Quantengy 456

[Beck]

Got me all paranoid now -- Seems like 20/20 -- "Do you know what YOUR tape tension is set to? It could be deadly"

It seems to me like tape tension would LOOSEN over time -- so, would my B-16, which works fine, be a possible candidate for too high of a tape tension? I'm using 456, so, no biggie.

-callie-

A quick way to get a rough idea of tape tension is to load a tape and fast-forward so about the same amount of tape is on each reel. Next press play, and then manually pull the pinch-roller away from the capstan so it’s not pulling the tape through. The tape should stop. There should be equilibrium between the forward and back tension. You should be able to spin the reels by hand with little resistance in either direction.

This doesn’t tell you what your tape tension is, but it can tell you if you have too much back-tension if the tape begins running backwards, or too much forward tension if it starts spinning forward. The point is they should be equal.

It’s highly unlikely that the tension settings would both drift out to the same degree. So if your reels stand still you can be fairly confident things haven’t drifted from factory settings.

Most importantly though, if the reels begin to spin one way or the other you need to check and set your tension.

-Tim

 

[jpmorris]

A quick way to get a rough idea of tape tension is to load a tape and fast-forward so about the same amount of tape is on each reel. Next press play, and then manually pull the pinch-roller away from the capstan so it?s not pulling the tape through. The tape should stop. There should be equilibrium between the forward and back tension. You should be able to spin the reels by hand with little resistance in either direction.

That's a neat idea. Does it also work on uP-controlled decks like the TSR-8?