Head alignment jig works wonders

Head alignment on any cartridge machine is dicey, at best, since
there's no way to view the path of the tape through the guide and
across the head. I was fortunate enough to get a broadcast cart
alignment jig made years ago by Ramko Research, a provider for the
broadcast industry for decades, called the "Collimeter," and it solves
the problem of guide-to-head mistracking perfectly.

This alignment jig is a plastic body with a Lexan prism in the front
end that provides calibration lines, magnification in one axis
(results are views through the top) and a AAA battery driving a lamp
for both illumination and zenith adjustment . I had recently lapped
the head on a Sanyosak 8056, but hadn't fiddled around with physical
alignment yet, since it's such a PITA on any cart machine if you use
calipers. Standard head alignment jigs are useless on a cart machine;
they won't fit, and the height requirement is different than most
commercial RTRs. What this gizmo allows you to do is line up height,
zenith, yaw and coarse alignment all at the same time, saving a lot of
tedious measurement and calculation. A neat feature is that there are
two brass contacts on the face of the prism, so all you have to do to
get optimal zenith adjustment is dial it in until the lamp lights,
indicating contact with both the top and bottom of the head
face...simple, easy and fast.

What I also found handy about it is that it provides an equally quick
way to set the guide height, which on this machine was horridly low,
and was probably causing tape skew across the head face. Once the
height is set on both guide and head, zenith is adjusted, yaw is
checked and a vertical center line provides visual alignment of the
head gaps. Due to the magnification offered by a curved reflective
surface in the prism, this was a lot easier than just "eyeballing it."
Once all this is done, your alignment cart is run through to set fine
azimuth, and you're done. I ran my MRL 3¾ IPS cart through to set
azimuth and found it to be within a half dB of dead on, making only
about a sixteenth of a turn on the azimuth screw to get it right
on...certainly better than doing it by ear with a recorded tape, which
I've since found to be unreliable. Using a dual trace scope, I was
able to dial in phase relationship of both channels to be dead on,
too, which is something many techs either never bother with or try to
do with headphones. Trying to get 15 KHz to center in the middle of
your head while listening is a real feat. Most rock 'n rollers
couldn't hear 15 KHz if their lives depending on it, making it an
exercise in futility. The scope tells no lies.

The results? Spectacular improvement, but it was due to the lapping
as much as the precise head alignment. The MRL tape yielded flat
response out to 14 KHz, and only down about 6 dB at 20 KHz...probably
a function of tape speed versus gap width more than anything else.
Prerecorded tapes took on new brightness AND proper placement of high
frequencies in the mix, something hard to find in either cartridge or
cassette. In this regard, this 8 track machine was easier to dial in
to get this performance than any cassette machine I've ever had to
deal with. On cassettes, the half tape speed makes azimuth angle all
the more critical, and phase relevance at 15 KHz is almost NEVER
achieved due to the manufacturing tolerances involved in those small
heads; gaps are never truly on axis as they should be. Most times
with cassettes, I'll dial up maximum high frequency response, and then
"fudge" to get good phase match. Sometimes, you have to "split the
difference" just to get a fair dose of both, and wind up losing a
little top end AND a little phase coherence. Only cassette machine
I've ever worked on where maximal azimuth adjustment also yielded zero
phase shift was a Nakamichi, and mine's no exception.

I don't know if Ramko still offers this handy tool anymore, due to the
demise of cartridge tape in general in broadcast, but if you're a
service tech or want the best from your cartridge machine, I'd sure
try to get one of these. It really makes setting up a head a snap. I
got the whole job done in less than half hour. Doing it on my 8075,
with the identical head mount, took all morning to get it right using
calipers, mirrors and other gadgets to get the same basic results, and
my azimuth was a lot further off. Later, I'm going to recheck the
guide height on tha machine, since it's so easy to do, and see if
that's providing a barrier to the kind of high freq response I think I
should be getting there.

dB

DeserTBoB wrote in message . ..
Head alignment on any cartridge machine is dicey, at best, since
there's no way to view the path of the tape through the guide and
across the head. I was fortunate enough to get a broadcast cart
alignment jig made years ago by Ramko Research, a provider for the
broadcast industry for decades, called the "Collimeter," and it solves
the problem of guide-to-head mistracking perfectly.

Bob,

aligning an 8-track deck to one standard is a compromise at best, and
downright foolishness at worst if you consider it a major
accomplishment. It basically just gets you in the ballpark for about
75% of the carts made. Here's why:

All vhs movie tape decks now have auto tracking adjustment, the
machine automatically centers the tape head on the tracks, and adjusts
itself for optimum playback- for every tape you put in- each time

when transfers are made from analog tape to digital format, they align
the tape head for every song, and/or every track. They can't go by
one standard, as most likely, once they do the next tape transfer, it
will be off a bit.

the best way to adjust your tape head on an 8-track player is optimum
playback with a Columbia cart- if you don't have an alignment cart
with test tones.

it's best to align the machine to play the majority of your music
tapes the best with minimal crosstalk- after all, that's what counts.
If the alignment jig setting still yields ghost tracking on your
favorite cart, what good is the alignment jig ?? We don't sit around
all day listening to the alignment tape or jig- we listen to the music
tapes.

