[cctalk] Re: DEC items available

TK50's and TK70's have a bad rap for this. The key problem is twofold: 1) Tapes stored in dungeons tend to be crap and shed stuff 2) The capstans on the TK50 are very important and need to be lubricated For the first, I go with good quality tapes and before I put a tape into my collection I clean the heads, then run the tape through a backup or two then check the heads. If dirty I pitch the tape and clean. If clean I clean the heads again and put it in service. Same process you should go through with any new magnetic media (RL02, RX01, etc....) For the second you really need to take the drive apart, remove the bolts on the front and rear capstans (marking the bolt's orientation and how many turns to take off) and lubricate the bearings with fine watch oil. They should spin easily the whole problem is the oil dries out and since they use tape friction to turn and the rear one is connected to a tachometer having them drag will drive the tape unit insane and lead to unspooled tapes, read problems, all sorts of insanity. Remember they don't have tension arms, the capstans are how they figure everything out. Aside from that, fine. I use mine as backups with no issues. Just never introduce a new tape without checking the heads, otherwise the crap will get on your good tapes like an STD. C On 9/3/26 17:55, Rob Jarratt via cctalk wrote: