Ampex tape problem
I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3
and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA |
Ampex tape problem
root wrote:
I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA Try here for info http://richardhess.com/notes/formats...grading-tapes/ -- Adrian C |
Ampex tape problem
root wrote:
I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA For this newsgroup I should have added this: The recorder I use sat for over 30 years without use. I powered it up and it worked perfectly, albeit with a dusty smell. The unit is a Pioneer RT-1011L, direct drive. Well made. |
Ampex tape problem
On Apr 24, 6:32*am, root wrote:
I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA From the liner notes of Boston's third album: (see http://www.thirdstage.ca/boston/content/view/99/49/ ) Sticky tape Did you know that when some recording tape sits for a long time, it gets sticky? Neither did I. How would you feel if you took out your four-year old, one of a kind mix of "Cool The Engines," (with no safety copy) and halfway through the song, the reels stop dead with a bang because your tape has become glued to the guides and must be peeled off the playback head like adhesive tape. The fix: spread a suspicious looking silicon concoction onto the tape as it runs by, and try not to let the enormous beads of sweat dripping from your forehead get your capstan rusty. |
Ampex tape problem
On Apr 24, 10:10*am, wrote:
On Apr 24, 6:32*am, root wrote: I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA From the liner notes of Boston's third album: (seehttp://www.thirdstage.ca/boston/content/view/99/49/) Sticky tape Did you know that when some recording tape sits for a long time, it gets sticky? *Neither did I. *How would you feel if you took out your four-year old, one of a kind mix of "Cool The Engines," (with no safety copy) and halfway through the song, the reels stop dead with a bang because your tape has become glued to the guides and must be peeled off the playback head like adhesive tape. *The fix: spread a suspicious looking silicon concoction onto the tape as it runs by, and try not to let the enormous beads of sweat dripping from your forehead get your capstan rusty.- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - Not so.....don't do this. The tape needs to be baked to drive the adhesive back where it belongs. Read this: http://www.tangible-technology.com/tape/baking1.html I used to use a cheap food dehydrator for this and it works great. |
Ampex tape problem
root wrote: I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. Re-post in rec.audio.pro. You have classic polyurethane binder problems. Don't attempt to play those tapes again until you take expert advice, and you'll get it there. Graham |
Ampex tape problem
Adrian C wrote: root wrote: I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA Try here for info http://richardhess.com/notes/formats...grading-tapes/ Didn't read the link but he needs rec.audio.pro if he wants successful recovery. Graham |
Ampex tape problem
root wrote: root wrote: I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA For this newsgroup I should have added this: The recorder I use sat for over 30 years without use. I powered it up and it worked perfectly, albeit with a dusty smell. The unit is a Pioneer RT-1011L, direct drive. Well made. Irrelevant. It was the tape binder formulation. Re-post as I suggested. Others are more expert at this than me. Graham |
Ampex tape problem
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Ampex tape problem
On Apr 24, 4:08*pm, Eeyore
wrote: wrote: The tape needs to be baked to drive the adhesive back where it belongs. NO, it's actually moisture in the binder. Go to the rec.audio.pro group. Graham Well if you want to get technical, yea. But the moisture causes the adhesive to migrate when its absorbed and thats where the whole problem comes from. Hygroscopic is the technical term for how the tape binder has behaved. Read the Ciletti article....the remedy is there. I've done it a bazillion times with 3M 226, Ampex 406/456, etc. |
Ampex tape problem
On Apr 24, 1:08*pm, Eeyore
wrote: wrote: The tape needs to be baked to drive the adhesive back where it belongs. NO, it's actually moisture in the binder. Go to the rec.audio.pro group. Graham I work at a Hollywood video facility where we transfer old - Really OLD (1969) - 2" quadruplex video tape on an Ampex AVR-3. We also have a commercial food dehydrator and have baked hundreds of rolls of quad tape, 2" 16 track audio, 1/2" 4 track audio, 1/4" half track audio, PCM3324 digital tapes, some VHS and U-Matic tapes. Not a single one has been ruined so far and ALL have been salvaged. The dehydrator we use has vey good temperature control and circulation fans so we don't have to 'rotate/flip' them as tangible technology recommends. We started out running 8 hours on the 2" and most rolls were OK at that but a few stubborn tapes needed a second run through the cooker. We now just run 12 hours at 135 F for everything and almost nothing needs more time. The dehydrator is also handy for drying out electronics that have gotten spills. My TI calculator got Coke spilled on it. I opened it up and washed it with water, cooked it for 2 hours at 115 F, re-assembled and it's good as new. I would NOT use an oven for this and certainly NOT a gas over as water vapor is a combustion by-product which is what the problem is to begin with but with the right equipment, I have no qualms at all about baking tapes. G² |
