dave submitted this idea :
I've an old 4 track tape recorder I'm trying to revive! (Fidelity Argyll
Major 4).

The electronics all seems to work just fine and it plays tapes - although the
take up spool needs a bit of a nudge to get it going.

The problem is that Fast Forward and Rewind don't work at all. I Guess this
is a mechanical problem but don't really know where to begin. Is there a
separate drive belt for FF/Rew functions? I've taken just the top cover off
and can only see one rubber drive belt. I'm not too good at the mechanical
side so don't want to totally destroy it by fumbling about (in other words
the more detailed any help the better :-) )

The mechanics are fairly basic.... Many of these used a couple of
rubber drives to provide the FF/Rew function, with a little drag on the
spool being unwound from by a light application of the spool brake.
Check the drive rubber wheels have not lost their grip and the brake is
not dragging too much.


On a related thing, the old tapes I'm trying to play are broken in a few
places (they are 40 years old!). Is there some way of splicing them together
- or maybe there is a kit I can buy to help me do this? If so I appreciate
details of where from.

It was quite usual to edit these tapes by cutting and rejoining them.
This was done by placing the tapes in a brass (none magenetic) splicing
block. The block had a tape guide to ensure the tapes ends were square
to each other, a couple of clamps to hold the tape in place, then a
cutting grove to guide a razor blade used for cutting. Once cut and
surplus tape removed, you laid some special adhesive tape over the join
then trimmed the edges.

If all you want to do is repair breaks, you can probably do this
without the help of the above using Sellotape (or perhaps even better -
thin parcel tape) on the side which does not touch the heads (shiny
side).


--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 21:01:53 GMT, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

If all you want to do is repair breaks, you can probably do this
without the help of the above using Sellotape (or perhaps even
better - thin parcel tape)

ARGH! NOOooooo! Sellotape oozes its adhesive and the drys out. Parcel
tape the adhesive comes away from the carrier very easily and probably
oozes. If you must bodge I'd use "magic" tape, though that isn't very
strong but at least it doesn't ooze and dry out.

Proper editing tape is available "whilst stocks last":

http://www.canford.co.uk/commerce/Pr...oductID=52-234

on the side which does not touch the heads (shiny side).

Assuming a non-backed coated tape. Though domestic tapes of that
vintage are not likely to be backed. B-)

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
...
dave submitted this idea :
I've an old 4 track tape recorder I'm trying to revive! (Fidelity
Argyll
Major 4).

The electronics all seems to work just fine and it plays tapes -
although
the
take up spool needs a bit of a nudge to get it going.

The problem is that Fast Forward and Rewind don't work at all. I Guess
this is a mechanical problem but don't really know where to begin. Is
there a separate drive belt for FF/Rew functions? I've taken just the
top
cover off and can only see one rubber drive belt. I'm not too good at
the
mechanical side so don't want to totally destroy it by fumbling about
(in
other words the more detailed any help the better :-) )

The mechanics are fairly basic.... Many of these used a couple of rubber
drives to provide the FF/Rew function, with a little drag on the spool
being unwound from by a light application of the spool brake. Check the
drive rubber wheels have not lost their grip and the brake is not
dragging
too much.


On a related thing, the old tapes I'm trying to play are broken in a
few
places (they are 40 years old!). Is there some way of splicing them
together - or maybe there is a kit I can buy to help me do this? If so
I
appreciate details of where from.

It was quite usual to edit these tapes by cutting and rejoining them.
This
was done by placing the tapes in a brass (none magenetic) splicing
block.
The block had a tape guide to ensure the tapes ends were square to each
other, a couple of clamps to hold the tape in place, then a cutting
grove
to guide a razor blade used for cutting. Once cut and surplus tape
removed, you laid some special adhesive tape over the join then trimmed
the edges.

If all you want to do is repair breaks, you can probably do this without
the help of the above using Sellotape (or perhaps even better - thin
parcel tape) on the side which does not touch the heads (shiny side).


--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk


==================
I think the tape speed was 3.75" per second so you can cut out quite a
large
bit of tape without losing any real quality.

Cic.

In article ,
Cicero wrote:
I think the tape speed was 3.75" per second so you can cut out quite a
large
bit of tape without losing any real quality.

You may not lose quality but you'll lose the program material. If it's
music, even 1/8th of an inch missing will be very obvious at 3 3/4ips

--
*No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver,purple

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article om,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
ARGH! NOOooooo! Sellotape oozes its adhesive and the drys out. Parcel
tape the adhesive comes away from the carrier very easily and probably
oozes. If you must bodge I'd use "magic" tape, though that isn't very
strong but at least it doesn't ooze and dry out.

Masking tape is probably the best substitute for the real thing.

--
*I pretend to work. - they pretend to pay me.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 23:59:47 +0000 (GMT), Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Masking tape is probably the best substitute for the real thing.

Bit thick I'd have thought, even on the heavy back-coated stuff we are
(were!) more used to handling not the thin, non-coated, domestic tape.
Masking tape dries out as well, I'd say it dries out quicker than
sellotape.

I must admit to being rather shocked that 1/4" editing tape is "whilst
stocks last" at Canford. Where is me zimmer frame!

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

In article om,
Dave Liquorice wrote:
Masking tape is probably the best substitute for the real thing.

Bit thick I'd have thought, even on the heavy back-coated stuff we are
(were!) more used to handling not the thin, non-coated, domestic tape.
Masking tape dries out as well, I'd say it dries out quicker than
sellotape.

But doesn't tend to spread its gunge across the backing.

I must admit to being rather shocked that 1/4" editing tape is "whilst
stocks last" at Canford. Where is me zimmer frame!

I've got a few boxes of AGFA editing tape in 'stock' liberated after a
company I once worked for closed down. And loads of once used 1/4" tape
which was going to be junked - you couldn't even give it away then. Could
have had several thousand 2" 2400ft reels too. But sense prevailed. ;-)

--
*OK, so what's the speed of dark? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 01:29:45 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

I've got a few boxes of AGFA editing tape in 'stock'

So have I - I use it as low-tack sticky tape.

I was given it on the express condition that it never go near any audio
tape that the original owner might ever need to play back. Apparently
the stuff is untrustworthy after some years of storage and will either
lose its stickiness, or will begin to ooze it sideways. Either is a
good reason for using the stuff within its shelf life.

I turned down the offer of a Steenbeck film editing desk at the same
time. Lovely piece of kit, but I'd already moved one of them recently
and I know just how big and awkward they are.

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:
I've got a few boxes of AGFA editing tape in 'stock'

So have I - I use it as low-tack sticky tape.

I was given it on the express condition that it never go near any audio
tape that the original owner might ever need to play back. Apparently
the stuff is untrustworthy after some years of storage and will either
lose its stickiness, or will begin to ooze it sideways. Either is a
good reason for using the stuff within its shelf life.

Edits often 'spread' over the years if the tape has been played often.
However, it's easy with Agfa editing tape to simply replace it - some
other brands went 'hard' with age, and won't peel off. I used some of my
10 year old + Agfa recently and it still seemed ok.

I turned down the offer of a Steenbeck film editing desk at the same
time. Lovely piece of kit, but I'd already moved one of them recently
and I know just how big and awkward they are.

Yup. Best bit of kit I rescued from a skip was a mint Nagra 4 which had
lived its life in a transfer suite so completely undamaged. Has pride of
place as an object of beauty on a shelf...;-)

--
*Remember: First you pillage, then you burn.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.