Baking DAT tapes

Does anybody here know anything to help with this question I got?

Do you know of anyone who bakes old, sticky DAT tapes? It seems there are several ways to I could do it myself but am wondering if there is somebody around who will do it cheap so I don't have to buy a food dehydrator or convection oven for a possibly one time baking session.

thanks,
Michelle

I have never heard of DAT tapes loosing emulsion like the old 2" tapes..

DAT is highly dependent on cassette shell precision - so it would be extremely important to keep baking temperature at a level where it does not hurt the plastic.

Are we sure this tape needs baking?

Jakob E.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the DAT format was introduced after the sticky-shed problem era of the early '80s.

I've had some pretty badly stored DATs and never had a sticky-tape problem. The only problem I've had with tapes of that type has been mini DV tapes that fell overboard from a ship (the Bounty in fact!) which were eventually saved by immersion in succesively weaker brine/distilled water mixtures...

but baking a DAT is new to me. You'd lose the shell if you tried it, I'm certain. the tape would in that case have to be transplanted into a new casette.

Does the enquirer know with a reliable certainty that the tape is really sticky? -It's be news to me. -I'd say ask Quantegy, but that's not an option...

Keith

Keef,

Did Cap'n Bligh make your DV tapes walk the plank?

:wink:

Cameraman...

rigging...

mast...

crow's nest...

Too much rum...

Sunny day...

Bag o' tapes...

...

...Oops!!!

Fortunately there were SCUBA divers nearby. A few bribes got the tapes back.

Keith

Correction:

> OK, I mislabled it DAT. It is reel to reel.

There is a website about this, isn't there? Anybody got the bookmark?

They may have decided to pay an expert (certainly what I would do).

Aah.. That makes sense.

Look here:

http://www.wendycarlos.com/bake%20a%20tape/baketape.html

Jakob E.

If she's going to a pro, these guys are one of the leaders in the business. I haven't used them, but then again, I've never heard anything bad about them.

http://www.vidipax.com/librest.html

Here's an article from one of the broadcast trade rags that might be helpful.

http://beradio.com/notebook/radio_baking_magnetic_recording_2/

Also, Eddie Ciletti's site:

http://www.tangible-technology.com/tape/baking1.html

Moocho resource there.

Keith

I rember in the 80s having to send a clients tape to nashvile to be baked.(the tapes were from the 60's.) I don't rember where. But we got 2 passes before the control room raining oxide like ash.
Peter

I built myself a convection oven specifically for this purpose. The temperature runs about 125F. I used an old dishwasher hot-air dryer unit (self contained heater/fan assembly) and just circulate the air in a wooden cabinet big enough to contain about 12 reels of 10.5 inch tape. The thermostat I changed to 130F because the original was a little warm- upwards of 160F.

PRR, If you don't mind shipping the tape, I can do this for you at no charge. I can then ship the tape back in a sealed plastic bag with some silica gel. This will prevent it from taking on any further moisture during shipping. Usually a baked tape is good for a few weeks or more depending on the humidity. In the future, Re-baking again doesn't seem to harm the tape in my experiences.
Bill

I took an old food dehydrator with nice 11" wide shelves and baked some old 2" and 1/2" tapes. It worked pretty good. I did use a digital thermometer to make sure the temp didnt get too high. (120F-140F)

this is the first i have eveer heard about baking dat taps. I didn't think it could be done. I imagine it would work much like with analog reels except for the dat casing may melt. let me know how it comes out.