Realistic 8-Track Cartridge Cleaner

http://www.8trackheaven.com/ripoff.html


Hey Nudo--- is this what you keep posting and reposting aboot: the
Radio Shack thingie that 'cleans' tapes? Weeeeell, buttbud, you didn't

read the whole article. Read on and just see how much this thing will
devour tapes.


And answer me this: if this thing was such a god-send, how come there's

only one model? Seems to me if this thing was so needed (like you
admitted), there'd be several 'new and improved' units, plus units made

by other companies.


Now, Chuckles, don't go and change the subject by ranting about my
supposed sexual orientation or my believed religion. STAY ON SUBJECT-
you'll make more of a point and come across as less of a goon if you do

so.

On 24 Aug 2006 15:11:33 -0700, wrote:

http://www.8trackheaven.com/ripoff.html


Hey Nudo--- is this what you keep posting and reposting aboot: the
Radio Shack thingie that 'cleans' tapes? Weeeeell, buttbud, you didn't snip

He never reads anything...just a few words, then goes into the
characteristic Nudo Spaz Attack mode.

These things were a friggin' joke. Any idiot can tell that they'd
scrape oxide off the tape, AND strip the whale oil base lube out of
the oxide layer...BAD for ANY tape, let alone a cartridge. Figures
Noodles would think they're "snazzy."

Thus, we know how stupid (again) Charlie Nudo is about anything to do
with magnetic tape. His "aquarium filter pressure pads" are almost as
bad as this thingamajig, and people just don't "get it." I've done my
part, warned a LOT of people about Noodles' phony "pads," but haven't
been able to stop his frauds entirely....yet.

Now, Chuckles, don't go and change the subject by ranting about my
supposed sexual orientation or my believed religion. STAY ON SUBJECT-
you'll make more of a point and come across as less of a goon if you do snip

He can't. He never reads nor comprehends involved posts. His tiny
brain can't handle the workload.

DeserTBoB wrote:
On 24 Aug 2006 15:11:33 -0700, wrote:

http://www.8trackheaven.com/ripoff.html


Hey Nudo--- is this what you keep posting and reposting aboot: the
Radio Shack thingie that 'cleans' tapes? Weeeeell, buttbud, you didn't snip

He never reads anything...just a few words, then goes into the
characteristic Nudo Spaz Attack mode.

These things were a friggin' joke. Any idiot can tell that they'd
scrape oxide off the tape, AND strip the whale oil base lube out of
the oxide layer...BAD for ANY tape, let alone a cartridge. Figures
Noodles would think they're "snazzy."

Thus, we know how stupid (again) Charlie Nudo is about anything to do
with magnetic tape. His "aquarium filter pressure pads" are almost as
bad as this thingamajig, and people just don't "get it." I've done my
part, warned a LOT of people about Noodles' phony "pads," but haven't
been able to stop his frauds entirely....yet.
Now, Chuckles, don't go and change the subject by ranting about my
supposed sexual orientation or my believed religion. STAY ON SUBJECT-
you'll make more of a point and come across as less of a goon if you do snip

He can't. He never reads nor comprehends involved posts. His tiny
brain can't handle the workload.
How dirty can a tape get? If there were any dust would it not be
eliminated as the tape came up to the head? How can it get dirty wound
up on a reel?

wrote:
http://www.8trackheaven.com/ripoff.html


Hey Nudo--- is this what you keep posting and reposting aboot: the
Radio Shack thingie that 'cleans' tapes? Weeeeell, buttbud, you didn't

read the whole article. Read on and just see how much this thing will
devour tapes.


And answer me this: if this thing was such a god-send, how come there's

only one model? Seems to me if this thing was so needed (like you
admitted), there'd be several 'new and improved' units, plus units made

by other companies.


Now, Chuckles, don't go and change the subject by ranting about my
supposed sexual orientation or my believed religion. STAY ON SUBJECT-
you'll make more of a point and come across as less of a goon if you do

so.

The 8-track heaven crowd was too stupid to realize how the device
worked- it cleans graphite off the front of the tape- you can't see the
graphite, but it's there in microscopic form- and it is slightly
conductive- that is what tricks the channel switch circuit on the Akai
80-81-82 decks, causing them not to switch tracks automatically.

Clean the tapes- they sound better- and switch tracks better too.

You can read about this problem in the archives under "Akai track
switching problem"

wrote:
http://www.8trackheaven.com/ripoff.html


Hey Nudo--- is this what you keep posting and reposting aboot: the
Radio Shack thingie that 'cleans' tapes? Weeeeell, buttbud, you didn't

read the whole article. Read on and just see how much this thing will
devour tapes.


