Re: [ARSCLIST] Risk assessment tool

[Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Richard's answer to #1, I have encountered this and it is absolutely incurable. Some SSS tapes that 
are stored under particularly terrible conditions actually fuse together and baking does nothing but 
make them peel apart the wrong way. I've done a lot of experimenting on this kind of SSS tapes 
because I was lucky enough to find a box of useless Ampex 406 hubs in that condition (useless in 
that there was no valuable content on them -- they were end-of-rolls from a long-closed recording 
studio) -- store for 20+ years in an attic that varied from below freezing to 100+ degrees and dry 
to very high humidity. I experimented with longer and shorter baking times and even emersion in 
distilled water to try and loosen them up before baking. No dice. If the backing fuses to the oxide 
behind it, it's done. I supposed there are chemical treatments for super-valuable content, but just 
how much content are we talking about that the owner would go to those lengths or pay that money (my 
bet -- less than 1% of all tapes in that condition). By the way, Scotch 206 tapes stored in the same 
attic play perfectly well to this day.

So, my bottom line is that if I had something I did not want to lose on a sticky-shed tape, I'd bake 
and transfer sooner rather than later and I'd put a transfer effort in appropriate to the MO that I 
might never be able to play that tape again.

As for curled old brown tapes, they seem to have a stasis point and my concern is more treating them 
as carefully as a brittle tape needs to be treated. The curling is not really an issue since there 
are many known methods to push tape against heads on certain tape decks. Cassettes with ancient 
deteriorated shells can be transplanted.

The two worst conditions I can think of for analog tape are: 1) sticky-shed where the backing has 
fused to the oxide behind it and 2) curled tapes so dried out that the oxide falls off -- hopefully 
after they've scraped against the play head and a transfer has been made.

Another hazard of the trade is bad splices, but there are many cures for that.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Warren" <richard.warren@xxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 1:09 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Risk assessment tool


> At 09:20 AM 1/3/2006, you wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I am further developing a risk assessment tool for ranking field audio
> > collections by their preservation condition and level of risk they
> > carry. The tool is called FACET and was presented first at the ARSC
> > pre-conference workshop last year. I have formulated a few
> > format-related questions, with help from Richard Hess and Steve Smolian,
> > and hope to draw upon the collective expertise assembled here. The first
> > set of questions concern sticky shed syndrome tapes:
> >
> > 1. Given that there is a known, easy cure for sticky shed (baking) that
> > is nearly always successful, how concerned are you about tapes with this
>
> I'm concerned because on some tapes with sss, the sticky backing can peel the recorded layer from 
> the base and ruin the recording.
>
> > condition?
> >
> > 2. Is there any evidence that sss tapes actively continue to deteriorate
> > over time in such a way as to compromise future transfer?
>
> Please see comment above (but I don't know if time is a factor or the type of backing).
>
>
> > 3. If you had to choose between preservation transfer of an sss tape or
> > a curling acetate-based tape or an audio cassette from the 1970s, which
> > would you choose and why?
>
> That would depend on content. If both had the same content, I'd try the sss tape first because, if 
> it played, the results would likely be better.
>
>
> > Many thanks!
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > ----------
> > Mike Casey
> > Associate Director for Recording Services
> > Archives of Traditional Music
> > Indiana University
> >
> > (812) 855-8090
> >
> > Co-chair, ARSC Technical Committee