The tape deck in my car ''ate'' a couple of tapes, though not so badly that I couldn't get the tapes out and rewind them, so I quit using it. Then when I was playing a tape on my little GPX cassette recorder, it ate the tape so badly that I had to cut the tape into about a half dozen pieces to remove it. In the past when I've had problems with tape player I used a commercial head cleaner and that usually solved the problem, but I've been unable to find a new head cleaner.
Can you suggest something?
Hey there.
Cassette head cleaners generally only improve the sound quality on playback. This problem sounds more like something mechanical; I would open the player and check out the capstan and rollers. If they are dirty, clean them with a mild soap and water solution, (carefull to not get it too wet). Also, as for the tape deck in your vehicle, OEM systems are notorious for eating and destroying cassette tapes.
Let me know how this goes over,
HortonA!
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The reason that a tape player eats tapes is that the take up reel is not turning, There is a sensor that shuts off the machine if the take up reel is not turning. The tape goes between the pinch roller and capstan which pull the tape out of the supply side of the cassette. Since the take up reel is not turning the tape that is pulled out spills into the mechanism of the tape deck, so if it did not shut off about 2 more inches of tape would continue being pulled out of the cassette every second. There is a mechanical problem on the back side of the tape player. A reel, a belt, or a pulley.
If it will not FF it is likely a small belt.
Dual cassette deck are often poorly built and full of problem with age. They are typically not worth repair. Get a good deck like the Tascam 122 Mk II as these can be repairs.
I have consulted with clients that have dual decks and the cost to repair will get you a Tascam 122 Mk II in restored condition and it works much much better. I should know as I have been repairing decks for 40 years so far.
The auto-eject feature is normally triggered by the tape reaching its end. This causes the tape to tighten and then activates a trip lever that starts the eject cycle. Most auto tape decks that are not auto-reverse eventually have this problem. It is not usually the deck's fault, but it is with the tapes themselves. After many plays the tapes get wound too tight on the reels and drag, causing the auto-ejection. This is especially true with the thinner, larger tapes found in the C-90 and C-120 varieties. Try taking the tapes to a regular tape player and then fast-forward them from one end to the other and them a full rewind as well to loosen the tape on the spindles and re-distribute the tension. Hopefully this will work.
The tape player recorder that pull the tape out could have the following faults: 1) It has a separate belt from the motor/capstan to the take=up turntable. 2) Capstan roller skew the gap when you bring the mechanism in can be checked and it must be PARALLEL with the surface of each other.3) Faulty cassettes they are binding in their housing due to heat or bad manufacture! Try to rewind and wind your cassette end to end both directions. 4) head alignment not set correctly 5) clutch of take up reel worn or has a bad tension spring. depending how it was made.
Anything that eats tapes means the take-up torque is low of stopping due to bad belts or a bad Idler system or even cracked tires. The transport have to be taken out and those parts replaced and then it will work again.
Probalby the only way to get stucked tape out of a player is in pieces. Then repair the cassette and clean your player. If it keep stcking tapes, dispose it.
By the way, cassette tapes an players are rather obsoleteby now. Any digital source is better quality the a cassette.
When a VCR eats a tape, it can be cause by a couple things.
1. There is a rubber wheel called a "pincher wheel" that compresses the tape against the "capstan". The capstan is a shiny metal spindle connected to a motor. The pincher wheel can become worn and/or dirty (slick) from the oxide coating off of the tape. You can try cleaning the pincher wheel and capstan with alcohol or try using a re-grip solution on the pincher wheel. Last thing to do is replace the pincher wheel. Look to see that the pincher wheel is doing its job by pulling the tape through. The pincher wheel & capstan are not used during a fast forward or fast rewind, so if your tape is getting caught during the FF or RW and not Play, it's probably not related to capstan & pincher wheel.
2. There is a small tire wheel called an idler tire. This tire pivots between the sending and pickup reels of the player. Its also used during fast forward & rewind as well as play. If the tire is worn, the tape won't be wound up as fast on the take-up reel as the sending reel during play. This means more tape is coming out of the cassette than can be wound up on the takeup reel. You can try using a re-grip solution on the idler tire or replace it.
3. You didn't say if the unit played ok. There's also a brake pad that is designed to grab and stop the tape wheels from spinning when you hit stop. If those pads are worn, the wheels will not stop fast enough and the tape will continue to feed (spool) out of the cassette and not be taken up by the other wheel.
So when when you hit eject, the excess tape that should have been wound up tight in the cassette before the eject sequence, is getting caught inside the player.
Let me know if I can be of further assistance to you.
I already found the solution on another site. But thanks anyway.
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