Hi Mr. Hess,
      Thanks for the details. You were clear. But the Sony is
unusual in design. I thought you were using an A- or B-wind
machine. That APR is wind-A. 0"


Cheers,
      A-ndrew





On Feb 26, 2012, at 8:18 PM, Richard L. Hess wrote:

> Hi, Andrew,
>
> Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear. I have updated the post*:
>
> Agfa Tapes* (updated 2012-02-26)
>
> *Agfa PEM-526* exhibited dry shedding. See our article here <http://
> richardhess.com/notes/2009/01/30/back-coat-turning-to-powder/>.
> This is a totally dry dusting of powder, so it may or may not be
> Soft Binder Syndrome (SBS), but we could class it as that as the
> particles are not being retained well. Although a similar condition
> has been reported with PEM-469, recent experience shows a different
> degradation modality for PEM-469.
>
> *Agfa PEM-468, PEM-469* There are mixed reviews on these tapes and
> we have been told that most of the bad tape was recalled and
> transferred at Agfa's expense. This was supposedly affecting only a
> half-year's worth of batches from pre-1990. Unike Ampex/Quantegy,
> baking is NOT recommended as a matter of course, based in part on
> our experience with the PEM-526 and this article <http://
> www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-42797_32_0.html>, although the
> baking temperature may have been a bit too high (60 °C) in that
> instance.
>
> The author of these pages encountered two very nasty reels of one-
> inch Agfa PEM 469 in 2012-02 (recorded in 1988-01) that shed a waxy
> clear-to-slightly-yellow exudate from the mag coat. This waxy
> coating did show some buildup, especially during fast wind, but not
> nearly as much as Ampex 456.We can't call it SSS because one of the
> definitions of classic SSS is that it is resolved by baking. This
> apparently is made worse by baking...and I'm too chicken to try it.
> It should probably be considered yet another variant of Soft Binder
> Syndrome (or SBS).
>
> **
>
> Another point of interest is that some of the mag coat was also
> transferring slightly to the back coat which was then coming off on
> the capstan (which presses against the back coat side of the tape).
> This was a pressure transfer from the back coat to the capstan as
> the pinch roller (pressing on the mag coat side) was segmented and
> the segments clearly printed onto the capstan. No pressure, no mag-
> coat residue. This is an A-wind machine, a Sony APR-16. It is a
> reverse configuration from the Studers.
>
> After consultation on the ARSC List and receiving replies from
> Marie O'Connell in New Zealand and Corey Bailey in Los Angeles, I
> decided to continue with the non-baking recommendation as there was
> just too much conversation on the Web and ARSCList against baking
> to make me feel comfortable.
>
> The tape's mag coat was run over a Pellon pad in library wind and
> then over a D5-soaked Pellon pad, also in library wind. D5 was
> generously applied to the heads and fixed guides immediately before
> the transfer. We applied about 2.5 ml (cc) of D5 to each tape. Note
> D5 is also known as decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, Siloxane D5, CAS
> # 541-02-6, and sometimes referred to as Cyclomethicone (generally
> in regards to the product as produced by Dow Corning). It is found
> in many personal care products and has recently been declared safe
> for the environment by the Canadian Ministry of the Environment
> <http://www.cdr-siloxaned5-bor.ca/default.asp?
> lang=En&n=9320DEF6-0&offset=3&toc=show#s2.1>.
>
> The worse of the two tapes was stopped twice to re-clean the heads
> and reapply D5. It is not clear to me if the slight loss of
> brightness was due to reproduce or recording issues, as apparently
> some batches of this tape shed when originally manufactured.
>
> This tape has been reported stable in parts of Europe, but Ms.
> O'Connell confirmed the clear-to-yellow waxy exudate and indicated
> that it was one of her least favourite tapes to transfer. She
> reported that it did respond to her isopropyl drip technique
> <http://richardhess.com/notes/2006/03/09/wet-playing-of-reel-tapes-
> with-loss-of-lubricant-a-guest-article-by-marie-oconnell/> and Mr.
> Bailey suggested gentle baking (about 48 °C for 24 hours) which
> allowed him to have success with the tape. He also reports success
> with lubricants from The Last Factory here <http://
> www.baileyzone.net/analog%20tape%20diy.htm> (second to last section).
>
>
> ------
>
> Does that help? Any other questions? Thanks for identifying my lack
> of clarity.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Richard
>
>
>
> On 2012-02-26 5:27 PM, Andrew Hamilton wrote:
>> On Feb 26, 2012, at 4:57 PM, Richard L. Hess wrote:
>>> ....The author of these pages encountered two very nasty reels of
>>> one-inch Agfa PEM 469 in 2012-02 (recorded in 1988-01) that shed
>>> a waxy clear-to-slightly-yellow exudate from the mag coat. The
>>> mag coat was also transferring slightly to the back coat which
>>> was then coming off on the capstan (which presses against the
>>> back coat side of the tape).
>>
>> Interesting mode of SBS, this dry shedding. Was the tape B-wind
>> or was the mag coat actually coming off on the pinch roller?
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask]
> Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
> Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.

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