Revox B77 PR99 A700 C270 DELUXE roller bearing PINCH ROLLER kit

This kit contains:

• Pinch Roller assembly complete. New Fresh Made in 2014 - NO old stock NO NOS.  We don't buy or keep old stock! 
• European made new  non OEM pinch rollers using the same original moulds but using a modern synthetic rubber formulation.

DID YOU KNOW?

I have done some research and testing on pinch rollers and am now pleased to be able to offer a comprehensive assortment and indeed in some Revox models even a choice of formulations for Revox, Studer and Nagra tape machines.

Pinch rollers from Revox and in particular the "Green" ones fitted to B77, some PR99 and A700's have sometimes received bad publicity particularly from "know it alls" on the internet and various forums over the years. Frankly its unfounded and unjustified as is a lot of the rubbish these folk talk or like blowing their own trumpet about. Pinch rollers come in two different formulations each with its own degree of ability to consistently maintain tape contact without slippage and cope with tape oxide build up. Green and translucent beige Adiprene are urethane based formulations that are slightly softer and are slightly better at oxide build up and minimising tape slippage but do not have as long a life as the "black" ones. Black pinch rollers are usually made of natural rubber, are slightly harder and have a slightly longer life. Its 6 of one half a dozen of the other. No one is better than the other particularly if they are looked after and changed at reasonable intervals.  A pinch roller has a useful life of 3 - 7 years depending on how much it is used. Some of the pinch rollers you find on an old machine are 20 + years old and its no wonder some are gooey, disintegrating cracked or glazed. They are simply way passed their useful life - end of story!  So go easy on the poor old Revox green pinch rollers. There was nothing wrong with them just ignorant users. Also bear in mind that some pinch rollers offered for sale are NOS (new old stock) and as such may be very close to the end of their shelf life - yes they do have a shelf life and I like to consider that at maximum 10 years for Green or Beige ones and 15 years for Black. My recommendation is that a useful life can be considered 5 years and then fit a new one.  Using old tape is also a huge problem because they shed oxide much quicker than a new tape. Old tape clogs up the pinch roller, heads and tape transport system - the biggest cause in my opinion of poor sound. So lets ADD 2nd hand or NOS tape to the list of DONT BUY or USE.  There are at least 2 modern manufacturers of tape in the USA and Europe and they produce a good product which is not too expensive. DONT use old tape and be so mean and cheap by doing so!  Support our tape manufacturers because if they go so do our machines!

 

SERVICING and MAINTAINING YOUR PINCH ROLLER

• Every 20 - 50 hours or whenever there is easily visible brown tape oxide build up clean the pinch roller surface with warm water in which a few drops of normal hand dishwashing liquid has been added. An old toothbrush may be useful as well as cotton buds or Q-tips as an implement.  DON'T  use any solvents such as alcohol.  In the case of a lot of hard oxide build-up (because you haven’t cleaned it for a long time  ... hoo boy  .. tut  ... tut.), you can use a small amount of switch contact cleaner spray to loosen the oxide and then immediately rinse with the warm water soap solution mentioned previously. Using the mild switch contact cleaner solvent sparingly and not often with immediate rinsing should not unduly affect the life of a pinch roller. Both natural rubber and polyurethane derivatives (Adiprene) will eventually be affected by any synthetic distilled solvent - the latter more so than the former. This cleaning can usually be performed in situ but in tough oxide build up removing the pinch roller may make things easier.  DON'T  slosh solvent or soapy water around other components on the deck, particularly tape guides and motor shafts. HEY - did you disconnect the power before doing this ?
• Thoroughly dry the pinch roller surface using neutral absorbent paper towelling - not tissues as these sometimes have moisturising oils and scents added to them. Remove any left over fluff or cotton bud hairs.
• Every 100 hours remove the capstan and clean the shaft / brass bearing bush with iso propyl alcohol being careful not to sosh it around. Use a cotton bud.  Do not use any lubricant when reassembling. The PR should spin freely. The brass bush is self lubricating.
• Every 5 years replace the pinch rollers and  DON'T  sell the old  ones , even though they look "pristine", on Ebay!
• Hey, have you thought about cleaning and demagnetising the heads and other tape transport components at the same time.  Pete says, "good idea".

  All our kits and parts use specially sourced, new, freshly manufactured components from reliable manufacturers whom we have been dealing with for many years. No   NOS   (new old stock) NO 2 nd   hand items!!  Never buy or use a 2nd hand pinch roller - its just not worth it!

SOME THOUGHTS, HOPEFULLY SOME WISDOM on PINCH ROLLERS

On the odd occasion we have customers query the hardness of our pinch rollers. Here is our answer to a very misguided supposition by most people.

 1.    Our pinch rollers are fresh manufactured.    I unequivocally assure you of that!   

 We order and get PR's every 2 - 3 months and I am assured by the small specialist manufacturer I deal with they are made in a JIT process so we can be assured of freshly manufactured. We also are one of their biggest customers and our relationship has been on-going for 6 years. We are very happy with their quality and the modern better formulations used for rubber and ADP.