And answer me this: if this thing was such a god-send, how come there's

only one model? Seems to me if this thing was so needed (like you
admitted), there'd be several 'new and improved' units, plus units made

by other companies.


Now, Chuckles, don't go and change the subject by ranting about my
supposed sexual orientation or my believed religion. STAY ON SUBJECT-
you'll make more of a point and come across as less of a goon if you do

so.


This was hashed out a long time ago, by a very sharp tech from the
Midwest named Joe Nechanicky. He did extensive tests and posted the
results here. This guy was/is the best 8-track man on the planet, to
my knowledge. If you want a real eye opener, read his post on how he
diagnosed the Akai track switching problem, and traced it back to loose
graphite on the front of the tape. This is yet another reason why, a
square home-made pad helps- by continuously cleaning the loose graphite
from the back of the tape, it keeps the front of the tape clean too.
That graphite can't attach itself onto the front of the tape, and later
trick the track switching circuits in the tape deck. The Akai 80-81-82
and Pioneer HR-99/100 track switching circuits and auto-stop circuits
will not work properly, if an old tape with heavy graphite on the front
of the tape is played.

So that Radio Shack cleaner is actually a good tool. Link and post
below:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.c... 19ff8ed94be3c

AKAI -ROBERTS
Problems with not changing tracks using automatic track changing
featu
AKAI CR80 (D) CR 81 (D) CR83D AKAI Quad (and most AKAI RR Combos)
ROBERTS
808 (D) the AKAI series of recorders listed above and the Roberts
versions
may encounter automatic track change problems. These problems could be
electrical component failure however most likely there is another cause
as
outlined below.
The electronic channel changing circuitry of these decks is not of the
straight forward design found in most 8 track players and recorders. In

common design for triggering the channel change solenoid, a direct path
is
used from the sensing contacts to the solenoid. One side of the sensing

contacts is usually grounded and the other side goes to the ungrounded
side
of the solenoid. When the sensing foil passes, a connection is made and
the
solenoid activates.
In AKAI/Roberts 8 track decks this is not the case. These decks use an
advanced method of triggering the channel change solenoid. In short,
the
electronics incorporates a charged capacitor, when discharged, switches
on a
transistor which completes the current path for solenoid operation.
This is
a good system and works well under most conditions. The purpose of this

circuitry is two fold. It allows positive triggering of the solenoid by

using the charged capacitor to provide a strong voltage change to the
solenoid switching transistor. If the sensing foil stops on the sensing

contacts, no damage will be done to the solenoid as the capacitor will
discharge and will not recharge by circuit design under those
conditions.
Over the years, one problem I have noticed with these decks is the
inability
of the automatic track change to function properly. At times the
automatic
change would at best just put out a weak "click" but would not change
channels. The manual track change button on the front panel would
function
normally if used during this occurrence. I tried many methods to get
the
automatic track change to work. I tried cleaning the contacts,
modifying the
contact area, checking all the electronics for malfunctions, but
nothing
really seemed to correct the problem for the long term. I took a hard
look
at the problem and came up with some concrete facts and information
that I
want to pass on to the 8 track news group.
Analyzing the problem:
With the player in play mode, and no tape in the recorder, I could
always
trigger the automatic mode when making a contact manually by placing a
piece
of metal across the sensing contact surface inside the tape recorder.
When
running a tape in the recorder, the automatic changer would not
trigger. I
tried new sensing foil, longer sensing foil, more pressure on the pads,

checked for sensing contact protrusion and so forth. None of these
items
contributed to the cause of the lack of head switching.
Analyzing further:
The circuit which fires the solenoid is a simple circuit yet is complex
in
theory. Basically what happens when things are operating normally is
this:
1. The sensing foil contacts sensing contacts
2. There is fast discharge of the capacitor which (through various
circuits)
causes the transistor in the solenoid circuit to conduct, and in return
this
causes the solenoid to operate.
3. Once the capacitor is discharged, it will not recharge until the
foil has
passed from the contact strip. If the foil should stop on the strip,
there
is a long time constant R/C circuit recharge circuit which prevents the

