[Ben Stratford]

I have noticed a new, never seen before phenomenon with my Pioneer CT-F1250 cassette deck. After setting up the calibration for a taping session with various tapes, I tape the first side - all ok. If I rewind it and play it back its fine. But then if I tape the other side, the first side has little or no right channel indicated!!! Has anyone any ideas?

I have noticed a new, never seen before phenomenon with my Pioneer
CT-F1250 cassette deck. After setting up the calibration for a taping
session with various tapes, I tape the first side - all ok. If I
rewind it and play it back its fine. But then if I tape the other
side, the first side has little or no right channel indicated!!! Has
anyone any ideas?

It sounds to me as if your deck's heads are out of alignment, either
with themselves or with the tape guides. The symptoms suggest that
the erase head is out of position... during the erasure-and-recording
of side 2, the erase head's field is overlapping onto the part of the
tape which holds the right channel of side 1, and is erasing its
contents.

Your deck probably needs a good mechanical check-out and alignment.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

Ben Stratford wrote in message ...

I have noticed a new, never seen before phenomenon with my Pioneer
CT-F1250 cassette deck. After setting up the calibration for a taping
session with various tapes, I tape the first side - all ok. If I
rewind it and play it back its fine. But then if I tape the other
side, the first side has little or no right channel indicated!!! Has
anyone any ideas?


--
Ben Stratford

A stereo cassette head will have either two tracks or four tracks. The two
track version requires that the tape be flipped over to switch sides,
whereas the four track version usually has a direction switch that selects
the A side or B side of the tape. It is not possible to have one track in
alignment and one or more other tracks out of alignment, because as the head
is moved, all of the tracks move together. It is common for the tape guide
to be mounted to the head, so as the head is moved, the guide moves, and the
tape will follow the head. If the head is severly out of alignment, the tape
might scew or bend, or even fold over, but any guidance problem should
affect all tracks of both sides. A two track head with one bad track will
show up as bad on both sides of the tape, but a four track head could have
only one bad track. One possibility, is that your head might have worn down
and has formed a lip toward the center of the head. On one side of the tape,
the tape sits down inside the lip and still makes good contact, but when the
tape is flipped over, there is just enough of a change to cause the tape to
ride on top of the lip and not make good contact with the head. You can
visually inspect the surface of the head for wear.

"bg" wrote in message ...

Ben Stratford wrote in message ...

I have noticed a new, never seen before phenomenon with my Pioneer
CT-F1250 cassette deck. After setting up the calibration for a taping
session with various tapes, I tape the first side - all ok. If I
rewind it and play it back its fine. But then if I tape the other
side, the first side has little or no right channel indicated!!! Has
anyone any ideas?


--
Ben Stratford

A stereo cassette head will have either two tracks or four tracks. The two
track version requires that the tape be flipped over to switch sides,
whereas the four track version usually has a direction switch that selects
the A side or B side of the tape. It is not possible to have one track in
alignment and one or more other tracks out of alignment, because as the
head
is moved, all of the tracks move together. It is common for the tape guide
to be mounted to the head, so as the head is moved, the guide moves, and
the
tape will follow the head. If the head is severly out of alignment, the
tape
might scew or bend, or even fold over, but any guidance problem should
affect all tracks of both sides. A two track head with one bad track will
show up as bad on both sides of the tape, but a four track head could have
only one bad track. One possibility, is that your head might have worn
down
and has formed a lip toward the center of the head. On one side of the
tape,
the tape sits down inside the lip and still makes good contact, but when
the
tape is flipped over, there is just enough of a change to cause the tape
to
ride on top of the lip and not make good contact with the head. You can
visually inspect the surface of the head for wear.


Or maybe there is a fault whereby all erase heads erase at the same time.



Gareth.

[Ben Stratford]

Originally Posted by bg

Ben Stratford wrote in message ...

I have noticed a new, never seen before phenomenon with my Pioneer
CT-F1250 cassette deck. After setting up the calibration for a taping
session with various tapes, I tape the first side - all ok. If I
rewind it and play it back its fine. But then if I tape the other
side, the first side has little or no right channel indicated!!! Has
anyone any ideas?


