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Vintage Tape (Audio), Cassette, Wire and Magnetic Disc Recorders and Players Open-reel tape recorders, cassette recorders, 8-track players etc.

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Old 10th Mar 2019, 11:37 pm   #1
martin.m
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Default Ferguson 445TR repair

This twin track tape recorder dates from the early 1960s and uses the BSR TD2 deck. Unlike some of the Grundig tape transports of the time, the TD2 deck mechanics are very simple and easy to work on. This one had the usual problems of hardened grease causing moving parts to seize up. Also the motor's rubber mountings had perished causing the machine to be in permanent rewind mode. I found some rubber grommets to replace the worn mountings then carefully cleaned and lubricated the deck's mechanical parts.

With the tape transport now working and heads cleaned, the machine played back a pre-recorded tape but the sound became distorted when the volume control was turned up. Recordings were very distorted. The electronics are fairly simple, using ECC83 and ECL82 valves. A few voltage checks around the ECL82 revealed that a 100K resistor feeding HT to pin 9 (triode anode) had increased in value to over 800K. A new resistor restored normal operation.

I have a soft spot for these early 1960s tape recorders. When I was a teenager all my music was on tape. With a 4 track machine, it was possible to record four LPs on a five and three quarter inch reel, mono of course. No iPods or MP3 players in those days.
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Last edited by martin.m; 10th Mar 2019 at 11:42 pm. Reason: punctuation
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Old 11th Mar 2019, 9:40 am   #2
ben
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Default Re: Ferguson 445TR repair

Nice looking and glad you got it going. Ready for another 50 years use!

I have a Fidelity with this deck but it is so noisy I don't like using it! The motor and idler - driven capstan run all the time it is on, in this design. One day I will resurface the idler and see if that helps.
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Old 11th Mar 2019, 10:20 am   #3
Heatercathodeshort
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Default Re: Ferguson 445TR repair

Great to see it working again

The BSR TD2 was a very reliable simple deck that was ideal for the domestic market. The only fault I ever encountered was a broken hair spring that held the F/F R/W and Play control in place.

Well done BSR! Another great product from a company with an illustrious background going back to the 1930's and maybe even further back than that. [?] [Precision test instruments, not record changers at that time] John.
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Old 11th Mar 2019, 12:49 pm   #4
Mike Phelan
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Default Re: Ferguson 445TR repair

Quote:
Originally Posted by Heatercathodeshort View Post
The only fault I ever encountered was a broken hair spring that held the F/F R/W and Play control in place.
We always kept a stock of these springs as BSR also used them on the UA14 record changer and others as well.
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Old 11th Mar 2019, 4:11 pm   #5
martin.m
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Default Re: Ferguson 445TR repair

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Originally Posted by ben View Post

I have a Fidelity with this deck but it is so noisy I don't like using it! The motor and idler - driven capstan run all the time it is on, in this design. One day I will resurface the idler and see if that helps.
Yes, these decks are mechanically noisy. Smoothing down the idler with a piece of fine emery paper while the mechanism is running helps a little. The one I had in the 60s (HMV 2202 I think) sounded like a hovercraft. Thank you all for your replies.

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Last edited by martin.m; 11th Mar 2019 at 4:28 pm. Reason: Clarity
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Old 11th Mar 2019, 7:09 pm   #6
Reelman
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Default Re: Ferguson 445TR repair

The TD2 is noisy, I was amazed when I got my Grundig TK146. It was almost mechanically silent when playing and just a gentle swish of clutch felts when at stop.

The Elizabethan Automan 4 I got for passing my 11plus was used every day for a few years with never a problem with its TD2 or electronics..... but it was mechanically quite noisy.

In the manual of the Philips N4450 there was an actual figure quoted for mechanical noise. Oddly enough just like an early Rolls-Royce there only thing you could hear whilst running was the clock! In the end I used the timer switch to turn off the electric clock as it was a facility I hardly used.

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