Thoughts on using Tools or Watch demagnetizer for my Reel to Reel machine degaussing?

[canidoit]

Hi All,

I am considering using one of these options as they are much cheaper. Do you think this is possible or would this be underpowered for a Reel to Reel Machine?

Does demagnetising work on the principle, that if the strength of my demagnetiser is weaker, I can solve this by holding it in the target area longer?

Thank you.

 

[Gold]

Seriously underpowered. Get a Han D Mag. It was made for the task at hand. You can find them used if you keep an eye out. That said tape machines need to be demagnetized much less than people think. If you can borrow a Han D Mag you won’t need to borrow it again for quite a while.

 

[sodderboy]

The tool jam will not work at all because of the fixed field, and watches? I wouldn’t put any good watch near any kind of magnet. I was taught to remove my watch when demagging. No watch OR demagging much any more! The science is that you expose a fixed magnet to a fluctuating magnetic field gradually and remove gradually to remove the fixed magnetism.
As Paul said, Handimag (for 1/2” or larger) or smaller RadioShack, Lafayette, Sears tape head demagnetizers found on ebay. They concentrate the field at the tip.
How often depends on how much tape rolls through. Before DAW I would demag multitracks every 120 ish hours of running time, about every week, along with deep pinch and path cleaning.
If you are lucky, there will be an Anis mag meter included in the set.
Machine off, heads AND steel rollers/guides need demagging. Youtube has tons of vids.
Clean after.

Mike

 

[Gold]

I use Studer A80’s for playback only. All the rollers are aluminum, so non magnetic. Since there is no record head and flux the machines ‘never’ need to be de magnetized.

I do it every once in a while for good measure but I can’t say it’s ever made a noticeable difference.

 

[Tubetec]

I picked up a degauser a few years ago off ebay ,
Of course you never power on or off the degauser in the vicinity of the heads or you can do more harm than good .
Good little unit , has protective rubber on the top so inadvertant contact with the heads isnt a problem .

 

[radardoug]

I use Studer A80’s for playback only. All the rollers are aluminum, so non magnetic. Since there is no record head and flux the machines ‘never’ need to be de magnetized.

I do it every once in a while for good measure but I can’t say it’s ever made a noticeable difference.

The whole point of doing regular demagging is that you dont notice any difference. Its like cleaning the bench in the kitchen every day, if you dont do it for a month it will be messy. Demagging IS necessary.

 

[Gold]

Demagging IS necessary.

If all the parts the tape contacts are non magnetic and there is no flux being generated by a record and erase head how and why does residual magnetism get there and stay there?

 

[radardoug]

I dont know the exact process, but ask yourself, why do my screwdrivers get magnetic? And I have a good demagging horror story to do with tape. It happens.

 

[radardoug]

By the way on your Studer, the rollers are ali but the bearings are steel.

 

[sodderboy]

In my schooling it is the tape running across steel parts that magnetizes the metal, not any part of printing TO tape. Recording or mixing should have similar magnetization, but I never got the Annis out, too busy with turnaround.
The A80 head shells are steel (don't really touch see below), as are the heads themselves. The magnets "in the tape" exposes them to a fluctuating field and can magnetize them, just like tools banging on fasteners as mentioned above. The A80 does not have steel guides? It's been a while. . . theres some steel involved in the pic below, not sure which MK. Fast wind, and play, pass tape over the metal doing the same.
AND steel isn't just steel. I do not know what actual material is used in Studer steel. If it's 304 or similar that resist magnetization, the tape would have less effect, should have none. I deal with that now when machining steel RF parts, magnetization no bueno.
Mike

 

[canidoit]

Thank you all for the replies!

The type of magnetism that actually affect the sound quality, is there a simple test for it? Like hold a piece of metal nail next to the metal tape guides and if it moves, that would be a sign that the magnetism is strong enough to affect the sound quality or are we talking so minute, that actual testing equipment is needed?

Also, is there like an aging to these demagnetiser, where as they get older, they do not demagnetise as well, so it is safer to buy new?

I noticed there are some vintage ones that are sold faulty, what usually breaks down on these. Are these easy fixes?

I have a Tascam 52 Reel to Reel and don't know which parts are actually metal that get magnetised, but I will just use it on all things that look metal on the heads.

