9 Jun
2015
9 Jun
'15
5:42 p.m.
foam blocks ... hated the things we just tucked one end of the tape
under the tape ring and snapped it shut
seems things stayed in place nicely and no foam outgassing under the
seal of the tape ring.
Ed# _www.smecc.org_ (http://www.smecc.org)
In a message dated 6/9/2015 2:38:08 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
nf6x at nf6x.net writes:
On Jun 9, 2015, at 14:32 , Chuck Guzis <cclist at
sydex.com> wrote:
I'm getting a little tired of replacing old dried-out foam blocks to
hold
down the ends of 1/2" tapes. Worse, some of the ones I've fished out
have utterly crumbled over the years, leaving bits of themselves inside the
reel.
I am curious: NOS tapes that I bought in the last year or so came with the
foam blocks, but I don't recall ever encountering either a foam block or
the magic plastic tape "back in the day" on tapes from the rack that I
handled as a backup operator. I presume that if they came with blocks, they were
discarded when the tapes were unpacked. Is it really necessary to secure
the tape end in normal use, or is it just needed during shipping to keep the
tape from getting loose on the reel during transport?
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
9 Jun
9 Jun
5:54 p.m.
foam blocks ... hated the things we just tucked one
end of the tape
under the tape ring and snapped it shut seems things stayed in place
nicely and no foam outgassing under the seal of the tape ring.
Those of us with autoload drives despised you. :)
Well, ok, the 3420 drives probably did ok regardless; you do get
something for the money (and mass) of a blue drive.
The Cipher streamers often choked on these, though.
De
6:01 p.m.
On 6/9/2015 2:54 PM, Dennis Boone wrote:
The blue, white, or yellow material felt like and worked like latex. It
may have had some treatment to make it have the tactile adhesion you
felt, but it left zero residue on the tape despite the adhesion to the
mylar backing on the tape.
When you stretched it it lost the property to stick to the tape, by the
way, so shrinkage may be the culprit if they quit working. I find that
the Writghtline seals work the best if the tapes were not and are not
hung with them. Eventually the white material will fail, or the black
lock will break, but they are by far the longest lasting other than just
a clear box container.
thanks
Jim
foam blocks
... hated the things we just tucked one end of the tape
under the tape ring and snapped it shut seems things stayed in place
nicely and no foam outgassing under the seal of the tape ring.
Those of us with autoload drives despised you. :)
Well, ok, the 3420 drives probably did ok regardless; you do get
something for the money (and mass) of a blue drive.
The Cipher streamers often choked on these, though.
De 
6:20 p.m.
On 06/09/2015 03:01 PM, jwsmobile wrote:
The blue, white, or yellow material felt like and
worked like latex. It
may have had some treatment to make it have the tactile adhesion you
felt, but it left zero residue on the tape despite the adhesion to the
mylar backing on the tape.
I think the guess of being vinyl is probably bang on. Latex would have
long since degraded.
When you stretched it it lost the property to stick to
the tape, by the
way, so shrinkage may be the culprit if they quit working. I find that
the Writghtline seals work the best if the tapes were not and are not
hung with them. Eventually the white material will fail, or the black
lock will break, but they are by far the longest lasting other than just
a clear box container.
There were several competing systems for hanging tapes. There was one
that used hard plastic "bands" that were pretty wide (perhaps 1.25")
that would crack if you dropped them on the floor.
I've run into tapes with 5 leaders spliced on, one right after the other.
And you'd be sure to get grief from your operator if you took one of
those stiff leaders with a notched end and bent it double.
I remember when the self-threading vacuum column drives were introduced.
The usual procedure was the clip off the last inch or two of the
leader before using them. Of course, if you carried the same tape
between auto- and manual-threading drives a lot, that leader could
shrink pretty quickly.
--Chuck
6:27 p.m.
On Jun 9, 2015, at 15:20 , Chuck Guzis <cclist at
sydex.com> wrote:
I remember when the self-threading vacuum column drives were introduced. The usual
procedure was the clip off the last inch or two of the leader before using them. Of
course, if you carried the same tape between auto- and manual-threading drives a lot, that
leader could shrink pretty quickly.
Speaking of which, I would love to add one of those little tape end trim-and-crimp tools
to my collection.
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
6:44 p.m.
On 6/9/2015 3:20 PM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
I think the guess of being vinyl is probably bang on.
Latex would
have long since degraded.
I asked a group who collect Political Memorabilia and
make temporary
signs, and they suggested the term that I think hits the material.
The temporary signs are called "clingy decals" and that hits a number of
promising materials.
This site is a bit annoying but also discusses two types of cling.
http://www.signazon.com/vinyl-decal-vs-static-cling.aspx
I agree with you Chuck and Eric. If I'd read his post about vinyl, I'd
have agreed with him and not mentioned latex. The surface property is
like latex, but you are probably right, the material would have degraded
in ozone or other gasses.
thanks
Jim
6:33 p.m.
Could this be the right stuff?
http://www.amazon.com/Grafix-9-Inch-12-Inch-9-Pack-Assorted/dp/B00114OVFE/r…
It seems to me that I've seen it in the form of letters to be stuck to
windows.
--Chuck
6:40 p.m.
On Jun 9, 2015, at 15:33 , Chuck Guzis <cclist at
sydex.com> wrote:
Could this be the right stuff?
http://www.amazon.com/Grafix-9-Inch-12-Inch-9-Pack-Assorted/dp/B00114OVFE/r…
It seems to me that I've seen it in the form of letters to be stuck to windows.
That looks really promising. It would probably be easy to slice into neat strips with one
of those circular-blad paper cutters from the local office supply store.
