406 Sticky shed

[jpmorris]

It seems that 1980s vintage 406 does have the sticky-shed problem.
I have just had to clean the gunk left by a 1/2" Webber calibration tape. Fortunately the thing was only about £20 - at least I've got the spool and a nice box, I suppose.

What do people usually do with shedding tape? Any good ideas?

 

[The Ghost of FM]

If there's material on the tape that is worth saving, the only real option is to bake the tape in a food dehydration type oven at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or two to dry back the binder glue in the tape that has returned to its semi-liquid state.

There have been numerous threads on baking tapes posted at this stage of the game on this and many other forums.

Here's a popular link on the subject;

http://www.tangible-technology.com/tape/baking1.html

good luck!

Cheers!

 

[jpmorris]

If there's material on the tape that is worth saving, the only real option is to bake the tape in a food dehydration type oven at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour or two to dry back the binder glue in the tape that has returned to its semi-liquid state.

It's a calibration tape. The amount of ick which has now been scraped off it means that the signal levels are probably well shot now, so I'm probably just going to junk it and buy an MRL when I can afford one.

 

[Beck]

406 from that time is indeed one of the worst for sticky-shed. New calibration tapes are pricy, so if it’s not physically damaged I would restore it by baking. I did that very thing with a 25-year-old ½” TEAC calibration tape.

When I got it I found it to be afflicted with the dreaded shed. There was a good amount of gunk beforehand, but baking restored it to normal condition.

I already had an MRL tape of recent manufacture, but the price was right for the TEAC tape and I was curious. I baked it in for 8 hours @ 135 degrees F in an inexpensive food dehydrator, which I already owned.

The old TEAC tape and the new MRL were in perfect agreement to the dB, though they were manufactured over 20 years apart. The exacting standard to which these tapes have been made over the years is remarkable.

The cost of a food dehydrator and time involved might make the a new MRL tape seem more attractive, but if you anticipate restoring other tapes in the future the food dehydrator will pay for itself very quickly. My dehydrator was $39.00 US at Wal-Mart.

 

[ausrock]

Beck,

A little "history" then the questions

I bought my ATR-60 1" about 18 months ago from a local radio station, included with it were 9 spools of Ampex 456 which had commissioning dates around '97 and two MRL tapes, one is 3M and has been used, the other is in an unbranded black box and appears to be unused and both have manufacturing dates in the mid - late '80's. Everything is/was in good condition, the 456 showed no signs of sticky-shed and has performed OK and the deck was regularly maintained.

OK, to the MRL tapes............I checked the first few feet of each tape and to that point it seems fine, however, is there anyway I can check through the whole tape without........... a) risking damaging the tape should there be sticky, and.......... b) getting sticky gunk all over the guides, pinch roller, etc., of the ATR.

Also, presuming the tapes are OK, I have thought of selling one of them...........do you have any suggestions of what would be a fair price.

Cheers

 

[Tim Gillett]

Ausrock, fellow Aussie,
The "proper" way is never to even play a tape suspected of SSS. Bake it fully and THEN play it. Otherwise the risk is the information on the tape will be permanently dulled, to some degree or other.
It's so tempting to play the tape hoping all will be well but eventually we get caught out. It probably takes more time baking the tape that listening to the whole tape but what the heck. It's only an extra day or so anyway.
Especially so with cal tapes or any other recording that's important.
Many years ago I was wrongly told that I could safely bake tapes in a microwave oven. I did and ruined an otherwise perfectly good STL cal tape.
Do what Beck said and get a food dehydrator but even with then be careful it doesnt damage the tape due to overheating. The best way is temp controlled.

Tim

 

[ausrock]

Tim,

Thanks for your comments, unfortunately, a dehydrator isn't a practical option........at least not at present.

 

[Beck]

Ampex tapes form '97 are just as good as current lots - no sticky-shed. It was already being made by Quantegy at that point, but they used the Ampex name for a while. It will say "Made in Opelika, Alabama" on the back of the box. The old Ampex will say "Made in Redwood City California." Either way, Ampex or Quantegy made 1995 or later is just fine.

It's hard to say what to charge for 80's MRL tape. If you know the history and it has just been sitting in the box... maybe $50.00 US for a 1-inch. Make sure you warn the buyer of the date.

If untested, I would be shy about buying anything that may have bits and pieces of itself already damaged.

The old tape I bought had been sitting around unused, so after baking it was perfect.

Backcoated 3M and Ampex Tapes from the 80's either are, or eventually will be afflicted with sticky shed. In a dry climate you might get away with it, but I recommend not taking a chance. Making a case-by-case test isn’t practical, because, as Tim G. said, you can destroy or at least degrade the tape by running it. The best test is the date.

That being said, if you are just dying to find out, you can cover the head assembly with a lint-free cloth (piece of old T-shirt) and run the tape. The heads and scrape-flutter guides near the heads pick up the most gunk and do the most damage to the tape. If it’s sticky there will be a buildup on the cloth that looks like rubber cement – yellowish, glue-like, as well as fairly heavy brown oxide shedding. Some oxide shedding is normal even if there’s no sticky-shed.

I guess the bottom line is that it doesn’t matter what state the tape is in now, because that could change in a couple months. So you can’t really sell a tape from the 80’s as not having sticky-shed. They are all sticky-shed just waiting to happen.