Help Please

[Steksis]

Hi all

         enclosed is a short recording it starts off Ok then becomes unlistenable

Any ideas how to fix this?

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I have so far

 

hit the cassette !!!

tightened and loosened the screws

ff/rw to the beginning and end a number of times

 

any more ideas?

thanks 

[Vincent]

43 minuten geleden zei Steksis:

any more ideas?

 

The problem is not in the case but in the tape. This one rubs against the head and that's what you hear. Unfortunately nothing can be done.

What brand and type of cassette is this?

[Ben]

I only have experience with R2R tapes to resolve this issue. Resolutions have included "Baking" the tape (in a fruit dryer), treating the tape with WD-40, holding a crayon against the tape while playing/FF the tape etc. For cassettes, that's a lot harder to do, although the WD40 recipe might be possible.

 

Googling will most probably bring you to Forums where the experts on this topic might have even more (and better) ways. One upfront warning though... It is most probably going to need a significant investment in time and there's no guarantee for success.

[Harm ten Brink]

The stickiness you mention is usually caused by a fungus and can be removed quite easily without destroying the tape.

I use U-shaped cotton wool, dipped in pure alcohol, to clean both sides at once just before the playhead.

First, make sure the heads and all mechanical parts are clean.

Needless to say, you will need to change the cotton from time to time to make sure it is sufficiently moist.

Beware of static electricity and sufficient ventilation !!!

[Vincent]

40 minuten geleden zei Ben:

I only have experience with R2R tapes to resolve this issue. Resolutions have included "Baking" the tape (in a fruit dryer), treating the tape with WD-40, holding a crayon against the tape while playing/FF the tape etc. For cassettes, that's a lot harder to do, although the WD40 recipe might be possible.

 

You can bake cassettes, but that is not the case in this case. Your WD40 proposal is interesting because the problem is that the tape has dried out. There is no more layer on it that leads it over the head of the recorder. I'm just not going to try this out because the cassette deck is not that easy to clean.

Cassettes which I have baking experience with are C120 where the tape expands and ferro tapes.

[Steksis]

Thanks for the info,

The tape is a BASF C-120 from 1979 

Will try some of the above when i get time .

If anything works i will update you in the future.

 

Many thanks

[Vincent]

This one?
 

 

[Steksis]

hI Vincent

                  that's the one.

I have now managed to get most of the tape recorded with the odd glitch but thanks for everyones help and ideas

Just posted the recording i managed to do.

Steksis

[RadioRoger]

Hello everybody.

I know the problem too and thanks for the tips! If you only want to save (digitize) a small section of the recording, cleaning the sound head beforehand with rubbing alcohol using an ear swab (Q-tip) helps me. But with many cassettes, the tape head is quickly covered up again.

Greetings Roger