28 Feb
2001
28 Feb
'01
5:26 p.m.
Hello,
as the subject says, what do you people use for tape cleaning ?
I have a few drives that desperately need cleaning, a HP 9144 and a
HP 9145 (the 9145 is smart enough the blink the "CLEAN" (or something)
led on power-up). The not-so-desperate cases are a QIC-24, QIC-150,
HP 7979A and a HP 7974.
The few docs that I have seem to recommend some sort of Freon based
substance but for some weird reason I can't find it in the stores:)
So, now my plan is to use isoprophyl alcohol but I'd like to be sure
before I do any damage.
Thanks in advance,
--
jht
28 Feb
28 Feb
8:12 p.m.
Hello,
as the subject says, what do you people use for tape cleaning ?
I have a few drives that desperately need cleaning, a HP 9144 and a
HP 9145 (the 9145 is smart enough the blink the "CLEAN" (or something)
led on power-up). The not-so-desperate cases are a QIC-24, QIC-150,
HP 7979A and a HP 7974.
The few docs that I have seem to recommend some sort of Freon based
substance but for some weird reason I can't find it in the stores:)
So, now my plan is to use isoprophyl alcohol but I'd like to be sure
before I do any damage.
Most of us have private hoards of the good stuff, but cleaning with
anything that doesn't harm the device is better than nothing. If you use
alcohol, don't use rubbing it has glycerin in it, use disinfectant alcohol.
One of the things I have seen recently in the Office Depot clearance area
are cleaning kits for older media, but I don't remember just which at the
moment.
10:39 p.m.
Denatured (wood) alcohol is available in the hardware stores, Walmrt, etc
and is great for cleaning heads and rubber rollers.
Also another reason not to use stock rubbing alcohol is the water content as
it can cause corrosion. Isopropyl alcohol made for head cleaning is over 90%
alcohol but harder to find and way more expensive, but worth it with the end
effect.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Mike Ford
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 4:13 AM
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: What do you people use for tape cleaning ?
Hello,
as the subject says, what do you people use for tape cleaning ?
I have a few drives that desperately need cleaning, a HP 9144 and a
HP 9145 (the 9145 is smart enough the blink the "CLEAN" (or something)
led on power-up). The not-so-desperate cases are a QIC-24, QIC-150,
HP 7979A and a HP 7974.
The few docs that I have seem to recommend some sort of Freon based
substance but for some weird reason I can't find it in the stores:)
So, now my plan is to use isoprophyl alcohol but I'd like to be sure
before I do any damage.
Most of us have private hoards of the good stuff, but cleaning with
anything that doesn't harm the device is better than nothing. If you use
alcohol, don't use rubbing it has glycerin in it, use disinfectant alcohol.
One of the things I have seen recently in the Office Depot clearance area
are cleaning kits for older media, but I don't remember just which at the
moment.
1 Mar
1 Mar
12:40 a.m.
Denatured (wood) alcohol is available in the hardware
stores, Walmrt, etc
and is great for cleaning heads and rubber rollers.
Also another reason not to use stock rubbing alcohol is the water content as
it can cause corrosion. Isopropyl alcohol made for head cleaning is over 90%
alcohol but harder to find and way more expensive, but worth it with the end
effect.
90% Isopropyl used to be in the local drug stores for $1.00.
It seems the 70% stuff seems to be crowding it out on the shelves... but
it still can be found if you look for it.
Bill
2:38 a.m.
To tell you the truth I hadn'y even thought to look for it there, I'm too
busy looking for the drugs (hehehe). I'll see if the ones around here might
have it as my expensive HP squirt bottle of 97 or 99% is about gone (lasted
5 yrs). My next thought was maybe a chemical or scientific/lab supply where
I could buy a quart or so and be set for a long time.
The nice thing about the iso with a little water content is that it gets the
water solubles off at the same time the alcohol solubles come off whereas
denatured doens't alwys take care of the water based dirt, but it does do a
number on tar/nicotine from machines used around smokers.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Bill Pechter
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 8:40 AM
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: What do you people use for tape cleaning ?
Denatured (wood) alcohol is available in the hardware
stores, Walmrt, etc
and is great for cleaning heads and rubber rollers.
Also another reason not to use stock rubbing alcohol is the water content
as
it can cause corrosion. Isopropyl alcohol made for
head cleaning is over
90%
alcohol but harder to find and way more expensive, but
worth it with the
end
effect.
90% Isopropyl used to be in the local drug stores for $1.00.
