Re: [ARSCLIST] Cleaning moldy video tape

[Mike Richter <mrichter@xxxxxxx>]

Jeff Brown wrote:
> Given the mechanical fragility of the base material in VHS and Beta
> video tapes, is it possible to manually wipe mold from such tapes without
> rendering them unplayable?
>
> And what does anyone think about the chances of success of removing the
> head drum from a video transport and building in some sort of fabric wiping
> pad system?

For VHS, I'd suggest modifying a commercial rewinder rather than 
tampering with the VCR. That is not only because of the cost of the two 
machines but more because there are fewer other parts to be munged by 
the debris.

Given the tolerances in the hardware, there's little chance that anyone 
without experience and calibration equipment could work on the head 
assembly and leave the result workable.

The above might also be viable on Betamax, but the hardware is all but 
unavailable today and my experience with it is too limited to offer even 
the little confidence I have with VHS. In addition, Betamax tapes and 
head assemblies have proved far more fragile in my experience than VHS.

Mike
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mrichter@xxxxxxx
http://www.mrichter.com/