20 Mar
2005
20 Mar
'05
10:38 a.m.
woodelf wrote:
My worry would be that the coercivity is almost certain to be wrong. I
can rememeber when fooling around with reel-to-reel video recorders that
if you used 'high band' tape on a 'low band' machine you got almost no
signal off the tape.
I have also been told that 1/2" computer tape makes lousy video tape (by
somebody who tried it in an N1500), I suspect the reverse is also true.
And anyway, how much longer do you expect to find VHS tapes on sale just
anywhere?
But back to magnetic tape, don't think you
can re-create that with out
alot of machinery.
The big problem is often the chemical process on the plasic or
binder/magnetic stuff
is trade secrets.
Surely you could use cheap commodity tape, like VHS video tape? Obviously this woul only work for machines that use up
to 1/2" tape.
As regards slittling the tape, classic camera enthusiasts (another of
_my_ hobbies) routinely slit film down to make it fit obscure cameras
(e.g. turn 120 into 127). This is in one respect easier than tape (film
is thicker and stiffer), in aother respect harder (you have to do it in
total darkness). Tyipcally, you make up a jig to hold a couple of razor
blades the right distance apart, and run the film over them -- often
using a 'junk' camera, like a Box-Brownie (for 120 or 620 input), some
35mm compact (for 35mm input, to make subminature film), etc. Doubtless a
similar idea could be made for magnetic tape.
-tony