Tape erasing?

jwrosenthal

jwrosenthal

Super Member
Hey guys,

In light of my recent discovery (in another thread) that I can no longer buy newType II cassettes (I turn my head for a couple of years and they vanish from the market place, what gives??!!) it looks like I will have to do tape reclamation like everyone else.

I took a TDK SA-X that I got from goodwill that had a very crappy and overly "hot" recording of some very bad easy listening (in hot I mean tacked the needles on my deck several times). I tried the traditional record over the tape with no line in, and I still hear the ghost of what was on there before.

I assume to get this used tape, or any others I pick up in the future to be dead quiet, I need to properly degausse them. I have seen vintage tape erasers out there that work for open reel tape (I could use that too as I have tons of vintage open reel tape that needs to be wiped) in the sub $20 price point, but my question is...are all tape erasers created equal?

Many of these machines were made during the time of normal bais acetate tape, and I wonder if they can work with CrO2 or Metal tape. Further, I was wondering If I could just buy one machine (like the vintage Robins erasers that I see in mass at cheap, cheap, cheap prices) for all my erasing needs, or if I need one for open reel and one for cassettes.

I also have seen the hand-held erasers that were mainly sold by Radio Shack back in the day....are those just as effective as the ones you mount the tape upon?

Any feedback on which type of machine to look for would be great. I don't need one of those $1k professional degausser's, I just need a simple machine that will let me erase a couple dozen tapes and cassettes every couple months and get them "like new".

James R.
 
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I have recorded over many previously recorded tapes with no problems whatsoever. This might be an alignment issue with your cassette deck.
 
spartanmanor said:
I have recorded over many previously recorded tapes with no problems whatsoever. This might be an alignment issue with your cassette deck.
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I tried the tape in two different machines, and even erased parts of the tape with both machines (started erasing with one and then switched to the other), and the "artifact" is still there as a muffled sound way in the backround that doesn't even make the meters flicker, but I can still hear it within the hiss as full volume. Once I hit the Dolby C button of course, I heard nothing.

James R.
 
It sounds like your machine can't do Cr02. While the tape type selection buttons should change record bias (Norm/Cr02) and PB eq (120/70us), the buttons should have no impact on the bias oscillator's feed to the erase head. It sounds like insufficient bias available. It may be by deck design, a faulty erase head, or broken oscillator.
 
jwrosenthal said:
I also have seen the hand-held erasers that were mainly sold by Radio Shack back in the day....are those just as effective as the ones you mount the tape upon?

Any feedback on which type of machine to look for would be great. I don't need one of those $1k professional degausser's, I just need a simple machine that will let me erase a couple dozen tapes and cassettes every couple months and get them "like new".

James R.
Click to expand...

Want the on-the-cheap? Go to your local industrial hardware store and get a decent sized magnet used to pick up nails and screws from parking lots. I got one that has a eye bolt on it and I hold it over the garage floor to pickup metallic debris. Then just set your tape next to it for a few moments, flip onto the other side, and ....

I also have one of these, uses NO power and erases everything in sight except Type-IV tapes.... same principle as the BFM (big freakin' magnet) above ....

CertronTapeEraser01.jpg
 
I bought a Geneva brand hand-held unit primarily for RTR but I've had good success with cassettes as well.Geneva makes various levels of degaussing so I thought would insure good quality.
 
Jon_Logan said:
It sounds like your machine can't do Cr02. While the tape type selection buttons should change record bias (Norm/Cr02) and PB eq (120/70us), the buttons should have no impact on the bias oscillator's feed to the erase head. It sounds like insufficient bias available. It may be by deck design, a faulty erase head, or broken oscillator.
Click to expand...

Both machines I used are pro-decks. Ones is a Tascam 130 that auto detects the tape type )CrO2 is displayed when I put the tape in) and the other was a Sony TC-D5proII, which does through Type III. Both decks are like new and had barely 50 hrs of use on them. I find it hard to believe that both decks could be faulty. Perhaps I am just being overly anal here.

James R.
 
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I still like to record a blank signal on the cassette before actually recording to it.