 2. Contrary to popular belief. The PR must be rigid and definitely not soft.    It must  NOT    deform around the tape so that the capstan also drives the PR. Yes I know this goes against what some people    think. BUT just stop for a minute and think carefully on the following    statement.    The PR does not drive the tape!  The PR's function is to apply an even pressure against the tape on the capstan shaft thus causing the capstan to drive the tape. The operatives are an even spread and that the capstan drives the tape. A soft pinch roller will deform against the capstan too much at the edge contact and result in the PR edges being rigidly “driven” by the capstan.    This results in a conflicting inner and outer velocity difference on the tape. This causes an increase in wow and flutter and increased wear on the tape and capstan shaft. This is further explained below.    PLEASE – think -    PR is an even pressure mechanism - it does and must not drive the tape.    There was an interesting dialogue on the Studer private forum recently with many experienced Studer aficionados wading in and confirming this. MY interpretation of many considered opinions over the years is this.

   The accepted theory has as its fundamental tenet, that the tape must be driven by the capstan shaft and not by the pinch roller.  The reason is that the outer surface of the tape is travelling at a different very slightly higher velocity due to its thickness than the inner side. When the tape is driven by both PR and capstan shaft there is a dissonance because they are not equal which results in a higher wow and flutter as the PR and capstan fight against each other with the tape in middle as the only thing that will likely "give".  Sure we are talking about a very small difference but that's the theory and it makes sense. In a nutshell the PR is there to push the tape against the capstan shaft which in turn  "brakes" its progress due to the counter torque tape tension system of the two reel motors. The capstan thus acts as a regulator rather than necessarily a driver - another common myth.

This fact that the PR must not drive the tape is further supported by Studer pro machines that have pinch rollers that are crowned or stepped to minimise PR to capstan shaft contact at the edges. Indeed - yes - specifically to minimise if not eliminate  this.  The more commercial machines such as the Revox of course have flat PR's.  Revox / Studer did at one time consider "crowning" the B77 / PR99 PR's but it did not come to fruition or did not continue after an initial batch.  So - it is actually very important to have the PR as evenly rigid with the criteria being an even pressure against the tape so as to minimise any dissonance between what is driving what. A compromise between hard and soft is thus called for – hard to minimise pinch roller deforming and being driven by the capstan and soft enough so that at the pressure point an even maximised contact area is realised. A soft PR will increase the wow and flutter and wear on the tape and capstan shaft quicker and this is exactly what you don’t want. Various factory bulletins show that Revox Studer experimented a lot with formulations and configurations of PR's.

As further weight to this argument, Revox / Studer later on in their later motors specifically dulled the capstan shaft finish using delicate sandblasting so as to increase the grip on the tape. They didn’t increase “stickiness” of the pinch roller for obvious reasons. Quite clear …. Capstans grip on the tape!

 3. You then might say – “aha ..    but my pinch roller (particularly the black rubber one) is old and hard and so this is good”. NO, not necessarily. It is the surface that is important.    When rubber and ADP breakdown, they breakdown unevenly and this results in less surface area that can be in contact with the tape and thus uneven pressure.    The hard glazing of rubber as it ages is actually more of a problem if you look at the surface under a microscope rather than the “hardness” per say.    

4. The correct PR pressure is also of course very important for obvious reasons. Adjust exactly as per manufacturers instructions which is easy enough to do on Revox and Studer.

5. The tape tension is also extremely important because the PR / capstan is a regulating system not a driving system.

6. Both formulations used in our pinch rollers are carefully determined and controlled so as to maintain surface contact rigidity and minimise wow and flutter over their lifetime.

The old PR's in time, particularly urethane formulations, got softer as they aged increasing wow and flutter significantly.  This is a natural degradation not because they tried to make a very soft PR !  Modern ADP and rubber formulations maintain their rigidity longer because they are better formulations but in time they will also get softer or break up as they age. The black rubber formulation is very slightly softer  to the feel than the grey green ADP and does not break down so dramaticall with age.  Both are appropriately specified and used. Its up to you which one you prefer.

 7.    Using old or NOS tape.    Think carefully on the above and what thin, slippery or surface degraded tape does in the PR / capstan interface.    Hmmm     … still want to use that cheap NOS tape you got on ebay for a song.    SUPPORT our two tape manufacturers and buy new tape – for goodness sake! 

Our own Nagravox Service Manual Instructions.   For all kits, full instructions for each board are included with pictures before and after detailing exactly which components go where and a host of useful tips, checks and basic calibration.  We are still the only supplier of kits that has taken the time and effort to produce a detailed instruction manual on how to install our kits, what to look out for and how to maintain existing calibration. Some of these exceed 100 pages and share our collective knowledge and experience over many years and many hundreds of restorations.

 this is for teh A77 but gives you an idea of our service manuals.

Small “upgrade” blank labels are provided so you can appropriately mark your upgraded boards.

