DAT-heads Digest #425

Contents:
  back after a decade or more... with questions (Rocky Mullin)


From: Rocky Mullin <caliban@sharon.net>
Subject: back after a decade or more... with questions
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:26:56 -0700


Hey gang.  I was a subscriber many years ago, and then kind of dropped  
off.  Well, I'm back!  I have some questions.

I have 75 or so DAT tapes, that I wish to transfer to a G5 tower to  
edit and archive.  I plan for each effective transfer to be the last  
time each DAT is played.  The oldest, and of course the most important  
of the tapes are getting on twenty years old.

I have a DA-P1 that I confess I have neglected.  At the very least, it  
needs a cleaning tape rolled through it.  And that's the first  
question: any old cleaning tape I find online will do?  If not, is  
there a consensus on what is the best, or is that like asking about  
engine oil brands on my BMW GS mailing list?  :)  Anyway, said DA-P1  
fails to load tapes and blinks the tape icon.  It freezes up after  
that, and I have to pull the plug to reset it just to get the tape out.

I picked up an SV-3800 from a friend who had it lying around.  I was  
able to transfer one DAT, about 13 years old, to the G5.  The next  
tape didn't seem to have anything on it.  I ran the shuttle wheel to  
skip forward, and heard sound.  I let it roll normally and heard the  
tape's content but with relatively obvious digital distortion.  Finger  
in the air I'd say it was an alignment thing.  I've heard the 3800 is  
a dog anyway, which is a bummer, as I like the TOSLINK out going right  
into the G5 instead of using a cheapo converter from a coax  
connection.  And speaking of, there's an SV-3700 on it's way to me  
now.  I know, Panasonic bad, but it was $25 on eBay and I can return  
it if it doesn't work.

So, clean these things?  With a cleaning tape, or send it out?  How  
about repairs?  I'm in the SF Bay Area and am willing to send  
whichever machine is my last best hope out to get loved up by the  
right nerd so that I can use it for the project.  On that note, I'm  
also willing to find and purchase a different machine if none of these  
is worth cleaning and/or repairing.  I can't afford much these days,  
but I'd rather spend $400 for a sure thing than throw $200 at a future  
headache.

Anyway, thanks in advance!





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