Marantz PMD520 User Manual

Model PMD520 User Guide

3-Head Double Cassette Deck

R

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CAUTION

RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DO NOT OPEN

CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK,

DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK)

NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE

REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within
an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user
to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage”
within the product’s enclosure that may be of suffi­cient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock
to persons.

The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle
is intended to alert the user to the presence of
important operating and maintenance (servicing)
instructions in the literature accompanying the
appliance.

WARNING

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK,
DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

CAUTION: TO PREVENT ELECTRIC SHOCK, MATCH WIDE

BLADE OF PLUG TO WIDE SLOT, FULLY INSERT.

ATTENTION: POUR ÉVITER LES CHOCS ÉLECTRIQUES,

INTRODUIRE LA LAME LA PLUS LARGE DE LA FICHE DANS LA
BORNE CORRESPON-DANTE DE LA PRISE ET POUSSER
JUSQU’AU FOND.

NOTE:

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the
FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation.
If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct
the interference by one or more of the following measures:

― Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
― Increase the separation between the equipment and

receiver.

― Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different

from that to which the receiver is connected.

― Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician

for help.

NOTE:

Changes or modifications may cause this unit to fail to comply
with Part 15 of the FCC Rules and may void the user's
authority to operate the equipment.

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SAFETY

INSTRUCTIONS

READ BEFORE OPERATING EQUIPMENT

This product was designed and manufactured to meet strict
quality and safety standards. There are, however, some in­stallation and operation precautions which you should be par­ticularly aware of.

1. Read Instructions — All the safety and operating instruc­tions should be read before the appliance is operated.

2. Retain Instructions — The safety and operating instruc­tions should be retained for future reference.

3. Heed Warnings — All warnings on the appliance and in
the operating instructions should be adhered to.

4. Follow Instructions — All operating and use instructions
should be followed.

5. Water and Moisture — The appliance should not be used
near water — for example, near a bathtub, wash-bowl,
kitchen sink, laundry tub, in a wet basement, or near a
swimming pool, etc.

6. Carts and Stands — The appliance should be used only
with a cart or stand that is recommended by the manufac­turer.

7. An appliance and cart combination should be moved with
care. Quick stops, excessive force, and uneven surfaces
may cause the appliance and cart combination to over­turn.

8. Wall or Ceiling Mounting — The appliance should be
mounted to a wall or ceiling only as recommended by the
manufacturer.

9. Ventilation — The appliance should be situated so that its
location or position does not interfere with its proper ven­tilation. For example, the appliance should not be situ­ated on a bed, sofa, rug, or similar surface that may block
the ventilation openings; or, placed in a built-in installa­tion, such as a bookcase or cabinet that may impede the
flow of air through the ventilation openings.

10. Heat — The appliance should be situated away from heat
sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or
other appliances (including amplifiers) that produce
heat.

11. Power Sources — The appliance should be connected to
a power supply only of the type described in the operating
instructions or as marked on the appliance.

12. Grounding or Polarization — The precautions that should
be taken so that the grounding or polarization means of an
appliance is not defeated.

AC POLARIZED PLUG

13. Power-Cord Protection — Power-supply cords should be
routed so that they are not likely to be walked on or
pinched by items placed upon or against them, paying par­ticular attention to cords at plugs, convenience recep­tacles, and the point where they exit from the appliance.

14. Cleaning — The appliance should be cleaned only as rec­ommended by the manufacturer.

15. Power Lines— An outdoor antenna should be located
away from power lines.

16. Outdoor Antenna Grounding — If an outside antenna is
connected to the receiver, be sure the antenna system is
grounded so as to provide some protection against volt­age surges and built up static charges. Section 810 of the
National Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA No. 70-1984, pro­vides information with respect to proper grounding of the
mast and supporting structure, grounding of the lead-in
wire to an antenna discharge unit, size of grounding con­ductors, location of antenna-discharge unit, connection to
grounding electrodes, and requirements for the grounding
electrode. See Fig. 1.

17. Nonuse Periods — The power cord of the appliance
should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused for
a long period of time.

18. Object and Liquid Entry — Care should be taken so that
objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclo­sure through openings.

19. Damage Requiring Service — The appliance should be
serviced by qualified service personnel when:

A. The power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged;

or

B. Objects have fallen, or liquid has spilled into the appli-

ance; or
C. The appliance has been exposed to rain; or
D. The appliance does not appear to operate normally or

exhibits a marked change in performance; or
E. The appliance has been dropped, or the enclosure

damaged.