IS THIS KIT FOR YOU?  DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE.

I have produced a short article for you on this subject matter.  Please request by direct  comms email and I will  gladly  send it to you as a pdf.

We also have kits listed separately for:

·        Motor Overhaul Kits  - Full mechanical overhaul kits with bearings, circlips and lubricants necessary to overhaul reel and capstan motors. 

·        Tape Transport  mechanical items such as pinch roller, guide bearings etc

·        Tools  for alignment, demagnetising and head / tape path cleaning 

·        Capacitor and trimmer full overhaul kit for all troublesome electrolytics, suppression and motor capacitors plus all trimmer adjusters . 

DO YOU NEED SPECIFIC SPARE PARTS?   We have many individual components for all Revox machines. Please check back periodically or contact us by email with your requirements.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?   Please communicate with me direct on  sales@nagravox.com.au  for all queries, aspects you may need assurance on, parts, puzzling faults and of course for a chat. 

Why should you consider buying from Nagravox?   *  My kits are relevant.    * My support is genuine and so far I am the only Revox and Studer service person offering it.   NAGRAVOX SERVICE UPGRADE KITS  are formulated to include all the bits likely to need replacing that are commonly related. Most of the components that make up a Revox, Studer or Nagra tape machine were top quality in their day and a fair bit of the mechanical gear with a good clean up and lube will function fabulously for another 30 years. Yes, I do and can sell individual items but would prefer that you do the job properly and upgrade functionally related sections at a time. These are the ones that will likely be degrading your tape machines performance. My full kits have written explanations and guide notes with pictures to help you. The bits and pieces that go into the kits have been researched extensively, assessed carefully for suitability and tested in many restorations and projects. They are not just ordinary cheap replacements but something that will last and is of an appropriate quality and grade. Capacitors I researched extensively in my previous business when I needed a high grade electrolytic with low leakage current and long term stability for a particular timer application. I went through 22 different manufacturers before eventually accepting just 2 of those as being of a suitable compliance to specification, performance and quality for the application. I have used this invaluable experience to source and put together the full electrolytic / tantalum capacitor upgrade kits, motor kits, tape transport kits and a lot of parts that have been specifically manufactured for us.  I source directly with OEM's and have good working relationships with all of them - some dating back10 or more years.  I have divided up service upgrade kits into a number of functional divisions:

• · Capacitors (electrolytic and tantalum) and preset potentiometers for all boards
• · Motors – all mechanical bearings, shims, washers and lubricants
• · Tape Transport – capstan pinch roller, shims, guide bearings an anything else involved in moving tape from one end of a machine to the other.
• · Specific parts that wear and give problems in their old age (don’t we all!)

These target the most likely worn or age degraded parts. Of course there may be other individual parts that have been badly handled or are obviously worn and these we can supply individually or recommend other good vendors on Ebay offering some of these individually either new, NOS or 2nd hand. We prefer to purchase specific items from manufacturers of original parts eg capstan rollers. For other relatively generic items like bearings, shims and circlips we source from reputable company’s such as SKF, Kluber, and selected Taiwanese and European manufacturers whom we know well and have dealt with for a number of years. Simple shims, washers and circlips we either have made for us locally or source here in Australia and lately in Germany and the UK by small specialist firms. We also have good working relationships with other Revox vendors around the world and often buy / sell from / to them. SUPPORT and HELP.   We try to incorporate most of the “confusing” or difficult aspects one needs to look out for in our upgrade kits instructional notes which we call “Service Sheets”.  We also refer you to the official factory service manuals most of which are in the public domain courtesy of Studer / Revox. As our customer we are happy to either provide you with a manual or refer you to the appropriate download site.  Further, as an after sales service, we are happy to answer any questions or difficulties you have in your repair or upgrade . We wont always know the answers but will certainly try our best to help. In any event, if we don’t know the answer it is an ideal opportunity for us to increase our knowledge and experience base and so  welcome all problems. Indeed perhaps you might share some of your innovative solutions and experiences. After all we certainly don’t know everything and welcome advice, suggestions and constructive criticism. My philosophy is that in reality their are few problems only solutions waiting to be communicated or discovered. Why do we offer this level of support?  Well as I indicated before, I do this out of a passion and I think I am right in saying so do you in your anticipated endeavors restoring your treasured vintage gear. It is in this common spirit I am happy to share my knowledge and experience with you as a customer. If I could put the rest of what follows into a pdf and have a link to it, I would.  Unfortunately Ebay don't allow it nor do they have any facility for posting useful docs and info like this.  So here it is in all its glory. I hope some of it explains who I am, who Nagravox is and our raison d'etre.

ABOUT NAGRAVOX

NAGRAVOX  specialises in Revox, Studer and Nagra tape recorder overhaul and upgrade kits and parts. Both electronic parts, kits, mechanical components and tools / test gear.

