On Fri, 2 Dec 2011 07:42:11 -0800 (PST), myfathersson
wrote:

On Nov 30, 9:39*pm, b wrote:
On Nov 29, 5:24*am, myfathersson wrote:

Even with 70% alcohol, surely I should have seen at least some
improvement, even if not *really clean? But there is n o image
whatsoever. So little that the TV's input cant even recognise those
horizontal bands of noise as an image and it cuts to 'no input signal'
within a few seconds.

try leaving a known good/new 3 or 4 hour tape in the machine, running
in play.
Often, dirt can work itself out of the heads over time.
if still no good, maybe you can buy tape head cleaner fluid online -
even if it comes with one of those cassettes, you can dump the
cassette and just keep the fluid.
-B

You are obviously some kind of genius: It has done something! I had
used this method before but only when a head gave a terrible picture
to get it to give a slightly better one for a short while. This time
running a 6 hour third-speed tape through it a few times has turned
the screen of noise lines into a picture (of sorts)!

Do I now assume that the heads are REALLY dirty and need the strongest
possible cleaner? I now BELIEVE that the heads are just covered in
encrudded dirt: If so, what is needed please? CCL4? Or has the tape
passing over it got rid of the crud and left only a normal film which
can be got off with a normal cleaner? The 70% alcohol with a careful q-
tip or definitely something stronger?


I would suggest obaining a new TDK tape and letting it play to the
end. For whatever reason, TDK tapes would do a better job of clearing
the heads than the other brands we tried. Chuck