Ampex tape problem
On Apr 25, 12:48*am, wrote:
.. The dehydrator is also handy for drying out electronics that have gotten spills. My TI calculator got Coke spilled on it. I opened it up and washed it with water, cooked it for 2 hours at 115 F, re-assembled and it's good as new. I've had to bake a couple cell phones that had gotten wet.....did the trick. I would NOT use an oven for this and certainly NOT a gas over as water vapor is a combustion by-product which is what the problem is to begin with but with the right equipment, I have no qualms at all about baking tapes. G² No regular ovens, but a *convection* oven is perfect as long as it can regulate down to the right temp. The dehydrator is actually more efficeint as far as power used to operate. |
Ampex tape problem
root wrote in message ... root wrote: I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA For this newsgroup I should have added this: The recorder I use sat for over 30 years without use. I powered it up and it worked perfectly, albeit with a dusty smell. The unit is a Pioneer RT-1011L, direct drive. Well made. As stratus46 posted below, bake the tape. I've never had luck doing it this way but probably because I didn't bake it long enough. The sticky goo left on the guides and heads is a real ****er to get off. It will usually cause the tape to drag. Rather than alcohol, use acetone, but be carefull to keep it off of anything other than metal. bg |
Ampex tape problem
On Apr 25, 1:23*pm, "bg" wrote:
root wrote in message ... root wrote: I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA For this newsgroup I should have added this: The recorder I use sat for over 30 years without use. I powered it up and it worked perfectly, albeit with a dusty smell. The unit is a Pioneer RT-1011L, direct drive. Well made. As stratus46 posted below, bake the tape. I've never had luck doing it this way but probably because I didn't bake it long enough. The sticky goo left on the guides and heads is a real ****er to get off. It will usually cause the tape to drag. Rather than alcohol, use acetone, but be carefull to keep it off of anything other than metal. bg The official head / guide cleaner recommended by Ampex is Xylene. On their 1" SMPTE 'C' machines they specifically say to avoid alcohol as it "leaves a persistent film". I have found this to be true. Be very careful with Xylene as it will destroy some plastics - styrenes in particular - and paints. Being a close cousin of toluene, it has a strong chemical odor and may set some people off figuratively and literally but it works outstandingly well. G² |
Ampex tape problem
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Ampex tape problem
These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide.
This isn't oxide, it's the back coating. This is a chronic problem with back-coated tapes. Had anyone known this would happen, it's unlikely the tape manufacturers would used it. I lost some valuable, unique tapes because the back coating went bad. |
Ampex tape problem
bg wrote:
wrote in message ... On Apr 25, 1:23 pm, "bg" wrote: root wrote in message ... root wrote: I have recently been converting my RTR tapes to mp3 and have found a problem with tapes made by Ampex for Philips or London, or under the Ampex name. These tapes have a charcoal colored oxide. The problem is the tapes chatter against the heads and emit a loud screech which carries over into the output signal. These tapes haven't been played in almost 40 years. None of the brown oxide tapes made by other mfgs have a problem. I have tried respooling the tapes and even tried coating my heads with a silicone lubricant but neither works. I wonder if anyone has a solution. Most of these tapes are unique. TIA For this newsgroup I should have added this: The recorder I use sat for over 30 years without use. I powered it up and it worked perfectly, albeit with a dusty smell. The unit is a Pioneer RT-1011L, direct drive. Well made. As stratus46 posted below, bake the tape. I've never had luck doing it this way but probably because I didn't bake it long enough. The sticky goo left on the guides and heads is a real ****er to get off. It will usually cause the tape to drag. Rather than alcohol, use acetone, but be carefull to keep it off of anything other than metal. bg The official head / guide cleaner recommended by Ampex is Xylene. On their 1" SMPTE 'C' machines they specifically say to avoid alcohol as it "leaves a persistent film". I have found this to be true. Be very careful with Xylene as it will destroy some plastics - styrenes in particular - and paints. Being a close cousin of toluene, it has a strong chemical odor and may set some people off figuratively and literally but it works outstandingly well. G² Tried it - I prefer acetone because it evaporates faster. You can also use it rather dry on the cotton swab or cloth so there is less chance of it running where it is not wanted. It also does a great job of restoring the surface of rubber pinch rollers and belts. Yep. I use acetone to renew the surface of paper transport rollers in laser printer & faxes. It works very well. -- W . | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because \|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est ---^----^--------------------------------------------------------------- |
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