 I definitely DON'T consider myself a typical beady eyed Ebay vendor trying to get the highest price I can and hocking anything that will sell.  Indeed ALL my kits and parts are buy it now not auction for that very reason.  I love and work with Revox, Studer and Nagra vintage gear every day. Its great equipment and I love helping other enthusiasts restore their gear. I back up everything offered with a help desk via email, phone or Skype to make sure what you buy from me works and is installed and set up the way it should be. Confusion and problems always occur on old gear but I am there to help you through it.  I don’t just sell stuff to enthusiasts - I help with solutions and make things as easy as possible whilst still retaining the high quality and integrity of the original designers. I am the only vendor that does this. Others of course may copy me, as they have already done in the last 2 years (just look at the other vendors suddenly offering overhaul kits on Ebay - hmm .... some with dubious white washing machine capacitors and below spec suppression caps !!). Frankly, it may be just too much hassle for them to offer a full free backup support desk.  Cheeky  .. hmmm perhaps.  You decide. I also am now remanufacturing parts specifically for Revox, Studer and Nagra usually using small specialist manufacturers in Europe, Australia and Taiwan to my design and specifications. Some of the more complex triple can high voltage capacitors for example I personally hand make for the F36 / G36 machines and old A40 amplifiers. One enthusiast restoring a F36 said to me about a year ago - surely you cant make much money on those considering the time and effort involved? He is right of course but the satisfaction of knowing every time I sell one of those kits, a F or G36 will be brought back into this wonderful analogue world of ours, frankly tickles me pink!

Revox A77 VU meters now remanufactured and better quality that the original. Motor parts such as low friction washers, shims, brake felts, lubrication felts etc - all newly manufactured for Nagravox. Solutions that make problems go away - see our new NAB deluxe overhaul kits with reel spacer disks.  GOOD IDEA - you bet. Why hasn't anyone else thought of it - who knows - its not rocket science that's for sure! Will people copy me - of course - that’s life. Am I worried - no not at all. Catch me if you can .....   besides, its all good for the analogue tape enthusiast who wins all the way.  Gee - I do ramble on a bit - don’t I!   (smiley face here but its so tacky I wont put it in )

 I  don’t have a dedicated web site yet for Nagravox but are in the process of getting one set up. If you are interested in our other endeavours please have a look at www.laudarra.com.au  .  Also check from time to time    www.nagravox.com.au   which will be up and running soon.  If you want to have a chat or chin wag - comms me direct on sales@nagravox.com.au which is my preferred means of communication all the time. Please NO Ebay mail!   I have a workshop and store in Sydney Australia and recently have set up a small workshop and facility in Europe. I will be spending my time between the two workshops offering service, overhauls, parts and kits. In 2015 I will offer summer school type instructional workshops both in Australia, Europe and the UK where enthusiasts can bring their machines (or we will supply one if available) and over the period of a week, you will overhaul it under my guidance with all the correct equipment and gear provided.  Of course.. if you are ever in the vicinity please visit me at one of my workshops - there is always a good cup of tea or coffee and the chance of a chin wag.

 uh oh  .... . ...  here comes the small print and volumes of it ....!

Some blurb about me and why I do this.  Some people think I am a nutter!  Sometimes I might just agree!

ABOUT ME 

My name is Peter Mony. I am just over the “ 3 score years”, live in a stunningly beautiful part of the world on the outskirts of Sydney Australia and am a tertiary qualified engineer, scientist and amateur musician. I love vintage audio equipment and have over the last 45 years been involved in one way or another with it.  I started Nagravox  in 2010 after 3 years of “hard thinking” (my wife thought I was asleep on the couch). I reckoned that I would love to see more of the old Revox, Studer and Nagra tape machines restored to their former glory.  I didn't want to be just another Ebay vendor hocking parts at the best price I could get for them. In 2011 I sold my specialist electronic manufacturing business Powerform Controls which was and still is successfully involved in HVAC controllers and electric motor speed control. This allowed me to have time to do those things in life which don’t necessarily have to be about making lots of money but rather being led in an ambulatory manner by ones passions.  I love playing classical guitar and restoring old electronic gear. My wife and lovely daughters think I am nuts but they love me anyway. The area where I used to have my electronics manufacturing business is now a dedicated music studio, workshop for repairing and servicing guitars and woodwind instruments (my daughter is a jazz musician) and a separate good sized vintage electronics workshop / store for a fair bit of Revox, Nagra and valve amplifier gear. In my “man cave”, as my dearest wife calls it, I can indulge a hobby and passion reliving my youth in the 60’s and 70’s when I was a youngster working as a recording studio technician and building valve amplifiers for friends.

