apple 40sc tape drive question on repair/durability...

["brad" <mrbrad(remove)@ll.net>]

back in the day i have backed up 40-50 or so apple 40sc tape backups of the
former www.lost-gonzo.com bbs ..the fv/metal and applenet subsystems...in
anticipation of some day having to get data off these dc2000 40meg
tapes....i have a mint never used apple 40sc tape external unit...i also
have a clone unit ..more or less mint...(looks like wear on wheel etc for
driving tape inside is close to or mint) as well as 2 more used..but worked
in the past apple 40sc tape units external
units that made these backups...and worked when i retired them in the 90's

ok...so i decided to get around to maybe trying to get these units back on
the ramfast and maybe get this stuff off the tapes at least..so i plugged in
one of the units i used to make these tapes back in the day (approx 1994 or
so)...and discovered that the little hard rubber?composite? wheel directly
in the center..i think it is what drives the tape itself..basically
disentigrated...prob due to age..most of these units i have even the mint
ones are dated prob 1989 or so..

ok..that was a used unit...so i put the more or less to my view comparing
tape drives ..the clone one..compared to the one i know is mint look the
same and tried it again..ok..and as a side note these are new tapes i'm
using....and diff tapes (new) on both machines and they are dc2000 ..1 was
apple brand..

anyway...guess what..the nice little mint clone one.. wheel...disentigrated
as well..

so now i'm going huh?....it looks like the passage of time is basically
making such tape units ..the composite or rubber?vulcanized or whatever it
is wheel for the tape go poof...needless to say i have not tried it on any
other of my tape units..and currently seem to be down 1 used unit and 1
apple 40sc brand  mint unit...somewhat obvious in that the little
rubber?whatever driver wheel disentigrated...so really leery of mucking with
them till i learn more here..

my question is this...looking at said tape drive units...3m brand...there
are probably some sized VCR type rubber rollers or whatever they are called
of the same size etc that could be put into these older units..and thus
fixed...by someone handy  in this kinda area or has memorized the digikey
part catalog..and once you
prob find something that could replace it...it prob would be a fairly stable
fix...but of course i have no clue....(i get lost in the digikey
catalog...and burn myself with soldering irons...klutz)


has anyone had this problem...i have heard of people buying used units and
having found out that this wheel was wore down or broken..but not on new
little used units..suddenly seem to have the same symptoms..

anyway...if someone has such a unit....you might want to see if there is a
fix for this..because...i'm not exactly sure what to do ...unless there is
some type of replacement tape drive wheel or equiv that can replace these
older type or broken versions...it could be very hard to get some of these
old tapes dc2000 backups used on apple // units to work anymore....and i
have now prob 4 broken units (2 recent as of this week) and maybe 2 used
units that i know used to work and the 1 apple 40sc tape unit.that i know is
mint...

and again..there are plenty of 3m dc2000 mech parts of these drives avail..i
prob have 2 or 3 ide version of this 3m unit for dc2000 tapes..they also
show the same symptoms and are in my broke box..prob for the same reason..so
we are prob trying to find something to replace these wheels that are new
but manufacured sometime after 1995 or so...before they too have had time to
get brittle or whatever the heck is going on with these tape wheels....to
make them flake out..

anyway...just for your info..you can reply here so all can share..i'm sure
more then a few of us have some of these laying around...but it is pretty
wierd..but prob expected..if they are some kinda fake rubber
composite...also all my stuff has never been below 60 degrees in the bsmt
.or in the house...so it is not some kinda cold related problem from
storaged in 20 below minnesota weather

anyway...let us know here if there is a link to a fix...but if you have one
of these..tape units....i'd at least see if you are in the same problem i
was..

so far 1 mint unit down and 1 used unit down and 2 brand new (were wrapped)
dc2000 tapes...

good to know i can still destroy stuff at a 6yr old expert level

brad
former sysop lost-gonoz.com




oh...and i also have looked at the internal ibm pc versions of the dc2000
tape units..a lot of them scsi or not scsi (mech wise look the same as scsi
version at least the actual mechinism)...they show the same wear patterns
and also are 3m tape units back in the day..the only diff is the controller
is prob ide...but are probably gonna have the same problem

anyway..if anyone is into VCR repair and can compare some of the internals
(wheels) in those units and figure out a fix to get them into the wore out
or old apple 40sc units...well......it don't look to good...