Hi Joe.

23-Apr-04 02:05:43, Joe Paulson wrote to All


 JP> Audio cassettes: I had trouble with one radio where ,when
 JP> recording,the tape would bunch up like an accordian and stop.The
 JP> belt was ok since it kept turning.

possibly the clutch on the back of the take-up spool (or somwhere in the
drive-path to it) is slipping too much.

 JP> I wondered why the jam.I tested
 JP> a group of cassettes by holding the center of one spool between my
 JP> thumb and forefinger and used a small pair of scissors to turn the
 JP> other spool to take up slack

a Bic "click" ballpoint pen can be wedged tip-first in the hole and the
whole thing shaken in circles to wind the tape quickly

 JP> About 6 cassettes were ok but another 6 had some slack, some quite a
 JP> bit.After tightening up,I rewound the tape and tried again.It still
 JP> jmammed.The problem has to be between the rubber wheel and the
 JP> turning pin.

if you're certain that's where the problem is it could be the spring.

IME problems with the pin or roller result in uneven playback speed.
if the tape is bunching up after the roller the problem is with the take-up
capstan,

 JP> Strange cable: While dumpster diving ,I
 JP> came across a plastic coated #18 wire with a series of metallic
 JP> switches? ,about 2 1/2 " by 1/2 ",along the wire about 1 foot
 JP> apart.The devices were encased in a transparent soft plastic pouch.I
 JP> checked for capacitance by first measuring the resistance ( was an
 JP> open circuit) ,then reversing the leads and see id I got a kick. Got
 JP> nothing. Anyone have an idea what these things were?

sounds like the fible-optic cable I found at the recycling centre.
the switch-looking things are the cable terminations.,


 -=> Bye <=-

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