Over the years restoring Revox's, Studer's and Nagra's and inevitably running the gauntlet of finding information and spares, the engineer in me has often asked the question.  “Why cant I just get a professional upgrade kit with all the bits and pieces that are really needed”?  There is a high degree of frustration in sifting through the hype of vendors sales talk, doubt on individual components serviceability and age and the need to shop bit by bit with many of the “bits in between” not available. One inevitably makes compromises and sometimes quick fixes often leaving a niggle of doubt and sadly sometimes not the results one was expecting or indeed all the promo hype intimated.  Service manuals are obviously great but there is always those little nuances not fully explained, aspects seemingly missing and your particular fault symptoms not listed. Inevitably I have found that with old equipment replacing just the item that is obviously faulty or worn isn't always the end of the story or quick fix one had hoped for. So, on this basis and in a spirit of doing the job properly the first time, I have put together a series of what I call upgrade kits with all the necessary bits and pieces that are likely to be worn or old and need replacing. Each kit is designed to address an important functional aspect of ones restoration or repair eg a kit for the mechanical tape handling aspects which includes not just a new fresh Revox factory sourced pinch rollers but also the guide bearings made of stainless steel (not el cheepo skate board ones). If one of these needs replacing, you can be sure a lot of the associated componentry will be in a similar condition and also soon need replacing. Doing one without the other doesn't make sense! Why fault find a leaky capacitor and replace it when its likely  all electrolytic and tantalum capacitors, some of which may be 40 years old, really should be replaced despite what they may test like under low voltage test conditions.  What a hassle to have to source 50 or so odd value capacitors and then worry about the quality of cheap and nasty Chinese made components!

My upgrade kits are thus formulated to include all the bits likely to need replacing that are commonly related. Most of the components that make up a Revox or Nagra tape machine were top quality in their day and a fair bit of the mechanical gear with a good clean up and lube will function fabulously for another 30 years. Yes, I do and can sell individual items but would prefer that you do the job properly and upgrade functionally related sections at a time. These are the ones that will likely be degrading your tape machines performance. My full kits have written explanations and guide notes with pictures to help you. I call these Service Sheets. The bits and pieces that go into the kits have been researched extensively, assessed carefully for suitability and tested in many restorations and projects. They are not just ordinary cheap replacements but something that will last and is of an appropriate quality and grade. Capacitors I researched extensively in my previous business when I needed a high grade electrolytic with low leakage current and long term stability for a particular timer application. I went through 22 different manufacturers before eventually accepting just 2 of those as being of a suitable compliance to specification, performance and quality for the application. One was Japanese and the other Taiwanese. I have used this invaluable experience to source and put together the full electrolytic / tantalum capacitor upgrade kits. Likewise for the lubricating oil for the robust Revox and Nagra capstan motors. Don’t be fooled by some of the Ebay and internet hype. For Revox there are two oils you use depending on how old the motor is and you do not mix them nor convert  from one to the other.  For example, the PDP65 oil made by Kluber in Germany for both Nagra and later Revox / Studer capstan motors is very expensive but is the ONLY oil you should ever use on particular  motors. And, yes, you DO definitely need to lubricate despite Revox manuals being somewhat vague about it (later bulletins and in particular Studer did update and document this need for service lubrication). OK, before I digress further ….

SUPPORT.    I  tr y to incorporate most of the “confusing” or difficult aspects one needs to look out for in our upgrade kits SERVICE SHEETS or instructional notes. We also refer you to the official factory service manuals most of which are in the public domain courtesy of Studer / Revox. YOU DON’T NEED TO PAY FOR THESE - THEY ARE FREE. Some Ebay vendors cheekily make these available for a price. I repeat you don’t need to pay for them!  As our customer we are happy to either provide you with a manual or refer you to the appropriate download site.  Further, as an after sales service, we are happy to answer any questions or difficulties you have in your repair or upgrade . We wont always know the answers but will certainly try our best to help. In any event, if we don’t know the answer it is an ideal opportunity for us to increase our knowledge and experience base and so  welcome all problems. Indeed perhaps you might share some of your innovative solutions and experiences. After all we certainly don’t know everything and welcome advice, suggestions and constructive criticism. My philosophy is that in reality their are few problems only solutions waiting to be communicated or discovered. Why do we offer this level of support?  Well as I indicated before, I do this out of a passion and I think I am right in saying so do you in your anticipated endeavour restoring your treasured vintage gear. It is in this common spirit I am happy to share my knowledge and experience with you as a customer. Please feel free to contact me direct which is easier for me to give in depth answers - you can contact me on sales@nagravox.com.au  I prefer this direct communication.

