Akai GX260D. - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

akaigxfan · 18th Apr 2012, 4:27 pm

Hi, I have a GX260D which sounds superb apart from one annoying issue, In quiet passages between songs I can hear garbled sound from the track underneath. It's there whether in forward play or reverse play, now I know this machine can go out of adjustment on the mechanism that puts the play solenoid into position resulting in banging from the solenoid as it tends to try to lock in to play. This is down I feel to vibration from the solenoid operating normally when it also bangs in and then out again as you press stop. After a while this vibration causes the adjustment to drift out, it's quite a simple job to put right adjusting the gap to the right one again between the arm on the solenoid and the switches it acts against. I'm just wondering if the same thing could be happening with the heads going out of adjustment due to vibration? I've listened to 3 seperate 260D machines owned by various people and they've all sounded fantastic but have had this annoying problem. Just wondering if anyone has some words of wisdom about this? Thanks.

Vicboduk · 18th Apr 2012, 6:33 pm

I’ll start by saying I have never worked on this machine; I’m not sure what you mean by “sound from the track underneath”.
First we need to know, is the sound that you hear forwards or backwards? If the sound is backwards then it could be due to head misalignment or crosstalk from the other head. If the sound is forwards it could indicate that you have insufficient erase during recording or possibly “print through” on your tapes. This will sound like a low level pre-echo. As this machine plays in both directions there is likely to be a head change over switch. If this is a physical switch/relay and not done by electronic means a clean may be all that is needed.

Vic

akaigxfan · 18th Apr 2012, 6:48 pm

thanks for that, i meant to say it seems to be the reverse of the tape im hearing when playing forwards and the forwards im hearing in the quiet passages as i play in reverse play, am i making sense?... yes i wondered about print through on the tapes ive heard of this before, most of my tapes are new old stock maxell or basf or brand new quantegy. if it is coming from the other head what can i do about it? thanks again.

Thanks for that, I meant to say it seems to be the reverse of the tape I'm hearing when playing forwards and the forwards I'm hearing in the quiet passages as I play in reverse play. Am I making sense? Yes I wondered about print through on the tapes, I've heard of this before. Most of my tapes are new old stock Maxell or BASF or brand new Quantegy. If it is coming from the other head what can I do about it? Thanks again.

Vicboduk · 18th Apr 2012, 7:22 pm

I don’t have a manual for this machine but I have found out that it does use a slide switch for head change over. Mechanical switches in the signal path are a notorious weak point in all machines and cause a variety of strange faults. This could be worth investigating; unfortunately I can’t tell you where it is located! If you can eliminate the switch then try...

To test for misalignment you could... use some new/virgin tape and record on one side only. Then without rewinding select reverse play. If you hear what you have just recorded playing backwards then it would seem that it is misaligned. The problem here is that there will always be some level of cross talk between tracks and I have no idea what is considered to be the acceptable level for this machine. Should this prove to be the problem you will need to get hold of reference tape (very expensive) or a known good tape you can use as a pseudo reference to reset it.

Vic

TIMTAPE · 19th Apr 2012, 4:35 am

Silly question perhaps but have you checked that the erase head is really clean? You only need some tape gunk on it and it wont erase the old material properly.

Tim

Vicboduk · 19th Apr 2012, 7:54 pm

Hi Tim, I did consider this but the OP states the sound heard is opposite i.e. backwards this wouldn’t be so if it was just partial erase. Backward sound suggests that it is pick-up from an adjacent track. My suggestion to try a recording on blank tape should prove this.
I’m assuming that the heads are configured as standard for a domestic stereo machine (track order 1-3 2-4) this would then make sense if a head has raised or dropped in height. It would pick up a partial of a track running in the wrong direction. Assuming that it is head misalignment, a known good tape will also indicate whether it is a playback or record head that needs adjusting.

However you could be right about dirt! There is likely to be a guide very close to the playback head. If this has a large amount of oxide build-up on the top or bottom edge it could be pushing the tape up or down on the face of the head which would create exactly the same effect.

Akiagxfan, please clean the entire tape path, not just the heads but all guides and rollers too. Whilst doing this have a look at the head fixing/adjustment screws. Typically these would have had a sealing paint applied. If this is intact then it is unlikely that a head has moved but not impossible.

Vic

Edit; A barrelled pinch-wheel rubber could also cause a similar tape path problem.

akaigxfan · 2nd Jun 2012, 7:58 pm

Well, it's been a while since my posting this problem and I've finally got round to puurchasing a new pinch wheel and after fitting it problem solved! I thought better look at the easiest solution first as my experience of adjusting heads is don't unless you really have to, so I took easy one first. glad I did! thanks to everyone for the advice, I really do reccommend the GX 260D machine. I know it's big and heavy and the absence of a pause button can be a pain and not to everyone's taste but the sound from these is awesome.

Thanks again.

