-=> Quoting Faiyaz Ahmed to All on 23 Jan 98 04:46pm <=-
-=> Subj: Re: cassete tape <=-
 FA> I have a couple of cassette tapes that are beggining to sound really
 FA> dull.  All of the highs have been muffled and the lows have been
 FA> slurred.  I guess its because of their old age.  Is there anything I can
 FA> do to reverse its progress and keep it from happening again?
Obtain a tape head demagnatizer and head cleaning kit.  The tape head /
tape path magnetization can gradually "erase" the high frequencies,
most notably on Type I (standard Ferric Oxide) tapes with repeated
playings.  Also, minute amounts of tape "oxide" can shed off and clog
the tiny head "gaps" and impair the sound.  Cleaning this will help
greatly.
Other problems can occur.  If the parts that move the tape past the
heads don't move correctly, excessive tension can "stretch" the tape
and crease or distort the tape surface, causing poor tape to head
contact.  Tape heads do wear with use, and this can be tested by using
other tapes or in severe cases, just looking at the tape head the
wearing down can actually be seen as a "flattening" of the head
surface.  Also, the cassette "pad" that's behind the tape in the
opening that the play head goes into could be defective.
Try the muffled tape in other players, try other tapes in the player
that's playing your tape poorly.  A process of elimination will give a
good indication as to where the problem is.
Hope this points you in the right direction.
Cameron Hall
cameron.hall@bluebeam.gryn.org | ad121@hwcn.org
Blue Beam MailServer | 905 662 5784 | Stoney Creek ON Canada | v34 FAX
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