Nagra E User manual

INAGRA~
INSTRUCTION MANUAL
KUDELSKI SA .1033 CHESEAUX SWITZERLAND

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NAGRA E
PORTABLE ANALOGUE AUDIO
TAPE RECORDER
INSTRUCTION
MANUAL
(KSA code No. 20 02002 1 51 )
Kudelsl<i SA
NAGRA TIIpEI Reeoolll< Manufacture<
OH-l033 Cheseau. I SWITZE RLA ND
pI'ooe (021) 731 21 21
lelel< A59 302 nBgI ch
telefa>< (02;1)731 41 55
May 1919 ed ition

N/lGI1/1, KUD€L8KI, N ~OP lLO T , NEOPILOTTON
N/l GI1/1 81/1TIC, NII GRI\FIIX
a,er egi ster '" j, aoo _ "", rk•.properly 01
KUO H8K1 8 ./1
NAORA Tape Rscor ,,"' M anu t actur ...
NAGRA I KUDELSKI certifies that this instrumenl ""as thomughjy inspected and lesled
prkJr to
leaving our factory and is in
accor<la.r<:e ""ilh 1I1e data{jiven in II>e accompanying lest sheel.
We
lIW1r8ntoe 1I1e products ot our o""n manutactu 'e against ""y defact arising fwm faulty mal"\Ufacl ure
lor a
peIiod of ona year from the date of delivery. This gu. r. nt.... covers lhe ,epair ot <:onfkmad def....,ls
or.
~ n....,..,ssa ry. the repleo:amenl ot the fauny parts. excluding " othar indemnilies.
All
troi!t>l co51s~ as wall as customs duty and other possible charges, .'" at 1he customer's espense.
Our lIUlifanlee remains valid
., lhe a .a nt of eme'9!"'CYrapairs or modificalions being made by lha u_
Ho..av.... ""a r_I'\Ia lhe 'ighl lO ;,w Dic a the ClIS tomer for any damage caused by an unqualifi9d person
or a lalse manoeuvre by the op8fator.
We decline any ras
fXI nsitmry klr an ~ and all damages '6sultitlg, li rOCll y or indorecll y, kom lhe use ot oor
prO lJuClS.
Otller products sokl by KUDELSKI SA ara c~ red by \flO gUllfanlee d auses of Ill"; , raspective
manufaclurers. Wa decline any respoosi
rnl ity lor damaqes 'esulling from the use of meee products.
Wa
'e_va lha rig hl to moddy me P'oduct and I <)I" lila specilications wilhout notice.

CONTROLS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
PREPARATION
1,1. P owor supply
1.2. Thr Nd i r>g the rape
'. 3. Sp e"" and reels
OPERATION
2.1. Meter reading
2.2. Po te ntiometer pos<liooing
2.3. sa fety eaten
2.4. Main IIJnctioo selector
2.5. Con nec tions
2.6. Rocordi"ll
2.7. Playback
MAINTENANCE
Page 1
Page 3
Pag " 11
3.1. Batlef'es
3.2. Cloooirlg the magn
et ic heads
3.3. Access to tho interior 01 the Nagre E
3.4 SimJlkllaultfinding
CHAPTER 4 CA
LI BRATION Page 11
4.1. Ca tibfot "'" of the playback chain
4.2. CaI Obra tion of the record chain
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
NAGRA E-L WITH PILOT
5.1. DeSct,pU
OI1
5.2. RecOfdi "ll
5 3 Playback
5,4, AdjuslmOOI
5.5. Nagra E-L bl oc\< diagram
SP ECIFICATIONS
SynopbC doa gram
Coo!igurat or
Pa lJ" 21
Page 27
P ag e 33
"'" "

NAGRA E
CONTROLS
, , 3, , era9
,
a
a
•
,
e
,
e
,
tu
l a~ le rlSioo rol le<
Supply 'ee l
Era "" head
Star "l i_ roller w rt hstrDboOC<lp<!
fl ecor ding ... ad
Play bac k Mead
Pi""t>-wheel
T ... ... "" ,""I
Pi ncl>-w hee l cont,,," "' er
Ri gh i 1 "" 0; 00 roller
ra
..
rs
re
"
"
ta
eu
ar
"
Gal vano<oe le,
Ca l;Jora t ion $C'_
V Q I~ line i npu t
Mic"'lj'hooe fX'Ie mi<>meter
L_ inpLII&playbaCk POI eoriomel",
Tape-<l ir<lCl s"otch
l<>ud>peaker . " j le1l
AA a on luncMns .., 1e< 1 ",
HeadptJonc oulpul
Ban <l< Vtesl s...tch

