Sticky or not sticky ???

[Blue Jinn]

Well,

On a lark I bought a half case of 1/4" "Ampex 407." Now I know better, but I asked the guy if the box said Redwood City, CA or Opelika, AL. He replied that it said "Packaging Corporation of America, Opelika." So I went ahead. Now he said he thinks he bought the tape in 1988 or so. Oh NO I think! although he also said he last used the tape in 2001 w/o any problems.

The box does indeed have the Opelika box maker on the bottom, but no where else does it say anything about origin. It has a product label which has the 407 description and then "873482" Now I'd guess teh 87 meand 1987, but I always thought Ampex/Quantegy date codes were 5 digit, two digit year and 3 digit julian date.

To compound my seeming stupidity, the reels are pancakes, so I can't tell by the reels themselves, but all they have is a pretty sticker that says 407 (Yellow black purple...) So, shoudl I give it a try, or should I just leave it alone?

 

[cjacek]

Was the tape used at all? Is the packaging original? Any chance of upping a photo of what you've got along with any identifiable markings?

 

[Blue Jinn]

Tape appears to be new on pancakes.

Here are photos of the box etc. The little seal says packaging corp opelika al.

the guy said it had a packing slip from 1988, but it didn't come with it. I just don't know.... The price was pretty low enough if it is bad tape. Is there any way to tell by hand? I bought some known sticky 407 once before just for the reels, and you could tell. It was so bad, it didn't even want to unspool and felt, well, it felt sticky...

 

[sweetbeats]

There really isn't a way to know for sure if it is sticky until you put it on the machine which is the bane of it all...except in extreme cases as you cite. Ew.

The friction leading to heat combined with the shear forces is what (I believe) causes the stuff to seem fine to the touch but then crap all over the deck.

Bummer. Sorry for the debacle...Wish I had something more definitive to offer.

 

[cjacek]

Tape appears to be new on pancakes.

Here are photos of the box etc. The little seal says packaging corp opelika al.

the guy said it had a packing slip from 1988, but it didn't come with it. I just don't know.... The price was pretty low enough if it is bad tape. Is there any way to tell by hand? I bought some known sticky 407 once before just for the reels, and you could tell. It was so bad, it didn't even want to unspool and felt, well, it felt sticky...

Thanks for the additional info and photos. OK, by that "little seal" you mean that round stamp like thing on the box (in the upper right photo)? That "packaging", if we wanna be literal, seems to indicate that Ampex had subcontracted a company that made their boxes, packaging etc... and it happened to be Opelika? I dunno... Other than that little thing, which kinda tripped me up, I'd say it's pre Quantegy tape, manufactured by Ampex in the good 'ol sticky days. I would like to get Tim (Beck) on board and see what he says. Tim?

 

[Beck]

I'm sorry to say that is from the sticky years... 1987. Tape has always been made in Opelika, but individual tape boxes will say Redwood City California if it's Ampex and Opelika Alabama if it's Ampex branded Quantegy.

The most important bit of info to go on when in doubt is something extra like the aforementioned packing slip. If the packing slip says 1988 of course we know it can't be made after that. That was the red flag.

A bit of tape history: The tape that would later become Ampex was first made in Opelika by Orr Radio Industries. Ampex only made tape machines until they acquired Orr in 1959, which became Ampex Magnetic Tape Division. So you may see Opelika on a bulk box like that. However individual boxes from the 80's say Redwood City. After Quantegy took over Ampex Magnetic Tape Division in 1995 the individual boxes said Opelika because that's where Quantegy established the main office.