Takes longer but I've had good results...
 
jwrosenthal said:
Both machines I used are pro-decks. Ones is a Tascam 130 that auto detects the tape type )CrO2 is displayed when I put the tape in) and the other was a Sony TC-D5proII, which does through Type III. Both decks are like new and had barely 50 hrs of use on them. I find it hard to believe that both decks could be faulty. Perhaps I am just being overly anal here.

James R.
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The TCD-5M.... does that have an electronic erase head, or does a permanent magnet flip out on record?

You should be getting 60dB attenuation from any previously recorded stuff on the tape.. I don't know why the tape would "freeze up" on an old recording and now not allow the particles to move around with bias applied. Permanent magnets don't erase as deeply (generally speaking). Maybe the head height is off and the erase head is missing part of the tape?
If it was recorded really hot, maybe two erase passes will work?
 
Jon_Logan said:
The TCD-5M.... does that have an electronic erase head, or does a permanent magnet flip out on record?

You should be getting 60dB attenuation from any previously recorded stuff on the tape.. I don't know why the tape would "freeze up" on an old recording and now not allow the particles to move around with bias applied. Permanent magnets don't erase as deeply (generally speaking). Maybe the head height is off and the erase head is missing part of the tape?
If it was recorded really hot, maybe two erase passes will work?
Click to expand...

Not sure on the configuration of the erase head, but I suspect, as you said, that it may take a second pass as this tape was really HOT. I would like to buy a bulk eraser though as I would like to avoid putting the extra wear and tear on my decks. Considering that the whole mechanical application of tape is friction, an extra pass across the heads of several hundreds of tape to erase them before I record shortens their life-span that much.

James R.
 
Here is an idea, if you don't want to buy a bulk eraser (which you really should do):

Try recording silence on the "metal" tape setting (for erasing purposes ONLY, do NOT record in this setting). TDK SA-X is a harder than most type II tapes to erase. This will apply much more bias current to your erase head, and this should more thoroughly erase your tape than it will on the "chrome" setting.
 
goldear said:
Here is an idea, if you don't want to buy a bulk eraser (which you really should do):

Try recording silence on the "metal" tape setting (for erasing purposes ONLY, do NOT record in this setting). TDK SA-X is a harder than most type II tapes to erase. This will apply much more bias current to your erase head, and this should more thoroughly erase your tape than it will on the "chrome" setting.
Click to expand...

That is an idea whereas my Tascam has an auto detect, the Sony has toggles for tape type which would allow me to erase at the type III setting.

But as you said, I should have an eraser....now what kind?

James R.
 
I got a cheapie Realistic eraser years ago. Works fine for all except metal tape (which I have to do twice to get fully erased). eBay is loaded with them.
 
jwrosenthal said:
That is an idea whereas my Tascam has an auto detect, the Sony has toggles for tape type which would allow me to erase at the type III setting.

But as you said, I should have an eraser....now what kind?

James R.
Click to expand...
These days, I think that you're stuck with whatever you can get in the way of erasers. I purchase mine from Radio shack ages ago, but of course, these are no longer sold. But I think that at least one professional unit is still offered for sale.

And FYI - Type III is not metal. That is Ferrichrome, and its bias is lower than that of chrome. So it appears that you cannot attempt my idea on your machines afterall.
 
Which Radio Shack erasure will do metal tapes if any of them do? Is there a catalog number for one?
 
None do a perfect job on metal tapes. Although their video-tape eraser was stronger than their audio tape eraser.
 
I used to have a bulk tape erasser for 10.5" reels of tape. That is to say the whole reel would fit on the platten. That thing pulled 15 amps!-No Lie- When that machine was energised you could not pick the tape up or even turn it. If you had it on, it would rip the tape out of your hand at about 3 inches over the platten. Needless to say you placed the tape on the platten before you turned the power switch on. I sure wish I still had that. I now am using a smaller unit that came from Lafayette Electronics many years ago. It works fine and is about 70 pounds lighter.
Steve
 
only other thing to is buy a POS deck that can handle metal position tapes for $15 and use that as your erase deck. Heck buy 2 and erase 2 tapes at once.
 
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