"tz 33
"U
no> inp ut 1 "" """ 1)
es
Po we r pack c~ '"
"M..... inpul
as
Power mOOo oeIoctor $Wi tch
"
So.< IoclO ng screw
aa
60>< loc k;,,\! SCf _
".o.q.nvnetri<:al
~ "" ""lplll
nM""
l>J)llone sel0ct0r sWItch
(symmetrical <>n option)

Chapter 1
PREPARATION
EIMqo1e.0/1 ~ eels
"" e... lfllIt sliding ..-:1'1 26 ill .... . -....-
~ ~
Turn _ the NAGRA E .... .....- _ 30 bI'
.......,;"g fIoang sctew$ 29 end 32.
f'IIOI _ 1~ D-ty pe ~ . IR20) 0'
liIIewl 2fJ D- Iype ~ eels, ....
....... direction, as indicated on Ih<I -..... 01 ....
COI'hj)IittmBnI./I is ~ to place ... bMIer .c
aacIl &nd firs!, and then to insert the Olhers in
""-
PI_ bac kc O'o' er 30 inl0 place lacuring it .. ,Ill
1IC.~ a 211 and 32 and lurn 1ha NAGRA e O\I a•
.,. ,.
S&1 mein luoctions seJec10r 10 ' PLAYBACK" or
"RE COR O· and ch&ck volIag& by ~es8inO down
'Ball , Test ", Wl lCt1 22 .With new cells. """"" 13
8houId $hc>w 18 v ce ee lower _ . H II>e
f\lHtdIe ....... n. below 11 V. II>e ~ o l l"O" i.
insu'h;:;erlllo ~ "'" NAGRA E-
c
•
••
•
•
~.I pow&!' supply
'Throw .-:tl 26 10 'ExIemaI",
The P<W3AA Ecan also be jlOIIo('It8d tIy IhIo "'TN
......... po.- ~ which ca ....... 10 qlUI 2'S
Pow. PecIl. r- _ ~ 8S SO "g · Ban. TM1'
$oIoII;fI 22, .- 01 ""'*' 13 ...... lI" 10 ....
t.- rigIt. n dag& so q:Fd is 8PP'O"""'-Y
"v.
,."
• ill poe' .... to c:hecl< IlwI vol!aOt ~ ot ....
NAGRA e (Ball .Test 22 ) at any _ . no """*
w/'IaI: Iunc1Jon has '-" seIec1 ed .
"
,
"

1.2. THREADING THE TAPE
1.3. SPEED AND REELS
2
Rele ", e pjr>chw heel 7 by P<J ll ing lorward ba ~ r 9.
Place Ih
.. lu~ r ee l on tI>e 1,, 11 and the ..mply r ~
00 me righl hand sida. Secu re ltiom. Thread tI>e
taj>e around tensioorollers 1 ar>d 10, and wOnd
su ffi cient lape 00 lhe empty reel. Eng "!l" the
pirlctlwh e<>1 by pushing leve, 9 hack inle its
crig
inal pos lDon :il should snap sha,ply into plac ... .
Th8 recorder is row ready 10operal...
N6 :
Wh ao threading the tape . "" sU '" thal the oxide
lay er laces lhe heads.
The
rac<>,d cha,n 01 Ihe NAGR AEis e<Wibra ted at
t
hEt laclory w ittl a g i ~ n ty pe of tape, II anolher
type
of lape is 10 be used ,il will t>e r'IIlCass ary 10
re-ca l. b<a l.. lhe machine '" exp lai ned in Chapter
4,2.
11th..
NA G RA E remains unused lor a long period
01 lime. laver 9should not be loft in th" rele ased
posihon as lhe clul dl might d..I..,;"ral" and
become t
hEt S llU rco of noi sy r ew<n ding.
The NAGRA Eis a single-speed re
cord er
avai loble either in 19 cmIs (7 112 ips) or 9.5 cmls
(3.75 ips)
~rsoi n,
The ", cord,ng limes gilten below are an indicahon
only and cormspond to 3 5J1 long play l ape ,
, "' .9 5 cmls HI emfs
Cover Closed t27 mm 47 min. 24 m
in,
with cs er
178mm 1 "34 min. 47 min_
with OGB 267 mm 2h12 m'n.
moe min.
standa,d 50
Jl la p" :
Reels 9.5 cmls 19 emfs
Covar closed 127 mm 32
mi n. 16 min.
wil h OSET 178 mm
11 h03 min . 32 min.
wilh OG6 26
7m m 1h36 n un. 48 min

