Have a question for you Re-201 Space Echo owners

Last night I started experiencing a weird hesitation from the black pinch roller located at the top of the unit threading the tape. It seems each time the tapes spliced area hits the bottom silver cylinder (that also threads the tape) the rubber cylinder hesitates or slows down until it finally passes. It doesn't seem to be the motor since it works great up until spliced area comes back around. Could it be the tape is suddenly too tight or is this what they refer to a "pinched tape?"

I purchased the tape from Mike?analogman and actually it worked beautifully for a couple of months until now. Any ideas?

Someone really needs to capitalize on providing a hands-on service manual for the rest of us. Something with detailed steps and photos on cleaning, improving, and servicing your machine.

Well I got in there with a phillips and did some minor adjustments around the "pinch roller" and it seems to have done the trick. It really scared me for a moment there.

My other question is: The term "flutter" is when the echo jumps (so to speak) as the "tape seem" moves across the heads? I guess I had never heard this before now.

I have rebuilt the re-150,201, and 301 ... most of the problem is
from worn tape heads and they can be replaced.. but regarding the
pinch roller. they wear down unevenly and end up perpendicularly
"untrue" to the tape so they are pulling one edge of the tape through faster.
the other things that happen is that the motor starts wearing and may need to be rebuilt or replaced.. dont want to scare you.

the first thing on any of these space echos to do is use deoxit on all the
wiring harness clips and in the motor. Then you need to use Denatured
alcohol mixed down with distilled water on all the rollers, heads and pinch roller. They say not to do that to the pinch roller because it can harden it..but thats on new things.. these are old and the rubber is already hardening.. just be sure NOT to use rubbing alcohol AT ALL.
Denatured Alcohol is sold at home Depot in the paint department. The
guys that work there will say they dont carry it BUT THEY do and its right next to the acetone and thinners.

finally and sometimes most important. These units have some decent size electrolytic caps.. and Old caps drift terribly.. they supposedly only have a shelf life of 15yrs.. Doing the math, you KNOW your unit needs to have a cap job. Some may argue and say that this is not a tube amp and the rules dont apply but in the hi fi world of analog.. fresh quality capacitors mean everything. They dont have to be super expensive but
they need to AT LEAST be Xicon or Nichicon, at worst Illinois.. the stock stuff in them is pretty junky.

Oh ya... when was the last time you carefully demagnitized the tape heads? That has to happen at least 2 times a year.

..okay I'll shut up.
ps. do you need the service manual?

No that's completely cool; Please feel free to continue. I am COMPLETELY new to all of this stuff. I haven't ventured in to demagnetize, oil, or even clean my unit. It is a very scary prospect I must confess. I felt like I needed to do some research on the web before tackling such a task. Like I said I have installed brand new tape from analogman a few months ago.

Who do you recommend to clean or service these units in the future? I used to think the guys over at sound-o-matic until I finally started reading between the lines. No thanks! I did heard Mr. Zoom worked on them but I'm not sure if he does anything except clean. Quite a few people in the Aussie area seems to be working on four-to-five units a week but that is a looooong way to ship.

There use to be a gent on the web that had a pictorial of his machine step-by-step of the cleaning process but I can't seem to find it. I know I want ot eventually tackle this but I want to know a few things before breaking 'er down.

Have you ever heard anyone mentioning the following product to clean the pinch roller?
http://www.reelprosoundguys.com/Feedback.html

And I do have a service manual but I really need to really look over it.

Exactly how do you buy another tape head? I do have one that isn't working (mode selector 3).

that was a nice thread, i love it when guys will take the time to have detailed photos!

Where do you get extra heads for the units?

And who in the states still service these badboys?

Niblos wrote:

Where do you get extra heads for the units?

And who in the states still service these badboys?

I have a secret local in portland