Echolette pinch roller

[Toynbee]

I'm waiting on some 6X20X6mm (20 mm OD) polyurethane rollers slowly making their way through China. I put a 6X17.8X7mm polyurethane roller on the spring biased arm (idler pulley?) and it turns easier than the original one. The 6X17.8X7mm polyurethane roller touches the metal washer of one roller which could be modified.

Original roller shown top left (20 mm OD), 6X17.8X7mm polyurethane roller top right, 2 6X26X10mm polyurethane rollers and a teflon washer bottom in the picture. The polyurethane rollers have some kind of bearing in them which allows them to turn easier (they don't have ball bearings).

[g1]

The polyurethane rollers have some kind of bearing in them which allows them to turn easier (they don't have ball bearings).

626RS is a standard type sealed deep groove ball-bearing.

[Toynbee]

626RS is a standard type sealed deep groove ball-bearing.

So you're saying they have ball bearings in them? They don't rattle like bicycle hubs and I thought they didn't have ball bearings. I tried holding one up to my ear and spun it real quick and I could hear some kind of sound like a bunch of little ball bearings.

At about 5:34 in this video you see the guitarist reaching toward what looks like an Echolette.
MY INDOLE RING..............................................1:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHBhH0dYOow

21st post here (by Mecaso) John Lennon with an Echolette:
https://music-electronics-forum.com/...t=39009&page=2

[Toynbee]

How about something like this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LR50-6NPPU-...ty!20770!US!-1
They have metal surfaces and they could be used for rollers/pulleys in the tape path (not the pinch roller)

[g1]

Those are expensive. If you look closely at the picture you posted of the polyurethane roller, you can see the number 626RS. They just put a polyurethane tire around it.
Here is a plain 626RS without the tire, cheaper than the LR50 you posted.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/626-2RS-Pre...UAAOSwawpXsH7l

[Toynbee]

How about 6 mm ID 19 mm OD and 9 mm width?

[g1]

If you need 9mm instead of 6mm width, then LR50/6 is a good number. I only mentioned the 626 because that is what they are using in the roller you are waiting for from China.

[Toynbee]

Does anyone know if this would work for replacing the 47 uf bipolar motor capacitor? The cap in the Echolette reads higher than 47 uf on the cap tester I have.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-43-56-M....c100010.m2109

[52 Bill]

Does anyone know if this would work for replacing the 47 uf bipolar motor capacitor? The cap in the Echolette reads higher than 47 uf on the cap tester I have.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/USA-43-56-M....c100010.m2109

That cap will probably work, but mounting may be a problem. What is wrong with the cap you have? Being higher in value doesn't mean that it is bad.

[Enzo]

Um, does the motor work? If it does, stop fixing it.

[Toynbee]

I said the motor works in the first post. When working on the Reverbatape I found that I had to replace the electrolytic capacitors (129 and 132 in the schematic) in the power supply to get the voltage up to -30V. I tried testing the original caps with a Uygao UA6013L capacitor tester and used an analog voltmeter to check the resistance of each cap (one side unsoldered and disconnected from the circuit). The capacitance was higher than 500uf and the resistance after charging was at least 500k for both caps, but they still didn't work right in the ciruit (voltages to low). When I tried testing the motor cap in the Echolette it was higher than 48uf.

I have some new 47uf 100V bipolar caps and was thinking of trying one in place of the old one in the Echolette to see if it affects the speed of the motor. The cap in the Ebay link could be used to replace the old one if a bolt was glued to the bottom of it offset from the center and held in place with a nut like the original one. The orginal motor cap is 3 1/4" long and 1 1/8" in diameter and the one in the Ebay link is 2 2/4" long and 1 7/16" diameter.

A lot of people recommend recapping old equipment, too.

[Mickey]

That's a sorry looking Echolette but before you get too carried away, have you measure the resistance of the heads, they should measure 1.2K ohms. If any of these heads are faulty which is most likely on the pre circuit board Echolettes you could be up for a few dollars. Although you believe the coupling capacitors to be OK they are most likely leaky and you should replace every one of them and while you're at it also replace those cathode bypass electrolytics.
Those motor capacitors usually short and if not removed and replaced will quickly render the motor U/S. If your motor is turning I would leave that alone and make sure all the electronics are attended to and then turn to the drive system.
FYI also remember that it is an analog device with a tape driven by an electric motor and even though the tape speed can be as good as designed it will not match the "speed" of a digital delay/echo device. Many users of these machines fail to understand this and it takes a while for them to realize that this tape "wow" is part of the magic of tape driven devices.
Currently I've got two of the Klemt Echolletes on my bench and another in the post, having just repaired another two. .
Good luck and have fun.

[Toynbee]

So how do you feel about analog vs. digital and tubes vs. transistors?
The tape heads seem to work. I connected it to an amp and spoke through a mic connected to it and all tape heads work. It looks like the motor cap should be replaced to prevent damage if it goes bad.

[Mickey]

There are 5 tape heads, to check the recording heads raise the recording level one head at a time and to check if both playback heads work, listen to the echo from any one recording head and then pull out playback head 2 switch to hear double the echos.
You appear to be obsessed with replacing the motor cap, in reality they don't give to much trouble.
Re analog versus ,,,,, etc, horses for courses, I like valve/tube equipment but could you imagine a 24 channel mixer with tubes?
Good luck with your Echolette

[Toynbee]

Recording, '50s Style
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q-scxybnp0

http://www.rickresource.com/forum/vi...p?f=5&t=415855

Replacing Selenium Rectifiers attached