Ampex ATR102 - No Playback

Hey guys,

I recently acquired a 1/4" ATR that I'd like to convert to 1/2".  Most of the guides are already there, but I'm having an issue with the machine not playing back at all...it appears it's stuck in Edit mode.  Has anyone ever experienced this?  Is there something I can adjust to make it work?

Any help much appreciated.
Thanks!
Sig

Ask the folks at ATR service,  they know what's up.  or join the ampex forum I am sure they have seen that before. I would guess it's a card issue especially if the mechanicals are in order.

Do you have a link for the forum?  Can't seem to find it on Google...?

I've messaged ATR, waiting to hear back.

Thanks man!
Sig

http://recordist.com/ampex/

you have to join in order to be a part of the show
http://ampex.lefora.com/topic/2/Welcome-to-the-Ampex-forum#.WZkNB4qQzBU

These are complex machines but schematics & wiring diagrams are available. If you find someone who's good at fault-finding it will be fixable

The downsides of the Ampex are that it's a complex beast and it's old. The circuit boards use lots of Tantalum capacitors which can fail short and the edge connectors can be problematic

The transport servo needs to be active for the machine to go into play. You need to lace up the tape and flick the take-up spool to tension the tape path before the transport will function

Nick Froome

Ive no experience with Ampex machines ,but I was going to mention tape loading ,it varies a bit from machine to machine. Like the previous poster said , wind up all the slack tape then hit stop ,it should drop into the load position ,then playback should work

First thing is power off the machine. Remove the reel servo card (#9) and any tape from the machine. Power up and "false thread" the deck: hold stop and use your other hand to press either tape guide outward. Check to see if the edit light turns off and stays out. Press edit to exit thread mode and the LED will turn back on.

We can go forward depending on how this turns out.

Yes!  The edit light goes out, and then I can turn the edit button back on.

What next?

PM'ed