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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 7th Jan 2020, 6:29 pm   #1
Ferrograph723
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: London, UK
Posts: 28
Default Ferrograph Series Seven - keeps stopping

Hi all, Following on from my previous thread, I have been enjoying my "new" Series Seven. The one and only issue I seem to be having with it, is occasionally it stops playback or recording (reels stop) and the 'reset' light comes on.

If I turn the run knob to 'Stop' and back to 'Run', it immediately carries on.

There's no discernible pattern to it - sometimes it'll run right through an entire tape and not stop once, other times it'll stop three of four times at random intervals. Doesn't make a difference what tape is on it, how long it's been switched on for, and I can't see any snagging or 'tape jam' type issues. And it'll happen both in playback and record.

Everything else is working spot on - just this one issue.

Any ideas where to start looking?
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Old 7th Jan 2020, 9:55 pm   #2
Mistral13
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Location: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK.
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series Seven - keeps stopping

I'm also working on a Series 7 (version 722 - 2 track). As you know, the movable arm directly above the fast wind knob is part of the auto stop system.

There is a metal spring fitted under the cover plate, which limits the anti-clockwise movement of the arm - thsi should have a rubber/plastic cover on it so that it can't short out the moving arm and trigger the auto stop system.

Should this cover be missing, and there is excess tape tension, the arm could be pulled up to the limit of its travel and activate the auto stop mechanism.

You can check if cover is there without any dismantling by aiming a torch at an angle of about 45 degrrees from the right hand side of the slot and looking in.

If the arm doesn't go anywhere near the ends of its travel, then there is probably an electronic issue causing false triggering.
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Old 10th Jan 2020, 3:41 pm   #3
Mistral13
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series Seven - keeps stopping

Further to my last, I have finally had a chance to look at the circuit diagram.

All the stop functions are controlled by the clear cased relay RL100, which can be found in front of the leftmost reel holder. When activated, the relay cuts power to all motors and switches on the red Reset light.

The relay can be activated in 3 ways:
1) by the foil stop on the LH side of the machine
2) by the autostop mechansim on the RH side of the machine
3) by the equalisation switch not matching the tape speed switch setting.

With the uncased machine horizontal, I would start with the EQ switch; make sure that there isn't excessive play in the linkage and clean the switch itself, which is located at the front and centre of the machine.

If that doesn't work, its a case of further dismantling to check that neither of the autostop sensors, or their wiring is chaffing on an earth point.

Good luck with the search!

David
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Old 18th Jan 2020, 4:22 pm   #4
Ferrograph723
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Location: London, UK
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series Seven - keeps stopping

Mistral13, I am so sorry for not replying sooner to say "THANKS" - I was called away for work and had to put a few things on hold.

Thanks so much for the tips - I will have a look at the EQ switch first and go from there.
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Old 20th Jan 2020, 8:57 pm   #5
Mistral13
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series Seven - keeps stopping

No problem, the same thing happened to me on Friday last!
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Old 26th Jan 2020, 9:32 pm   #6
Ferrograph723
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series Seven - keeps stopping

Update - looks like I have resolved the issue. I was convinced the 'reset' wasn't being triggered by a problem with any of the three "fault" conditions (foil lead-out, tape spool dropping or speed/eq misalignment).

That led me to the auto-stop relay itself. It's mounted on a small circuit board accessible from the front of the machine. I noticed that the circuit board mounts had some rubber insulators behind the screws which were in poor shape, so I replaced those in case one of the connectors was shorting on the chassis ... and I took the clear plastic cover off the relay itself and used some contact cleaner to clean the relay out properly.

Low and behold, it seems to have fixed the issue! I've played three full spools start to finish without a single stoppage. (previously it was stopping two or three times an hour).

I also took the opportunity while the front was off, to lube some of the mechanical components (counter cogs etc), clear all the dust out of it and clean up the switchgear, light windows etc. I also re-covered and trimmed the front upper panel with some new black vinyl to make it a little more 'modern'. I left the original grey vinyl underneath (it was in pretty good shape with no tears or stains) so that it can be returned to original at some point in the future if desired.

End result : a mint looking Ferro Series 7 which sounds great and works flawlessly! Happy days
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Old 27th Jan 2020, 2:50 am   #7
Mistral13
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Default Re: Ferrograph Series Seven - keeps stopping

Glad to hear that another Ferro 7 is alive, well and behaving itself!

It had to be something around the relay and as the stop functions energise the relay coil by pulling it to ground, it sounds as though your intermittent earth path diagnosis was on the money.
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