[78-L] question on tape baking

[Michael Biel]

 From: Dan Van Landingham <danvanlandingham at yahoo.com>
> When I had my reel to reel set up,I had alot of those cheap tapes
> I recorded on.I got them dirt cheap.Shamrock,as I recall,was made
> by Orradio in Alabama. Their top of the line tape was Shamrock.
> I have never heard of "tape baking".Just what is it?

The topic itself is not off-topic (the jokes were) so I removed the ^
from the subject.  Tapes that had carbon backcoating from the mid-70s
thru the 80s into the 90s are now often showing something called "Sticky
Shed Syndrom" where the binder has become gooey and causes the tape to
squeal, shed gooey oxide on the machine, and a host of other problems. 
The binder can usually be re-solidified for about 30 days if the tape is
baked in a convection oven at about 125 degrees F for maybe six hours.  

Shamrock was made in the Opelika Alabama factory that originally was
Orradio, but had been sold to Ampex around 1960.  Shamrock, along with
Emerald, Irish, and a few other brands were the "white box" cheapie
tapes.  The regular tapes were branded Ampex, of course, but had been
Irish prior to the sale to Ampex.  The black oxide carbon backcoated
tapes are the problem tapes.  Brown oxide and non-backcoated tapes are
usually OK.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  




 
 --- On Sat, 8/22/09, Julian Vein <julianvein at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
 
 
 From: Julian Vein <julianvein at blueyonder.co.uk>
 Subject: Re: [78-L] question on tape baking^
 To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
 Date: Saturday, August 22, 2009, 8:19 AM
 
 
 simmonssomer wrote:
 > ----- Original Message ----- 
 > From: "Julian Vein" <julianvein at blueyonder.co.uk>
 > To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
 > Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2009 6:53 AM
 > Subject: Re: [78-L] question on tape baking
 > 
 > 
 >> David Lennick wrote:
 >>
 >>> The stuff done on Shamrock or other white-box brands from the same
source 
 >>> may
 >>> not be okay though, and often that stuff doesn't respond to baking.
It 
 >>> actually
 >>> needs to be played from inside a fridge..think I'm kidding?
 >>>
 >>> dl
 >> ========
 >> Doesn't the light go out when you shut the door?
 >>
 >>       Julian Vein
 >>
 > 
 > Light? What light?
 > 
 > Al S.
 > 
 > _______________________________________________
 The Northern Lights--take your equipment to the Frozen North for cool 
 remastering! I always thought there must be a use for Alaska.
 
       Julian Vein