Winston wrote:
N_Cook wrote:

(...)

About 2 weeks ago an audio cassette recorder returned for repair. It
was made in 1986 and I repaired it about 15 years ago using a 2
cents O ring, stretched onto the take-up spool pulley. Not bad for
about 3 hours use a day, someone who never moved away from cassettes
. That O ring had eventually split but no gooey mess, replacement
one a bit thicker and a bit larger diameter

I repaired 16 mm motion picture projectors in my yout.
A *very common* problem was transmogrification of the
neoprene drive wheels and belts into a gooey mess.

A quick replacement, but a slow cleanup first.

--Winston

When I first started out in the business (mid 1970's), I had an Ampex reel
to reel machine come in for repair. Probably this exact model:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMPEX-REEL-T...-/261017952610
I opened it up and I had to ask my boss what the gooey black stuff was
inside the machine. To me, it looked like somebody had spilled sludgy motor
oil into it. None of the belts were recognizable. I soon learned to stay
away from those Ampex machines as every one of them had the same problem.

--
David Farber
Los Osos, CA