[Coco] Off-topic - Vintage Electronics

[Dennis Bathory-Kitsz]

On Fri, February 15, 2019 10:22 pm, Steve Ostrom wrote:
> My father-in-law died a year ago, and I found in his possessions two boxes,
> each containing one 7” recording tape.  I assume this is reel-to-reel tape.
> These boxes state, “1800 feet 1.0 mil 7” reel polyester concert recording
> tape, #44-1018”
>
> I would love to know if there is anything recorded on these two reels.  One
> digital transfer company I checked with in Minneapolis did not have the
> capability to check these.  Are there any Coco list members who could check
> these to see if they have any audio data?  I’d be happy to pay for shipping
> both ways, and some money for your efforts.  If there is audio, I would also
> like to have it transferred to CD or flash drive so we can listen to anything
> he may have recorded.  Please let me know if anyone might want to tackle this
> for me.

I do tape transfers (for a fee, sorry!) if you can't find anybody to help. As
others have said, be really careful. Some older tape will drop its oxide,
other older tape will turn gummy.

If the tape is dated roughly 1982-1988, it may be the gummy type. Tape before
1970 may drop its oxide. It may also gather mold, which should be cleaned off
first.

(I can transfer quarter-inch tape recorded from 1-7/8 to 15ips, 3-inch to
10-inch reels, mono full/half track, stereo half/quarter track, Dolby B/C or
dbx II noise reduction.)

Dennis