collecting - Sealed Scotch Dynarange 203 reel to reel tape

On 29 Oct 2006 16:31:49 -0800, "Rusty"
wrote:

I just received a sealed blank Scotch Dynarange 203 reel to reel tape
as a consolidation gift for slow shipping on an Ebay purchase. Is this
type of tape prone to sticky shed syndrome? snip

It can be, yes.

Was this tape any good?
Are there any problems I should be aware of? Thanks. snip

Dynarange 203 was one of the dark oxide tapes which came out from 3M
in the '60s. It had a significantly lower noise floor than previous
ferric oxide tapes from the '50s by about 6-8 dB and was a very
popular consumer grade tape. The commericial 1.5 mil version was 202.

If I'm not mistaken, this is an unbackcoated tape, and the oxide
should be a dark gray in color, rather than reddish or brown. Since
this box was sealed, the tape inside might be in very good shape
indeed. However, it used a water based binder that is very suceptible
to moisture intrusion, which causes the shedding. Alway store it in a
dry place, away from moisture. Before recording the first time,
"exercise" this tape by fast forwarding and then rewinding to the
"head". Actually, this is good practice for any tape you're about to
use for recording.

Rusty