20. Servicing — The user should not attempt to service the
appliance beyond that described in the operating instruc­tions. All other servicing should be referred to qualified
service personnel.

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FIG. 1

EXAMPLE OF ANTENNA GROUNDING ACCORDING TO

NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE INSTRUCTIONS

CONTAINED IN ARTICLE 810 - “RADIO AND TELEVISION EQUIPMENT”

ANTENNA
LEAD IN
WIRE

GROUND
CLAMP

ELECTRIC
SERVICE
EQUIPMENT

NEC – NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE

This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the
Canadian Interference - Cansing Equipment Regulations.

ANTENNA
DISCHARGE UNIT
(NEC SECTION 810–20)

GROUNDING CONDUCTORS
(NEC SECTION 810–21)

GROUND CLAMPS

POWER SERVICE GROUNDING
ELECTRODE SYSTEM
(NEC ART 250, PART H)

Cet appareil numérique de la Classe B respecte toutes les
exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada.

NOTE TO CATV SYSTEM INSTALLER:

This reminder is provided to call the CATV system installer’s attention to Article 820–40 of the NEC that
provides guidelines for proper grounding and, in particular, specifies that the cable ground shall be connected
to the grounding system of the building, as close to the point of cable entry as practical.

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Dolby noise reduction and HX Pro headroom extension are manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories
Licensing Corporation. HX Pro originated by Bang & Olufsen.

“DOLBY” the double-D symbol and “HX PRO” are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation.

is a registered trademark.

Printed in Japan 98 / 10 MIT

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418S851252

English

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................. 6

PRECAUTIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 6

FEATURES ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6

REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 7

FRONT PANEL FEATURES ........................................................................................................................................... 7

DISPLAYS....................................................................................................................................................................... 9

OPERATION ................................................................................................................................................................. 10

PLAYBACK ............................................................................................................................................................... 10

PLAYBACK ON ONE WELL (Same procedure for Well A or Well B) OR BOTH WELLS .................................... 10

CONTINUOUS PLAYBACK ................................................................................................................................. 10

TIMER PLAYBACK (Same procedure for Wells A and B).................................................................................... 10

RECORDING............................................................................................................................................................ 10

SINGLE WELL RECORDING (Same procedure for Well A or Well B) ................................................................ 10

CONTINUOUS RECORDING ...............................................................................................................................11

PARALLEL RECORDING .....................................................................................................................................11

TIMER RECORDING (Same procedure for Wells A and B) ................................................................................. 11

OVERLAP SERIES RECORDING ........................................................................................................................11

CASCADE OPERATION .......................................................................................................................................... 12

CASCADE CONTINUOUS PLAYBACK............................................................................................................... 12

CASCADE CONTINUOUS RECORDING ........................................................................................................... 12

SYNCHRONOUS RECORDING .............................................................................................................................. 12

CASCADE OVERLAP SERIES RECORDING ......................................................................................................... 12

OTHER OPERATIONS............................................................................................................................................. 13

ERASURE OF TAPE............................................................................................................................................ 13

AUTO TAPE SELECTOR ..................................................................................................................................... 13

AUTOMATIC BIAS ADJUST ................................................................................................................................ 13

TAPE STOP ALARM ............................................................................................................................................ 13

AUTO COUNTER RESET ................................................................................................................................... 13

TO PROTECT VALUABLE RECORDINGS ......................................................................................................... 13

ENHANCED REMOTE CONTROL OPERATIONS .................................................................................................. 13

SIMULTANEOUS (PARALLEL) RECORDING..................................................................................................... 13

DUPLICATION SYNCHRONIZATION ...................................................................................................................... 14

CONNECTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 14

NORMAL SPEED DUPLICATION........................................................................................................................ 14

HIGH SPEED DUPLICATION .............................................................................................................................. 14

QMS (QUICK MUSIC SEARCH) .............................................................................................................................. 14

AUTO BIAS & EQ SYSTEM.......................................................................................................................................... 15

CARE AND MAINTENANCE ......................................................................................................................................... 16

MAINTENANCE ....................................................................................................................................................... 16

HEAD CLEANING ................................................................................................................................................ 16

HEAD DEMAGNETIZATION................................................................................................................................ 16

CLEANING OF EQUIPMENT EXTERNAL SURFACES ...................................................................................... 16

REPAIRS....................................................................................................................................................................... 16

TROUBLESHOOTING .................................................................................................................................................. 16

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................................................................................... 53

FRONT AND REAR PANEL DRAWINGS ..................................................................................................................... 54

English

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INTRODUCTION

Thank you for selecting the Marantz Model PMD520 3-head In­dependent Dual Well Cassette Deck.
Please read these operating instructions carefully. We recom­mend that you read the entire user guide before you connect or
operate the unit.
After you have reviewed the contents this manual, we suggest
that you make all system connections before you attempt to
operate the unit.

