Tape deck repair

You tape gurus may be able to answer a question that I have never seen a good answer to.

What causes and how can I eliminate/prevent tape that squeaks as it runs? I blame it on old tape that has lost its "lube." It seems like cleaning the tape heads make the problem less. And tape recorders with wheels instead of stationary guides to manage the tape work better as well.

Regards

WC

Wildcat445 wrote:You tape gurus may be able to answer a question that I have never seen a good answer to.

What causes and how can I eliminate/prevent tape that squeaks as it runs? I blame it on old tape that has lost its "lube." It seems like cleaning the tape heads make the problem less. And tape recorders with wheels instead of stationary guides to manage the tape work better as well.

Regards

WC

It's usually tape that is poorly wound on the reels. Either the tension or reel motors have problems. Try winding them from one reel to the other, then back. Your comment about the "Wheels", which are actually tension pulleys, seems to substantiate that. BTW- those pulleys sometimes hang up. They should rotate freely. But you can't lubricate them. They have to be dis-assembled, cleaned and put back together.

OH, I forgot- large reels, (amount of tape per reel, not physical reel size),such as 2,500 ' as opposed to 1,500', tend to be more susceptible because the tape is so thin.

And, on cassettes, I find 90 min. less prone to trouble that 120 min.
Bill Cahill

Bill Cahill wrote:And, on cassettes, I find 90 min. less prone to trouble that 120 min.
Bill Cahill

Yep-
Same reason.
Once again, I've found that running them back and forth sometimes helps because it normalizes the tension.

Ken g wrote:You cleaned it up good . May i suggest this ''rejuvenate'' stuff is only a short term fix . If the rubber is still somewhat soft you can sand the wheels surface to regain a better grip . Put a screw & nut into the wheel and chuck it up in a drill & spin it on some rough sandpapar .

2nd ... wd-40 is NOT oil . It will cause trouble later as it hardens up .

3rd repairteck is not a real repair person - ignore it .

I will agree with only the "WD 40 is not oil" part of above post. I have a gunsmith friend and he told me many years ago that WD-40 turns into gunk in a few months and the guns malfunction. Said it helped his repair business. He introduced me to Break Free/CLP.

Harold

Here are my 2 cents. Just my experience not that I say its the way to go. The rejuvinate stuff did decent for me. If I couldn't get a new belt or piece I would use it. I found it lasts about a year or better. On WD 40 I also heard one of the ingedients was Kerosene, Good for oiling bike chains as a kid, door movements and Aunt Bea's pickles. On break free. Years ago I bought a bunch of bags that were closeouts from Radio Shack at a flea market. There were some plastic bottles of stuff called break free. I don't know if it is the same stuff but I found a really weird and good use for it. I got some on a old Bakelite radio by accident. I wiped it off and noticed that the dull and scratched case shined. I rubbed some on and left it a while. I would then wipe off the excess. For whatever reason if the case couldn't be cleaned and shined in other ways that stuff would shine.

All I know about WD-40 is that it works for me, and my personal experience is that it lasts for years. I've used it on Idler wheels, controls, switches and even tuners. It worked better than the "Blue" stuff. (Some of you might remember using that on old TV tuners.) The only problem I have is that it stinks.

Something else that is the only thing for the job is Scotch 33+ electrical tape. It does one thing that none of the other brands do- it sticks-forever. I've gone back to installations I did years ago and the taped connections were still good and tight.

P.S. Another thing I always keep around is a bottle of Old English furniture restorer. It is a miracle on light scratches. I've used it on both light and dark wood and it works great. BTW- It stinks too.

I use all kinds of stuff. I have even used brake fluid to get rusty parts loose. We all have our tricks that works for us. Its good to hear new tricks so we can learn new things to help out or hobby.