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ARSCLIST  April 2008

ARSCLIST April 2008

Subject:

Re: Fwd: Sticky AGFA PEM 469

From:

Marie O'Connell <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 18:44:21 +1200

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (134 lines)

Hello Charles

I admire the fact that you have checked out the Ampex 600 series and
recognise it would have been meticulous work.  However, I find it irritating
that there is an unwillingness to share some actual helpful imformation on
the problem of sticky shed.  Many people on this list share their findings
and experiences to help and assist fellow archivists, and they do it in
friendly, non-judgemental format.  This is all for the greater good,
afterall there is millions of hours of audio to be preserved worldwide which
I doubt one man/woman is ever able to cope with in their lifetime.

Therefore, if you wish to keep this private and in your hands, I have some
excellent contacts on this list who have provided outstanding information
and will continue to value their imput above people who dangle a carrot.

Regards

Marie



On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 5:59 AM, Charles A. Richardson <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear Tom:  Its Charlie, not Richard.  The info on the Ampex 600 PVC binder
> comes from recent massive multiple chemical lab studies I did on various
> tapes, solving the sticky shed problem, and my new Rezerex tape restoration
> process.  It is the meticulous work of many years.  The PVC shows up in the
> chemical forensic studies of the Ampex 600 binder chemical in the chemical
> extraction and spectrum analysis done under my
> instruction and supervision at one of the country's finest chemical
> laboratories.  The source of the information is thus a chemical laboratory
> report which remains in my private hands only as it is not published
> publicly.  This first report is about 1 and 1/2 inches thick and is very
> technical.
> There are other lab reports I have in hand.  In all the various tape
> chemical issues just about anything can be found out and known.  It is
> simply a matter of time, effort, and money being spent to get to the
> chemical bottom of things.  It is helpful to me to have both an engineering
> background and also a chemical/scientific background to frame the issues,
> problems, questions, and dig out the answers.  The Ampex 600 series of tapes
> has very unusual chemical behavior compared to most others.  I checked it
> out and found out why.  A short answer to a very long story.
>
> Charles Richardson
>
>
> On Apr 7, 2008, at 8:47 PM, Tom Fine wrote:
>
> Hi Richard:
> >
> > Please site your source for the Ampex 600 series story. Thanks.
> >
> > -- Tom Fine
> >
> > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles A. Richardson" <
> > [log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 8:06 PM
> > Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Fwd: Sticky AGFA PEM 469
> >
> >
> > Dear David:
> > > Regarding the EPA, Whale oil, etc.  In 1970 the EPA was created by
> > >  Congress.  In 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act banned hunting of
> > >  whales and this was supplemented in 1982 when the UN also passed an
> > >  international whale hunting ban as whales were in danger of  extinction.
> > >  Whale oil is a good mechanical lubricant and is used in  oiling precision
> > > mechanisms such as watches and clocks, but it was  never used as a binder
> > > lubricant in tape manufacture.  Chemical  Engineering has synthesized whale
> > > oil so as to reduce the demand for  natural whale oil.  There may be an
> > > after market lubricant based on  either natural or synthetic whale oil which
> > > some use in attempting to  "re-lubricate" a tape that has squealing
> > > problems.  It is a very  limited band aide short term remedy which is not
> > > approved by chemists  as safe.
> > > In 1976 the Toxic Substances Act banned the use of Polychlorinated
> > >  Biphenyl chemicals or PCB's.  PCBs were used as a liquid coolant in big
> > > AC power transformers used by the electric utility companies.  PCBs
> > >  were used in transformers, some motors, and some capacitors.  PCBs  were
> > > never used in tape manufacture.  There was a major environmental  disaster
> > > in the 1970s when companies dumped large quantities of PCBs  into the Hudson
> > > River and the James River, creating a poisoned water  environment that will
> > > take centuries to remedy.  Chlorine, and most of  its compounds are
> > > dangerous poisons, thus they are banned unless one  gets a waiver and/or an
> > > EPA license which can only be had by instituting
> > > strict material use and disposal controls that met EPA chemical safety
> > >  standards.
> > > PVC, Polyvinyl Chloride, was used in Europe for some time by BASF and
> > >  AGFA in the manufacture of their base films.  Ampex used a PVC binder,  but
> > > only in their 600 series of tapes.  There is a major chemical  problem with
> > > PVC.  Any loose radical Chlorine atoms can readily  combine with moisture to
> > > form Hydrochloric Acid, or HCL.  When this  happens, the HCL will attack the
> > > head core materials and the tape head  gaps, which drastically shortens head
> > > life and causes major problems  in the head gap area.  So for both
> > > environmental problems of handling  Chlorine, and its bad habit of
> > > generating HCL and eating tape heads,  PVC was dropped from tape
> > > manufacture, decades ago, with the exception  of its continued use for
> > > decades in the Ampex 600 series tape binder  chemistry.
> > > The seeds of the disaster that have lead to Sticky Shed Syndrome arise
> > >  in tape maker chemical changes of the 1970s, is an important and
> > >  interesting story.  I do not believe that the government had anything  to
> > > do with these tape chemical changes.  They were done by tape makers  for
> > > various reasons unrelated to government regulation.
> > > Hope this helps.
> > > Charles Richardson
> > > On Apr 5, 2008, at 6:25 PM, David Lennick wrote:
> > >
> > > > I will stand corrected if that's the case, but that was what I heard
> > > >  at the time.
> > > >
> > > > dl
> > > >
> > > > Tom Fine wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Hi David:
> > > > > Are you sure the whale oil story is true. I was told it is
> > > > >  mythology and that the real story is that certain solvents couldn't  be
> > > > > used in the manufacturing process anymore.
> > > > > -- Tom Fine
> > > > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Lennick" <
> > > > > [log in to unmask] >
> > > > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > > > Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2008 12:04 PM
> > > > > Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Fwd: Sticky AGFA PEM 469
> > > > >
> > > > > > "Environmental law changes forced most tape manufactures to
> > > > > > change  the
> > > > > > formula of their binder in the early 70's."
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Read: They used to use whale oil, then they went to synthetic.
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > >

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