very basic question (reel to reel)

  • Thread starter Thread starter lofat
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lofat

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hello,

i have a reel to reel that takes 7" reels but bought some bulk tape on 10 &1/2" reels, along with some empty 7" reels to put the new tape on.

So here is my question - what is the easiest way to get the tape on to the reels. it there a 'trick' i am missing here?

thanks.
 
The only way I can think of doing it in less than a week would be to mount the 7" reel on the left. Thread the tape through the tape path and use a 3" or so piece of PVC pipe to hold the 10-1/2" reel while it spools to the 7" reel while the transport is rewinding.

Your tape pack will look like crap doing this.

A better idea would be to return the 10-1/2" reels and buy full 7" reels.

Anyone else?
 
i spoze i put that wrong, that it's 10&1/2" bulk, not on a reel.

i suppose when the new reel to reel comes in i could jimmy rig it side by side as i think that the new one has enough clearance on its right side, but yeah - you may be right, the dealer i bought it from offered this as the only available (currently through them) option for bulk tape. i didn't really think about it when i ordered it. but i am sure i can return it if need be.


thanks for the pvc tip though.
 
cool, well, i found this big beer bottle and it fit perfect. getting started the first time was a bitch, but once i got going it was smooth.

i left the right reel on as a guide if you will, and the stack is actually pretty good. *looks shocked*

of course my tape lengths per reel are booty off, but i learned.

after 6 years on a porta studio 488, and the last 5 digital with the vs-1680, and the pc. - this is new to me.

makes me appreciate stuff a lot more.
 
I've always used tape, and this stuff is new to me too. :)
 
The most rewarding part must have been emptying the beer bottle. Can you tell us what brand it was? I bought some bulk tape "pancakes" by mistake once, and there's no telling when it might happen again. I'd better get stocks in now. :D
 
lol, it was actually a micro/home-brew a friend brewed (true friends give you beer.) ;)

it is the same size basically as a 24 oz Corona.

moving forward i think i will make sure to get 7" on the reels, but if I find a cool deal on bulk now i know.

Cheers
 
I just want to make sure I got the details of what worked, in case I want to do this myself.

Here's what it sounds like:

- Take 2500 feet of bulk tape on a hub (no flanges)

- Thread the end through the tape path from the takeup (right) side to a 7" reel mounted on the supply (left) side (with a 7" empty reel mounted on the right side to help direct the tape to the first guide).

- Rest the hub (with 2500 feet on it) vertically on a beer bottle in the center of the hub, and hold it to the right of the tape deck.

- Hit "rewind" and let the tape deck's left reel pull the tape off the hub as it turns freely.

- Stop and cut off tape when the 7" reel is full (probably about 1/2 the tape on the hub).

This sounds like a good method to save money by using bulk tape on a deck that only takes 7" reels (particularly if you already have some spare 7" reels).

Did the absence of flanges on the hub cause any problems? I guess it would if you were trying to reel onto the hub, but it sounds like you didn't have any problem when reeling tape off.

Did you put a finger on the hub to create a little backtension? Maybe the friction of the hub on the beer bottle was enough.
 
sjj, I'm glad whatever he did worked, but actually I left out a couple of things after reading my initial post.

I would have just held the PVC pipe with the reel on it on the side of the recorder so that the reel lined up with the tape path and put enough thumb pressure on the reel to tension the tape and help keep it aligned with the tape path.

Did that make sense?

I didn't know he bought the tape in "bulk", as in open platter type bulk. That would have been a nightmare trying to spool that tape from a platter to a reel by the method I described.

I know I'd have probably had tape everywhere all over the floor, all over the tape machine, etc. trying to spool from a platter.

I would not have even attempted that.;)
 
Fast Forward/Rewind?

That would seem to me to be going WAY too fast! But I guess it depends on your machine. My old SONY 7" R2R had a rewind speed that wasn't too scary, but I've seen some Ampex models where that technique would guarantee a lot of tape all over the floor.

My first inclination would be to just set it up solidly and rereel the bulk tape at playback speed! Then go have another beer while I wait.... :D
 
How ya going to "go" have another beer if you have to hold the platter to spool the tape?
 
Last I checked- I have two hands. And it only takes one hand to hold the platter. The other to chug the brewski. But I'd engineer it bit harder so it could be a hands free operation just so that I could answer the phone, type and chew gum as well. :D


In reality I admittedly would have bought 7" reels! :rolleyes:
 
LMAO! Ok, I'll buy that. Especially if the deck is horizontal. I just was thinking that the deck was in the upright position.

Speakin' of buying, how about another bier. ;)
 
I'm drinking Klostritzer Oktoberfest. Yummy shit. A bit thinner bottles than the 24 oz. Corona but WTF? I don't even own a reel to reel anymore! Cheers!
 
I'm drinking my own Oktoberfest. Actually I've never heard of that brand before. Who is the importer?

My favorite comercially available is HofBräu München Oktoberfest in season. And there is another one whose name I cannot recall that I really love, but I haven't seen any around in a couple of seasons. I'd know it if I saw the lable or heard the name. They have a large tent at Oktoberfest.

We have a nice shaded backyard with German Bier table umbrellas on the three table we have and some small outdoor yellow bulb strings. All I have to do is put on the brass band music and get the Weiswurst off the grill and you'd swear you were in Munich. Maybe not quite at the Oktober fest though.

Englisher Garten maybe?;)
 
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