SOME EXCITING THINGS ALREADY AVAILABLE or COMING SOON

• ·        Electronic  Capacitor and preset trimmer kits for most Revox and Studer tape machines, amplifiers, tuners and audio gear up to the early 1990’s. 
• ·        Mechanical  overhaul and service kits  for tape machine motors, pinch rollers, tape guides and tape tension systems
• ·        Service and overhaul kits for Nagra  3, 4, 4.2 and 4.2S tape recorders
• ·        Calibration Test Tapes  for setting up your recorder.  Various levels, and equalisations specifically designed for particular Revox, Studer and Nagra machines and models.   These will have proper long sections (not pathetic 10, 20 or 60 seconds !) on them with patented auto stop between sections to make things more convenient when you are setting up and calibrating a machine.
• ·        Essential tools  for repairing your recorder - non magnetic head and pot adjusters (flat blade and Allen key). Demagnetisers.
• ·        Test gear and equipment  for setting up a reel to reel machine. Eg desoldering irons, millivolt meter, oscilloscope, multimeter, etc
• ·        Your board upgrade service or service Exchange.  Send us your boards individually or as a set and we will upgrade them for you.
• ·        Full restoration service . Send us your sad machine and we will overhaul and set it up for you.
• ·        Training workshop courses  like a Summer School where over a week we show you "how" . Bring your own machine or we will provide a clunker for you to work on.  Initially we will do this for Revox  and Studer and later expand to Nagra. Depending on demand we will offer both European and Australian venues with a possibility of USA and Canada. Contact me if interested.
• ·        Nagravox Web Site   -  coming very soon  www.nagravox.com.au  

 Good on ya  (as we say down under!) for reading this far!

All the best with your restoration and hobby.  May the analogue force be with you.  Keep in touch!  

Peter Mony, Nagravox Australia  (and Europe when I am there) . sales@nagravox.com.au 

.......   and some more bonehead small print .... may as well make hay while I can!

SOME IMPORTANT STUFF YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF WHEN YOU BUY FROM NAGRAVOX.  THESE ARE PART OF OUR TERMS and CONDITIONS of DOING BUSINESS.

1.  COMBINED ITEMS and POSTAGE SAVINGS 

If you are purchasing more than one item or kit, please either use the shopping cart (if available on your country version of ebay) or purchase individually BUT DON’T PAY. Continue buying individually BUT DON'T pay - as many times as you like. You can request an invoice if this option is available (not all ebays are the same!!!!)  rather than paying straight away – or just don’t do anything and I will send you a combined ebay invoice. This will enable us to send you a realistic invoice with appropriate reduced postage. This is also the best way for international customers where the Ebay calculator for postage may be inaccurate. Some country’s Ebay works oddly and seemingly it is complicated to combine the way one should be able to.  If this is the case and you have difficulty combining multiple items, may I suggest you communicate directly with me by normal email ( sales@nagravox.com.au ) with your requirements and I can send you an invoice. Alternatively purchase the 1 st item and then send me a note or Ebay email with your other requirements and I will send a separate additional invoice via Paypal.  Ok ... I am going to let it all hang out here and spit the dummy / all toys out the cot! Many people just ignore this and buy and pay for multiple items separately with the implication, "he'll figure it out".   Hmmm I wont! To refund the extra  postage  paid is a real hassle and ebay wont refund their commission on the postage making me even crankier!!!. So, from now on, if you wont follow  these  directions and you pay multiple times expecting me to figure it all out - I wont. It will just stay as it is and I will have a beer on you. Thanks and cheers.

2. PLEASE NOTE - VERY IMPORTANT - POSTAGE COSTS, TIMES, TRACKABILITY, RISK and MORE……

 I apologise for burdening you with this bonehead stuff. The Ebay / Australia Post link up charges shown on Ebay are not clear indeed possibly misleading.  There is a collaboration and electronic link-up between Ebay and Australia Post which for the most part works well but there are some uh...oh's. We now only offer 2 levels of postage as insisted on by Ebay and Paypal and cannot offer the cheaper non tracked airmail service unfortunately.  For some countries particularly in Eastern Europe, some Asian countries and South America, there is NO TRACKED service. This is a conundrum because ebay and Paypal insist on a tracked service but have their heads in the sand when it comes to practical alternatives.  If we have to use airmail or registered service because there is no tracked service – the risk of this service with NO TRACKING is yours. You always have the option of selecting a courier service which is ridiculously expensive but is trackable at least. Why ebay don’t indicate that a tracked service is not available to your country is anyone’s guess  – who knows !!!!!!

 POSTAGE SERVICES

Local Australian Domestic is via Australia Post 500g or 3Kg satchel.  They are trackable and take 4-10 days to most of Australia except the wop wops which is a bit longer. 

International. Tracked or registered Airmail International via Australia Post International Airmail Service.  To those countries postal service that have a transparent international tracking system – we will send via a special Australia Post tracked service (Pack n Track) . For those countries who don’t have an international compatible trackable collaboration we will send registered post which is safer, is not user trackable but is trackable until it enters your country but once it there.  The cost is typically approximately ~$19 to new Zealand and parts of Asia, ~$24 to N America and other parts of Asia and ~$28 to Europe and most other parts of the world.  The Ebay calculator will work this out more precisely.  Time to destination. 1 - 4 weeks.  Mostly  the speed is outstanding but sometimes it’s a bit slow for an airmail service but I think things get held up in your customs and local post who take their time. Please see proviso above of your risk if only registered or airmail service to your country is selected or only available.