18th Apr 2012, 4:27 pm	#1
akaigxfan Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Whissonsett, Dereham, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 128	Akai GX260D. Hi, I have a GX260D which sounds superb apart from one annoying issue, In quiet passages between songs I can hear garbled sound from the track underneath. It's there whether in forward play or reverse play, now I know this machine can go out of adjustment on the mechanism that puts the play solenoid into position resulting in banging from the solenoid as it tends to try to lock in to play. This is down I feel to vibration from the solenoid operating normally when it also bangs in and then out again as you press stop. After a while this vibration causes the adjustment to drift out, it's quite a simple job to put right adjusting the gap to the right one again between the arm on the solenoid and the switches it acts against. I'm just wondering if the same thing could be happening with the heads going out of adjustment due to vibration? I've listened to 3 seperate 260D machines owned by various people and they've all sounded fantastic but have had this annoying problem. Just wondering if anyone has some words of wisdom about this? Thanks.

18th Apr 2012, 6:33 pm	#2
Vicboduk Hexode Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: S.W. London, UK. Posts: 416	Re: akai gx 260d I’ll start by saying I have never worked on this machine; I’m not sure what you mean by “sound from the track underneath”. First we need to know, is the sound that you hear forwards or backwards? If the sound is backwards then it could be due to head misalignment or crosstalk from the other head. If the sound is forwards it could indicate that you have insufficient erase during recording or possibly “print through” on your tapes. This will sound like a low level pre-echo. As this machine plays in both directions there is likely to be a head change over switch. If this is a physical switch/relay and not done by electronic means a clean may be all that is needed. Vic

18th Apr 2012, 6:48 pm	#3
akaigxfan Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Whissonsett, Dereham, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 128	Re: akai gx 260d thanks for that, i meant to say it seems to be the reverse of the tape im hearing when playing forwards and the forwards im hearing in the quiet passages as i play in reverse play, am i making sense?... yes i wondered about print through on the tapes ive heard of this before, most of my tapes are new old stock maxell or basf or brand new quantegy. if it is coming from the other head what can i do about it? thanks again. Thanks for that, I meant to say it seems to be the reverse of the tape I'm hearing when playing forwards and the forwards I'm hearing in the quiet passages as I play in reverse play. Am I making sense? Yes I wondered about print through on the tapes, I've heard of this before. Most of my tapes are new old stock Maxell or BASF or brand new Quantegy. If it is coming from the other head what can I do about it? Thanks again.

18th Apr 2012, 7:22 pm	#4
Vicboduk Hexode Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: S.W. London, UK. Posts: 416	Re: akai gx 260d I don’t have a manual for this machine but I have found out that it does use a slide switch for head change over. Mechanical switches in the signal path are a notorious weak point in all machines and cause a variety of strange faults. This could be worth investigating; unfortunately I can’t tell you where it is located! If you can eliminate the switch then try... To test for misalignment you could... use some new/virgin tape and record on one side only. Then without rewinding select reverse play. If you hear what you have just recorded playing backwards then it would seem that it is misaligned. The problem here is that there will always be some level of cross talk between tracks and I have no idea what is considered to be the acceptable level for this machine. Should this prove to be the problem you will need to get hold of reference tape (very expensive) or a known good tape you can use as a pseudo reference to reset it. Vic Last edited by Vicboduk; 18th Apr 2012 at 7:33 pm.

19th Apr 2012, 4:35 am	#5
TIMTAPE Octode Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 1,969	Re: Akai GX260D. Silly question perhaps but have you checked that the erase head is really clean? You only need some tape gunk on it and it wont erase the old material properly. Tim

19th Apr 2012, 7:54 pm	#6
Vicboduk Hexode Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: S.W. London, UK. Posts: 416	Re: Akai GX260D. Hi Tim, I did consider this but the OP states the sound heard is opposite i.e. backwards this wouldn’t be so if it was just partial erase. Backward sound suggests that it is pick-up from an adjacent track. My suggestion to try a recording on blank tape should prove this. I’m assuming that the heads are configured as standard for a domestic stereo machine (track order 1-3 2-4) this would then make sense if a head has raised or dropped in height. It would pick up a partial of a track running in the wrong direction. Assuming that it is head misalignment, a known good tape will also indicate whether it is a playback or record head that needs adjusting. However you could be right about dirt! There is likely to be a guide very close to the playback head. If this has a large amount of oxide build-up on the top or bottom edge it could be pushing the tape up or down on the face of the head which would create exactly the same effect. Akiagxfan, please clean the entire tape path, not just the heads but all guides and rollers too. Whilst doing this have a look at the head fixing/adjustment screws. Typically these would have had a sealing paint applied. If this is intact then it is unlikely that a head has moved but not impossible. Vic Edit; A barrelled pinch-wheel rubber could also cause a similar tape path problem. Last edited by Vicboduk; 19th Apr 2012 at 8:01 pm.

2nd Jun 2012, 7:58 pm	#7
akaigxfan Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Whissonsett, Dereham, Norfolk, UK. Posts: 128	Re: Akai GX260D. Well, it's been a while since my posting this problem and I've finally got round to puurchasing a new pinch wheel and after fitting it problem solved! I thought better look at the easiest solution first as my experience of adjusting heads is don't unless you really have to, so I took easy one first. glad I did! thanks to everyone for the advice, I really do reccommend the GX 260D machine. I know it's big and heavy and the absence of a pause button can be a pain and not to everyone's taste but the sound from these is awesome. Thanks again.