It seems the 70% stuff seems to be crowding it out on the shelves... but
it still can be found if you look for it.
Bill
4:23 a.m.
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1:11 a.m.
At 09:26 01-03-2001 +0200, you wrote:
Hello,
as the subject says, what do you people use for tape cleaning ?
<snip>
Been using 99% isopropyl alky here for years. No problems to date.
The only thing I will say is that you shouldn't use standard Q-tips for
swabs. They're loosely wound, and come apart way too easily. Use either
foam swabs, or cotton-tippers that are explicitly designed for cleaning
tape heads (tight-wound, long wooden sticks).
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies
http://www.bluefeathertech.com // E-mail: kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com
Amateur Radio: WD6EOS since Dec. '77 (Extra class as of June-2K)
"I'll get a life when someone demonstrates to me that it would be
superior to what I have now..." (Gym Z. Quirk, aka Taki Kogoma).
2:38 a.m.
There's a swab that's flat and has a non-fibrous chanois like material on
them that you can get for cassette and vcr heads that work really well too
but you usually have to buy 2 or 3 dozen at a time.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
[mailto:owner-classiccmp@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Bruce Lane
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 9:12 AM
To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: What do you people use for tape cleaning ?
At 09:26 01-03-2001 +0200, you wrote:
Hello,
as the subject says, what do you people use for tape cleaning ?
<snip>
Been using 99% isopropyl alky here for years. No problems to date.
The only thing I will say is that you shouldn't use standard Q-tips for
swabs. They're loosely wound, and come apart way too easily. Use either
foam swabs, or cotton-tippers that are explicitly designed for cleaning
tape heads (tight-wound, long wooden sticks).
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner and head honcho, Blue Feather Technologies
http://www.bluefeathertech.com // E-mail: kyrrin(a)bluefeathertech.com
Amateur Radio: WD6EOS since Dec. '77 (Extra class as of June-2K)
"I'll get a life when someone demonstrates to me that it would be
superior to what I have now..." (Gym Z. Quirk, aka Taki Kogoma).
1:25 a.m.
I have a cleaning kit for the HP 9144/9145 it uses what appears to be
isopropyl alcohol. I haven't used it in a while so I don't remember if
it's marked or not but that's what it appeared to be.
Also the 9144/9145s are subject to the same feed roller rot that the
other HPs are so check your rollers and see if they've gotten mushy and/or
sticky. If they have then cleaning is not going to help.
Joe
At 09:26 AM 3/1/01 +0200, you wrote:
Hello,
as the subject says, what do you people use for tape cleaning ?
I have a few drives that desperately need cleaning, a HP 9144 and a
HP 9145 (the 9145 is smart enough the blink the "CLEAN" (or something)
led on power-up). The not-so-desperate cases are a QIC-24, QIC-150,
HP 7979A and a HP 7974.
The few docs that I have seem to recommend some sort of Freon based
substance but for some weird reason I can't find it in the stores:)
So, now my plan is to use isoprophyl alcohol but I'd like to be sure
before I do any damage.
Thanks in advance,
--
jht
5:11 p.m.
On Thu, Mar 01, 2001 at 10:25:47AM -0500, Joe wrote:
I have a cleaning kit for the HP 9144/9145 it uses
what appears to be
isopropyl alcohol. I haven't used it in a while so I don't remember if
it's marked or not but that's what it appeared to be.
Also the 9144/9145s are subject to the same feed roller rot that the
other HPs are so check your rollers and see if they've gotten mushy and/or
sticky. If they have then cleaning is not going to help.
The feed roller rot is a new thing to me, I'll check them out. Is there
anything one can do if that's the case ? I know I've opened my 9144 a few
times but I don't have a mental image of it right now. Sandpaper ?
--
jht
2 Mar
2 Mar
3:17 a.m.
At 09:11 AM 3/2/01 +0200, you wrote:
On Thu, Mar 01, 2001 at 10:25:47AM -0500, Joe wrote:
The only thing you can do is to replace the rollers. However I have no
idea where to find replacements. I doubt sandpaper will help, the rollers
get soft all the way through. Fortunatly, it only seems to be a problem in
about 20% of the 9144 that I've looked at. OTOH, it's a problem in about
95% of the HP 65s, 67s, 85s, etc. I suppose the difference may be due to
the 9144/9145s being slightly newer. I just hope they don't all go bad
eventually.
Joe
I have a cleaning kit for the HP 9144/9145 it
uses what appears to be
isopropyl alcohol. I haven't used it in a while so I don't remember if
it's marked or not but that's what it appeared to be.
