From: Sandra Maliga (email suppressed)
Date: Thu Aug 16 2007 - 10:57:40 PDT
i also wondered about the need for cleaning. The tapes can be checked
visually and if they look tightly wound and the edges are smooth and
the tape unreels cleanly they may very well be ok. I recently
transferred a tape from the early 70's and it was fine. It had been
kept in various basements. I went to a place in Burbank; the guy had
masses of old equipment and seemed to more or less know what he was
doing. He charged a fair amount. But I watched and I could have done
it myself.
I'd welcome access to a deck so I could digitize a few more tapes for
free..... in LA.
Sandy Maliga
On Aug 13, 2007, at 5:07 PM, david tetzlaff wrote:
> Cleaning old open reel tapes is only an issue if mold or some other
> foreign substance has gotten to them. A possibly more important
> issue is whether any lubrication built into the emultion has dried
> out, causing the tape to no longer ride smoothly over the heads. In
> this case something would need to be added, rather than removed. A
> definitey more important issue is the tendency of the binder that
> holds the emultion to the base to dry out over time and lose its
> adhesive properties. Thus, attempting to play old audio or
> especially video tapes may result in nothing but the oxide coating
> shearing off the backing. In order to prevent this, tape archivists
> 'bake' old tape before playing it back. A certain amount of heat
> causes the binder to soften and renew its grip, at least well
> enough for a new dub if all goes well. The standard operation
> employs a large cardboard box and a hairdryer... and maybe some
> voodoo.
>
> Even with a crude apparatus, its not a do-it-yourself kind of deal,
> so you you should look to find someone who has experience in
> handling old tapes, preferably lots of experience.
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.