Grundig TK14

[Alanroy]

I have just purchased a reel to reel tape recorder (Grundig TK14).
It works well.
At the back there are three din sockets (see photo).
I have a simple question, but I suspect it won't be a simple answer. Can I play some vintage family recordings and record them directly to my laptop for editing and saving in a digital format.
I know I could play the recordings out loud and record it via a microphone, but I have hours and hours of tapes to go through and cannot be sure the household will remain silent while I record from the tapes in this way!!
I am hoping I can get a din lead that will go in one of the din sockets and the other end have some sort of usb or 3.5 jack plug that will fit the computer. Is this a possibility?? Many thanks.

[mitajohn]

Use pins 3 signal out and pins 2 signal ground via a coaxial cable as seen in the pic.

[Alanroy]

Thank you Mitajohn. Thats very helpful. The other end of the coax cable connects to a mono jack plug, is that correct? Does it need to be coax cable or can it be two core mains cable?

[mitajohn]

Originally Posted by Alanroy

Thank you Mitajohn. The other end of the coax cable connects to a mono jack plug, is that correct?

Yes. If the pc input is stereo you must use a stereo jack plug with L, R channels bridged.

Does it need to be coax cable or can it be two core mains cable?

Must be coax to avoid noise. The core conductor for the signal and the screen for ground. Use a 50 or 75 ohm thin coax cable.

[Alanroy]

Hi John. Thank you very much for this added information. This is so helpful. I can now make my purchase and make up the lead. It is a stereo input, so I will bridge the L and R channels as you suggest.
Many thanks, Alan

[Alanroy]

Hi. Can anyone help?? I have wired up a lead (din to jack) as per Mitajohn's diagram above. All tested and 100% good, but no signal is being recorded. Checked by sending a signal from an iPod to laptop and all records well. I can only assume that the signal from the reel to reel tape is not going to the din socket. Any suggestions anyone? Thank you

[TowerRadio]

You need to prove that you have a high impedance output from the TK14,do you have an amp or radio with pickup socket that you can play your tapes through? Do you have a users manual for the TK14 in case there is something you are not doing in order to provide a high imp. output? The only manual I can see is in German.Les

[TonyDuell]

I've looked at the TK14 service manual, and from the circuit diagram there is nothing that the user needs to do to enable the high-impedance output. There is a switch contact that turns it off in record mode which I guess could be faulty, but as the machine works otherwise, I think that's unlikely.

How exactly is your cable wired? Can you provide photos of the wiring in the DIN plug and in the jack plug, please.

[Alanroy]

Hi TowerRadio and TonyDuell. Thank you both for your feedback. TowerRadio, no I don't have a manual but will do some searching and see if I can locate one (in English!!) High Impedance output? I have used the lead to connect to a radio and if I turn the volume up high on both the Grundig and the radio, I can hear the recoding playing through the radio. Does that mean I have a high impedance??
TonyDuell, I have wired the lead by bridging the left and right channel on the stereo jack and connected it to pin 3 on the din plug. I have used the outter sheathing wire of the thin coax cable to connect to the ground terminal of the jack plug and to pin 1 of the din plug. Photos attached. One photo shows the socket at the back of the grinding that I am using to plug the din plug in to. I hope that makes sense!

[Alanroy]

last photo below:

[Alanroy]

I have used a multimeter to check the connection/continuity from jack plug to din plug and all seems good. No shorting, and all connections solid.

[cliff2903]

Is.the switch on back near the output socket a mute switch for the internal speaker when using ancillary devices ?

[Alanroy]

Hi Cliff. Yes the switch shuts down the internal speaker.

[julie_m]

The wiring looks correct. Can you play a signal from some other device into the computer to make sure the input is working?

It's possible that the computer's input impedance is too low for the tape recorder's output. Tack on an extra connection from the 3.5mm. plug to the input of your radio, but initially have it unplugged from the computer. Get the tape playing through the radio, then plug the 3.5mm. stereo plug into the computer mid-song. If the radio goes quiet, that's the problem.

[ms660]

According to the schematic I'm looking at both pin 3 outputs are routed via the record/playback switch contacts 17&18 and contacts 14&15, might be worth checking for cleanliness.

Lawrence.

[mitajohn]

From post #2 pic: The signal output is 500mv (depending on volume setting) at 15kΩ to ground. The line input impedance of the pc is about 10kΩ/channel and with L, R bridged is less than 5kΩ to ground, so the recorder's line output amp "sees" about 3.5kΩ to ground, too low for a tube designed amp. A line input of >100kΩ is needed, use a preamp and of course check the relay conducts as suggested.

[ms660]

Output from pin 1 of the output socket for a better match to the lower impedance PC input.

Lawrence

[mitajohn]

Originally Posted by ms660

Output from pin 1 of the output socket for a better match to the lower impedance PC input.

Lawrence

This is the speaker output. I do not suggest that, too much audio distortion. It is better to use the mic input of the pc, which is more sensitive than line, via a suitable resistive pad.

[ms660]

I've just looked at the jack sockets on my PC, there's two of them, one is for headphones the other is for microphone.

Lawrence.

[Alanroy]

Thank you all very much for your prompt and constructive help. I am ever so grateful to you all. Some of the suggestions are a tad too technical for me at first glance so I am working on it!! The good news is that I discovered, through your suggestions and a little experimentation that using my home made lead I could send the signal to the line in on a small hi-fi unit I have, and this allowed me to play the tapes through the amp and speakers in that unit. From there I was able to use a jack to jack lead and connect from the Hi-Fi line out to the line in on my lap top. From there I was able to use Audacity software and record the incoming data from the reel to reel tape player. So a convoluted way of getting there, but success was achieved in the end, and thats all that matters! Voice recordings of myself, parents and sibling from over 60 years ago, so good to be able to share this digital copy world wide with extended (living!) family members now!! Thank you everyone for your valuable assistance. Thank you.