Can someone identify this tape head please?

[thedanielpoole]

I bought a job lot of audio gear and have some of these tape heads. They are 1/8 inch, with no part number; only a printed 'EJ' label on the side. They also have 6 pins which I found rather confusing? The head looks different to all other tape heads I've ever seen too.

I'm sure I'll find some use for them, but not really sure what their function is?

Dan

[Refugee]

It looks like stereo with a built in erase function.

[barrymagrec]

I think such heads were produced so that a cassette machine could have separate record and play heads.

[Radio Wrangler]

It looks to have ferrite pole pieces for erase and iron for record.

David

[ms660]

There's a similar combined head on Ebay, designated FJ on the underside.

Lawrence.

[G6ONEDave]

As it has tape guides on both sides, it's probably for a double side cassette deck. So that the deck can play/record both sides without removing the tape.
Dave

[barrymagrec]

But the erase head is full width, which would suggest non standard stereo......

[Ted Kendall]

It looks like a full width erase and a 2/2 track rec/rep. I'd say it's for a mono high speed duplicator.

[TIMTAPE]

This one is similar but with only the one tape guide.

[Spec-chum]

Looks like the head found in Sinclair ZX Microdrive/QL units:-

https://www.oldcomputr.com/wp-conten...drive-head.jpg

[ricard]

Originally Posted by barrymagrec

I think such heads were produced so that a cassette machine could have separate record and play heads.

Or perhaps a dual-capstan machine to avoid the need for having the erase head poking through the small opening between the large center and left hand ones, as some machines had.

Originally Posted by G6ONEDave

As it has tape guides on both sides, it's probably for a double side cassette deck. So that the deck can play/record both sides ...

Couldn't the two guides again be indicative of a dual capstan machine? I can't say that I've had much experience (if any, come to think with it) of heads for dual capstan cassette recorders so I could be completely off here.

Originally Posted by Ted Kendall

It looks like a full width erase and a 2/2 track rec/rep. I'd say it's for a mono high speed duplicator.

The pole pieces don't look centered relative to the guides to me, although it's hard to tell when seen in perspective (and I should know better than to argue with Ted ).

[Refugee]

I have got an auto reverse machine with a head that turns over.
The head is two parts bonded together and fitted to a sort of turn table.

[G6ONEDave]

Here is an image of the stereo rec/playback head in my Aiwa WX110 deck. It does not rotate, just fixed in position, apart from moving toward or away from the tape.

Dave

[Ted Kendall]

Originally Posted by ricard

The pole pieces don't look centered relative to the guides to me, although it's hard to tell when seen in perspective.

You've got a point there, Ricard - the perspective is awkward, but a second look indicates the pole pieces are indeed offset in the head face, so yes, it could be conventional stereo...and if a bit of arguing gets us closer to the truth, so be it!

[TIMTAPE]

At the slow cassette tape speed, having the erase head so close to the record head made for cleaner edits on the fly. VCRs with the 'audio dub' feature used a special audio only erase head placed as close as possible to the record head, even bonded to it. As mentioned these were also used in cheaper reversing cassette decks with the rotating head assy. I guess it saved having to use two fixed erase heads. Then there was the Tascam 112R pro reversing cassette deck which used separate erase heads, each occupying a small window , but this was a '3 head' deck. The central rotating head was a record and a play head.

[mole42uk]

Originally Posted by Spec-chum

Looks like the head found in Sinclair ZX Microdrive/QL units:-

https://www.oldcomputr.com/wp-conten...drive-head.jpg

Visually, I'd say that's bang-on.

[vidjoman]

Looking at the picture and perspective - it seems to me that the guide appears to be held on with a screw(s) and is perhaps upside down and can be reversed.

[TIMTAPE]

To my eye, allowing for the distortion due to the angle of the photo, the pole pieces dont look misaligned with the guide and there normally would be no reason for them to be.

There are times when vertically displacing a pole piece from standard is necessary for best capture of a tape recording originally made with a misaligned head, but it's best done of course using a head able to be adjusted vertically independently of the guides.

The alignment of the guide relative to the pole pieces can be easily tested by tensioning a section of cassette width tape or leader tape across the head and viewing under magnification.

[vidjoman]

Looking at picture 3 it shows on the right hand side a folded over part of the guide bracket that is in the middle of the active part of the head. Although it also looks like the 2 folded parts and guide pieces are too close together for a normal width tape to pass through if this is for a standard cassette recorder.
Further investigation of the actual head is required.

[G6ONEDave]

I think that the folded guide (post 19) is actually a reflection on the shiny head surface. The guides however look to be quite narrow which would suggest a Sinclair style tape reader head. It looks to be only using one half of the pickup as the guides are in the way of the other half. Perhaps another photo showing the head from the side, so that the guides can be seen in relation to the tape path.

Dave