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Re: [ARSCLIST] Audio cassette woes
Just a thought.... the tape is pushed against a felt pad inside the
shell during playback/record only but these pads can deteriorate over
time. The pads collect any deposits or muck off the back of the tape.
Are you using a new felt pad when you transfer it to a new shell? Even
unused pads can deteriorate in storage!
All the Best
Nigel
----------------------------------------------
Nigel Champion
Archive Technician
Archive of Maori & Pacific Music
Faculty of Arts
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland
New Zealand
Tel: 09-373-7599 ext 85008
Fax: 09-373-7441
Web: www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/ampm
-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mike Richter
Sent: Monday, 25 April 2005 6:37 a.m.
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ARSCLIST] Audio cassette woes
I recently realized that I was down to my last few empty shells. Is
there a source - hopefully on the Internet - for those essential tools
for recovery of this most frustrating format?
One was used in a project which has been not merely frustrating but
maddening. The recording is on Ampex Plus Series, a line which has been
reliable for me both mechanically and magnetically since the recording
was made about 1980. Fast-forward and rewind are flawless and nearly
silent.
However, in any of my players the tape will not play. It begins readily
enough but runs for only a few seconds or at most a few minutes before
stalling depending on the player used. The speed decay is sudden and the
tape will move neither forward nor back. There is no sign of physical
problem - no curling or irregularity of an edge. Neither is there any
resistance when wound by hand.
If the problem occurred at the same spot regardless of machine or,
particularly, if it changed in a given well from one attempt to another,
I would suspect some sort of lubricant on the working surface. Even
without that consistency, I've examined the tape carefully and can see
nothing amiss. Similarly, though there was no indication of mechanical
problem, I changed shell to no avail.
Does anyone have a suggestion on where to look for the cause? This is
not a priority project, but it is the first time I've run into the
problem and I've some dozens (hundreds?) of Ampex Plus cassettes over
which it may loom.
Mike
--
mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/