13 Apr
2006
13 Apr
'06
9:51 a.m.
More in the interminable drive band discussion:
Further investigation on a statistically insignificant sample shows a wide range of drive
band lengths, and the band pulled from a newish tape annd used (successfully) in the old
tapes was the longest.
I am now wondering if the problem may have more to do with surface degradation and
"glazing" lowering the friction between the drive belt and the tape.
A possible test of this hypothesis would be to use "Rubber Renu" on an old tape
band and see if the issue is resolved.
Before I do that, I wanted to get some more input. I'm not sure of the composition of
the drive bands, or whether "Rubber Renu" (main ingredient: Methyl Salicylate)
would be injurous to the tapes in the small quantities that would remain on the band.
13 Apr
13 Apr
10:44 a.m.
On 4/13/2006 at 11:51 AM Scott Quinn wrote:
Before I do that, I wanted to get some more input.
I'm not sure of the
composition of the drive bands, or whether "Rubber
Renu" (main ingredient:
Methyl Salicylate) would be injurous to the tapes in the small quantities
that would remain on the band.
I wouldn't. Methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen) is an oily ester that's
mostly used as a flavoring agent. The elastomer used on the DC drive bands
appears to be a completely different material from rubber--and I suspect
it's not porous. Cleaning the stuff off a tape that you applied it to
wouldn't be pretty--it's not soluble in water--it dissolves in ether.
I'd start by firing off an inquiry to Imation. They still make QIC tapes
and I'd suspect that they might sell you (with the appropriate amount of
begging, wheedling and conniving) a bunch of new belts. I've found that
their technical support can be very good. Back when I was fooling with QIC
cartridges more, I recall one of their support reps informing me that when
respooling a tape, saliva was exactly the right stuff to use to tack the
free end of the tape to the hub. He said that they'd tried a number of
other substances, but that saliva was the best.
If you don't get satisfaction from customer service, see if you can get an
in to the folks at NML (which is run by Imation). They deal with this sort
of stuff all of the time.
Cheers,
Chuck
11:15 a.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 4/13/2006 at 11:51 AM Scott Quinn wrote:
I dont know if chuck is a chemist, but he brings up a good point. I
think that a lot of the lubricants
in these tapes may be silicon based, which brings up a lot of
interesting solvent questions. these
sorts of questions are a problem, because there are some real problems
with what we in the
field tend to grab and use for cleaning. Witness the problem with using
freon, or alcohol based
cleaning solvents on the capstan rubber and destroying it as another
example that has been
well discussed here.
Hopefully his suggestion will produce someone who can post a discussion
of this topic, and
recommendations about what is appropriate and how to determine what you
are dealing with.
Jim
Before I do that, I wanted to get some more input.
I'm not sure of the
composition of the drive bands, or whether "Rubber Renu" (main
ingredient:
Methyl Salicylate) would be injurous to the tapes in the small quantities
that would remain on the band.
6829
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6829
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