capacitor from recharging in that mode. This prevents the solenoid from

burning out should the foil stop on the contacts. These decks stops
cold
when it goes into automatic stop mode, so protection is needed for the
solenoid.
Why the automatic change will not work but the manual change does:
The manual change button does exactly the same electrical function as
the
foil over the contacts, the circuit is the same. So why then will not
the
automatic system work? It could be one of the usual things, and these
should
be checked first, pressure pad, contacts need to be cleaned, new
sensing
foil installed. If that does not do the trick, here is what I have
found to
be the problem. This problem really had me stumped until I did some
real
down to earth research on what is going on. The only way the automatic
feature could not work is if the capacitor would not hold a charge, so
I
changed the capacitor, put in a lot larger value of microfarads, did
some
circuit changes. The results of this varied the operation somewhat but
it
still was not the answer. I took even a harder and longer look at the
problem. I put a volt meter probe on the ungrounded terminal of the
sensing
contact, the other on the ground of the chassis. I wanted to see if the

voltage on the capacitor dropped when the tape was running for what
ever
reason. I was amazed to find that as the tape turned, the voltage at
this
connection fluctuated erratically. What this indicated was that the
magnetic
tape surface was conducting electricity from the positive side of the
capacitor to ground, and causing the capacitor to gradually discharge
leaving it in a discharged state in a short time. I removed the tape, I

tried to measure resistance with my volt meter probes across the
recording
tape, however I didn't see much for conductivity. Yet when I put the
tape
back in the recorder, I could see the voltage being bled off the
capacitor
by the conduction process. The magnetic particles on the tape I suppose
have
some conductivity, but not normally enough to cause any problems.
The Graphite backing:
The recording tape I was using was an older, well used TDK AD series
tape.
Close examination on all continuous loop tapes will revel that the
graphite
will get embedded into the oxide surface over time, and I suspected the

graphite and oxide together are doing the electrical conducting.
To prove this theory, I cracked open a brand new TDK AD tape, put it
into
the recorder. Guess what, absolutely no conduction what so ever! The
problem
was in the older well used tapes. Brand didn't make any difference. The

backing and oxide on old well used tapes will not affect standard 8
track
channel change electronics as the conduction is so small it's
negligible on
these types of circuits. It does affect the transistorized channel
change
electronics of the AKAI decks.
Conclusion:
If you have an AKAI or ROBERTS's deck which will not change tracks for
you,
do all the basic things first, then try the newest tape you can find to
see
if it will work for you then, it will. You do not have to use brand new

tapes in these decks, however you should be aware that the use of some
well
used tapes may cause the auto track change function to not operate
correctly. I did go on to measure the heavy graphite build up on the
pinch
rollers of a few carts; the substance is conductive in the Meg ohm
region,
but conductive. The channel change system can be modified so even older

tapes can be used with out problems; however this is at the cost of
having
the solenoid locked on during auto stop, not a good thing to do. This
may be
the answer to another question also which has surfaced concerning a
scratching static noise heard some times when playing tapes. This noise
has
been associated with the sensing contacts, but no one including me has
ever
been able to really figure out why, perhaps the same conductivity may
be
causing the noise problem.
Keep Trackin'
Joe Nechanicky

On 25 Aug 2006 03:50:05 -0700, "Abraham Lincoln"
wrote:

The 8-track heaven crowd was too stupid to realize how the device
worked- it cleans graphite off the front of the tape- you can't see the
graphite, but it's there in microscopic form- and it is slightly
conductive- that is what tricks the channel switch circuit on the Akai
80-81-82 decks, causing them not to switch tracks automatically. snip

Idiot...the problem with your flawed logic (as IF your brain COULD use
logic) is that this piece of crap, as well as others like it, grinds
the oxide layer off the backing, thus causing loss of signal. The
"graphite on the tape face" problem is only on overused cartridges
that I've seen...never had a problem otherwise.

Clean the tapes- they sound better- and switch tracks better too. snip

WRONG! "Cleaned" tapes (cleaned on this turkey) will lose signal,
especially in the top end.

You can read about this problem in the archives under "Akai track
switching problem" snip

Noodles wants his tracks to change better, but doesn't care about
sound quality...because he wouldn't know GOOD sound quality if it
poked him in his fat ass. That's why I don't like Akais...that hosed
up switching arrangement sucks. Nice idea, poorly executed.

On 25 Aug 2006 04:01:39 -0700, "Abraham Lincoln"
wrote:

This was hashed out a long time ago, by a very sharp tech from the
Midwest named Joe Nechanicky. He did extensive tests and posted the
results here. This guy was/is the best 8-track man on the planet, to
my knowledge. snip

Bull****. He never even used an alignment tape. He had a Nortronics,
and said "there are tones on it, but I'm not sure how good they
are....." SOME TECH! Then, you started with your PHONY ALIGNMENT
TAPES, whcih are a fraud and will misalign any deck they're used upon.

Charlie Nudo....MAGNETIC TAPE IDIOT!