Looking for info/manual on the Telefunken M5C tape deck

As it says in the title.  I have a friend who has one of these machines & needs to know more about it !

Do you mean: M5C? Those tape recorders were used in the Netherlands by public radio in the 60's.
When I joined public radio (in 1976) they almost fell apart!
Some of those machines used tapes with the emulsion on the outside. When you had to use one of those old tapes from the archive, you had to twist the tape 180 degrees before the playback head of a 'modern' tape machine!

It may be an M5c I'll have to check with my friend, since I haven't seen the machine.

yes it's an M5C.  My friend is looking for i/o connectors for it !  Any ideas ?

IIRC a friend of Kubarth is a fanatic collector of tapemachine. So, I suggest to contact Kubi.

What kind of connectors did they use? Do they roughly have the size of a XLR connector with 2 pins close together for the balanced signal and a pin a bit further away connected to ground? Also there is probably a threaded ring to lock the connector.
As far as I remember those connectors were produced in two sizes; a XLR like size and a bigger type.
I used to have a box of those old connectors, but because I did not have any use for them, I threw them away some time ago...
Isn't is possible to fit XLR's? Or is it the idea to keep everything as original as possible?
For the documentation you might contact AEG-Telefunken in Germany. I am sure that they will still have the documentation of those tape machines. Or try the technical department of the Dutch Broadcasting organisation, NOB in Hilversum, they also might still have some documentation in their archives because they used the M5's in the past.

Rob Flinn said:

My friend is looking for i/o connectors for it !  Any ideas ?

Click to expand...

I think Binder still makes those 3 pin connectors and probably Amhenol too (that bought Tuchel who manufactured them originally). I have a good stock, so I haven't bought them for a long time... These connectors are easily available since they were used in many German mics, broadcast equipment and industrial applications.

All M5 versions have the same mechanics. A version has valve electronics. B and C are transistorised (very little difference between them). I tried to find the manuals in my garage but no success so far.

Search for Amphenol "Series C 70 A".

If you PM me your email address, I will send you the service documentation of the M5C as PDF. It is 3,7 MB.

Thanks for your help everyone.

I'm not sure that the idea is to keep the deck original as such, I think it just needs to work !!!  It maybe that XLR's can be fitted.  I will have to look when I'm next there & clear it with the owner.

The connectors used in M5 have flanges and the mounting holes are too large for XLR. I think it is not a good idea to replace them since mating connectors are still manufactured. I haven't bought them for a long time but there must be someone here who can tell you where to get them for cheap.

Pictures for guidance ("large 3 pin Tuchel with thread"):
http://www.vintage-microphones.de/miscellaneous/Tuchel_big_3-pin__male__big.JPG
http://www.olaf-prinz.de/miscellaneous/Tuchel_big_3-pin__female__big.JPG

Audiox

Thanks for those pics, now I know what I'm looking for.

If anyone has 2 of each that they would be willing to part with please let me know.