atr-100

Ampex came out with a mod early on that changed the capstan from a machined
metal surface to some sort of rubber type coating to provide a greater tape grip
when hand cueing the tape by manual rotation of the capstan. With the original
machined metal surface of the capstan, it was possible to spool faster by hand
than the reel servo could respond, which resulted in the reel servo throwing
slack tape and shutting down. As I remember the modified capstan was a sort of
yellowish neoprene type of rubber compound.

I remember this mod well, as I had the responsibility of changing out the
capstans on all 7 of the various ATR-100 models we had in use at TBS. We had 3
full track 1/4" versions, 3 two track 1/4" versions, and one 4 track 1/2"
version. One full track, a 2 track, and the 4 track were used in our audio
production control room, while each of 2 post productions rooms had one full
track and one 2 track each.

As we expanded with more production rooms, we moved on from the Ampex machines
to Otari MTR-10's and 12's. At the time I left the company in 1996, TBS had
about 10 MTR-10/12's in service, in addition to several remaining ATR-100's.

I knew those ATR's very well. We had a power hit one day that took out one of
the decks. By the time I got it working again, I had replaced 52 TTL IC's in the
reel servo, capstan servo, and control panel. None of the analog parts of the
machine had been affected by the power hit.