Otari MX5050 BII 2 Question


I picked one of these up last night.  It had the large metal reel on it and the guy played me some Utah bar band that recorded with it probably in the late 80s.  The machine struggled to rewind a full tape but I finally got it off.  I also got about a dozen tapes but most of them are brand new.  I did find one used tape (it is not the big metal ones but the smaller seven inch reels) and set it up but when it played it was obviously playing backwards.  So I fast forwarded through the tape and then swapped the reels to try it again.  Now it is obviously playing right as I can hear Van Morrison's Moondance playing.  Problem is that it is playing like the chipmunks.  I did a little research online and tried using deoxit on the speed button but that isn't having any affect.  I only have one free 10 inch reel to use so right now I have that playing and the 7 inch reel on the other end.  I don't know the first thing about these things but that doesn't seem like it would be a problem.  I am slogging through the manual but thought that I would throw this out there to you guys first.

Thanks
allansumnall
Hi,I own several of these machines & can probably tell you a lot of things to try,you have a 2-track machine,are you sure the tapes you are playing were made on a 2-track ? there are a number of things that can be related to speed.If you would like to call me I can give you a lot of tips to get going ,but need to talk to you.Also it sounds like you may have sticky tape if those huge motors had trouble rewinding.Mike Sonka 847-566-8499
Mike,

I did try to record on a new reel and other than not knowing how all of the dials work and a little crackle in the input levels, it actually worked pretty well.  I am assuming, that the tape with recorded material I had must have been recorded at a slower speed.  I started to remove the front panel that has the record levels and output (SRL?) dials but wasn’t sure how to get those dials off.  Looks like there might be a small Allen key to remove them.  Also, the VU meter lights do not work.  The meters seem to work fine though.

thanks for your response.  Continuing to slog through the manual.