Hi,

I service TVs and VCRs for over 10 years. I have a jig I use to unlock
the reels in a VHS cassette. I also have a reel/spindel, removed from an old
VCR, that I use to insert into the TU side of the cassette, that is fully
rewound. I can feel, as I turn the spindle with my fingers, if this cassette
has a lot of resistance ("drag"). New cassettes, it is easy to turn.
Cassettes that had hard use, have much resistance. I have taken apart a high
"drag" cassette and tried to determine what actually caused the increase in
resistance. The posts, etc. that the tape comes in contact with is very
clean. I have to assume that the side of the tape, that contacts the posts
in the cassette, which is the opposite side that contacts the heads in the
VCR, is the cause of this increase in resistance.

Do you know the answer to this mystery?

Thanks in advance, Brad

Before you type your password, credit card number, etc.,
be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC.

Brad wrote in message
...
Hi,

I service TVs and VCRs for over 10 years. I have a jig I use to
unlock
the reels in a VHS cassette. I also have a reel/spindel, removed from an
old
VCR, that I use to insert into the TU side of the cassette, that is fully
rewound. I can feel, as I turn the spindle with my fingers, if this
cassette
has a lot of resistance ("drag"). New cassettes, it is easy to turn.
Cassettes that had hard use, have much resistance. I have taken apart a
high
"drag" cassette and tried to determine what actually caused the increase
in
resistance. The posts, etc. that the tape comes in contact with is very
clean. I have to assume that the side of the tape, that contacts the
posts
in the cassette, which is the opposite side that contacts the heads in
the
VCR, is the cause of this increase in resistance.

Do you know the answer to this mystery?

Thanks in advance, Brad

Before you type your password, credit card number, etc.,
be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC.



What happens to the drag if you FF to the end and REW to the other end , to
pack evenly , and then test for drag ?


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/

In article ,
says...
Hi,

I service TVs and VCRs for over 10 years. I have a jig I use to unlock
the reels in a VHS cassette. I also have a reel/spindel, removed from an old
VCR, that I use to insert into the TU side of the cassette, that is fully
rewound. I can feel, as I turn the spindle with my fingers, if this cassette
has a lot of resistance ("drag"). New cassettes, it is easy to turn.
Cassettes that had hard use, have much resistance. I have taken apart a high
"drag" cassette and tried to determine what actually caused the increase in
resistance. The posts, etc. that the tape comes in contact with is very
clean. I have to assume that the side of the tape, that contacts the posts
in the cassette, which is the opposite side that contacts the heads in the
VCR, is the cause of this increase in resistance.

Do you know the answer to this mystery?

Thanks in advance, Brad

Before you type your password, credit card number, etc.,
be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC.



I was lead to believe, when I worked in the industry, that the problem
was the slippery side of the tape, eventually lost it's surface with
use, and the tape would bind from that point on.

I remember trying to transfer the tapes (3/4") to a new case to see if
they would come back, but they would not. I did that to retrieve a
program from a tape that ended up with a broken cartridge. The tape had
been binding towards the the of the spool.

As luck would have it, I had a new tape that had been creased the entire
length by a crumb stuck in it's path, so I combined the two to get the
program back. I got at least one good play out of it, but I copied it to
a new tape with that play. And yes it still had problems near the end of
the tape, just as it did in it's original case. The only part I
transferred were the two spools and the tape itself.

- Tim -

On 10 mayo, 18:46, (Brad) wrote:
Hi,

I service TVs and VCRs for over 10 years. I have a jig I use to unlock
the reels in a VHS cassette. I also have a reel/spindel, removed from an old
VCR, that I use to insert into the TU side of the cassette, that is fully
rewound. I can feel, as I turn the spindle with my fingers, if this cassette
has a lot of resistance ("drag").

