[krispoulin[_2_]]

I'm pretty sure this is just coincidence, but thought I'd share the
details, just in case there's something to learn here.

During a day of transferring 5 reels of 1/2" Emtec 900 (circa 2001)
from Otari MX5050 8-track into the land of DAW, I witnessed not one,
but two pinch rollers bite the dust. The first pinch roller (almost
10 years old...) showed signs of sticking right from the start, so I
grabbed another one, from my 1/2" 4-track. (I have no idea precisely
how old this pinch roller was, since I bought the machine used.) This
one worked fine and exhibited no signs of falling apart until the 5th
reel of the day. The only difference between this 5th reel and the
others was the time between it being baked and going on the deck -
about 2 hours. I generally go by the "let it cool for the same length
of time it was baked" rule, but I may have jumped the gun a bit on
this one.

So, was it just time for both of those pinch rollers to die? Purely
coincidence that it happened on this day? Or is it possible that the
5th reel wasn't cooled off enough and expedited the death of that
latter pinch roller?

Or does Emtec 900 made in 2001 excrete acid when baked!?

[Richard Crowley]

"krispoulin" wrote ...
I'm pretty sure this is just coincidence, but thought I'd share the
details, just in case there's something to learn here.

During a day of transferring 5 reels of 1/2" Emtec 900 (circa 2001)
from Otari MX5050 8-track into the land of DAW, I witnessed not one,
but two pinch rollers bite the dust. The first pinch roller (almost
10 years old...) showed signs of sticking right from the start, so I
grabbed another one, from my 1/2" 4-track. (I have no idea precisely
how old this pinch roller was, since I bought the machine used.) This
one worked fine and exhibited no signs of falling apart until the 5th
reel of the day. The only difference between this 5th reel and the
others was the time between it being baked and going on the deck -
about 2 hours. I generally go by the "let it cool for the same length
of time it was baked" rule, but I may have jumped the gun a bit on
this one.

So, was it just time for both of those pinch rollers to die? Purely
coincidence that it happened on this day? Or is it possible that the
5th reel wasn't cooled off enough and expedited the death of that
latter pinch roller?

Perhaps the exact nature of the symptoms (undisclosed) would be
helpful in the diagnosis. Did the pinch rollers only "melt/fall apart"
along the 1/2 inch that touched the tape?

[Scott Dorsey]

krispoulin wrote:

So, was it just time for both of those pinch rollers to die? Purely
coincidence that it happened on this day? Or is it possible that the
5th reel wasn't cooled off enough and expedited the death of that
latter pinch roller?

Pinch rollers are disposable items. They should be replaced or rebuilt
on a regular basis. If you have a pinch roller that is ten years old, it
is way, way, way overdue for replacement.

Since a lot of rubber materials degrade on the shelf, having one sitting
around in storage may not do you any good.

Just pull them off and get them rebuilt, and expect to have to do it again
in another five years.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Adrian Tuddenham[_2_]]

krispoulin wrote:

I'm pretty sure this is just coincidence, but thought I'd share the
details, just in case there's something to learn here.

During a day of transferring 5 reels of 1/2" Emtec 900 (circa 2001)
from Otari MX5050 8-track into the land of DAW, I witnessed not one,
but two pinch rollers bite the dust.

Some years ago I had two complete sets of Ferrograph drive idlers in the
main and the spare machine turn into goo during the dress rehearsal of a
show. Luckily I had a third machine on hand at the rehearsal and some
spare idlers which I was able to install the next day before the first
'live' performance.

I think running the machines continuously in a very hot venue must have
been the trigger - and both sets of idlers were fairly old by that time.


--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

[James Perrett]

On Mon, 18 May 2009 14:56:47 -0000, krispoulin
wrote:


So, was it just time for both of those pinch rollers to die? Purely
coincidence that it happened on this day? Or is it possible that the
5th reel wasn't cooled off enough and expedited the death of that
latter pinch roller?

Or does Emtec 900 made in 2001 excrete acid when baked!?

Otari pinch rollers are known for rapidly deteriorating. I had a couple
fail at the same time on my MTR90 - one day they were a little sticky
while the next day there was a pool of goo all over the top plate of the
machine. I was mainly using 3M 966 at the time although I had played the
odd reel of BASF and other brands on it.

I replaced the rollers with new ones made by MDI Precision Motorworks.

Cheers

James.


--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

[Laurence Payne[_2_]]

On Mon, 18 May 2009 07:56:47 -0700 (PDT), krispoulin
wrote:

During a day of transferring 5 reels of 1/2" Emtec 900 (circa 2001)...
snip
....The only difference between this 5th reel and the
others was the time between it being baked and going on the deck -
about 2 hours.


Is tape that's only 8 years old falling to bits sufficiently to need
baking?

[Scott Dorsey]

Laurence Payne wrote:

Is tape that's only 8 years old falling to bits sufficiently to need
baking?

Baking fixes sticky shed. Sticky shed is the result of a manufacturing
defect, not really the result of storage degradation.

Tape that is only 8 years old was most probably made after the sticky
shed problems were fixed by the manufacturers.

Sticky shed problems don't make tape "fall to bits," they cause the
binder to turn to white gummy goo that clogs up the heads.

NOW, it's true that the number one reason that pinch rollers fail in a
gooey kind of way is that they are urethane rollers and they are
experiencing a similar urethane breakdown that the urethane binder on
sticky shed tape does. But tape is supposed to last forever, and punch
rollers are supposed to be changed on a regular basis.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."