The me ter has two gradl.l'll<>d scales. 009 in "GIIs
and It\El other in decibels. "is used to <:hed< the
supply voltage, to adjust It\El input seosil;"ity. to
eaect a fOug h ch 9Ck of the c ~cuits and 10
calibfate Ihe record and playback chains.
M echan ical zero setti ng
ay me ans of adj ustment sc'ew 14 Ihe
mod ulomotar n_ le can be moved 10 the lelt or
10 the right and thus positioned exactly at the
beg inning of the scale.
Bal;lery cheek
LI1W9' scale. The thick part of the ~ Ie indOcata"
II>e mini mum and m e. imun levels of the oopply
voltage (with batl9<ies}.
Input "e ns ltlll ll y
Uppa. scale. The
NAGRA E meter lunetm s as a
mod "'ome ter, i.e. ~ sllowstho peak value. with
fast use
tme and intagr atocl fall of the recorded
"'9'18 1. K incOfporateS a memory device mak ing it
poss ible to ,ead the VSlU9 displayed. As is
cu S1(l1J1ary with Vl!'met ers , graduation is only
trom -20 dB 10 +3ee.
Low9r scale. The NAGR/\ E is ocau ippad w< lh its
own checking device. A 1'1008 p1ac9d in. KIa the
'acotd", pormits a quick dIec~ 01 all circu;ls. The
\/Ol taga rnaasuroo is shown 00 tha JOOl9 r (sea
Chap' ''' 3.3.).
Ca litlrallon of 1 1>8 rec:o r<klr
UpiXl< sca le. This scale is used lor c albalioo
{soo Chapler 4)
Chapler 2
OPERATION
2.1. METER REA DING S
3

2.2 . POTENTIOMETER POSITIONING
"p
,'j' " ,h
':'
LIN E INP UT J
&PLAYBACK
2.3. SAFeTY CATCH
4
The hW NAG RA E potentiometers l(j and
17 are graduated d iffe rent ly.
Potentiometer 16
micropnone
Graduated Irom 16 0to 71 dB. This sc ale
e. pH!sses the sound lev .... in dB for a recorded
levelof 0dB. I.e a 32 0n WM11 flu •. Tho thick
patt ot the scale
cO Hesp <> nds to t he beSl
lIP" fatiOrllli la nge oI lhe micro ph<l ne p'e a"'ll lilier.
If sensilillilV must be increased as tar as belwoon
82 ar>d 71 dB. lhe backgroond noise will nt} klll gar
be negli g< ble WIth .... Specf lO tape n "; se. How&ver.
dse,,,. tlvity must be <!& c,eased to betw oon 125
sod 150 dB in order to ,eco,dat 0dB on the
m<>dulom"' er, then eeiput signai is too strong. It
is tharelor& necessary either 10 relluce tt 19 si{lflal
lIov .. by maans of an a ll en """" , providoo the
microphone it se ~ is not saturated. or to swifch the
iopul to '" less
s "" si ~v e posoIioo .
Potenti ometer 17 Un .. ln put &Playba ck
Graduated trom - 70 to +12 dB. II a la pe
record/ld at 0dB
"", 91 .La. a 320 nWblm ftux, is
played
bad< with the potootiomrrtar at 0dB. rt will
giv" anominal signal 01 0.94 V at unbalanced h.....
output 24. The moduk>met er will ", ad 0dB. " the
pOlentiomal" r is sal 10 +12 dB fh" modulomater
w
oll indicllle 0 dB tor a signal rocorded III -12 dB.
AS a safety precaution on the NAGRA E. main
lunction selector 20 is equipped with two slotted
bunons. one is red. fhe other
wt>j te.
During transportafion. : to avoid inadvf!rtent
op<lrat oon ot the recorder, it is possibl" 10 lock the
selool
<>r in STOP position by pressing the wM "
buttoo and tU< ning ~ 90" .
Ouri"il playback or editing : 10 avoid accitltmtally
a w~ ~hing 10 r e ~ or d , it is possible 10 use Ihe r OO
buttoo in the same way. The main selector will
tum freely bul
~ WIl l be impos sob l.. to s w ~ch it to
~"'