[QuadList] [Quadlist] Tape cleaning solutions

[Steve Greene]

Allan,
Long time, no speak!  Good to hear your e-voice.  
 
I always had mixed feelings about Recortec, but at the time we bought
it it was the only commercial solution available.  The "reverse cheese
grater" always made me nervous, but not as nervous as a straight single
blade.  I liked the idea of all of the guide surfaces being rolling,
because every stationary surface can pickup oxide and binder residue and
scour the tape like sandpaper.  On any cleaner, every stationary surface
should be cleaned before each pass.  Our machine had two rolls of pellon
on tiny clockwork motors that slowly advanced the roll against both
sides of the tape.
 
The autoreverse mechanism was an interesting concept, but poorly
executed.  Ours never worked right until we unscrewed one corner of one
electric eye and tilted it about 15 degrees.    It obviously put a lot
of stress on the motors and brakes, particularly with a 96 minute reel. 
I also feel that the Recortec moved the tape too fast.  If I were
designing a cleaner from the ground up, I would limit it to no more than
60 fps.  The other issue I had was that the vacuum chamber needed to be
easier to clean.  Oxide and binder residue would get into the corners
and were almost impossible to clean.
 
 
 


>>>on 7/29/2008 Allan McConnell wrote
Steve, 
I'm anxious to read the responses to your question about cleaning
videotapes. Here in the NAVCC, National Audio Video Conservation Center,
we are hoping to resume transferring 2" quad tapes in the very near
future. I never liked, and do not approve of, those older harsh methods
for cleaning quad tapes. Sure would like to find a more suitable
solution to the problem. And in addition to the dirty tapes was the
problem of migrating glu and adhesive from inside the tape library care
boxes as the foam liners decomposed! AM

 
Steve Greene
Archivist
Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
(301) 837-1772
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