 

[sodderboy]

I mentioned the Annis meter for measuring magnetism, twice.
Electromagnets do not really age, but the housing, wiring, etc does. Look for something that does not have the ac cord looking like a phone cord. The Handimag cord is durable and springy, but the coil can short to metal and you feel a little tingle. One out of two of mine does that. If you look at the Handi, it is mini-riveted together and not really repair friendly. “A cheap man pays twice”.
For a Tascam, I would look for one like Tubetec's, it is a cutie.
When in doubt, slowly pass over the complete tape path, even the outer rollers (aluminum over steel pinsIIRC).
Mike

 

[Tubetec]

Agreed ,
The alloy rollers on my Studer have a steel shaft running up the middle supported by a steel bearing at either end .

Ive used other tape demags in the past and the Ebay unit I showed was equal if not better in all respects , Ergonomically it just about perfect , used held in the palm or like you would a pen to zip over surfaces and into nooks and crannys .

These things incorporate a coil of magnet wire and a bobbin/core/pole piece arrangement , theres very little can go wrong .

You can feel the electromagnetic buzz in your hand when you approach anything with iron in it
made me think , what it might do to a girl with body piercings ,
Of course this isnt an FDA approved stimulation device ,so dont try any experiments like this at home kids

 

[NoisyIndividual]

I bought this one decades ago. All it is is a coil of wire and a pole piece.
https://www.zzounds.com/item--TASE3
I remember learning how to use it properly - you switch it on at a distance to the machine, waft it over the various bits you want to demagnetise, then MOVE IT FAR AWAY FROM THE MACHINE before turning it off.

The theory being (allegedly) that this actually magnetises the magnetisable parts at 50/60 Hz, then you draw the demagnetiser away from these parts, which magentises it less and less as the distance grows. At a safe distance you turn it off, where the magnetising field has magnetised all the parts to zero.

If you turn it off near to the machine, the magnetisable parts will freeze in the state they were in at switch off, which may be at full field potential of the demagnetiser, depending on where in the mains supply cycle it was turned off.

So you will have magnetised them.

Or so I was told, but this does actually make some sort of sense.

 

[abbey road d enfer]

Thank you all for the replies!

The type of magnetism that actually affect the sound quality, is there a simple test for it?

No.

Like hold a piece of metal nail next to the metal tape guides and if it moves, that would be a sign that the magnetism is strong enough to affect the sound quality or are we talking so minute, that actual testing equipment is needed?

The latter.

Also, is there like an aging to these demagnetiser, where as they get older, they do not demagnetise as well

No aging, but they may fail, like any other electric equipment. However it's so simple, there's not much taha can fail.

, so it is safer to buy new?

Not really. The life expectancy of a demag measures in dozens years.

I noticed there are some vintage ones that are sold faulty, what usually breaks down on these. Are these easy fixes?

Since these things are very simple, it's usually the winding that cuts, often due to either leaving teh thing powered till it burns or under a violent shock. Usually hard to fix.

I have a Tascam 52 Reel to Reel and don't know which parts are actually metal that get magnetised, but I will just use it on all things that look metal on the heads.

You want to use it on the whole tape path. Some parts that look like plastic may hide a metal core, and things that look like metal are not necessarily magnetic; but demagging is harmless. Just make sure the machine is turned off when doing so.

 

[Tubetec]

One word of warning with the vintage style tape head demag ,
it often has an exposed metal pole piece ,
You do not want this coming into contact with the head surface especially , but any metal on metal contact is to be avoided , in the studio a demag always has the pole piece wrapped in some cotton cloth . It will readily cling and buzz to magnetic materials as previously mentioned .

Dont bother buying a vintage demag ,
get the one on Ebay , and when your girlfriend asks for an explanation to why you have a sex toy on the bench you can send her away with a little twinkle in her eye and a blush on her fanjita

 

[MidnightArrakis]

Just go ahead and buy yourself "The KING Of Tape Demagnetizers" and that would be the long time and famous > AMPEX 820 < Tape-Head Demagnetizer!!! I still have and use mine on all of my reel-to-reel tape decks. This unit is so strong that it nearly vibrates the nails out of the wood-paneling down in my audio production studio!!! (kidding)!!!

Here are some photos:





Just go onto good ol' -- eBay.com -- and enter in the words -- ampex head demagnetizer -- into the search window and you will be shown plenty of available offers. At the moment-in-time that I did a quick search for you on eBay, I came across several units being sold for between USD $15.00 to $25.00. I don't know how that translates to AUS currency.

