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What this means is the COMPUTER controls the tape tension, there are NO real
Tape tension adjustment pots you can use to increase or decrease the play tensions
WITHOUT also adjusting all other tensions... this is NOT good !!!
The otari MTR 10 and 12 have just ONE overall tension adjustment for each reel motor.
This adjustment sets BOTH the Play AND Wind tensions via the CPU program....
The CPU looks at the Reel size, Transport mode, Reel tachs, Counter pulses and so on
and adjusts the tensions according to the original CPU program.
While the Computer does a fine job of adjusting tensions for each speed and each reel size
when the motors are new.... as the motors age or become slightly magnitized - by just
sitting in motor one position for a couple years in storage or just by non-use -
the computer will NOT increase the reel motor drive to make up the correct tensions,
and if you need to adjust the PLAY tensions differently from the WIND mode tensions,
you're out of luck.
I've seen reel motors so magnitized they require a huge amount of reel drive,
other motors that are just worn and magnitized enough to drop the "normal" tape tensions
down to just one ounce of tape tension - barely enough to turn the motors n the play modes !!
So if you own an Otari MTR 10 or MTR 12....
YOU MUST TURN THE MOTORS
BY USE OR BY HAND AT LEAST EVERY MONTH !!!!