Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Maxidog · 18th Jun 2016, 11:29 am

Hello everyone,
I'm new to the forum and a first post for me!
I have a Leevers Rich Proline 2000? I think? That I'm planning on getting up and running but I'm struggling to find a service manual and much in the way of info. I know that this is a Klark Teknik design that Leevers Rich took over to produce but that's it. Does anyone have any more info on these? Mine is without its trolley frame so currently in three sections but the thing that is baffling me is that on this model the vu's were set into the panel that holds the alignment cards and the switch system for switching between NAB and DIN? There is no vu's with the machine and I can't find photos of any machines where the vu's were positioned in a different section? Any info or advice would be appreciated.
I've included some photos of the machine.

Rob

brenellic2000 · 18th Jun 2016, 2:27 pm

Very few Prolines were made but they (or the same one!) occassionally comes up for sale. The two VU meters were usually in the centre of the panel either above or below the deck. Can you do a photo showing this panel for clarity? It is quite possible the panel was arranged as the customer wanted. I don't have any circuit diagrams and you'd be lucky to find a manual.

julie_m · 18th Jun 2016, 7:13 pm

These sorts of machines often don't have any level controls (except internal presets) or meters, as they would be intended to be driven from a mixing desk with its own meters. The recording levels would be set so that the onset of distortion was not until the meters on the mixing desk were some way into the red, and only need to be altered if a new brand of tape with different magnetic characteristics was obtained.

Maxidog · 18th Jun 2016, 10:27 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by brenellic2000

The two VU meters were usually in the centre of the panel either above or below the deck. Can you do a photo showing this panel for clarity? It is quite possible the panel was arranged as the customer wanted.

Hi,
Many thanks for your reply. The first photo below shows the panel in question on top of the power supply, the power supply would normally be at the lower section of the trolley. The second photo ( apologies for the quality! ) shows an example of another machine, this I presume would have been the layout of my machine in the trolley? You can see the panel in question is set in front of the main recorder, you can see the access panel on the left that holds the alignment cards and to the right of that you can see the NAB and DIN switch, obviously below that switch you can see the two VU's and the input and output level pots, none of these are on my panel?

Regards, Rob.

brenellic2000 · 19th Jun 2016, 10:41 am

Thanks Rob

Those panels were pretty standard layout. As Julie says there are anomalies with professional decks. Is there a serial number? The first batches were CKD-assemblies from Klerk-Tecnik so may have differed slightly from Leevers-Rich built models.

Barry

paulsherwin · 19th Jun 2016, 12:00 pm

As Julie said in #3, it's completely normal for pro decks used in radio and recording studios to lack any sort of local record level control. The standard BBC local radio setup in the early 70s was to have a pair of big trolley Studers on the right hand side of the desk, slaved to the appropriate fader for remote stop/start. There were no VU meters in sight, everything being calibrated to the desk PPMs.

Maxidog · 19th Jun 2016, 1:22 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by julie_m

These sorts of machines often don't have any level controls (except internal presets) or meters, as they would be intended to be driven from a mixing desk with its own meters. The recording levels would be set so that the onset of distortion was not until the meters on the mixing desk were some way into the red, and only need to be altered if a new brand of tape with different magnetic characteristics was obtained.

Thanks Julie and Paul, this would explain the different panel layout. I think the machine was originally owned by the bbc so would make sense.
Barry, I don't see a serial number but the machine is labelled up on the recorder top as leevers rich.

I will continue the search for a service manual.

Regards to all.

Radio Wrangler · 19th Jun 2016, 2:50 pm

This grade of professional tape recorder was like a meccano kit. There weren't really any standard models, some customer like the BBC bought one or several on a contract and lots of options were selected and specified on that contract. You got split, transportable cases, rackmount versions, console versions, meter bridges, no meters and so on.

Because so much of the machine is interchangeable. which part carries the soul of the machine? which bit gets the serial plate? Often you'll get a lot of serial numbers... one on each plug-in PCB, one on the frame, one on the drive chassis, one on each headblock.

The same applies to manuals. If you're lucky, somewhere there is a loose-leaf binder with sections for each module invoked by a contract. These will have gone into central stores and pulled when something was in for repair or cal. This means that they are separated from the machines at the time of any clear-out or sell-off.

Your recorder was Klark Teknik from before they pulled out of tape for a while and then got in by buying DDA. They've had so many reorganisations and moves that your chances are not good of finding anything by that route, but a surprise would be nice.

I'd try hunting for manuals for individual modules.

David

Ted Kendall · 19th Jun 2016, 4:07 pm

Kat Manton, late of this forum, had a K-T SM-2, so may have some info. There was a guy on ebay not long ago selling several of these - perhaps he has a manual?

Gillian · 7th Jul 2016, 12:09 am

I've got an ex Thames Tv Proline 2000 and the manual .
Mine has the trolley and meter bridge .
It's also fully working ,so if I can be of any help
All the best
Gill

mole42uk · 7th Jul 2016, 8:30 am

Ref to Paul in #5, AFAIR the Beeb never used VU meters, the desks I drove always used PPMs. Dunno about the other broadcasters though.

raditechman · 7th Jul 2016, 8:56 am

Just an aside, I met Norman Leevers at his home in Twickenham. I lived in that area at the time.
When he died helped to clear out a lot of his film equipment. If I remember (fuzzy with age!) it was mainly 16mm optical sound recorders for making sound test films.

He had a good HiFi system.

John

Ted Kendall · 7th Jul 2016, 10:52 am

The BBC used VU meters on tape machines more than PPMs, because the primary purpose of the meter on the machine is to line up the correct rec/rep levels going to and from the control desk. Since this was done with tone, the dynamics of the meter were irrelevant, only its accuracy at line-up level. And of course VUs are cheaper.

