7.E. Is there any hope for an 8-track in which all of the tape is just in a big pile (untangled)? Is there any way to spin it back on the reel? (8-track)
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This article is from the 8-track Tapes FAQ, by Malcolm Riviera malco@interpath.com with numerous contributions by others.
7.E. Is there any hope for an 8-track in which all of the tape is just in a big pile (untangled)? Is there any way to spin it back on the reel? (8-track)
Yes.
By hand.<deep sigh>
I¹ll assume it broke at the splice, and that you have all requisite
parts, know what they look like, know where to put them, and have
a new piece of foil track switching tape (or can reuse the old). Brace
yourself, andlet's get to work...
Make sure you know which end is the beginning. If unsure, wind it on a
reel-to-reel reel, find a low-tension r-r machine (any track arrangement)
and play it back. You'll get multiple tracks, but should be able to
distinguish forward from backward.
Put the empty hub on some convenient spindle, and start hand-winding,
with the beginning of the tape at the inner circumference, oxide side
facing out. Wind CLOCKWISE. Leave about 3-4cm of the beginning end
sticking up.
Keep going until you¹re done <big sigh>.
Holding the body of the hub (NOT the tape pack), gently pull the
tape end (the end--at the outside of the pack) until friction happens,
or the pack rotates as a whole. This removes excess slack. Don't make
it too tight!
Test tension: Pull beginning end (center of pack) outward, along its
length a little bit. If it fails to pull out easily, the pack is too
tight. If it falls out sideways, the pack is too loose. This judgement (as
well as tightening & loosening techniques) requires practice. I can
explain no further here.
Put the hub back in the shell, thread the tape per usual. Add/remove
outer turns to get the correct length to make the splice (err on the side
of too loose).
Splice, add foil, reassemble, test.
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