--
Ben Stratford

A stereo cassette head will have either two tracks or four tracks. The two
track version requires that the tape be flipped over to switch sides,
whereas the four track version usually has a direction switch that selects
the A side or B side of the tape. It is not possible to have one track in
alignment and one or more other tracks out of alignment, because as the head
is moved, all of the tracks move together. It is common for the tape guide
to be mounted to the head, so as the head is moved, the guide moves, and the
tape will follow the head. If the head is severly out of alignment, the tape
might scew or bend, or even fold over, but any guidance problem should
affect all tracks of both sides. A two track head with one bad track will
show up as bad on both sides of the tape, but a four track head could have
only one bad track. One possibility, is that your head might have worn down
and has formed a lip toward the center of the head. On one side of the tape,
the tape sits down inside the lip and still makes good contact, but when the
tape is flipped over, there is just enough of a change to cause the tape to
ride on top of the lip and not make good contact with the head. You can
visually inspect the surface of the head for wear.

Many thanks for your assistance. I am getting the feeling that the erase head is out of line with the combined play / record heads so that the erase head is partially erasing the wrong part of the tape as well as the side being recorded on. What I do about it though is less clear as there does not seem to be much adjustment opportunity. Will have a play after carefully noting the original positions.

[Ben Stratford]

Originally Posted by Dave Platt

I have noticed a new, never seen before phenomenon with my Pioneer
CT-F1250 cassette deck. After setting up the calibration for a taping
session with various tapes, I tape the first side - all ok. If I
rewind it and play it back its fine. But then if I tape the other
side, the first side has little or no right channel indicated!!! Has
anyone any ideas?



It sounds to me as if your deck's heads are out of alignment, either
with themselves or with the tape guides. The symptoms suggest that
the erase head is out of position... during the erasure-and-recording
of side 2, the erase head's field is overlapping onto the part of the
tape which holds the right channel of side 1, and is erasing its
contents.

Your deck probably needs a good mechanical check-out and alignment.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

Thanks Dave, this makes alot of sence. There is adjustment on the left hand pinch roller which may change the alignment, I'll have a go!

I'm thinking head altitude. I'm thinking one of the erase heads, in
particular, is erasing part of a track that it shouldn't.

Or, conceivably, something in the tape path is magnetized.

When you play prerecorded cassettes, are both channels OK? Don't play a
valuable tape; if my second theory is true, it might get damaged.

Ben Stratford wrote in message ...

bg Wrote:
Ben Stratford wrote in message ...

I have noticed a new, never seen before phenomenon with my Pioneer
CT-F1250 cassette deck. After setting up the calibration for a taping
session with various tapes, I tape the first side - all ok. If I
rewind it and play it back its fine. But then if I tape the other
side, the first side has little or no right channel indicated!!! Has
anyone any ideas?


--
Ben Stratford

A stereo cassette head will have either two tracks or four tracks. The
two
track version requires that the tape be flipped over to switch sides,
whereas the four track version usually has a direction switch that
selects
the A side or B side of the tape. It is not possible to have one track
in
alignment and one or more other tracks out of alignment, because as the
head
is moved, all of the tracks move together. It is common for the tape
guide
to be mounted to the head, so as the head is moved, the guide moves,
and the
tape will follow the head. If the head is severly out of alignment, the
tape
might scew or bend, or even fold over, but any guidance problem should
affect all tracks of both sides. A two track head with one bad track
will
show up as bad on both sides of the tape, but a four track head could
have
only one bad track. One possibility, is that your head might have worn
down
and has formed a lip toward the center of the head. On one side of the
tape,
the tape sits down inside the lip and still makes good contact, but
when the
tape is flipped over, there is just enough of a change to cause the
tape to
ride on top of the lip and not make good contact with the head. You
can
visually inspect the surface of the head for wear.

Many thanks for your assistance. I am getting the feeling that the
erase head is out of line with the combined play / record heads so that
the erase head is partially erasing the wrong part of the tape as well
as the side being recorded on. What I do about it though is less clear
as there does not seem to be much adjustment opportunity. Will have a
play after carefully noting the original positions.


--
Ben Stratford
Your left tracks are on the edges of the tape and your right tracks are on
the inside of the tape. If the erase head was shifted towards the center of
the tape, yes, it could possibly erase the right channel of the other side.
You could try this - record your good side first, flip the tape over and
record the other side. Flip the tape over again, play it back, if the right
channel is damaged, the erase head is moved towards the center. Flip the
tape over again and record it once more with no input signal. Play it back,
and if the left channel wasn't cleanly erased, this would confirm that the
erase head is towards the center of the tape---confusing huh?

[Ben Stratford]

Originally Posted by mc

I'm thinking head altitude. I'm thinking one of the erase heads, in
particular, is erasing part of a track that it shouldn't.

Or, conceivably, something in the tape path is magnetized.