>> THIS DEVICE IS VERY STRONG!!! <<< -- To operate:

1) Turn-off your reel-to-reel tape deck.

2) Plug-in the "AMPEX 820" at least 2-feet away from your tape deck!!! I always start at 3-feet away!!!

3) > SLOWLY < bring the "AMPEX 820" towards the head-stack of your tape-deck. When you get within a few inches of your head-stack, you will hear and feel the "820" start to vibrate.

4) While there is no set sequence of demagnetizing that I am aware of, I usually start on the left-side of the head-stack starting with the pinch-roller assembly (each style of tape-deck will be different). Then, I move to the right demagnetizing the erase-head, record-head and then the playback-head. This also includes any other metal-work that may be in or around the heads themselves. Next, I do the capstan and the right-side pinch-roller assembly. I also go and demagnetize the "tape-tension swing arms", even though they don't really need it.

5) Upon completion.....then > SLOWLY < pull the "820" away from your tape-deck. Again, when you are 2- or 3-feet away from the tape-deck.....>> THEN << you can unplug the "820" to turn it off. I have often wondered why AMPEX couldn't have included a simple and small -- momentary On/Off switch -- somewhere to make the using of this device just that much more easier to work with!!!

I would also possibly suggest obtaining some -- AMPEX HEAD CLEANER -- but, that stuff is impossible to find these days!!! And, besides.....even the -- FUMES -- of the AMPEX Head Cleaner are > SO STRONG < that they will melt and/or soften plastic!!! So.....extreme care must be cautioned when using this stuff!!!

YER DONE!!!

BUY!!! USE!!! ENJOY!!!

/

 

[Steven Paris]

A very clever fellow over at tapeheads.com devised a simple, easy-to-make-at-home tool for measuring residual magnetism on tape machines: A simple DIY magnetometer

 

[swpaskett]

I have refurbed a lot of reel to reels in my life, and there is a simple test you can do to determine if a head is in need of a degauss. Just listen. If your favorite tape seems to be missing the highs or the highs sound muddy, you are badly in need of a degauss. If you want to go crazy you can make a test tape by recording a simple sine wave on a known good machine with (hopefully) better response than the suspect machine on 1/2 or 1/3 octave increments. Then play it back on the suspect machine. You should get a fairly accurate picture of the frequency response and it should be close to published specs of the suspect (accounting for variations from your source machine). There are a lot of other things that can affect frequency response, but this is the easiest fix and should be the first thing to check.

Poor man's degausser: Get a 12VAC or 24VAC relay. Remove the coil and pole piece. Replace the pole piece with a steel rod of similar diameter. You might have to glue it in place. Dip the rod in Pasti-dip a few times to add a good layer of protective goo so you won't damage the heads. Connect the coil to an AC wall wart of the same voltage as the coil. When the goo dries go degauss away; you should feel a slight pull when the degausser gets near anything ferromagnetic.

When I degauss, I degauss more than the heads; I go through the entire tape path, anywhere I know that tape touches steel. It might be unnecessary, but it costs nothing more than a minute of my time, so why not? (Maybe I am crazy, but when hand splicing tape, I degauss anything that touches the tape -- splice block, razor blade, scissors, whatever)

As others have stated, do not power up or power down your degausser anywhere near your tape machine or any tapes. It can put a permanent pop on your tapes and a very hard to eliminate flux in your tape heads. Three feet of separation is a minimum, more with powerful degaussers.

R-R manufacturers used to recommend a cleaning every 10 - 12 hours and degauss every 40 or so. We got away from that when cassette drives came along; I don't know why unless nobody cared; the frequency response on early units was so poor to begin with. I would guess that better than 80% of all tape macnine repairs I have pulled off consisted of cleaning and degaussing.

Follow @MidnightArrakis advice above and you won't go wrong. The Ampex degausser is overkill, but it is an excellent degausser if you can get one.

 

[canidoit]

Thanks for the DIY tips. I was considering making this guy's DIY demagnetizer also, using AC power supply, metal bolt and motor windings;


I have tape decks, outboard, video recorders, mics and computer equipment near my reel to reel. Are there any issues to watch out for using a De-magnetizer close to those equipment when Degaussing the reel to reel?

I noticed alot of these Australian demagnetizers are US 110v, and it seems most just bend the plugs to fit Australian socket 240 volts. Are they generally multi-voltage or it does not matter with these devices.

Thank you.