Heads!

Quick question to all of you knowledgeable folk out there - I am looking for an ALPS head that would work in a Pioneer CT-1250 deck, i have one without a head! ( For obvious reasons ) - I don't mind if it is secondhand, as long as it works, and yes i know that there is a lot of faffing around to make it work properly :eek:
 
pioneercollector said:
Quick question to all of you knowledgeable folk out there - I am looking for an ALPS head that would work in a Pioneer CT-1250 deck, i have one without a head! ( For obvious reasons ) - I don't mind if it is secondhand, as long as it works, and yes i know that there is a lot of faffing around to make it work properly :eek:
Click to expand...

Hi, dear Shaun, It would be the same kind of Alps heads as the ones Alex did fit into my RS-B965MF... mine were NOS but they can be found into a number of decks from late 70's to early 80s... the good point about trying to find one of those heads onto an old deck is that these heads are truly durable so they might easily still be in great shape... the bad point are that such decks aren't exactly basic models (they are usually TOTL ones) , we don't know how/if they do mechanically fit (and if not it's not an easy work to fit them properly, in fact Alex had to do a hell of a job to fit those heads into my RS-B965MF) and, of course, they would need electronics modifications which, at this point, are the easies part of the whole thing.
 
just to mention some decks which should have those Alps ferrite heads....

AIWA AD-6900
Tascam 122
Alpage AL300
Grundig CF5500 and CF5500-II
and surely a few others.

of course, it might happen that some of those heads have the guides on the right/PB side, others on the left/REC side, various kinds of mounting plates, etc.... these would all be mechanical issues which would need special care to fit in your deck which, IMO, it's a more difficult work than "simply" modifying the electronics.

anyways, other nice ferrite heads are into the Technics RS-M63 and RS-M95... they are the same heads with only some differences in the geometry of the mounting plate and i suspect they are also Alps ferrite heads not too much different than the aforementioned ones as far as quality and resistance to wear, but they both have the guide on the left/REC side and, IIRC, the Pioneer 1250 has them on the other side.
(i did show the heads in my Technics RS-M63 above in this same thread)
 
forgot to add that, IMO, the Technics RS-M63 is a really nice deck and it would be a true pity to cannibalize it for its heads.
Moreover, it's a solid and nice oldschool model and it's just totally serviceable... discovered that because my own M63 was into the hands of a true killer who made a lot of damage to it but, little by little, i could fix just everything, on top of a needed full recap.
So, if you happen to get a RS-M63, give it a good chance as you might be just pleased. ;)
I've got mine as a free gift because, after it was "restored" by the previous owner, it appeared totally hopeless, then he was basicly throwing it away.
It was my first very difficult repairing work (the mechanism is just difficult to handle) but i believe working on this deck, with all the extra damages made to it, boosted my own confidence significantly... it was after fixing this one that i no longer am feared to put my hands on whatever deck. LOL :p
 
Last edited:
20tajk7 said:
I'm thinking of doing that to fix my M95 if it's the heads.
Click to expand...

be careful... the heads are the same but the mounting plate, even if both are of the 3 screws kind, they are slightly different then they should not fit mechanically.

anyways, unless you don't have an open coil, i doubt those heads are gone because they are monocrystal ferrite like the ones, i.e., in your Alpage AL300.
The heads on my M63, despite the deck was used a lot, still measure like new with equal and perfect FR on both channels up to well over 20khz.

so the only deck where you can find suitable heads for your M95 is another M95... and the deck where to find suitable heads for the M63 is another M63... and this only because of a slightly different mounting plate.
 
Last edited:
I hope there's just something wrong with height or tilt, already fixed the electronics (replaced tons of capacitors and some other components).
Anyway I've seen pictures of badly cracked ferrite heads from ANT, that scares me about the M95 head condition.
 
Hi Vince,

Lovely to hear from you! And yes i totally get what you are saying about destroying a very competent deck just to rip out the heads and hope that they fit - This is something i would never do.

I did have sights on a Philips 3 Head deck ( ALPS Heads ) that would have done the job, but the deck in question was 100% working and in excellent condition, so i did not buy it, Let someone who would love that deck enjoy it!

My search continues.....

I hope that you are OK?

Cheers my friend

Shaun
 
20tajk7 said:
I hope there's just something wrong with height or tilt, already fixed the electronics (replaced tons of capacitors and some other components).
Anyway I've seen pictures of badly cracked ferrite heads from ANT, that scares me about the M95 head condition.
Click to expand...

but those badly cracked ferrite heads pics from ANT, if i remember correctly, were mostly AKAI and Hitachi and one particular model of Sony.
The ones in the RS-M63 and RS-M95 do stink a lot like Alps to my eyes... look at them together with the heads in your Alpage AL300... even if they aren't the same, they still share just something... so, IMO, those are Alps heads.
 
pioneercollector said:
I hope that you are OK?

Cheers my friend

Shaun
Click to expand...

Yes, my dear friend. I am OK here. :)

I am not writing that much lately because this summer I am very busy on the books as, after a couple decades I had stopped studying, now I abruptly restarted to finally get my Mechanical Engineering degree... so, better late than never!
At this exact moment, I am practiceing on a quite complex CAD/CAM software (3D modelling) needed for the exam i have to take next month... quite incredible software, it's Autodesk Inventor Pro 2022... when i had stopped studying a couple decades ago, CAD software was a total joke compared to what they can do at now. :oops:


Cheers,

Vince.
 
Hi Vince,

When i did my Mech Eng degree there was no such thing as software... CNC was just becoming a thing... All drawn by hand and machined with your hands..... sigh

I am not in that world anymore, which is a shame as i feel that it is something that is lacking from today's working practices..... Good luck and Kudos to you, great subject to learn...

I am probably too old to learn something new, although bizarrely i am trying to rediscover Japanese! I did a very short exercise in this language when i was in the 6th Form at school ( My Chemistry teacher was a POW in the Pacific in the second world war for 4 years, And learnt excellent Japanese! He tried to teach myself and a friend )

Stay safe - I need to send you a tape i just made!

Shaun
 
vince666 said:
Yes, my dear friend. I am OK here. :)

I am not writing that much lately because this summer I am very busy on the books as, after a couple decades I had stopped studying, now I abruptly restarted to finally get my Mechanical Engineering degree... so, better late than never!
At this exact moment, I am practiceing on a quite complex CAD/CAM software (3D modelling) needed for the exam i have to take next month... quite incredible software, it's Autodesk Inventor Pro 2022... when i had stopped studying a couple decades ago, CAD software was a total joke compared to what they can do at now. :oops:


Cheers,

Vince.
Click to expand...
Hey Vince, good that you are learning 3D MCAD tools, we need more of that in this world.

Valuable skill, will you be working for a company that has/uses those tools?
 
@20tajk7 - Spot on! And it looked far to good to butcher, and i have too many decks already! Sigh, should have purchased it as it was going for a great price... But then i would have been tempted to strip the heads out, and that would have been wrong...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top