I have a few carts that require an 1/8 to 1/4 turn from what all the
other tapes track best at- in order to play correctly.

the BEST 8-track deck is one with an AC MOTOR and an externally
adjustable tape head knob. So far my personal favorite for external
adjustment knob is a MIIDA, very similar to the early JVC and ZENITH
designs- but with a fine tune thumbwheel out front. Next best thing
without a thumbwheel, leave the cover off the deck and adjust for
every tape- I keep a Roberts 808D hooked to my computer full time,
with the bottom off it, and standing on its side- so I can access the
adjustments quickly and easily.

it's the only way to insure success.

Trying to get 15 KHz to center in the middle of
your head while listening is a real feat. Most rock 'n rollers
couldn't hear 15 KHz if their lives depending on it, making it an
exercise in futility. The scope tells no lies.


I disagree, a deck can spec out great on a scope, and sound like ****
from the speakers, and lack imaging the produce no center phantom
stereo channel- no soundstage. Without that soundstage, stereo
becomes 2 big AM radios blasting from big wooden boxes- YECCCHHH !!!!!

I can easily tell the diff between an Akai 83D with a 14 khz top end,
and an AKai 82D with a 19khz top end, right off. The cymbals and
highs, and the open airiness of the recording, will die off without a
high end responsive deck.

You don't really need that tool- look inside the deck, and center the
tape head so that on program 1 and 4, the upper and lower pickup areas
are centered inside the guides. If they go beyond the guides, the
tracking will be a mile off. I've aligned them visually before and
been dead nuts on requiring no adjustment. The human eye and ear is
better than you think it is...

I'd bet Vegas odds I can play 10 tapes on your scope and jig adjusted
Wolly tape deck, and get a few that double track at least slightly,
and wow/flutter too due to the Wolly's small DC motor.

You need to step up to an AC motored deck.

......and all the following Psycho-Babble comes from a tone def
hillbilly who thinks Certrons are Tops!!
Dan


(trippin28track) wrote in message . com...
Bob,

aligning an 8-track deck to one standard is a compromise at best, and
downright foolishness at worst if you consider it a major
accomplishment. It basically just gets you in the ballpark for about
75% of the carts made. Here's why:

All vhs movie tape decks now have auto tracking adjustment, the
machine automatically centers the tape head on the tracks, and adjusts
itself for optimum playback- for every tape you put in- each time

when transfers are made from analog tape to digital format, they align
the tape head for every song, and/or every track. They can't go by
one standard, as most likely, once they do the next tape transfer, it
will be off a bit.

the best way to adjust your tape head on an 8-track player is optimum
playback with a Columbia cart- if you don't have an alignment cart
with test tones.

it's best to align the machine to play the majority of your music
tapes the best with minimal crosstalk- after all, that's what counts.
If the alignment jig setting still yields ghost tracking on your
favorite cart, what good is the alignment jig ?? We don't sit around
all day listening to the alignment tape or jig- we listen to the music
tapes.

I have a few carts that require an 1/8 to 1/4 turn from what all the
other tapes track best at- in order to play correctly.

the BEST 8-track deck is one with an AC MOTOR and an externally
adjustable tape head knob. So far my personal favorite for external
adjustment knob is a MIIDA, very similar to the early JVC and ZENITH
designs- but with a fine tune thumbwheel out front. Next best thing
without a thumbwheel, leave the cover off the deck and adjust for
every tape- I keep a Roberts 808D hooked to my computer full time,
with the bottom off it, and standing on its side- so I can access the
adjustments quickly and easily.

it's the only way to insure success.

Trying to get 15 KHz to center in the middle of
your head while listening is a real feat. Most rock 'n rollers
couldn't hear 15 KHz if their lives depending on it, making it an
exercise in futility. The scope tells no lies.


I disagree, a deck can spec out great on a scope, and sound like ****
from the speakers, and lack imaging the produce no center phantom
stereo channel- no soundstage. Without that soundstage, stereo
becomes 2 big AM radios blasting from big wooden boxes- YECCCHHH !!!!!

I can easily tell the diff between an Akai 83D with a 14 khz top end,
and an AKai 82D with a 19khz top end, right off. The cymbals and
highs, and the open airiness of the recording, will die off without a
high end responsive deck.

You don't really need that tool- look inside the deck, and center the
tape head so that on program 1 and 4, the upper and lower pickup areas
are centered inside the guides. If they go beyond the guides, the
tracking will be a mile off. I've aligned them visually before and
been dead nuts on requiring no adjustment. The human eye and ear is
better than you think it is...

I'd bet Vegas odds I can play 10 tapes on your scope and jig adjusted
Wolly tape deck, and get a few that double track at least slightly,
and wow/flutter too due to the Wolly's small DC motor.

