cleaning heads

[sixtiesman]

I have just acquired a tascam tsr-8 ! I have some alcohol but don't know if I should clean the heads with it.
It's ethanol ie pure alcohol? I got it from a lab years ago.
The heads seem to be encased in a whitish plastic, could I dissolve this?

Any help would be appreciated!

The deck is grubby and I haven't switched it on yet!!
Don't know what I have yet!!

sixtiesman

 

[reel buzzer]

Go to RadioShack and get a bottle of professional tape head cleaner and use Q-Tip brands swabs.

You can use regular alcohol on the tape guides if you want.

 

[Han]

Go with reel buzzer, don't use ethanol. The head cleaner stuff is Isoprophyl alcohol.

 

[Beck]

Isopropyl alcohol is ok, but try to find 99%. The 70% can leave behind residue.

Denatured alcohol is really about the best head cleaner. Several companies fill little 2-ounce bottles with it and sell it as pro cleaner for $7.99 and up. However, you can buy a 32-ounce can at a hardware store for about $3.99 U.S.

 

[sixtiesman]

Thanks to everyone who helped me out!!!!

Thanks to Beck who suggested denatured alcohol.
I didn't know what it was but....

Denatured alcohol is ethanol plus a little bit of methyl alcohol to make it poisonous and therefore undrinkable!!!
So ethanol is OK after all !

Thank goodness for that cos I couldn't wait and cleaned the heads any way!!! Could have got into a lot of trouble there!!

They were very dirty, but now very clean and no wear that I can see!

Wired it into my desk and managed to play a tape that came with it!

Going to test the record side of things tonight. (excitement!!)

Found my first real fault...wobble on one of the reels, apparently a common problem and not that bad to fix.

I would appreciate any words of wisdom (or even moral support!) from any tsr-8 experts out there!!


thanks again

 

[The Ghost of FM]

If the reel table is wobbling to the point where it is scraping on the cabinet or causing the tape pack to spool unevenly, you may want to delve into the advice that A Reel Person gave you over in the TASCAM forum.

If it is a minor annoyance issue only, then it's discretionary if you want to start ripping the machine apart to hopefully fix it and not make it worse. Good luck with that!

As to the chemical concoctions; Methanol might be the stuff that some were thinking of that raised some eyebrows as a head cleaner as it is usually used in desperate cases where good old Isopropyl alcohol just doesn't cut the mustard.

Methanol is highly flammable and burns invisibly. Use extreme caution with that stuff!

Cheers!

 

[John Sayers]

Denatured alcohol is ethanol plus a little bit of methyl alcohol to make it poisonous and therefore undrinkable!!!

That's called methylated spirits. DON'T use it - the blue dye leaves a residue - only use isopropyl alcohol. You can get it from the guy that makes up your medical prescriptions at the drug store. - they use it.

cheers
John