When you play prerecorded cassettes, are both channels OK? Don't play a
valuable tape; if my second theory is true, it might get damaged.

Thanks - mc
Tried playing a tape recorded on a different deck which is fine on both channels on both sides. So when recording, the erase head would clear the tape before recording the new track - so it must be erasing too much, i.e. some of the other side as well? Anyone know how to adjust this?

[Ben Stratford]

Originally Posted by bg

Ben Stratford wrote in message ...

bg Wrote:
Ben Stratford wrote in message ...

I have noticed a new, never seen before phenomenon with my Pioneer
CT-F1250 cassette deck. After setting up the calibration for a taping
session with various tapes, I tape the first side - all ok. If I
rewind it and play it back its fine. But then if I tape the other
side, the first side has little or no right channel indicated!!! Has
anyone any ideas?


--
Ben Stratford

A stereo cassette head will have either two tracks or four tracks. The
two
track version requires that the tape be flipped over to switch sides,
whereas the four track version usually has a direction switch that
selects
the A side or B side of the tape. It is not possible to have one track
in
alignment and one or more other tracks out of alignment, because as the
head
is moved, all of the tracks move together. It is common for the tape
guide
to be mounted to the head, so as the head is moved, the guide moves,
and the
tape will follow the head. If the head is severly out of alignment, the
tape
might scew or bend, or even fold over, but any guidance problem should
affect all tracks of both sides. A two track head with one bad track
will
show up as bad on both sides of the tape, but a four track head could
have
only one bad track. One possibility, is that your head might have worn
down
and has formed a lip toward the center of the head. On one side of the
tape,
the tape sits down inside the lip and still makes good contact, but
when the
tape is flipped over, there is just enough of a change to cause the
tape to
ride on top of the lip and not make good contact with the head. You
can
visually inspect the surface of the head for wear.

Many thanks for your assistance. I am getting the feeling that the
erase head is out of line with the combined play / record heads so that
the erase head is partially erasing the wrong part of the tape as well
as the side being recorded on. What I do about it though is less clear
as there does not seem to be much adjustment opportunity. Will have a
play after carefully noting the original positions.


--
Ben Stratford
Your left tracks are on the edges of the tape and your right tracks are on
the inside of the tape. If the erase head was shifted towards the center of
the tape, yes, it could possibly erase the right channel of the other side.
You could try this - record your good side first, flip the tape over and
record the other side. Flip the tape over again, play it back, if the right
channel is damaged, the erase head is moved towards the center. Flip the
tape over again and record it once more with no input signal. Play it back,
and if the left channel wasn't cleanly erased, this would confirm that the
erase head is towards the center of the tape---confusing huh?

BS ADDED:
Not now I know more about it. This is great, I can start to experiment with some adjustments. It is the right channel of the first side that gets partially wiped, so the erase head is misaligned some how. I had previously demagnetised everything so had ruled that out. All the transport components are clean and there is no wear on the heads that I can see or feel, don't have any tones or the know how to apply any so will have to use trial and error until I can fine tune it later, perhaps a trip to the tec's would be best.

The first thing you should check is for wear on the erase head. If there is
wear then you should replace the erase head. If there is no wear or only
slight wear, then you have a guide or the erase head itself is mis-aligned.
I don't remember if you have visual path to the heads and guides on your
machine, but if you do, some times you can check the alignment by cutting
off the clear leader on a piece tape and laying it thru the guides and
across the heads. If you have good eyes, you can see if the gaps on the
heads line up (top of the gap should line up with the top edge of the tape).

You can also record a tape, preferably a 1 HZ tone on someone elses unit
that working properly, then put it in your machine and record with inputs
turned all the way down. I am assuming your machine is a 2 head versus a 3
head. Adjust the guide closest to the erase head as you record short
segments, then playback. Keep doing this until you find the adjustment that
gives you the maximum erasure. Flip the tape over and check the other side
to make sure you are getting maximum erasure. Good luck.
Gnarthim

"Ben Stratford" wrote in message
...

mc Wrote:
I'm thinking head altitude. I'm thinking one of the erase heads, in
particular, is erasing part of a track that it shouldn't.

Or, conceivably, something in the tape path is magnetized.

When you play prerecorded cassettes, are both channels OK? Don't play
a
valuable tape; if my second theory is true, it might get damaged.


Thanks - mc
Tried playing a tape recorded on a different deck which is fine on both
channels on both sides. So when recording, the erase head would clear
the tape before recording the new track - so it must be erasing too
much, i.e. some of the other side as well? Anyone know how to adjust
this?


--
Ben Stratford