set_tech Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) Hi All, This is my first post, so please be gentle! Quite some time ago, my elderly father acquired a couple of ex-ABC (Radio Australia) Studer A80 (I believe that is the model) reel-to-reel decks as part of his involvement with a community radio station. These decks were never used by the radio station as they decided to go down the digital path and they have remained covered in my father's garage since the early 1990's. My father has no use for these machines and he would like to dispose of them as part of a house clean-up. Could anyone please advise whether these decks would be of interest to someone and, if so, suggest what a fair asking price would be for them? Any help or thoughts would be most gratefully received. With Many Thanks, Shane, Edited July 22, 2017 by set_tech grammatical corrections 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martykt Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 @set_tech, yes they very nice decks indeed. I just wish I had the money at the moment to buy one. Not sure exactly how much they are worth exactly, probably condition will have a fair bit to do with the price. @Simonon might have more of an idea about it. Con at Telos Audio Distributors ( @conlou ) might be worth contacting too in regards to more info. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
set_tech Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 5 minutes ago, Martykt said: @set_tech, yes they very nice decks indeed. I just wish I had the money at the moment to buy one. Not sure exactly how much they are worth exactly, probably condition will have a fair bit to do with the price. @Simonon might have more of an idea about it. Con at Telos Audio Distributors ( @conlou ) might be worth contacting too in regards to more info. Thanks for the response Martykt! :-) I really appreciate the pointers and suggestions. We'll have to drag them out into the daylight to see what they look like. Being ex-ABC, I'm pretty sure that they were well maintained, however, they have been in a garage (albeit covered up and dry) for the past 25 years!!! :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martykt Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 1 minute ago, set_tech said: Thanks for the response Martykt! :-) I really appreciate the pointers and suggestions. We'll have to drag them out into the daylight to see what they look like. Being ex-ABC, I'm pretty sure that they were well maintained, however, they have been in a garage (albeit covered up and dry) for the past 25 years!!! :-) 25 years I'm guessing they will need re-capping and servicing. How much wear the heads have will probably need an expert to ascertain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicprObe Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Martykt said: 25 years I'm guessing they will need re-capping and servicing. How much wear the heads have will probably need an expert to ascertain. They'll need a lot more than that. Probably a complete rebuild. Great decks, and I'm sure there'd be plenty of interest. Please don't throw them on the tip! edit - and oh!.............Welcome aboard! Edited July 22, 2017 by LogicprObe 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 @set_tech did your dad worked at the ABC in Melbourne when they were on the corner of Lonsdale St and Kings.... the spot where it's now Victoria County Courts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
set_tech Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 1 minute ago, LogicprObe said: They'll need a lot more than that. Probably a complete rebuild. Great decks, and I'm sure there'd be plenty of interest. Please don't throw them on the tip! Thanks for the response, LogicprObe! :-) It's re-assuring that these decks are still of interest to someone. With Dad and myself both being techs (Dad worked for Telecom for 35 years), we would both like these machines to go to good homes rather than end up as landfill if at all possible. Still, if they do have some monetary value, I'm sure that Dad would appreciate it as a bonus!!! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy107 Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 If you can get some pictures then before turn them on to see if it still work make sure you leave the power on couple of days with the power plug in ( just to warm thing up :-)) ) Price depends on condition of the machine range from few hundred to couple of thousand. Most would buy the A80 for transport as the pre very old tech now . Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
set_tech Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 18 minutes ago, Tommy107 said: If you can get some pictures then before turn them on to see if it still work make sure you leave the power on couple of days with the power plug in ( just to warm thing up :-)) ) Price depends on condition of the machine range from few hundred to couple of thousand. Most would buy the A80 for transport as the pre very old tech now . Cheers Thanks Tommy107. I appreciate your response. :-) Yes, we need to take them out of the garage and have a look at them in daylight. I have a camera with a decent macro capability so we can take some shots of the heads. As far as warm-up goes, I'd like to run over the electro caps with an ESR meter before sticking them on power...otherwise there might be some undesired fireworks!!! :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mischa Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Price really depends on the state of the machines and more importantly the hours and degradation of the heads. (with worn heads the A80 is probably are more worth in parts). Also BBC versions aren't the most popular ones as they usually have (ugly) mods like faderstart etc....I'll be happy to look at pics and tell you what I think. I have (and had) lot of A80's. ps. if they have been in storage for so long I wouldn't turn them on at all until they're looked over. cheers, Mischa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martykt Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 @set_tech, if they do end up being more restoration projects after being checked out and not being worth much money I'd be keen to take one on. It would definitely be a learning curve but it would be great to hopefully revive one rather than seeing parted out. Can't wait to see some photos of them (pics are mandatory here on SNA ), not every day you hear of these getting brought out of a garage after 25 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelw Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 12 hours ago, set_tech said: Thanks Tommy107. I appreciate your response. :-) Yes, we need to take them out of the garage and have a look at them in daylight. I have a camera with a decent macro capability so we can take some shots of the heads. As far as warm-up goes, I'd like to run over the electro caps with an ESR meter before sticking them on power...otherwise there might be some undesired fireworks!!! :-) use a variac and slowly bring them up to full power. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
set_tech Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 13 hours ago, mischa said: Price really depends on the state of the machines and more importantly the hours and degradation of the heads. (with worn heads the A80 is probably are more worth in parts). Also BBC versions aren't the most popular ones as they usually have (ugly) mods like faderstart etc....I'll be happy to look at pics and tell you what I think. I have (and had) lot of A80's. ps. if they have been in storage for so long I wouldn't turn them on at all until they're looked over. cheers, Mischa Thanks for the comments, Mischa. I appreciate freely sharing your expertise. We definitely need to give them a detailed inspection in bright light, take lots of photos and do an ESR check on all the electrolytic caps before powering up. My Dad advised today that there are actually 3 machines - 1 is definitely stereo (it has 2 VU meters) and the other 2 could be mono (they only have 1 VU meter), however, we need to uncover them and examine them to be sure. With Regards, Shane, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
set_tech Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 7 hours ago, Martykt said: @set_tech, if they do end up being more restoration projects after being checked out and not being worth much money I'd be keen to take one on. It would definitely be a learning curve but it would be great to hopefully revive one rather than seeing parted out. Can't wait to see some photos of them (pics are mandatory here on SNA ), not every day you hear of these getting brought out of a garage after 25 years. No worries Martykat. It would be great to see them go to good homes and given that I've now been told by Dad today that there are actually 3 machines available, perhaps we can distribute them amongst a few people. However, at this stage, there might only be one stereo machine - the other two apparently only have 1 VU meter. I'll keep everyone updated once we uncover them and see what they look like. I really do appreciate all the support that you and other people on SNA have provided. The experience and knowledge that you guys have is truly invaluable! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martykt Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 (edited) Thank you @set_tech. I imagine there still would be value in the Mono Studers too though probably more of interest to musicians and recording studios. It may be worth investigating more musician oriented sites like Reverb.com as well. They might need servicing first before selling in that marketplace though. I also discovered this online which you might find interesting. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/mbrs/recording_preservation/manuals/Studer A80-RC Professional Tape Recorders.pdf Edited July 23, 2017 by Martykt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenvalve Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 (edited) Hi,defiantly interested in the stereo Studer A80, Edited July 23, 2017 by stevenvalve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mischa Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Waiting for pics ;). Might make an offer too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
set_tech Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 On 23/07/2017 at 11:43 AM, michaelw said: use a variac and slowly bring them up to full power. Yes Michaelw. I'll ESR the caps first though... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
set_tech Posted July 26, 2017 Author Share Posted July 26, 2017 Thank you to everyone for their help and expressions of interest. It will take me a little bit of time to get to check out the Studers. I'm pretty busy with work at the moment. I'll try and have a closer look at the Studers on the weekend. I'll post back with pics and further details as soon as I can. With Regards, Shane, 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicprObe Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 Looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian McP Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 http://stores.ebay.com.au/Jenform-Australia-Pty-Ltd?_trksid=p2047675.l2563 http://www.broadcastworkshop.com/ < Repairs & Restorations Professional audio equipment Analogue & digital Reel to reel specialists Amplifiers, speakers, turntables, tuners Head re-lapping NO obligation free quotations > 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_bird Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 i'd also be interested in the stereo deck. please get in touch when you have bottomed things out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darth vader Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 @set-tech @Martykt Marty cat would be the man. He needs a new love in his life. A Studer would be great match for him. He would give it the love it deserves. I'm sure he would pay an appropriate going rate for a nice new bride 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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