TU58 yet one more time - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

1 Jun 2016

Hello,
I would need some clarification about the Plastibands, as I will have to find a suitable
replacement for the belt,
as ALL my cartridges need a replacement, after removing the old one without causing the
infamous blank-spot.

Al, please could you clarify which size / brand of (Baumgarten) plastibands did you use
for the TU58 cassette?

Mark, I'm not sure that a wider belt would work better, maybe worse. In fact pulley /
belt mechanisms usually work with
pulleys that have a bigger diameter near the center than on the sides, resulting slightly
convex.
Because of physical friction forces, an "unbiased" flat belt will always remain
exactly in the center of the pulleys.
If a cylindrical pulley will be used, this effect will not be present, so the belt will
slide off the pulleys.
On TU58 as in DC100 tapes AFAIK the belt is narrow, maybe abound the half the width of the
pulleys.

Thanks
Andrea

...
  I tried using plastibands in a TU58 cartridge, with
zero success. Once stretched, the width of the plastiband was too narrow, and > it kept
on slipping off the edge of the tape spool and jamming things up thoroughly. These are the
ones I tried using: 
...

http://www.amazon.com/Baumgartens-8-inch-Plastibands-BAUSF5000-Assorted/dp/…

...
  I think they might have worked if they were at least
twice as wide, at around the same circumference. Is there a different type
 available that might work better? 