[rescue] QIC Tape Archival

[Kurt Nowak]

Patrick,

I'm not questioning your experience or expertise. I have experienced many
tapes with the band stuck to the tape as I had described. They were even
stored in a relatively cool place. It could be that they were not re-wound
when I found them and all yours were rewound? But yes, most just snap
instantly with the acceleration or they are already snapped - even brand
new ones stored in plastic wrap are opened up and you can see the snapped
band inside. Regarding them turning into a tape salad as soon as they snap
- I was being dramatic....The "salad" occurs when the band is not tensioned
properly or it slips as you stated due to the material losing its original
frictional characteristics - Its clearly age related - these things just
weren't designed to last 30+ years. Then you have to take it apart and
carefully rewind them by hand. Whatever it is, I've experienced it first
hand more times than I want to admit. Tapes are fun when they work but a
major pain when they don't.

I'd be interested to know what your secret to success is? Yes I know the
bands are not made of rubber but some special compound of very thin plastic
which, like all plastics, degrades over time. It's unfortunate that someone
hasnt made replacement bands for these tapes, since there seems to be a big
demand for them in the vintage computer community. I have seen some
rumblings about this on cctalk - maybe someone with some manufacturing
connections can make this happen (wishful thinking)? The plasti-band method
that YouTuber Curious Marc uses just didn't cut it for me in the past. The
bands that you get are all very in size and most are too tight - plus they
are just too elastic. Again, very much hit and miss.

The sticky pinch rollers are another issue and I've had a few rollers
rebuilt from a guy on line that does it terrysrubberrollers.com. Once they
are sticky, I don't think alcohol will save them - the material is already
decomposing and I don't want to risk damaging the tape. You just have to
give them the fingernail test (after cleaning) and use your best judgment.
Some people have reported success with surgical tubing, but I question the
roundness of that material. But I guess whatever works right?

-Kurt

On Wed, Dec 4, 2024 at 12:33 PM Patrik Schindler via rescue <
rescue at sunhelp.org> wrote:

> Hello Kurt,
>
> Am 03.12.2024 um 21:01 schrieb Kurt Nowak via rescue <rescue at sunhelp.org>:
>
> > Just be very careful before you go down this road. There is more to this
> than just finding someone with an operational streamer. These old tapes
> very likely have bad drive bands as they are now decades old.
>
> I have quite some experience with this condition, successfully repaired
> multiple cartridges, and spare parts for repairing more.
>
> > It's been an issue everyone is having with these old cartridges...
>
> From my own experience, this happens less often that your statement
> suggests.
>
> > If there is resistance then the drive band is likely glued to the oxide
> layer which is bad news and will likely snap as soon as your steamer tries
> to read it.
>
> I have never observed this. The band is plastic and not rubber, als often
> stated erroneously. With age, elasticity is lost. It does not decompose and
> stick to the magnetic tape itself, as rubber would do. Is this something
> you have observed yourself?
>
> An issue I have also heard is the rubber roll in the drive decomposing and
> becoming more like bitumen. Once this mess has found its way into the
> cartridge, it's mostly game over. Or a lot of effort to clean the cartridge
> parts with appropriate chemistry. Still, I have not observed this myself.
>
> > Even if it moves freely there is no guarantee that it will survive the
> transfer without snapping and creating a big tape salad in your cartridge.
>
> Why should there be a salad? As soon as there is no traction from the
> plastic band, the reels stop moving rather quickly. Is this something you
> have observed yourself?
>
> > You might also want to ask someone in the cctalk mailing list who has
> more advanced techniques than using a plain QIC streamer.
>
> This is exactly the reason why I offered my help.
>
> > Some folks have used techniques, such as baking the tapes in the oven
>
> What advantages should this have besides possibly drying out residual
> moisture from less ideal storage conditions? I feel, it's increasing the
> risk of further damage by excess heat.
>
> > and replacing the old drive bands with plasti-bands.
>
> From experience, I'd only do this if the existing band has failed
> ("snapped"). Everything else is needless effort.
>
> :wq! PoC
>
>
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>
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