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EricK
 
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Default Date Code On Ampex Tape?

I have several reels of Ampex 456 and 499 lying around. I think you are
supposed to be able to tell the date of manufacture from the sticker on
the spine. Does anyone know how to decifer the code?

For example, one says "91281"

--
Eric

www.Raw-Tracks.com
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Steven Sena
 
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"91" The Year "281" day of the year

--
Steven Sena
XS Sound Recording
www.xssound.com

"EricK" wrote in message
...
I have several reels of Ampex 456 and 499 lying around. I think you are
supposed to be able to tell the date of manufacture from the sticker on the
spine. Does anyone know how to decifer the code?

For example, one says "91281"

--
Eric

www.Raw-Tracks.com



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EricK
 
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Steven Sena wrote:
"91" The Year "281" day of the year


Am I safe to use 15 year old 456 if it is still sealed in the factory
plastic. Or is there a chance it is junk?

--
Eric

www.Raw-Tracks.com
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Steven Sena
 
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Well, the rule-of-thumb around here has always been not to record on tape
that's over one year old...
We always felt that sound quality starts to suffer after a year or so...
But these days I think anything goes...
Try it on your machine it should work, I mean you will not hurt anything. If
it sheds or sticks, clean you recorder and dump the reel... Good Luck.
--
Steven Sena
XS Sound Recording
www.xssound.com

"EricK" wrote in message
...
Steven Sena wrote:
"91" The Year "281" day of the year


Am I safe to use 15 year old 456 if it is still sealed in the factory
plastic. Or is there a chance it is junk?

--
Eric

www.Raw-Tracks.com



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EricK
 
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Mike Rivers wrote:

It's never junk, but check it first, and if it's sticky (as it's
likely to be) bake it first. Contrary to the seemingly obvious, it can
get sticky even when sealed in its original wrapper. It's a chemical
breakdown process, not a "gets damp and turns to glue" process.


Thanks Mike. I don't think I would want to bake it in order to record
onto it. That seems counter-productive to me. But you're saying it can
go sticky even if it's still factory sealed. That's good to know. I
guess the only way to know will be to try it.

--
Eric

www.Raw-Tracks.com
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Mike Rivers
 
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In article writes:

Thanks Mike. I don't think I would want to bake it in order to record
onto it. That seems counter-productive to me.


What's counter-productive about making the tape good as new again?
Haven't you been reading about how difficult it is to buy new audio
recording tape these days?

We've learned a few things about the chemistry of tape binders since
the early days of the discovery of the sticky shed syndrome. There are
a number of articles on the web (including one of mine) that haven't
been updated and are based on the initial theory that the binder
becomes like a sponge and absorbs water from the air, making the tape
sticky. Baking drives out the water and then it will be OK long enough
to recover the recording (but no longer).

Recent information is that what really happens is that certain
materials in the binder become molecularly unbound and the actual
chemical composition of the binder changes. This is a function of age
and not water absorption. Heating the tape allows the chemicals to
recombine and the tape goes back to its original physical state. It
may take as long to get sticky after baking as it did to get sticky
after original manufacture - but you don't really know when it reached
the 'unusably sticky' state.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo
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EricK
 
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Mike Rivers wrote:
What's counter-productive about making the tape good as new again?
Haven't you been reading about how difficult it is to buy new audio
recording tape these days?


Mike,

I have been talking about new old stock tape still in factory sealed
plastic. I am not going to bake tape so I can record on it.


We've learned a few things about the chemistry of tape binders since
the early days of the discovery of the sticky shed syndrome. There are
a number of articles on the web (including one of mine) that haven't
been updated and are based on the initial theory that the binder
becomes like a sponge and absorbs water from the air, making the tape
sticky. Baking drives out the water and then it will be OK long enough
to recover the recording (but no longer).


Right, I know. Again, we are talking about recording onto NOS tape. I am
sure I could bake tape so that I can record onto it. But then, it
wouldn't be long before I'd have to bake it again to play it back. That
is what I am saying is counter-productive.

--
Eric

www.Raw-Tracks.com
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EricK
 
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Mike Rivers wrote:

According to Bill Lund, formerly of 3M and one who has probably done
more research on this than anyone else (as well as testing), it would
be long before you'd have to bake it again, like maybe ten years.


Ten years, I had no idea it would be good for that long. I was always
under the impression it would fix the tape for a few weeks, or something
like that.

Thanks Mike.

--
Eric

www.Raw-Tracks.com


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Techmeister
 
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Default

In article ,
"Steven Sena" wrote:

Well, the rule-of-thumb around here has always been not to record on tape
that's over one year old...
We always felt that sound quality starts to suffer after a year or so...
But these days I think anything goes...
Try it on your machine it should work, I mean you will not hurt anything. If
it sheds or sticks, clean you recorder and dump the reel... Good Luck.


Where on Earth did you come up with the 1 year concept???

News to me after 35 some years. If the binder is intact, tape should have no
noticeable shelf life issues....

Test for shed and record away.

db

--
David 'db' Butler, Consultant
Acoustics by db
"...all the rest are just brokers"
now on the web at http://www.db-engineering.com
Boston, Mass
Phone 617 969-0585 Fax 617 964-1590
  #13   Report Post  
 
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well, since I haven't been able to find any 1" 456, I tried baking and
rerecording. Not one problem. In fact, I rerecorded on a 14 year old
tape (just to try it)- not a single dropout.

  #14   Report Post  
mcp6453
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Techmeister wrote:
In article ,
"Steven Sena" wrote:


Well, the rule-of-thumb around here has always been not to record on tape
that's over one year old...
We always felt that sound quality starts to suffer after a year or so...
But these days I think anything goes...
Try it on your machine it should work, I mean you will not hurt anything. If
it sheds or sticks, clean you recorder and dump the reel... Good Luck.



Where on Earth did you come up with the 1 year concept???

News to me after 35 some years. If the binder is intact, tape should have no
noticeable shelf life issues....

Test for shed and record away.

db



David Butler, huh?
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