Metering on the desk is of course a different matter - and here the PPM was (and still is) universal.

18th Jun 2016, 11:29 am	#1
Maxidog Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Denbigh, Denbighshire, Wales, UK. Posts: 3	Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and a first post for me! I have a Leevers Rich Proline 2000? I think? That I'm planning on getting up and running but I'm struggling to find a service manual and much in the way of info. I know that this is a Klark Teknik design that Leevers Rich took over to produce but that's it. Does anyone have any more info on these? Mine is without its trolley frame so currently in three sections but the thing that is baffling me is that on this model the vu's were set into the panel that holds the alignment cards and the switch system for switching between NAB and DIN? There is no vu's with the machine and I can't find photos of any machines where the vu's were positioned in a different section? Any info or advice would be appreciated. I've included some photos of the machine. Rob Attached Thumbnails

18th Jun 2016, 2:27 pm	#2
brenellic2000 Octode Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rye, East Sussex, UK. Posts: 1,647	Re: Leevers rich, proline 2000 Very few Prolines were made but they (or the same one!) occassionally comes up for sale. The two VU meters were usually in the centre of the panel either above or below the deck. Can you do a photo showing this panel for clarity? It is quite possible the panel was arranged as the customer wanted. I don't have any circuit diagrams and you'd be lucky to find a manual.

19th Jun 2016, 12:00 pm	#6
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,970	Re: Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 As Julie said in #3, it's completely normal for pro decks used in radio and recording studios to lack any sort of local record level control. The standard BBC local radio setup in the early 70s was to have a pair of big trolley Studers on the right hand side of the desk, slaved to the appropriate fader for remote stop/start. There were no VU meters in sight, everything being calibrated to the desk PPMs.

19th Jun 2016, 2:50 pm	#8
Radio Wrangler Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Fife, Scotland, UK. Posts: 22,902	Re: Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 This grade of professional tape recorder was like a meccano kit. There weren't really any standard models, some customer like the BBC bought one or several on a contract and lots of options were selected and specified on that contract. You got split, transportable cases, rackmount versions, console versions, meter bridges, no meters and so on. Because so much of the machine is interchangeable. which part carries the soul of the machine? which bit gets the serial plate? Often you'll get a lot of serial numbers... one on each plug-in PCB, one on the frame, one on the drive chassis, one on each headblock. The same applies to manuals. If you're lucky, somewhere there is a loose-leaf binder with sections for each module invoked by a contract. These will have gone into central stores and pulled when something was in for repair or cal. This means that they are separated from the machines at the time of any clear-out or sell-off. Your recorder was Klark Teknik from before they pulled out of tape for a while and then got in by buying DDA. They've had so many reorganisations and moves that your chances are not good of finding anything by that route, but a surprise would be nice. I'd try hunting for manuals for individual modules. David __________________ Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done

19th Jun 2016, 4:07 pm	#9
Ted Kendall Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 3,675	Re: Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 Kat Manton, late of this forum, had a K-T SM-2, so may have some info. There was a guy on ebay not long ago selling several of these - perhaps he has a manual?

18th Jun 2016, 7:13 pm	#3
julie_m Dekatron Join Date: May 2008 Location: Derby, UK. Posts: 7,735	Re: Leevers Rich Proline 2000 These sorts of machines often don't have any level controls (except internal presets) or meters, as they would be intended to be driven from a mixing desk with its own meters. The recording levels would be set so that the onset of distortion was not until the meters on the mixing desk were some way into the red, and only need to be altered if a new brand of tape with different magnetic characteristics was obtained. __________________ If I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on a pile of failed experiments.

19th Jun 2016, 10:41 am	#5
brenellic2000 Octode Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Rye, East Sussex, UK. Posts: 1,647	Re: Leevers Rich Proline 2000 Thanks Rob Those panels were pretty standard layout. As Julie says there are anomalies with professional decks. Is there a serial number? The first batches were CKD-assemblies from Klerk-Tecnik so may have differed slightly from Leevers-Rich built models. Barry

7th Jul 2016, 12:09 am	#10
Gillian Pentode Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Portslade ,Brighton ,East Sussex Posts: 154	Re: Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 I've got an ex Thames Tv Proline 2000 and the manual . Mine has the trolley and meter bridge . It's also fully working ,so if I can be of any help All the best Gill

7th Jul 2016, 8:30 am	#11
mole42uk Nonode Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Resolven, Wales; and Bristol, England Posts: 2,614	Re: Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 Ref to Paul in #5, AFAIR the Beeb never used VU meters, the desks I drove always used PPMs. Dunno about the other broadcasters though. __________________ Richard Index: recursive loop: see recursive loop

7th Jul 2016, 8:56 am	#12
raditechman Heptode Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: West London, UK. Posts: 867	Re: Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 Just an aside, I met Norman Leevers at his home in Twickenham. I lived in that area at the time. When he died helped to clear out a lot of his film equipment. If I remember (fuzzy with age!) it was mainly 16mm optical sound recorders for making sound test films. He had a good HiFi system. John

7th Jul 2016, 10:52 am	#13
Ted Kendall Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 3,675	Re: Leevers-Rich Proline 2000 The BBC used VU meters on tape machines more than PPMs, because the primary purpose of the meter on the machine is to line up the correct rec/rep levels going to and from the control desk. Since this was done with tone, the dynamics of the meter were irrelevant, only its accuracy at line-up level. And of course VUs are cheaper. Metering on the desk is of course a different matter - and here the PPM was (and still is) universal.