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Re: [ARSCLIST] squealing cassette tapes
At 10:01 PM 1/10/2005 +0100, Jos Van Dyck wrote:
In my experience, it is the friction between the felt pressure pad and the
back of the tape which generates the noise. Hence lubricating the felt pad
(with Teflon?) may be a solution.
Jos,
The Dragon (and other Nakamichi players) push the pressure pad out of the
way and don't use it. It appears to be a stiction problem -- at least what
I think Marie has experienced, and certainly what I have experienced.
This is similar to the stiction found in some Sony (and other brand) reel
tapes. This does not respond to baking (I've tried). Marie experienced this
in depth and specially modified a Studer reel machine when she was in New
Zealand. Very clever. Anyway, the stuff Marie and I are talking about has
nothing to do with pressure pads. That may be a totally different problem.
We consider this "Loss of Lubricant (LoL)" for want of a better term.
Consider it this way: It's like sticky shed, but it doesn't shed and
doesn't respond to baking or chilling. It still squeals.
I also think the whole binder/oxide package is more fragile than normal at
this point, but I haven't developed a calibrated test to confirm this. It
does seem to be easily scratched, but, again, it doesn't shed and stick to
guides like, say 456 in all its SSS glory.
At 04:08 PM 1/10/2005 -0500, Steven C. Barr wrote:
Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol...correct? I'm thinking if this "de-squeals" a
malfunctioning cassette, I could do this once, dub the now-quiet tape onto a
new blank, and not worry about the failing one...
Steven,
Marie and I (at least) are doing this to get good playback so we can
digitize the asset. Copying to another cassette would work, but, overall,
prolong the transition to digital.
Isopropyl alcohol is 99% (or better) alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is about 80%
isopropyl alcohol and about 20% water. We don't want the water. Keep the
isopropyl tightly capped or it will absorb water from the air.
Many drug stores have (or can get) Isopropyl alcohol. Or you can order it
from industrial sources.
Cheers,
Richard