Tandberg 10 X Review

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TANDBERG =

'fandberg lOXIhas been tested in France, and here is the reporllranslaied
into English,

ON THE TEST BENCH:

T A N D B E R G
T A P E R E C O R D E R

10 X

Plh EN AVANT- PREMIERE

£1911 (Manufactured in Norway)
(Distributed by Tandberg France)

It comes from a Norwegian fiord. It has three motors, three speeds,
and three heads. Its last name is Tandberg, its first name is 10x.
We are, naturally, talking about a tape recorder. It belongs to the
category of "high quality or "professional" types, but has this
little extra something which, furthermore, makes it a "technician's
delight".

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General remarks

With its wooden cabinet, black top plate, and brushed aluminium
control panel, the 10x displays its obvious relationship to the
3500K, already known to our readers.

However, there are visible differences: first of all, a small
button replaces the key for selection of speed on the 3500K: the
scent of electronics. Furthermore, the speeds are not the same:
9,5, 19 and 38 cm/s, meeting the demands of the amateur who
desires a background music, the professional who wants an
impeccable quality, and, especially, the sophisticated twentieth
century person who wants both, depending on the circumstances.

Another button (10% reel) shows us that although the 10X
has three heads but only two reels, the size of the latter makes
up for their numerical deficiency, since it is possible to mount
"big modules" of 27 cm. At the speed of 38 cm/s, the use of
this size would, of course, be advisable.

Yet another difference: the trimming potentiometers applied to
the micros. Together with the ones at the line input they form
a simple but efficient mixer, which is sufficient in most cases.

Finally, a set of five push buttons - including a red button for
recording - replaces the control levers of the 3500K: a slight
touch of the finger, and they command the programmed minicomputer
to execute the operations. There is no need to depress the stop
button: the small electronic brain will do so for you, if need be,
with the necessary time lag, if your impatience should have
prevented you from anticipating the moment of inertia of the reels.
However, there is one exception: the recording button will not
Operate until after the stop button has been pushed.

Construction .

As can be seen from the control panel, the 10X has adopted a great
many electronic solutions. But many good mechanical solutions
have also been retained, and together they form a homogenious whole.

As is proper, let's begin with the capstan. It is driven by a belt
and firmly attached to a gear wheel. The belt serves to place the
motor at the ideal spot (far from the heads), whereas the gear
wheel chops up a beam of light. The resulting bits, the length of
which varies with the speed of the capstan, are carefully measured,
and any deviation from the standard meter produces an immediate
opposite variation in the motor supply, thus causing the motor to
regain its speed. A simple change in the reference meter makes

it possible to change the motor speed, and this is where the
aforementioned small button enters the picture. This button can

be used during operation facilitating certain simple tricks, as for
instance, a dialogue between Donald Duck and Boris Goudounov, with
a chorus at the intermediate speed. The type of servo motor used
is for direct current and Hall effect switching, thus, doing away
with the noisegenerating brushes. As you know 7 and in case you
should not know this, now would be as good a time as ever for you
to find out - the Hall effect cells are semiconductors which, when

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