Ampex ATR-100 Erase Head Internal Construction

The ATR-100 ferrite erase head is much simpler in construction than the repro or record heads.  The aluminum frame is a simple yoke without any slots to align the cores.

Note the dual gaps for each track.  This is a common practice to achieve total erasure with a single pass.

    

The first round of epoxy removal dissolved the white portions of the head, leaving the cores and the center shield.

The top view below shows the winding on the center leg and the two side poles.  My guess is that the fairly broad gaps at the face of the head allow the coil to be slipped over the center leg as a completed winding.

Note the cracks in the ferrite core.  Presumably this is due to abuse during my depotting and poking around, but this construction looks to me like it would be easy to damage by dropping or with extreme temperature variations.