Want your stuff in a hurry?  Courier / Express International. This is a fast (2 - 4 days), trackable, insured service and "ouch" expensive. (approx $50 - $75). We use either Australia Post EMS or DHL.  Is it worth it.?  If you are in a hurry or are really dubious of your post system (eg most places in Africa) then this is your option. 

As I get more stock into our Europe store I may (at my discretion only) post to you from Europe – usually the UK. Please don't ask me to specifically post from Europe as I may not be able to. When I have a full stock complement in Europe of course I will offer postage from within EEC.  All postage out of EEC will be using La Poste or Royal Mail and the "signed for" option which is trackable.

DECLARATION of value.   Usually this is at the what you paid.  However, I believe, vintage audio enthusiasts should not be penalised for their hobby by greedy governments! So, if you want a specific value declared at your risk, just ask.  Usually AUS$25 is the threshold. Your rsik of course.

POSTAGE WEIGHT CATEGORIES The first tier of weight category is at 500g and then 1Kg, 1.5Kg etc. (Domestic next category is 3Kg). If it goes over 500g for international its roughly 0.85x the lesser weight category cost.  Most cap pot kits weigh between 245 and 450g. Motor kits are about 150g.  Do ask for postage consolidation / invoice otherwise Ebay calculates separate postage charges on multiple items and it will cost you more.

3. YOUR ADDRESS – this is really really important.    REALLY!

It may be obvious but PLEASE make sure your address is 100% correct and add more information if there could be any possibility of ambiguity. THERE IS A LIMIT of 32 characters per line in the ebay / Paypal / Australia Post automatic link up and it does not warn you that address lines longer than 32 characters will be truncated. Do not exceed this 32 character including spaces limit per line. Do not  use foreign language symbols like o  ß   ˘   ˆ   -   ~  °  Ç  . The automatic link between Ebay / Paypal and Australia Post will not translate these correctly and your parcel may be incorrectly addressed. We rely on this auto link up which is very good but wont translate symbols properly or long lines of characters.  Please also use capitalisation for your name etc. Its very unprofessional and just sloppy to use all lower case – yes I am a grumpy old man!. You be surprised how may addresses we get from Ebay without capitalisation, vague inferences to house or flat nos, all long address on 1 line and incomplete names. The information you provide to Paypal is automatically transferred into Australia Post and onto a label.  IT MUST BE PERFECTLY CLEAR and ACCURATE.  If it isn’t – the fault is with you and so is the risk.

Please make sure:

·         DON’T exceed 32 characters per line including spaces. Use an extra line.

·         Your full name is clear and capitalised appropriately eg  Mr Firstname Surname etc

·         House / flat / section number and street number are clearly demarcated with a comma and space between them.  Don’t use foreign language symbols like o  ß   ˘   ˆ   -   ~  °  these wont be directly translatable by Aus Post / Ebay / Paypal. Spell it out on a sperate line if it is a flat in a block in a street – no shorthand.

·         Suburb, Town is clearly shown

·         City is shown on a separate line

·         UK people – Australia Post does not recognise your little hamlet of 5 people in the middle of a suburb or town. Add more information in case it spits the dummy which it often does for UK addresses – it likes a known suburb, town or city.

·         Postal or Zip code is shown exactly as it should be. Don’t add spaces, embellishments or abbreviations. Australia Post system checks to see it is a valid international post code and spits the dummy if it isn’t. 

·         DON’T use abbreviations for your state.  Spell it out fully. Australia Post / ebay link up has a problem with this. Eg TX, MN etc means nothing to it.

·         Put your phone number in. SERIOUSLY its good idea if your post service want to get hold of you concerning your parcel! So many people don’t put a phone number in – why?

·         Put your direct contactable email address in – and please  not one that you never use - I am not psychic!

   4. WAITING FOR YOUR PARCEL

We only post out once a week usually on a  Friday. Saturday or Monday. We have given approx transit times above and these are on the pessimistic side of what Australia Post indicates.  Usually things are sent within a day or two airmail out of Australia once lodged. However parcels are often held up with your local post and customs for days and even weeks. From time to time we will also post out some parts from our workshop in Europe using either LA Poste or Royal Mail this may or may or may not speed things up - who knows! Parcels to South America and East European countries can take up to 6 weeks – why – only the Gods know! Canada often has very slow postage.  UK, EU and USA are usually pretty quick.   4.  GETTING SERVICE SHEETS and LITERATURE THESE ARE NOT INCLUDED IN WHAT WE SEND YOU  – you must request them. We do not include these in the parcel simply because postage and printing will cost more and updates are difficult to accommodate.  So, once you have received the parcel please contact us on our direct email  (no ebay mail please!). Contact us on sales@nagravox.com.au and we will gladly authorise MailBigFile to send you a once only link to download the service sheet. Please no Ebay email.  Please also detail exactly what kits you purchased as it saves me time having to look it up.   The service sheets are too big to send on normal emails as some email providers have a limit of 10 Mb. Some of our files are 200Mb.  So MailBigFile works well.  Please just be patient during the down load – it does take time and the strange interface makes it seem like nothing is happening. It is  …  go make a cup of tea! Please note ALL our literature is copyright and by receiving these you implicitly agree to comply with our copyright policy.

