"Richard Crowley" wrote in message
...
"Unspam" wrote ...

Actually, the "chamois-like" cleaning wands were created
specifically because "cotton bud"s (or cotton swabs, or
"Q-tips", a US brand-name) are SPECIFICALLY *NOT*
RECOMMENDED for cleaning rotary heads. The reason
being that the sharp little pieces that you are trying to clean
are quite likely to snag and retain cotton fibres which will
do more harm than whatever crud you were trying to remove.

Hmmm, they worked in Abbey Road for years until they went digital, but I
give way to your superior knowledge.

They weren't using recorders with rotary heads "in Abbey Road
for years". For analog, linear machines (i.e. audio), they are just fine.
For that matter, if you are careful to inspect for stray snagged
fibres, cotton swabs are just fine for the non-moving parts of the tape
path of rotary-head machines.
But using them on rotary heads is just inviting disaster. And
many pro video users advocate avoiding them altogether just because of the
risk from stray fibres that you may not notice.

You could always try doing it the way we used to clean 2" machines...

Just squirt the freon in there while it's on the air!

Provided of course you HAVE a 2" machine...and the feds will let you have
freon...etc, etc, etc.

Then there is the "light application of a thumbnail to the upper drum"
trick.

Seriously though...dense cotton cloth or chamois stick, DEnatured alchohol
(the 70% stuff has too much water content...heads can rust, believe it or
not), and just hold the alchohol soaked cloth/chamois against the heads
while you carefully turn the drum with your finger.

DO NOT scrub up and down (you can snap a head off) or side to side (you can
knock the heads out of alignment.) Just hold the cloth in line with the
heads while turning the drum and check the cloth/chamois each time. It
should show less and less crud after each pass and eventually come up clean.

Jay Beckman
Old Freelance Tape - EVS - Profile Op/Editor
Chandler, AZ