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
10:15 p.m.
On 2015-Jun-09, at 3:01 PM, jwsmobile wrote:
I find that the Writghtline seals work the best if
the tapes were not and are not hung with them. Eventually the white material will fail,
or the black lock will break, but they are by far the longest lasting other than just a
clear box container.
Every couple of years for awhile now I'll be surprised in hearing a snap, clunk and
strange scuffling sound in the house.
It's one of those tape collar-seals breaking spontaneously, at which point the hung
reel falls to the floor and takes off across the room, generally unwinding the tape as it
goes.
10:42 p.m.
On 6/9/2015 8:15 PM, Brent Hilpert wrote:
On 2015-Jun-09, at 3:01 PM, jwsmobile wrote:
After a few years, they start looking for food. :)
I find that the Writghtline seals work the best
if the tapes were
not and are not hung with them. Eventually the white material will
fail, or the black lock will break, but they are by far the longest
lasting other than just a clear box container.
Every couple of years for awhile now I'll be surprised in hearing a
snap, clunk and strange scuffling sound in the house.
It's one of those tape collar-seals breaking spontaneously, at which
point the hung reel falls to the floor and takes off across the room,
generally unwinding the tape as it goes.
10:55 p.m.
It's one of those tape collar-seals breaking
spontaneously, at which
point the hung reel falls to the floor and takes off across the room,
generally unwinding the tape as it goes.
If it is generally UNwinding the tape as it goes, the reason is exactly
the same as why buttered toast always falls buttered side down:
It is NOT due to the aerodynamics during the fall.
It is NOT due to the center of gravity.
It is because you are winding it the wrong way around - (or
buttering the wrong side)
11:21 p.m.
On 6/9/2015 8:55 PM, Fred Cisin wrote:
Also would not a fall like that damage the tape reel?
Ben.
It's one
of those tape collar-seals breaking spontaneously, at which
point the hung reel falls to the floor and takes off across the room,
generally unwinding the tape as it goes.
If it is generally UNwinding the tape as it goes, the reason is exactly
the same as why buttered toast always falls buttered side down:
It is NOT due to the aerodynamics during the fall.
It is NOT due to the center of gravity.
It is because you are winding it the wrong way around - (or
buttering the wrong side)
10 Jun
10 Jun
12:46 a.m.
On 06/09/2015 08:21 PM, ben wrote:
Also would not a fall like that damage the tape reel?
When baking tapes with the Wright Line seals, I've learned to remove the
seals. If you leave them on, the tapes at 58C, will often just fall
right out the seal--the coefficient of expansion is much larger for the
seals than for the tape reels. After the seal has had a chance to cool
off, it fits fine.
This is particularly a problem with the smaller size reels.
--Chuck
12:57 a.m.
On Jun 9, 2015, at 21:46 , Chuck Guzis <cclist at
sydex.com> wrote:
When baking tapes with the Wright Line seals
Please forgive my ignorance, but which variety are the Wright Line seals? I think I've
encountered three styles of magtape widgets: The "common" white plastic with a
black buckle and squarish hook, which have been on the vast majority of tapes I've
ever handled or seen; auto-load rings; fully-enclosed plastic cases with a quarter-turn
handle in the middle of one side to latch the halves together.
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
1:20 a.m.
On 06/09/2015 09:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote:
Please forgive my ignorance, but which variety are the
Wright Line
seals? I think I've encountered three styles of magtape widgets: The
"common" white plastic with a black buckle and squarish hook, which
have been on the vast majority of tapes I've ever handled or seen;
That one.
3M also had their own variety of seals.
--Chuck
1:40 a.m.
On Jun 9, 2015, at 22:20 , Chuck Guzis <cclist at
sydex.com> wrote:
On 06/09/2015 09:57 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote:
Hmm, the NOS 3M 777 tapes that I got off eBay have "that one" seals. Did 3M
later switch to Wright Line seals? Off to google pictures of random mag taps for
edutainment purposes... Boy, do I know how to have fun!
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
Please forgive my ignorance, but which variety
are the Wright Line
seals? I think I've encountered three styles of magtape widgets: The
"common" white plastic with a black buckle and squarish hook, which
have been on the vast majority of tapes I've ever handled or seen;
That one.
3M also had their own variety of seals.
1:57 a.m.
On 06/09/2015 10:40 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote:
Hmm, the NOS 3M 777 tapes that I got off eBay have
"that one" seals.
Did 3M later switch to Wright Line seals? Off to google pictures of
random mag taps for edutainment purposes... Boy, do I know how to
have fun!
The 3M ones that I've seen are hard white plastic (not PVC or whatever
Wright Line used) with a keyhole-sort of affair that allows the circle
to expand.
--Chuck
2:01 a.m.
On Jun 9, 2015, at 22:57 , Chuck Guzis <cclist at
sydex.com> wrote:
The 3M ones that I've seen are hard white plastic (not PVC or whatever Wright Line
used) with a keyhole-sort of affair that allows the circle to expand.
Interesting. I don't think I've encountered that style before, or if I did, that
memory has snuck away in the night.
--
Mark J. Blair, NF6X <nf6x at nf6x.net>
http://www.nf6x.net/
2 a.m.
I finally succeeded in putting a name to where I've seen that clingy
vinyl material before--in a children's toy:
Google: "Colorforms"
--Chuck
3364
days inactive
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18 comments
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participants (8)
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bfranchuk＠jetnet.ab.ca -
cclist＠sydex.com -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
COURYHOUSE＠aol.com -
drb＠msu.edu -
hilpert＠cs.ubc.ca -
jws＠jwsss.com -
nf6x＠nf6x.net