5. SUPPORT FOR NAGRAVOX KITS and PARTS.

I supply service sheets and support on the following basis.

You must request the service sheets by communicating directly with me (sales@nagravox.com.au) after your kit has arrived. NO Ebay mail please. This then will be sent via a download service as a pdf document as they are usually too big for email. This may seem a strange way to do things but it is the most effective for me to make sure you have the latest service sheets as well as minimising postage and printing costs.

Parts and cut down kits don't generally have service sheets - only full kits. Sometimes however I may have written a technical note applicable to a particular part and its installation which with pleasure is available to you.

Personal online support in the form of questions, problems, issues, advice etc via email or Skype or Facetime can only be given to those diy purchasers that have purchased the full kits and downloaded the applicable service sheets.  Please don't expect support if you don't bother to look at my service sheets. I also don't generally provide support to other commercial operators or competitors. Although I have never had to limit the amount of time I give you in free support, in the future I reserve the right to possibly ask you for payment of extended support that may run into many hours.

Service Sheets are strictly copyright protected and I reserve all rights in any form of my IP.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright © Jenform Australia Pty Ltd 2011. My service guides contain material protected under International Copyright Laws and Treaties. You may only use it for the private diy purposes intended – ie updating / upgrading / repairing your own vintage electronic device for which you have purchased a kit from Nagravox. No 3rd party is authorised.  Any unauthorized reprint or use of any of my material is prohibited. No part of any guide may be reproduced, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written consent from Jenform Australia Pty Ltd - which will not be unreasonably withheld - just ask!

Service sheets are for diy private enthusiast use only and NOT available to other commercial service, sales or competitors unless you have received permission by prior arrangement with me. This is not unreasonably withheld and I am quite approachable on a commercial liaison and agreement basis. I welcome commercial purchasers on a mutually cooperative and fellowship basis

Apologies for the having to spell out the above but unfortunately due to competitors copying what I do in the last year often offering inferior parts and no after sales service, it has been necessary. Of course copying is the best form of flattery I suppose and I embrace such competition - "match or catch me if you can ... !" I am always happy to cooperate if it is in the best interests of vintage electronic enthusiasts of Revox, Studer and Nagra equipment who by their passion and commitment continue to ensure these wonderful machines are restored, preserved and used.    

6.  WARRANTY  

All our kits are warranted for 2 years from date of purchase on the basis of component replacement. In the unlikely event that you have a problem or are not happy with any aspect please contact us and give us a chance to remedy the situation.

7.  IMPERFECTIONS     definitely  NO NOS or 2nd hand! From time to time we check the specs and do tests on our capacitors particularly the motor caps and can electrolytics which we make in house.  We statically test them with instruments at max working voltage and then solder them in place on an actual circuit board or motor.  That’s the way we test and ensure our parts are to a high standard. After the test is complete and the part passes, which it usually does, we put it back into stock. So, if you receive a cap with a bit of solder on the terminals – ITS IS NOT 2nd hand but just one of those that was individually tested.  WE DON’T SELL ANY 2nd HAND CAPS or POTS!  On the can type multi-caps and electrolytics we hand make these and epoxy encapsulate them so there may be small traces of glue on the terminals.  Just scrape or file clean before soldering. Gosh … it is hand made by me personally…  I might even autograph one for you…. and be famous one day …

8.  IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE Please contact me on normal direct email before contacting Ebay police!  This includes “I haven’t got my package yet”.  Ebay unfairly immediately consider the seller guilty of something and block funds give you a black mark. Even if you have only just asked!. We have very few issues and pride ourselves that nearly all are resolved easily. Very seldom do we have an unreasonable customer and most of you are into the spirit and credo in which I make these kits and parts available – indeed my raison d’etre.  I am here not because I need to make a living from Ebay as a beady eyed vendor or want to gouge as much as I can out of you. I am here because I want to see more of these old machines restored and treasured as they should be.  If you are grumpy and a pain in the ….  with an attitude please rather don’t buy anything from me. If you are a happy sort and have a positive outlook seeing the good in people rather than the negative, you will get a lot out of me and our relationship. We should always be able to sit down and have a cup of tea, glass of wine and a chat. So - No boneheads please!  Thanks.  Please feel free to contact me direct which is easier for me to give in depth answers - you can contact me on sales@nagravox.com.au  

I apologise for all this “official” stuff above but over the years it has become necessary unfortunately.

All the best with your restoration and hobby. I hope our kits and parts help you achieve your goal of a perfectly operating Studer or Revox machine ... running like the proverbial Swiss watch!

Kind Regards,

Upbeat Pete  at Nagravox Australia.

• Condition: New
• Brand: Revox
• Model: B77 PR99 A700 C270
• Era: 1970s
• Product Type: Tape Recorders
• MPN: B77 PR99 A700 C270

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