I 'm with the others - I have opened up older well-used cassettes and
you can even see faint friction lines on the backside of the tape. get
one old one for yourself and open the flap, within the first 5 minutes
of the tape you should see what I mean- It's just wear and tear.
-B

On May 10, 8:46*am, (Brad) wrote:
Hi,

* * *I service TVs and VCRs for over 10 years. *I have a jig I use
to unlock
the reels in a VHS cassette. *I also have a reel/spindel, removed
from an old
VCR, that I use to insert into the TU side of the cassette, that is
fully
rewound. *I can feel, as I turn the spindle with my fingers, if
this cassette
has a lot of resistance ("drag"). *New cassettes, it is easy to
turn.
Cassettes that had hard use, have much resistance. * I have taken
apart a high
"drag" cassette and tried to determine what actually caused the
increase in
resistance. *The posts, etc. *that the tape comes in contact with
is very
clean. * I have to assume that the side of the tape, *that contacts
the posts
in the cassette, which is the *opposite side that contacts the
heads in the
VCR, *is the cause of this increase in resistance.

* * *Do you know the answer to this mystery?

* * * * * * * * Thanks in advance, * Brad

* Before you type your password, credit card number, etc.,
*be sure there is no active keystroke logger (spyware) in your PC.

We play back _old_ (late '60s to late '70s) 2" quadruplex video tapes
at work for restoration. The 2" tapes get sticky and will not roll
through the transport - sometimes stopping after less than 1 second of
play. We now routinely bake the tapes in a food dehydrator. The quad
tapes get 13 hours at 135F and then play just fine. We've also done
this with 1/4" and 1/2" audio tapes with good results.

You do not want to do this with a gas oven as the whole point of
baking is to dry it out and one of the rsults of burning gas is water
vapor. You also want the air circulating around the tape. For plastic
case cassettes you might want to lower the temp to 125F so as to not
warp the case.

GG

What kinds of programs are you restoring? Any of this perhaps available on
YouTube? Or is it deadly dull stuff?

Peter Marshall, the host of the TV game show "Hollywood Squares," wrote in
his autobiography that he had long thought that the overwhelming majority of
episodes of that show had been long gone, that the tapes had been erased
and/or destroyed. But one day somebody looking for something else in a
videotape archive found a whole shelf full of 2" quad videotape masters for
"Hollywood Squares." The tapes were just sitting there. Marshall wrote in
his book that he thinks it was a case of "inheritance confusion," wherein
the tapes had changed owners over the years... you know how companies keep
buying and selling and merging. It was likely a matter of the present
owners literally not knowing what they had. Some of these "lost" shows have
since been shown on the Game Show Network (and, I presume, bumped over to
more recent media).

Matt J. McCullar
Arlington, TX

****************************

We play back _old_ (late '60s to late '70s) 2" quadruplex video tapes
at work for restoration. The 2" tapes get sticky and will not roll
through the transport - sometimes stopping after less than 1 second of
play. We now routinely bake the tapes in a food dehydrator. The quad
tapes get 13 hours at 135F and then play just fine. We've also done
this with 1/4" and 1/2" audio tapes with good results.

On May 11, 12:09*pm, "Matt J. McCullar" wrote:
What kinds of programs are you restoring? *Any of this perhaps
available on
YouTube? *Or is it deadly dull stuff?

70's sitcoms headed for DVD. Haven't seen any game shows rolling.

Peter Marshall, the host of the TV game show "Hollywood Squares,"
wrote in
his autobiography that he had long thought that the overwhelming
majority of
episodes of that show had been long gone, that the tapes had been
erased
and/or destroyed. *But one day somebody looking for something else
in a
videotape archive found a whole shelf full of 2" quad videotape
masters for
"Hollywood Squares." *The tapes were just sitting there. *Marshall
wrote in
his book that he thinks it was a case of "inheritance confusion,"
wherein
the tapes had changed owners over the years... you know how
companies keep
buying and selling and merging. *It was likely a matter of the
present
owners literally not knowing what they had. *Some of these "lost"
shows have
since been shown on the Game Show Network (and, I presume, bumped
over to
more recent media).

Matt J. McCullar
Arlington, TX

I sincerely doubt anybody airs quads in real time anymore though they
aren't troublesome at all if the tapes are baked first.

Snip self

GG