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I'll say that you probably shouldn't be into cassettes these days if you aren't interested in learning how to do basic maintenance yourself (cleaning capstans a
by klodolph 5y ago
I'll say that you probably shouldn't be into cassettes these days if you aren't interested in learning how to do basic maintenance yourself (cleaning capstans and the like). You can pick up a tape deck on eBay or find one on the street, so it might seem like it's not so big a deal if they fail, but without an understanding of how easily they fail, the amount of money / time / storage space you spend on them can rapidly outstrip the amount of enjoyment / nostalgia you get from using them.
Both tapes and tape players can be in poor condition. If you stick a dirty tape into some old tape player, you can end up with gummed-up capstans, which can snag the tape and destroy it... and then you may have no idea how to remove the tape without damaging the tape player. You'll suddenly be evaluating your hobby and wondering if you want to buy a new one or try to rescue the one you damaged. Or you might have a dirty head, which scratches the tape, and you might not figure it out and ruin some perfectly good tapes.
Long ago I remember seeing a guide much like this for VCR repair. Although it had fewer images, it had much more text. I haven't been able to find it since.
- ghaff 5y agoFunnily enough, I have a SAMS book on VCR troubleshooting and repair on my bookshelf right next to me. Reminds me I need to finish digitizing a handful of tapes before I retire my deck. (Interestingly, used VCR troubleshooting books are scarce on Amazon. I would assume this is the kind of book where people go "No one wants this outdated crap" and just throws it out rather than pushing it into whatever the used book resell channel looks like.)
- 323 5y ago> I'll say that you probably shouldn't be into cassettes these days if you aren't interested in learning how to do basic maintenance yourself Or you can buy a modern cassette player (USB output, ...): https://www.thomann.de/gb/tascam_202_mkviii.htm https://www.thomann.de/gb/tascam_202_mkviii.htm
- klodolph 5y agoEven though you can buy it new, you will still have to do maintenance. A clean capstan will become a dirty capstan. $600 is also quite expensive. For that much money, I can easily get a working reel-to-reel tape machine, plus a supply of media.
- Doxin 5y agoI would love to buy a modern portable cassette player, but it seems that all of them use the exact same terrible cassette mechanism on the inside, leading to poor quality. If someone can point me somewhere that's still producing quality portable cassette decks that would be grand.