After restoration, up and running 20 nov. 2000
I bought this tape echo from a workmate and dancebandsmusician 1984 for 800 SEK (about 100US $). I raised the bid until he gave up. It was pretty much money at that time as well. On the other hand there wasn't a way to get a tape echo for a reasonable prise at the time. Analog echos without tape (short echo and reverb) for instance, costed about 2000 SEK. Proper tape echo's several thousand SEK. My friend had also bought the echo used. The first buyer has definately bought it on Fritiofs musik in Uddevalla, se the ettikette on the front. I have tried to sell it for 500 SEK during the first part of the -90's without success. Lucky me, no one jumped at the offer. I'm still the owner of this piece. It is right now not for sale any longer ...
On the pictures you can see my pearl after the restoration at top of this page and from above and front before the restoration further down. unfortunately it has been unused since several years back. I used it a lot after I bought it up to 1986, after that sporadic. 1994 I became a father for the first time, since then nothing is as it was. The echo made a ride to the floor because of a little boy. Then one of the controlknobs went to pieces. The goldwashers on the very same had allready been gone a long time ago. During a couple of years the echo was placed on a storage loft. Unfortunately there where added some rust during that time.
Updated 20 nov. 2000.
I have done a smaller restoration and the echo is now up and running
perfect ! Thanks to a new friend, Greg Schlachter from Canada,
who has bought an Echocord of the same model himself. He inspired
me to give priority to this old piece. Read on.
Through the 3 buttons where you choose input-heads, it's possible to get echos with "gallop effekt", a rippling effect which I haven't found on any new digital echo. What the guitarist want's, distorsion, is also possible if you use the echo as a preamp before your guitaramplifier. The echo is entirely armed with tubes.
Updated 20 nov. 2000.
I'm very glad that I have received
scanned copys from the manual from Greg as thanks for bringing
him some technical assistance. Thanks Greg!
Some of the data from the manual:
|
Tube armament: Frequency responce: 2 mic inputs: 2 instrument inputs: 1 input for electronic instrument: Output to amplifier: 5 + 1 toneheads: Tape speeds: Echo duration |
5 x ECC83, ECC82, EM84 (all Telefunken on my unit) 20 - 16000 Hz 1,7mV / 200 Ohm 18 mV / 1 Mohm 400-1000 mV /100Kohm 0,5-1,0 V / 50 Kohm and 10-50 mV / 50 Kohm 3 recorder, 2 playback and one eraser head. 22 and 44 cm/sec. bandlength 51 cm. 0,1-3 sec. |
Further on, I have measured some specs on the toneheads you all can have a use for. I used a new LCR meter to gather this information recently. It seems that the heads on this machine is "hot" and hard to find any substitutes for. In particular the playback heads which have large impedances.
OK, now lets give you the numbers:
The 3 recordingheads
**************************
Resistance: DC=448 ohm, 120Hz=1090 ohm. 1Khz=16,7 Kohm
Inductance: 120Hz=719mH, 1Khz=636mH, Q=3,9 D=0,256 (at 1Khz)
Capacitance: 1Khz=38,47 nF
The 2 playbackheads
*************************
Resistance: DC=1019 ohm, 120Hz=3,73 Kohm, 1Khz=43Kohm
Inductance: 120Hz=2,26H, 1Khz=1,81H, Q=3,46 D=0,288 (at 1Khz)
Capacitance: 1Khz=12,68 nF
Q = Quality factor of a coil.
D = Dissipation factor or tangent of the loss angle.
(Don't ask me to explain more about Q and D for you in English,
please :-)
I can tell you something funny about all this echo history and the manual. A near colleague at my department at work have been a radio/Tv technician (as me) before he started at the industry as an instrumenttechnician at a chemical plant.
He is older then me and told me that he had repaired an echo or an amplifier for one of the members in the old famous swedish band "The Spotnics" in the -60's. He is a man that saves all old stuff and told me that he would look around if he could find any schematic. I was chattering everyday about me and Gregs echo with him.....
Some day after I reveived the schematic
from Greg he told me to sit down steady on a chair ... He had
found an original manual in one of his covers ! It was one release
newer then mine but I couldn't find anything altered in the schematic,
just a note "Trimmer 1 18-4-63" and a signature.
The cover is in black and white with some yellowish borders. He
was hesitating to give it or even sell it to me but I let have
a larger copy of the schematic through a copying machine. I wouldn't
probably give the schematic away myself after I have collected
it for 35 years !
You can download the complete manual I got
from Greg Schlachter. One page scanned on each link, both text,
pictures and the schematic.
Front manual,
s62a, s62b,
s62c, s62d, s62e,
s62f, s62g, s62h,
schematic. It's in
the German languish though.
New! (october 2008) S65 schematic.
Updated 20 nov. 2000.
The status was that the echo hadn't been used since a couple of years back and that the press roller was defect because it has been pressed to the kapstanshaft when the echo wasn't in use.
Today it's possible to find this echo on some homepages at Internet. On Ebay, Internet auction, it's often possible to find units for about 50 to 500 $US depending on the condition. Below you can see the inside interior and some rust on the outer parts.
The restoration was not much to talk about.
I exercised the tube sockets and switch gears. Some cleaning and
lubrication here and there. Some emery cloth to fix the pressure
roller. I mounted the rubberroller at my drilling machine as grinding
attachment.
I started the echo with caution feeded trough a rotary transformer.
Everything went smoth. I havent changed any other component. I
will maybe measure with the scope at it more accurately now that
I have the schematic and manual. I also have to manufacture some
new cables and a footswitch for remote control some day.
One more thing, I have found three new large knobs for the front that suits fine. One of the old one's was trashed and the others were missing the small yellow brass plates.
I'm very pleased with the unit now and it has done something more. I have started to play some more on my guitar which I seldom used play on before this echo history.
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