[QuadList] Video Tape Baking

[C. Park Seward]

130° F for 12 hours. Cool slowly. I don't think the temperature and time is that critical.

Removes SSS (Sticky Shed Syndrome).

Some tapes hydrolyze and become sticky. They won't pass through the machine and they shed. This process dries out the tape and it becomes playable.

Audio and video tapes from the 70s are the most subject to this defect. 3M tapes seem to be better than others.

Plastic reels on Quad don't melt at 130 but be careful.

I have heard that the formulation for the binder was changed in the 70's and the molecules break down into shorter chains and absorb moisture. Some say that backcoating and poor storage conditions make the problem worse.

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water (H2O) are split into hydrogen cations (H+) (conventionally referred to as protons) andhydroxide anions (OH−) in the process of a chemical mechanism.[1][2] It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by step-growth polymerization.

While the process seems to work well, some say it increases distortion on audio tapes. I haven't seen that.

I had some Quad tapes that played poorly with SSS and low RF causing streaking. After baking, they played fine with no streaking.

In fact, I've got two Quad reels baking right now.

Your mileage may vary.

Best,
Park

C. Park Seward
Visit us: http://www.videopark.com




On Feb 1, 2010, at 5:18 AM, Chill315 at aol.com wrote:

> I have heard this mentioned several times.  I was wondering what this procedure is. 
>  
> Why is it done?  
>  
> How do you do it? 
>  
> What are the advantages? 
>  
> What are the disadvantages?
>  
> Do you do this only on quad tape? 
>  
> Is there an issue with plastic on other formats? 
>  
> Chris Hill
> WA8IGN
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