Trying to salvage old audio cassette tapes.

Louie Hallford · From: denison tx

I have many cassette tapes of steel shows especially St Louis going back to 1979 that I am trying to copy to CD. Many of them will transfer for about 5 to 10 minutes then the spool will tighten up.

I have thought about trying to powder the spool where it contacts the case at the spindle hole with some talc powder or possibly some dry lube.

Will this affect sound if some of the powder gets on the edges of the tape.

What about using a Q tip and slightly lubing the spool with a light valve oil such as used on wind instruments?

How about spraying with a quick dry electrical cleaner spray?

I have tried the wind and rewind approach and the tapping of the tapes on a table to try to loosen them with no results.

Your solutions or suggestions appreciated.

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Louie, what kind of deck are you using?

Brad

Paul King · From: Gainesville, Texas, USA

I am having the same problem. I can use a tape deck here at the house or the player in the car with the same results. I was hoping that my tapes were not ruined from too much play. Maybe there is something on the market that will solve the problem. Thanks Louie for bringing up this topic.

Russ Wever · From: Kansas City

Hi Louie,
Assuming the problem is in the cassatte rather than the player ~
When playing old cassettes that haven't been played for a long period of time, I find it helpful to fast forward to the end of Side One, then rewind to the beginning before playing.
On most cassettes that offer resistance to playing smoothly, take the cassette in your palm and smartly 'smack' it flatly on a table-top, then turn it over and smack the other side of the cassette the same way. I'm not certain what this does to the insides, but I've been doing this to reluctant cassettes ever since I read this 'tip' years ago, and, as crazy as it seems, it usually works 'like a charm'!
Merry Christmas to you and yours,
~Russ

Sonny Priddy · From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.

Slap The Taps Aganest Your Hands Hard A Few Times This Works Some Times. SONNY.

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Joseph Barcus · From: Volga West Virginia

Go to radio shack by new cassetts that has the small screws in them, take the new out slide your tape in them put it back together and it will be like new. might say what little bearings you have in those things are wore out or just sluggesh

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

Also squeeze the sides of the cassette,
so that the reels have a closer proximity to their guides.

Some times the cheaper cassettes will spread out. anc that can cause binding for sure.

After you have done that also, rewind and fast forward the cassetetes,end to end,
to re-seat a badly wound tape.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 26 December 2004 at 09:14 AM.]

Louie Hallford · From: denison tx

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I am going to experiment first with some of my less sentimental items.

I also got an email from Bill North a recording engineer who informed me that he used a food dehydrator set at about 135 degrees on his larger reels. Says that mine is probably a moisture problem since they have been stored for some time.

By the way Bill leaves the tapes in the dehydrator 3 or 4 hours.

Bill, hope you join us here on the Forum .

[This message was edited by louie hallford on 26 December 2004 at 08:30 PM.]

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