You need to step up to an AC motored deck.

On 15 Nov 2004 08:26:35 -0800, (Dan) wrote:

.....and all the following Psycho-Babble comes from a tone def
hillbilly who thinks Certrons are Tops!!
Dan

Oh boy! Some quoted Noodles text! Let's see what he's messing his
pants with this time:

snipping all the garbage

Not worth my time. Suffice it to say, Noodles is an ignoramus who has
NO idea what he's talking about, and seems to want to mislead others
with his harebrained ideas as a matter of pride, not dissemination of
knowledge.

dB

DeserTBoB wrote in message . ..
On 15 Nov 2004 08:26:35 -0800, (Dan) wrote:

.....and all the following Psycho-Babble comes from a tone def
hillbilly who thinks Certrons are Tops!!
Dan

Oh boy! Some quoted Noodles text! Let's see what he's messing his
pants with this time:

snipping all the garbage

Not worth my time. Suffice it to say, Noodles is an ignoramus who has
NO idea what he's talking about, and seems to want to mislead others
with his harebrained ideas as a matter of pride, not dissemination of
knowledge.

dB


LOL- so much for the dreaded killfilters...Scotty said they wouldn't
hold up- D-Bob is justa postin' away again in reply...

Yo, D-Boob, what do you need a killfile for ?? Just ignore the post-
IF YOU HAD THE WILLPOWER....HAHAHAHHAHA !!

(trippin28track) wrote in message . com...
DeserTBoB wrote in message . ..
On 15 Nov 2004 08:26:35 -0800, (Dan) wrote:

.....and all the following Psycho-Babble comes from a tone def
hillbilly who thinks Certrons are Tops!!
Dan

Oh boy! Some quoted Noodles text! Let's see what he's messing his
pants with this time:

snipping all the garbage

Not worth my time. Suffice it to say, Noodles is an ignoramus who has
NO idea what he's talking about, and seems to want to mislead others
with his harebrained ideas as a matter of pride, not dissemination of
knowledge.

dB


LOL- so much for the dreaded killfilters...Scotty said they wouldn't
hold up- D-Bob is justa postin' away again in reply...

Yo, D-Boob, what do you need a killfile for ?? Just ignore the post-
IF YOU HAD THE WILLPOWER....HAHAHAHHAHA !!


intesting, DesertBob says you are filtered, then relies on others'
replies to then read your posts anyway- DB, you in denial or what ?

intesting, DesertBob says you are filtered, then relies on others'
replies to then read your posts anyway- DB, you in denial or what ?


Charlie is killfiled for me, too. That doesn't stop me from seeing others'
quotes from his posts. The killfile stops posts directly from Charlie. If you
quote him, though, the post is from you, and I'd see it. It doesn't mean I've
seen the original. I haven't.


--Bob Farace

"I only believe in fire." --Anais Nin

On 17 Nov 2004 06:34:53 -0800, (mainframe) wrote:

intesting, DesertBob says you are filtered, then relies on others'
replies to then read your posts anyway- DB, you in denial or what ? snip

He's everywhere! He's everywhere!

Maybe I'll have to start kill filing Noodles quoters! It's hard NOT
to responsd to an idiot like that when he fouls up a NG.

dB

On 17 Nov 2004 15:08:54 GMT, (Bluemuse) wrote:

intesting, DesertBob says you are filtered, then relies on others'
replies to then read your posts anyway- DB, you in denial or what ?


Charlie is killfiled for me, too. That doesn't stop me from seeing others'
quotes from his posts. The killfile stops posts directly from Charlie. If you
quote him, though, the post is from you, and I'd see it. It doesn't mean I've
seen the original. I haven't. snip

mainframe = Noodles.....KILL FILE!

dB

so much for your bad publicity about the alignment tapes



----- Original Message -----
From: Joe
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 9:01 PM
Subject: ALIGNMENT TAPE

Charles-

First, a quote from Blood, Sweat & Tears:

"You've made me so very happy..."

I got the tape today- it works perfectly!!! :-D I was a bit confused
at first- the instructions said that the tone was on programs 1 and 3,
but I just restarted the tape and figured it out quickly. And- it
works! :-D I don't have a meter to check frequency response but the
'swoop' was amazing- everything sounded so smooth on the two decks I
have! I got the general idea- and I wanted it to align and that worked
perfectly!!!)

Out of the 90 tapes I've acumulated in the last 3 weeks of venturing
back into the 'endless loop', only 4 gave me problems: 2 had crosstalk
(the before mentioned Simon & Garfunkel tape and an Elvis pirate) and
two had 'dull programs' (noticably less treble in certain channels-
with both it was channels 1 and 3 but they were both black Ampex
tapes- is this common?).

I cannot thank you enough! I will leave feedback for you sometime
before Friday- I like to do everything at once, feedback-wise.

So- thank you, thank you, thank you!!! :-D I will no longer have any
hesitation to purchase any 8-track player!