Adventures in (Nando's) 8 tracks

[62vauxhall]

I thought Nando and maybe others would like an account of what can be inside an 8 track cartridge made by Ampex. Not all by any means will have the "Degenerated Pinch Roller Syndrom" but some do. I've encountered it two or three times before and have corrected it by making a new pinch roller or more accurately, resurfacing the original pinch roller hub with new rubber. The tape in question: Rolling Stones - Through the Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2).

Looks innocent enough



But this sticker makes me cringe a bit



No disappointment, it has the most complex assembly of pieces of any 8 track



And this is/was the pinch roller



Gonna make a new one out of this



Or rather, the black inside part turned inside out




First play test it warbled caused by (best guess scenario) an insufficiently wide inside roller diameter so the cartridge had to come apart again (and these particular shell halves were the absolute hardest I've yet to pry apart) for more masking tape to get wrapped around the hub, making it wider. Put the parts back in (notice the crescent shaped white plastic thing to the left of the pinch roller) in preparation to snap the halves together - again



Second play test and it sounded better but that crescent thing would not allow the splice to pass. So, I'm going to pitch the whole shell and transfer the tape into another once I've scrubbed its label off. This being the case, a bonus with Nando's tape was that its label literally fell off in my hands intact




There were other tapes with interesting problems that preceded this one repair wise but I didn't think to take any pictures. The one where I had to purposely unspool 3/4's of the tape pack into a zig zag back and forth across my floor to minimize tangles for instance but it would have been too hard to document.

 

[Elite-ist]

Thanks for documenting your progress on the 8-track refurbish, Gary. Sometimes, transferring the tape into a good cartridge makes the most sense. The process for rebuilding the cartridges is very time consuming. I appreciate your efforts and I might learn a few tips along the way to tackle one on my own.

Nando.

 

[62vauxhall]

So thanks to Jerry Lee Lewis's cousin Jimmy Swaggart giving his all (say hallelujah) well 8 track cartridge shell anyway, The Rolling Stones have a new home. Too bad the tape got eaten two or three times in it's history with one being a near break but I back spliced that spot for some reinforcement. Sorry to say but it's going to sound a but lumpy when you play it.

 

[Elite-ist]

Mick Jagger was always known to have swagger. You've done me a big favour in fixing these 8-tracks, Gary. I do have more, but I believe they are in better condition.

Nando.

 

[laatsch55]

That'd got to be a tedious undertaking, I applaud his patience and tenacity....

 

[Elite-ist]

No kidding, Lee. I've worked on cassettes and Elcasets, but you have to be a warrior to work on an 8-track.

Nando.

 

[laatsch55]

Yeppers....

 

[Northwinds]

I do all the work on my 8 tracks if/when they need it though they are rarely played anymore. They are fun to work on for sure

 

[Elite-ist]

Ron: Which 8-track deck do you have?

Surprisingly, there are a number of titles that I only have on 8-track. Although these pictures are on a different thread, I'll post them here, too. These are the tapes Gary worked on:

Nando.

 

[Fishoz]

Looks like my stash from my '70 Duster. Don't think I had any Charlie Pride though....

 

[Miracle Mile]

No kidding, Lee. I've worked on cassettes and Elcasets, but you have to be a warrior to work on an 8-track....

And you are a warrior Nando.

Cool stuff!

 

[Elite-ist]

Thanks, Miles...I have no scars, though.

Today, I was helping out a new TH member who has a Panasonic RS-845US 4-channel 8-track deck and needed a few pictures of the engagement mechanism for the head block since his deck had missing parts. I have a model down the line, an RS-844US, so I removed a PCB to expose the head block assembly with associated parts and posted some pictures for him to use as a reference.

After reinstalling the PCB, I plugged in a Herb Albert tape to ensure everything was still working as it was before.

Click on image to play video:

Nando.

 

[62vauxhall]

For a second there, I thought you had an 8 track deck with a wireless remote.

 

[Elite-ist]

Yesterday, Geri and I met with Gary on our way back from the car show in Abbotsford. Gary had completed rejuvenating more of my 8 tracks for me. I also had another box of prerecorded 8 tracks - probably, the last bunch I have that haven't been gone through by Gary. He had a gift for me that he had recently found in his travels - a pair of nice Denon DXM 90 metal cassettes which had been recorded to. He also gave me a Teac Sound 52 reel-style cassette. I have listened to one of the Denon mix tapes and the recording is great.

Nando.

 

[laatsch55]

The weather was nice......cool pic Nando.....caught both in a good light...

 

[Elite-ist]

Always a pleasure to meet with Gary. The weather was fine but there is more sun forecast for the rest of this week. I like to take pictures, but Geri did cajole me into posing for a shot earler in the day.

Nando.

 

[laatsch55]

If she didn't we'd never see a pic of ya.....more snow here today....