a very long time, so can't remember exactly what was on it, or the name of the girl mentioned. He also, couldn't remember the girls name off hand, but told me that at the time, he had tried to do a bit of research on the name, particularly on Facebook, but came up with absolutely nothing. When I said that if I had an on-line video hosting website that I would probably have uploaded the contents of the tape for interest sake, he told me that he had already done this at the time and it was via this very tape recorder, before it went wrong and was eventually given to me, so it's already out there.

After I mentioned about the Davies brothers and the Elpico speaker cone cutting, I did do a little bit of research, just to check that it was basically true what I'd said, and found that it was. Other than a previous dispute between them as to who actually did the damage (Ray or Dave) and whether it was a razor blade or a knitting needle, it seems that it was Dave's amplifier and it was him with the razor blade, and history was made.
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