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Nadja Wallaszkovits has presented some research (at both the AES and ARSC
conventions) that she and her colleagues at the Vienna Phonogrammarchiv
have done to reconstitute the mechanical integrity of catastrophically
degraded acetate-based tapes.  The results were dramatic, physically and
sonically.  Perhaps for intellectual property reasons, they have not yet
fully revealed the details of the chemistry and workflow of this process,
but it might be worthwhile for you to contact her directly to see if they
have any insights or suggestions.

Best,
Mark

Mark Hood
Associate Professor of Music
Department of Recording Arts
IU Jacobs School of Music



 


On 1/29/16, 7:13 PM, "Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List on
behalf of Eric Jacobs" <[log in to unmask] on behalf of
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>We have a 1/4-inch open reel tape (TDK Synchrotape ca 1966 Japanese stock)
>that is quite literally disintegrating and cannot hold any tension.  The
>very slightest amount of tension causes the tape to snap.  The tape cannot
>even hold a leader without snapping.  We��ve turned the tape tension way
>down
>on our Studer A820, but it can��t be pulled through the transport without
>snapping.
>
>The tape is heavily curled along the edges (only the center 25% is flat)
>and
>is anything but straight from exposure to presumably high temperatures
>over
>the past 50 years.  The outer wraps have bonded to each other.  We can
>deal
>with the edge curl and the age-induced country-laning by using a custom
>mechanism that gently increases the tape wrap around the PB head (forces
>the
>tape flat) and additional edge guides fore and aft of the PB head that
>keeps
>the tape centered on the head.  We can even separate the outer wraps,
>albeit
>in 1-inch segments that would need to be spliced together �� this seems
>like
>a bad idea, but I don��t see any other choice if we want to get past the
>outer wraps.
>
>But it��s the fragility of the tape (lack of tensile strength) that is the
>central issue.  If it were possible to ��back�� the tape, it might keep it
>from snapping.  But how do you efficiently and reliably ��back�� 1200 feet
>of
>tape that snaps with the slightest bit of handling?  And what do you back
>the tape with?  Splicing tape? It might be easier to apply backing to the
>centerline of the tape rather than the full width because of tape
>shrinkage
>and edge distortion, but then the resulting tape pack would probably be
>quite poor, especially if the backing doesn��t stack precisely on top of
>the
>previous wrap.  Also, a narrow backing (like cassette splicing tape) may
>or
>may not affect the ability to force the tape flat at the PB head ��
>essential
>for a quality transfer.
>
>Looking for ideas and suggestions.
>
>~ Eric
>
>   Eric Jacobs, Principal
>   The Audio Archive
>   1325 Howard Ave, #906, Burlingame, CA  94010
>   Tel: 408-221-2128 | [log in to unmask]
>   www.theaudioarchive.com <http://www.theaudioarchive.com/>