English

Refer to the Figures on Pages 54 – 57 of this user guide.
The callout numbers on the Figures correspond to those found
in the text. All references to connections and controls are printed
in BOLD type, as they appear on the unit.

PRECAUTIONS

The following precautions should be considered when operat­ing the equipment.

When setting the equipment ensure that :
– air is allowed to circulate freely around the equipment
– the equipment is on a vibration free surface
– the equipment will not be exposed to interference from an

external source

– the equipment will not be exposed to excessive heat, cold,

moisture or dust
– the equipment will not be exposed to direct sunlight
– the equipment will not be exposed to electrostatic discharges

¡ In addition, never place heavy objects on the equipment.
¡ If a foreign body or water does enter the equipment, contact

your nearest dealer or service center.
¡ Do not pull out the plug by pulling on the mains lead. Hold

the plug.

FEATURES

¡ COMPLETELY INDIVIDUAL DUAL SYSTEM

Well A and Well B can be controlled independently for both

recording and playback. There are two sets of inputs and

outputs which allow for many modes of recording and play-

back. Two separate input sources can be recorded simulta-

neously and independently on the two decks; two different

tapes can be played back simultaneously on the two decks;

and lastly, it is possible to play a cassette on one well, and

record a different source (such as a mixer) on the other well

simultaneously.

There are also several modes in which the two decks work

together.

¡ CONTINUOUS RECORDING AND PLAYBACK

In the continuous mode, Well A will play (or record) side one,

and then automatically switch to Well B, which will play (or

record) side one. In this way 1-1/2 hours of uninterrupted

playback or recording is possible using C-90 cassettes.

¡ CASCADE CONNECTION FOR SERIAL CONNECTION OF

MULTIPLE UNITS

By connecting several PMD520s in series by way of the cas­cade connection, multiple units can play or record continu­ously for logging and other long-time recording applications.
In this case, Wells A and B of unit #1 will play (or record) as
in the example above, then they will trigger the start of con­tinuous playback (or record) of unit #2, and so on.

¡ OVERLAP SERIES RECORDING

This feature records long events such as a conference, with­out interruption. The recording of the next tape starts when
the remaining time on the previous tape is approximately 3
minutes.

English

¡ PARALLEL RECORDING (DUPLICATION)

When multiple copies of the same source are required, it is
possible to record both Well A and Well B simultaneously, in
parallel, from a single source.

¡ TIMER REC/PLAY

Time-activated playback and recording are available using
a commercially available timer.

¡ FINE SPEED CONTROL

Each Well features ±3% speed control.

¡ METERS AND LINEAR TIME TAPE COUNTERS

Each Well features independent FL bargraph meters, and a
linear time (minutes and seconds) counter. The display on
these counters is only an approximate indication of minutes
and seconds and its accuracy depends on the match be­tween the Tape and the correct TAPE TIME setting.

¡ TAPE STOP ALARM

A buzzer sound is generated to indicate the end of tape af­ter playback or recording.

¡ DOLBY B/C NR SYSTEMS

The Dolby NR (Noise Reduction) systems compress and am­plify signals during recording in order to raise the signal-to­noise ratio on the tape. During playback, these signals are
expanded and attenuated by the same amount in order to
regain the original dynamic range of the music. An additional
result of this expansion and attenuation is that the noise floor
of the recording is reduced significantly. Dolby B typically
reduces noise by 10 dB, while Dolby C typically reduces
noise by 20 dB.

¡ DOLBY HX PRO HEADROOM EXTENSION

The Dolby HX PRO system monitors the total amount of ef­fective bias during recording and instantaneously compen­sates for any excess bias by reducing the deck’s bias signal
level accordingly.
The system operates independently on each channel. HX
PRO is unlike a noise reduction system because it functions
only during recording and no decoding is required. There­fore, a tape recorded with the HX PRO system can be played
back on any other cassette deck while retaining the benefits
of HX PRO.

Dolby noise reduction and HX Pro headroom extension are
manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories Licens­ing Corporation. HX Pro originated by Bang & Olufsen.

“DOLBY” the double-D symbol and “HX PRO” are trademarks
of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation.

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