Also the 9144/9145s are subject to the same feed roller rot that the
other HPs are so check your rollers and see if they've gotten mushy and/or
sticky. If they have then cleaning is not going to help.
The feed roller rot is a new thing to me, I'll check them out. Is there
anything one can do if that's the case ? I know I've opened my 9144 a few
times but I don't have a mental image of it right now. Sandpaper ?
--
jht
5:02 a.m.
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1 Mar
1 Mar
4:20 a.m.
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12:39 p.m.
For cleaning a tape drive, ISO alcohol should be just fine. Many folks
will tell you that chemwipes and special solvents are required. This is
not true.
A paper towel (I like the scott brand) and some ISO alcohol will work
peachy. Maybe 800 cleanings will harm it but a few hundred won't.
As for cleaning TAPES themselves I used the same paper towels and alcohol.
It is laborious but will get the job done. If you want pure alcohol, go to
your local liquor store and buy a bottle of EVERCLEAR. This is very pure
alcohol with no added ingredients. Be careful as alcohol is flammable as
hell.
I suspect what you may have is a 'squeaky' tape. This is mostly caused by
oxide from the tape being deposited on the read head along with it's
binding agents (glue). The tape then would be at fault: You can clean the
tape by holding a pad of alcohol soaked paper towel against the tape and
then manually spooling it through the drive several times. This will
remove a layer of bad oxide and glue while retaining the data. Believe
me. I rescued a couple of important tapes this way.
There is such a thing as a tape cleaner machine, but they are expensive
and hard to come by. Basicly, they are tape drives with angled cutting
edges on which the tape bears. These edges (blades) scrape the 'bad'
layer off the tape revealing a good bearing read surface.
Alcohol is also a nice lubricant if a tape is judged unsalvageable. You
can dump a bottle onto a tape, and run it through your drive ONCE. The
alcohol will help prevent the tape from shedding oxide during the read.
Once you are done, clean the head with alcohol thouroughly and then write
your copy to a good tape.
Best of luck,
Jeff
In <20010301092637.B712(a)sd160.local>al>, on 03/01/01
at 09:39 PM, Jarkko Teppo <jarkko.teppo(a)er-grp.com> said:
Hello,
as the subject says, what do you people use for tape cleaning ? I have a
few drives that desperately need cleaning, a HP 9144 and a HP 9145 (the
9145 is smart enough the blink the "CLEAN" (or something) led on
power-up). The not-so-desperate cases are a QIC-24, QIC-150, HP 7979A and
a HP 7974.
The few docs that I have seem to recommend some sort of
Freon based
substance but for some weird reason I can't find it in the stores:)
So, now my plan is to use isoprophyl alcohol but
I'd like to be sure
before I do any damage.
Thanks in advance,
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jeffrey S. Worley
President
Complete Computer Services, Inc.
30 Greenwood Rd.
Asheville, NC 28803
828-277-5959
Visit our website at HTTP://www.Real-Techs.com
THETechnoid(a)home.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
5:08 p.m.
On Thu, Mar 01, 2001 at 09:26:38AM +0200, Jarkko Teppo wrote:
So, now my plan is to use isoprophyl alcohol but
I'd like to be sure
before I do any damage.
Thanks to everyone who replied! So now I'm off to get some isoprophyl
alcohol and some good swabs. I'll be on lookout for "trike":)
Thanks for the tips!
--
jht
16 Mar
16 Mar
12:04 a.m.
There was mention in the previous message of a rotting feed roller. If
you have a rotten one, I doubt sandpaper is going to help in the long-run.
You will need to replace it.
I had a bad drive roller in my Data General cartridge tape drive a couple
of years ago. The drive worked a couple of times, then the roller
disintigrated and ate a couple of tapes before I realized. I found a
replacement roller in one of the output rollers from my Epson Action
Printer 3250. I removed this roller from the action printer, streached it
over the body of a ballpoint pen, then removed the nose from the pen.
After cutting off the gooey old drive roller and cleaning the stem with
iso alcohol and fingernail polish remover, I placed the flat nose of the
pen body against the shaft and slid my replacement roller on. Works like
a charm.
Regards,,
Jeff
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jeffrey S. Worley
President
Complete Computer Services, Inc.
30 Greenwood Rd.
Asheville, NC 28803
828-277-5959
Visit our website at HTTP://www.Real-Techs.com
THETechnoid(a)home.com
-----------------------------------------------------------
4:52 a.m.
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