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    New Record Cards!

    As far as I know, we (at ATAE in California) are the world's only firm exclusively dedicated to the re-manufacture of Studer A80 and 820 tape transports. As you've now gone to the trouble and expense of building your new cards to fit the form factor of the original A80/RC eleven-slot audio card...
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    New Repro cards!

    Hello Charles and Jeff, A reader of this forum contacted me saying that I needed to log in and read what you’re up to. Wow. I see so many topics! Can I begin by being pedantic, correcting a point of proper Studer machine identification? Reading through your posts (Charles and Jeff), I see...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    What if someone were reporting that a Studer A820 that had some of its electrolytic capacitors changed by one shop, sounded noticeably different (or worse) than another A820 that had those same capacitors changed by another shop? For simplicity, let's assume that we're talking about a...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    If someone is reporting that two tape machines of the same make and model sound different, what would you first suspect as the most probable cause? Hint: It probably isn't about who changed out all the electrolytic capacitors. (More to say on that, a little later today, time permitting.) To...
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    Studer A820 owner/operator training in Los Angeles

    Hi Ron, The answer is simple. Unacceptable cost to the attendees. Taking a training presentation on the road is like a manufacturer exhibiting at a trade show. There's the logistics of shipping all the hardware, paying for the exhibit space, housing the show personnel. This isn't cheap...
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    The Cello Audio Suite Master Supply (and where to find qualified service for it today)

    A conversation directed me to an eBay listing for some old Cello gear this week. In it, the seller claimed to have an improved power supply for the Cello Audio Suite. I choked when seeing that. Any student of high-end audio understands that good power supply design is critical to audio quality...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    Hi Ron, Well, maybe we could indeed sell a service like you describe to one or two unsuspecting audiophiles. But it wouldn't be ethical. Anyone who actually understands the A820 will tell you that A820s are ticking time bombs today. Just look at that ancient, embedded Motorola 6803...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    That's just not true, Ron. Bruce Brown's reply to you listed some examples that contradict your assertion. I could add many more. One in particular, one that many people strangely never mention, is the same company that arguably launched this whole idea of outboard tape audio electronics in...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    I'm afraid that this might fuel a popular misconception. So let me address it. Finding an old A820 (or A80) that has very low operating hours is likely a thrill for practically anyone, but it's no assurance that the machine is suitable for serious use today. In fact, it's often these...
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    Studer A820 owner/operator training in Los Angeles

    I regret that the fall 2018, three-day A820 operator training class that ATAE was hoping to host in Santa Monica California was canceled due to insufficient pre-enrollment. I also regret that our infrequent, open to the public courses are so expensive. But we've learned that a nice hotel with a...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    Not sure who you're asking. But I'll jump in. First, I should make an important qualification for my remarks. I'm not an A820 expert. Far from it. I was very late to the A820 party. The A820 was long out of production before I ever started to study it. And I do not know the answer to your...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    ATAE is sometimes asked why we ceased to offer repair and reconditioning services for Studer A820 tape recorders. The answer is a bit complex (sorry), but perhaps suffice it to say that we prefer building our new reproducers and recorders, over trying to restore vintage ones for which far too...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    This too, clearly requires a response from me. Sorry that it needs to be lengthy. Mike Lavigne has been a thorn in my side for years now, because I feel he's been harming Studer A820 tape machines, mainly by his frequently talking about these machines, when in my opinion, he lacks any real...
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    Studer A820 in for repair!

    This probably deserves a response from me. Chasing the Dragon (aka Valentine Films) purchased an A820 from ATAE in June, 2015. This was a negotiated deal, whereby Valentine Films received an A820 at discounted accommodation pricing, with ATAE accepting their modified A812 in trade. Someone I...
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    Advice in buying a Studer A80

    You have great questions. (But way too many of them for me to attempt to answer here. So I'm selecting from them.) Curiously, most tape hobby people active on the forums appear not the least bit interested in flutter performance. They only want to talk about their outboard "tape stages". But...
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    Best regards and presentation of my Studer A820

    The symptom that exhibits in your video is well known. A popular "fix" for that symptom is to just install the latest firmware. That firmware (NOT written by the original A820 developers) simply "dumbed-down" the reel servo responsiveness, so that the symptom you are experiencing would go...
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    Ah ha. You seem to have thought it through. Essential to anyone understanding this thread, is first understanding the azimuth loss formula. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-2027-6_164 I think it can be easier to grasp this, if it's presented with some illustrations. (I...
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    Jonathan, The MRL paper you want to read is titled "Azimuth in a Magnetic Tape Recorder" I see that it's not available on the MRL website this morning. I can ask about that. Meanwhile, the mechanical azimuth tolerance for MRL cal tapes is shown in section 5.2.3 of the MRL publication...
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    No, that's not really correct. Absolute amplitude measurement accuracy plays no role at all in adjusting for ORA. All you need to observe, is the meter needle peaking on the azimuth adjustment tones. That said, your observation that VU meter circuits can be their own problem is noted...
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    In an ideal world, it would be identical. In the real world, the peak amplitudes for either channel could differ, as could their ORA. Gap scatter is real. So is the bias level dependent positioning of the write head's trapping plane. Bottom line? You want alignment tones on your...
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    If reproducing (that's tech lingo for playing) a full-width recorded (aka full-track monaural) reproducer alignment calibration tape, that could be an indication that you have gap scatter in your two-track read head. (Are we deep enough into the weeds yet? Why don't you take a class?)
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    You first want to consider that tapes will travel on different paths through different machines. From this we go into forced-guidance tape paths versus precision guidance ones. This is a fun FAQ that people ask MRL. The answer is given in a technical paper by J. G. McKnight that explains the...
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    Again, you want to first determine exactly what it is that you're trying to accomplish. Go back and read the definition of ORA and see that adjusting for optimum read head azimuth means adjusting for peak short wavelength response for a recorded tape in question. On the other hand...
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    > can you give us a hint Yes. First, look again at the definition of ORA: "the peak short recorded wavelength response" Next, remember that "peak response" implies an amplitude measurement (not phase). The VU meters on the tape machine (when switched to read the output of the playback...
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    Setting repro head azimuth

    My bad. The following might read more like an intro to a book chapter. To better understand why the correct answer is D, it's helpful to keep in mind what it is that you're trying to accomplish. Start by considering the definition of optimum read head azimuth (ORA): "That orientation of a...
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    Studer A80 serial number

    Are you asking if the date of manufacture is coded into the serial number? The answer would be no. This was not done at Studer. Since you sent me your serial number in a private message, my guess would be 1973, 74 or 75.
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    Studer A80 serial number

    The answers are yes and yes. The original owner would have a document from the factory with this information. But this was forty-five years ago. Who did you buy your machine from? Can they tell you anything about its provenance? Production records were of course kept at the Regensdorf...
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    Advice in buying a Studer A80

    Go out and buy an old Studer A80. Then you can be a member of an exclusive club. Well, sort of. The marketing messaging behind the tape revival has consistently been that you only need to get a functioning tape transport of some kind and then change out the stock playback amplifier for...
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    Problem with Otari MTR-90 MKII 2" 24ch Deck

    Color coding a line cord assembly is one thing. What a manufacturer did inside their equipment is another. Further, vintage equipment is an unknown because there's no telling what someone may have done inside the machine. So I suggest that you first verify the primary power wiring from the...
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    Best regards and presentation of my Studer A820

    Try to have a good sense of humor here, please. I do not intend for the following to be insulting. Ever heard of the tech support person's term, picnic? (Problem in chair, not in computer.) From reading your posts here, I would say that you desperately need A820 operator training...

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