Tape not loading - ideas

Toxitalk

I have two spectrum 48k rubbers. The tape drive is one that has a data mode and a ph mode. The data mode overrides the volume control.

Prior to last night I had been going through the games that came with my ebay win and all were loading.

Last night I tried a batch of six game (previously untested) and they all refuse to load (tried on both spectrums and different combination of settings (data mode/ non data mode /ph normal/ph reverse/volume)

In the worse case the loading strip didn't appear, in the best I got a Tape loading error.

In case this was a dodgy batch of games I tried to reload a game that I know the tape to be ok for (it loaded the previous night) that also didn't work.

With all the tapes that didn't work, I still got a lot of 'load noise' being heard through the speccy speaker.

My first thought is dirty heads on the tape. Can anyone think of anything else to check for? (head alignment etc)

As its been twenty+years since I played with tapes, are their still bits available to clean the tape head with/do alignment. If so can some one give me some info please.

Please please please help and I promise to be extra nice to everyone.

icabod

First thing I would check is the head alignment. You may see a small hole in the tape player, and when you press "play" you'll see a screw in it. Get a small philips (cross-head) screwdriver and turn it slightly as you're playing the tape. You can tell when you're close to the correct setting simply by the sound - it sounds more "in tune". Then it's just trial and error, really.

As for cleaning the heads, personally I would use some of the vodka I have lying around, on the end of a cotton bud. But there are probably better things to use (someone will now say that vodka will kill my tapes). Again, press play but without a tape in and you get better access to the heads.

You can still buy tape-head cleaning tapes, so that may be a better option.

Hope that helps a bit.

icabod

As a side-note, being a demoscener was always tricky... I had a cross-head screwdriver next to my ZX constantly, as you could never be certain what the azimuth settings were on the persons machine who's just sent you a tape. I recall that tapes I received from Extacy-3 usually required some tape-head tweaking.
In fact, on one of my tape decks I had to file a hole in the case so that I could turn the screw while a tape was playing.

Aah, the good ol' days.

Gods

icabod wrote: »

As for cleaning the heads, personally I would use some of the vodka I have lying around, on the end of a cotton bud. But there are probably better things to use (someone will now say that vodka will kill my tapes).

Vodka ?!? (maybe to clean human head ?) ;) Best thing to clean heads is Isopropanol alcohol...

+2MAN

Hi, I have to agree with Gods on the cleaning agent. Isopropanol alcohol is your best bet or even better would be a product made by Servisol called Sevisol Video 40, this is what I use and is available from all good electrical catalogues e.g. Maplins, CPC, and ebay.

The best Method is to spray the sray onto the end of a cotton bud, press play on the tape recorder and rub all the brown grime off that way.

As iscabod says the azimuth alignment screw is the next thing to check if the head clean hasn't worked as this setting does varie from tape to tape. When you tune this you are trying to get the sound as "schrill" and clean sounding as possible, one way will get more muffly and turn it the other way and it will gradually sound cleaner but turn it too far and it will start going muffly again. You are aiming for a spot in the middle of this adjustment where it sounds cleanest.

If all the above still fails then I expect you have something wrong with the tape recorder internally that is maybe generating a buzz or extra noise.

Hope this helps,

Simon

+2MAN

Just an extra note I thought of regarding Azimuth alignment, it is easiest to set the alignment with headphones as when you get it right you cant stand the sound of it!:smile: This is how I always do it, through the TV is not really good enough to get it accurte.

Simon

DEATH

Personally, I'd alter the alignment whilst playing a tape. You can tell when it's right as the sound it much sharper and clean. Out of alignment always sounds kind of bassy compared to what it shopuld sound like.

If after all these things the guys suggest it still doesn't work, you may need to de-magnitise the hjeads. You can get a special cassette with spinning magnets in to do this job.

I have a tape deck here that has a high frequency modulation on it's output. Play a tape into Cool Edit and study it, there's a higher frequency wave superimposed on the Speccy's signal. I don't know what it is yet, but maybe, if you have a WH Smith (or Fergusson) deck, we may have the same problem.

MrCheese

I thought all tape based media needed a carrier signal that was on the tape, but circuitry in the player removed it prior to output. If that is the case maybe you are seeing this signal?

Pilsener

The high frequency-signal you got there, may be due to some defects in the erase-circuit in the tape-deck. Erasing a tape is done by applying a wavesignal of ca 60 kHz (as far as i remember). This oscillator should however not be running during playback.

Gods

Pilsener wrote: »

The high frequency-signal you got there, may be due to some defects in the erase-circuit in the tape-deck. Erasing a tape is done by applying a wavesignal of ca 60 kHz (as far as i remember). This oscillator should however not be running during playback.

Freqs of the erase-circuit are in the range of 80 Khz to 105 Khz, depending of tape type (Ferro,Crome or metal). The erase-circuit can't be on because, if so, it will also erase the tape contents !!!

Toxitalk

Its 100% the tape drive.

I have now rulled out the spectrum, the leads and the tape itself.

Im hoping to get the tape cleaning stuff this weekend, to see if this helps, but my own personal favourite now is the tape heads are out of alignment (or maybe loose in some respect), The reason I say this is that Im using the leads from a cd player to the spectrum to load a cd version of the game tape (this works a treat). Also last night the tape player after not laoding chess the previous night did tonight. Im thinking the alignment moved during the process of ejecting and inserting a tape, does anyone know if this is possible?

Iam looking to resolve soon, but regardless of if I do get the tape drive up and running, Im probably going to put my games onto cd for more reliable loading, but for me its important to get back in the habit of trying to fix things rather then buying solutions.

Thanks Guys

Gods

Toxitalk wrote: »

Also last night the tape player after not laoding chess the previous night did tonight. Im thinking the alignment moved during the process of ejecting and inserting a tape, does anyone know if this is possible?

Maybe the Azimuth alignment screw is missing (not present...). This can happen if there is no glue to fix it.

Toxitalk

I have now cleaned the heads. And have had a go at aligning.

One or two more tapes load, but it is still flakey. Im thinking it possible a sound level thing.

Maybe with some of the tapes their sound is beginning to lose it volume.Can anyone confirm this is possible?

Many thanks

Gods

Are you sure that the speed of the tape don't "fluctuate" ?

Marcelo

Azimuth is first, but in aging electromechanical equipment I'd also think of the "mechanical" part:
Check the driving belt. My tape deck will play (kinda slowly to the ear) and the 48K will load standard speed programs, but not turboload programs.
It also refuses to fast forward or rewind tapes. This all is a symptom of an aging belt, since it "skids" on the pulleys (and NO, I did not yet change it).

Hope it helps,
Marcelo.