Elmo ST-180 Sound Problems

[Taryn Lynch]

Hello!

I got an Elmo ST-180 from Ebay, which for the most part works great... except when it comes to the sound. Every film I've run through the machine comes out warbled. I have tried just about everything that I've seen mentioned: contact cleaner, flipping switches, trying to adjust the soundhead to make better contact. If I put pressure on the area where the soundhead is, I can get the sound to come in a little clearer, but nothing solid. I'm just not seeming to have any luck. I'm hoping that someone might have some magical solution that I might not have tried yet. I've attached a close-up photo and a short video of what it sounds like.

Thanks in advance for any help!
Taryn

[Steve Klare]

Hi Taryn,

Welcome!

To me, it sounds like the presser is not holding the magnetic stripe down on the head. Basically it is bouncing up and down on the head and you are only hearing sound in the fraction of the second it hits and before it rebounds.

I had this once and it turned out a little flake of some kind of schmutz was wedged between the cam that raised and lowered the presser and the follower that rode upon it.