SYDNEY
Unit 5, 18 Hotham Parade
Artarmon NSW 2064 Australia
(entry via Sawyer Lane)
TEL: 02-9436-3050
FAX: 02-9436-2959

MELBOURNE
511 Warrigal Road
Ashwood VIC 3147 Australia
TEL: 03-9885-9666
FAX: 03-9885-0090

PRODUCT SEARCH:

Equipment Rentals

The Importance of Cleaning Tapes

In order to maintain a high quality level of both sound and visuals, it is vitally important to use cleaning tapes, as this maintains good contact between the video heads.

When you run tapes over long periods of time without cleaning, minute particles that fall from the surface of the tape or dust in the operating environment will gradually accumulate and attach to the video heads or dirty the heads surface.

Cleaning removes any adhered material
Cleaning will also remove head scratches
Helps to protect the life and quality of the heads
Protects the tape from scratching

Guidelines for Regular Cleaning
The parts to be cleaned are

Rotational heads – video heads flying erase heads, etc
Fixed heads – full width erase heads, CTL head, audio erase head, audio recording/playback head etc
Tape path – guides, upper and lower drum, capstan, pinch roller, etc

The methods are

Cleaning Cassette
Cleaning solvent and cleaning cloth

Both methods have their advantages, so it is important to practice both. Using a cleaning tape is recommended every 50 hours of VCR operation, though the cleaning effect depends slightly on the environment.

Cleaning:

Load the cleaning cassette into the VCR
Push record or playback button upon completing loading
Eject the cleaning cassette after 5 seconds

Caution:

Do not leave the cassette in the standby mode
Results are obtained in the record or playback mode. Do not operate the cassette in any other modes
Replace the cleaning cassette with a new one after using the full length. If you use the cassette after rewinding the results will not be sufficient. The cleaning cassette loses its effectiveness after one complete pass.
Do not continue to use the cleaning cassette more than five times if symptoms such as head clogging do not improve. In such cases, VCR servicing is recommended.

The cleaning cassette works on the principle of scraping the surface of the heads. Cleaning cassettes are carefully designed to reduce negligible headwear. Regular cleaning is highly recommended in order to maintain safe operation.