Echoplex EP-1 too much friction on record head?

[samgraysound]

Hi All,

I've been slowly servicing an echoplex EP-1. I've got it all reassembled now, but it something is weird. When the tape is running, it is constantly pulling the moveable head along with it. If I take my hand off the head it is drawn to the left, especially the farther right I position it?

What is causing this? What can I do about it?

 

[Bo Deadly]

Is it a new tape loop? Generally I think people mostly use "lubricated" tape for echos. It has a graphite backcoat. One time I tried to use some LPR90 on my space echo and I could hear it straining. Trying to manually move the pinch roller with my finger was very difficult. I got some lubricated tape from ATR Magnetics and it works much better now.

Also, take some close-up pictures / videos of the tape path with your phone and look at them carefully on a large monitor. Sometimes you can see mistakes like the wrong size shims on a tape guide bending the edges of the tape.