| BARRY'S 8 TRACK REPAIR |
| A quick way of preventing 8 track disaster! |
| Almost ALL 8 track tapes need a new pressure pad and foil splice before they will play satisfactorily. Many folks will go ahead and try to play old, unrepaired tapes which is asking for trouble! The foil splice will likely break away from the tape the first time it is played, which can cause several feet of tape to be sucked into the machine. This usually requires the services of a professional to safely remove. The purpose of this page is to offer a quick, easy way of reinforcing the foil splice to prevent this problem. If you can live with the loss of treble and track bleedover due to an aging pressure pad, that's fine. But at the VERY least, do this simple procedure to ALL your tapes, and you'll save yourself a lot of agony and frustration from broken tapes ruining your machine. Some 8 track "experts" may be against this little trick, but it's free and it works! |
| STEP 1 - Play the tape until it changes tracks, then QUICKLY pull it from the machine so the splice doesn't travel back into the tape and out of sight. If you have a machine with automatic end-of-track stop, it makes this step much easier. You want to be able to see and work on the exposed foil splice, shown by the arrow below |
| STEP 2 - Using tweezers or a small screwdriver, carefully pull out the splice area |
| STEP 3 - Pull out about this much tape, and no more |
| STEP 4 - Carefully work a piece of Scotch tape UNDER the splice, sticky side UP. You want to keep the outward facing metal surface uncovered so it will still engage the trackchange sensor. |
| STEP 5 - Carefully trim off the excess Scotch tape |
| LAST STEP - Use a finger against the roller to work the tape back into the cartridge |
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| NOTE: This is NOT a permanent repair! It will work if you simply want the tape to work long enough to transfer it. You should NEVER play a tape that has not been repaired, even if it looks OK. Foil splices often break on the FIRST playing in the machine, which can cause your machine to require professional service! MY WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER THIS! Virtually ALL 8 track tapes will need a new foil splice and foam pad (or felt spring) before they will play safely. I can repair your tapes with a new foil splice and foam pad for $5 per tape plus return shipping. You can also purchase foil tape and pressure pads from these fine folks (or on eBay) and do the repairs yourself. Some tapes cannot be fixed if the tape material is damaged internally. DON'T MESS UP YOUR RECENTLY REPAIRED MACHINE ! Have all your tapes repaired before you start enjoying them, it is a NECESSARY part of the game! For top quality tape repairs and/or CD transfer please ask me! |
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