Instruction and maintenance manual (OS3-035)
Covers the MX-5050 MARK III/4
Also includes alignment, troubleshooting, parts lists and schematics.
Instruction and maintenance manual (OS3-031)
Covers the MX-5050 BQ-II
Includes maintenance, parts lists, exploded views and all nine schematic sheets.
Read the digital editionDownload the second edition (Edition No.2, issued November 1983), 600 dpi scan (143 pages, 129 MB)Download the second edition (Edition No.2, issued November 1983), 1200 dpi scan (143 pages, 433 MB)Download the fold-out tape transport wiring diagram CB3170A (A3, 600 dpi, 9.8 MB)Download the fold-out control P.C.B. circuit diagram 3-8376 (A3, 600 dpi, 11 MB)Download the timer P.C.B. circuit diagram 4-28963 (1200 dpi, 3.8 MB)Download the MIC ATT P.C.B. circuit diagram 4-28965 (1200 dpi, 3.6 MB)Download the fold-out REC/REP amp P.C.B. circuit diagram 3-8497 (A3, 600 dpi, 10 MB)Download the fold-out AMP control P.C.B. circuit diagram 3-6649 (A3, 600 dpi, 5.6 MB)Download the fold-out mother P.C.B. circuit diagram 3-6287 (A3, 600 dpi, 8.4 MB)Download the fold-out headphone amp P.C.B. circuit diagram 3-6399 (A3, 600 dpi, 4.7 MB)Download the first edition (undated), 600 dpi scan (141 pages, 118 MB)Download the first edition (undated), 1200 dpi scan (141 pages, 399 MB)Download the earlier OCR transcription of the first edition (130 pages, 1.7 MB)
MARK III/2 operation manual, OS3-042 (Edition 3, February 1986; incomplete scan)
Covers MX-5050MKIII-2
Service training binder
Covers the whole MX-5050 line
Service bulletin: DD capstan motor lubrication (June 1989)
Alignment procedures, BII and MKIII-2 (Edition 2, January 1988)
Covers MX-5050 BII and MX-5050 MKIII-2
AMP control board in KiCad (PB45E0A, drawing 3-6649)
This site's redraw as a KiCad 10 project, with its simulation results.
See the simulation resultsDownload the redraw (A3 PDF, 358 KB)Download the KiCad 10 project (zip, 106 KB)
Synchronizer interface information (Edition 1, May 1985)
Covers MX and MTR series machines
Video Images Reference Catalog 1988–89 — Otari listing
Covers MX-5050 B-II, B-II F, BQ-II and MARK III series
Period distributor listing, not an Otari factory compatibility chart.
The MARK III Series brochure (1984)
Covers the MARK III series
5050 MARK III/2 data sheet (1983)
5050 MARK III/2 data sheet (BP6872.5K, 1987)
Modern Recording, March 1983 · scan pages 51–60Review
Otari MX-5050-MKIII-8 Professional Reel-to-Reel Recorder
A full Lab Report on the MARK III/8 with its Vital Statistics table and bench plots, followed by Michael Tapes' Hands-On Report from sessions in his own studio.
Studio Sound, June 1983 · scan pages 38–39, 74, 76, 78 and 80–81Review
Hugh Ford's full bench review of the Mark III/8 half-inch eight-track with the maker's specification, noise and wow-and-flutter tables, and Otari UK's two-page spread in the same issue quoting its verdict.
Complete MARK III/2 operation manual
A 48-page scan of Otari's OS3-042, Edition 3, February 1986, is held above, but it skips every even-numbered printed page. A complete copy is still wanted for reliable reading of the operating and service instructions. The separate BII/MKIII-2 alignment procedures cover alignment in the meantime.
MARK III/4, III/8 and BQ-II data sheets
The 1984 MARK III Series brochure ends its comparison grid with “For full specifications, see individual machine data sheets.” The MARK III/2's sheet is held above, in two printings; the sheets for the MARK III/4, MARK III/8 and BQ-II are not.
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