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Old 10th Jun 2020, 11:49 am   #16
samjmann
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Nottingham, UK.
Posts: 648
Default Re: Ferguson Videostar 3V30 Tracking

Yes, adjusting the ACE head is not for the faint hearted! Tilting the head from side to side will adjust the tracking point and the sound azimuth as well. The head has to be perpendicular to the baseplate, or the tape will creep up or down and curl on the guide.

Adjusting this correctly was almost a 'dark-art', and many engineers had their own way of going about it. Without a scope you will struggle. Personally I found that it was more difficult setting up on LCD Tv than a CRT, when you didn't have a scope available.

If it seems OK now I'd be inclined to leave it as it is, you could make matters worse by further tweeking!

Back in the day, I used to service time-lapse VCR's for security recordings. The tracking had to be spot-on so as the tapes were fully transferable to the security dept. After a head change you had to do a set up to guarantee compatibility. Doing 10 units sometimes a week, I got it down to 20mins start to finish. The first one's I did took considerably longer....

SJM.
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