[peel] Cleaning tape heads

Eddie Duffy eddie.duffy@...
Sun Sep 7 23:59:31 CEST 2008


Amazingly, it sounds like I'm doing it about right then, apart from 
doing the rubber rollers with IPA too. And yes, IPA lasts ages. I'm 
still using the stuff I nicked from work in the days of old 1/2" 
computer tapes.

Eddie.

Roger Carruthers wrote:
>
> The generally accepted method is isopropyl alcohol (you can get it 
> from most chemists; a 100 ml bottle will last you ages) via a cotton 
> bud for the heads, guides and the metal part of the pinch roller, and 
> a mild detergent solution for the rubber part - apparently alcohol 
> will (eventually) harden rubber, which is why you should avoid it on 
> the rubber roller, though I think you�d have to use it over quite some 
> time to do any significant damage. Obviously you should make sure it�s 
> all dried off before using the deck again.
> You can, of course buy special cleaning tapes, though they�re a bit 
> more abrasive than cotton buds/alcohol, and probably don�t do as good 
> a job.
> If you want to be really thorough, you could get a demagnetizer for 
> the heads too, though you�ll only need to use it very occasionally, 
> and must be very careful to follow the instructions.
> For what it�s worth, I can�t remember the last time I used my 
> demagnetizer, but if you�ve bought a second-hand machine and it�s had 
> a lot of use, and there is significant HF loss, it might be worth a 
> try, especially if cleaning doesn�t do the trick.
> Hth,
> Roger
>
>
> On 07/09/2008 22:11, "andrewthezmore" <AndrewThezmore@... 
> <AndrewThezmore@...>> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>     I've noticed that the last couple of tapes I've listened to are
>     significantly less sharp sounding than previous ones. Please can
>     someone recommend an easy cleaning option for me? I bought this
>     tapedeck off ebay for a tenner and have never cleaned the
>     mechanism in
>     any way since I've had it - I've never cleaned a tapeplayer ever in
>     fact, if they don't work properly I've generally replaced them with
>     something equally cheap and cheerful.
>
>     Cheers
>     Andrew
>
>
>
> 
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