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Re: [ARSCLIST] BASF LH 60
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Hirst" <mike.hirst@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
In the period 1975-85 there are three distinct version of the BASF LH 60
cassette. Externally these differ municipally in the size and shape of the
central window.
Prior to 1980 all tapes have a small window:
http://www.mikehirst.netfirms.com/BASF/BASF1.jpg
c.1980-81 the window changes shape and size:
http://www.mikehirst.netfirms.com/BASF/BASF1.jpg
After 1981 the window size is increased again:
http://www.mikehirst.netfirms.com/BASF/BASF1.jpg
In the small window version of the cassette the leader is attached to the
spools using wide clips or cleats:
http://www.mikehirst.netfirms.com/BASF/cleats.jpg
In the later versions the fixing method is modified:
http://www.mikehirst.netfirms.com/BASF/spool.jpg
It is the earlier version of the cassette that is causing the problem (the
image shows a selection of broken cleats).
In the later versions the fixing method is more reliable and can be viewed
for verification prior to playing in the later large window version.
It seems to me that the greatest vulnerability in working with vintage
cassette tapes is the tape mechanism itself. Following this experience I
intend to spend some time collecting images and details of the internal
mechanism of the cassettes I work with. If there is interest, I would be
happy to share this information with others.
I still own...and occasionally play...a handful of Philips cassettes, bought
at the PX in Garmisch, Germany c.1967 (when Philips had just introduced
the cassette tape..!) So far, they work just fine! Also have a miscellany
of tapes bought around 1980-81...same result. In fact, the main thing I
lost casssettes to was (were?) automobile decks...which had a nasty
habit of "eating" the tape, winding it around their "innards" in usually-
unsalvageable condition, when one least expected it...!
Steven C. Barr