Foam cleaning swabs for VCR heads?

Yes. :)

Not necessarily. Some heads have a shape which will tend to snag anything they can.

The ferrite heads are very fragile. You basically shouldn't feel any kind of resistance as the cleaning pad goes over them.

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Hi...

Those original chamois pads were produced by Sony; they shipped a pack with each 1" machine they sold. Blue packages, I still have a couple laying around.

They were expensive though, so we made our own. Just buy the kids a few popsicles, save the sticks, chop off one end after they've dried to end up with one square end.

Next time you buy a new car drying chamois, slice off a quarter or three-eighths inch strip off one side. Cut it into half inch pieces. Then a little contact cement and you have yourself a lifetime supply for virtually nothing. :)

If you feel this tip has any value, feel free to add it to your wonderful website.

Take care.

Ken

Hmmm, you've got me a little confused here: You say that some heads have a shape that tends to snag, but that you should never feel any resistance?

Are you saying that ideally there should be no snagging, but that it just seems unavoidable with some head designs?

I love the idea of this.

Are these reusable? If so, how do you clean them between machines? I was under the impression that these cleaning sticks were to be used onec and discarded, just to assure a clean stick for the next machine.

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----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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No-one mentioned about only wiping in the rotational sense rather than up and down which although logical, that way is the weakest direction for the ferrite. I've only ever used a piece of clean copier paper slightly moistened with methylated spirits held matching the curvature of the bottom cylinder and rotating the heads individualy back/forth over the paper, not allowing the heads outside the edges of the paper, so cannot catch the edges. Anyone else use a cut down kids plastic microscope to actually inspect the heads?

-- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on

On Tue, 06 Sep 2005 00:20:17 GMT, Ken Weitzel wrote: :

Yes, I concur, for what that's worth.

Real chamois is the best.

They don't last long with isopropanol solvent though, so be generous with your disposal regimes.

I use good / reasonable good quality paper does it very well, I used to use chamois but paper is the in thing before VCR go away from this world.

I bought them because they were all I could find at the moment, but I've always wondered if they were really the right thing to use for this purpose. The cleaning pads I've always heard about were supposed to be some kind of synthetic chamois in the shape of a flat pad.

When I use the foam swabs, they tend to snag on the edges of the heads. This makes me wonder if the heads are broken, leaving some kind of burr there, or if this is just the wrong kind of swab. I'm very careful when I do this; I just hold the swab still while moving the head gently sideways, back and forth. If it snags I relax and let it come free, rather than putting any real force on anything.

I think what I really need are rather flat pads made of something a bit more substantial than these foam swabs. I believe MCM sells something like this. Is this what I want?

If the foam swabs aren't for this purpose, what ARE they for?

Is the snagging a sign of any kind of problem with the head?

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----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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Personally, I think the foam swabs are a VCR disaster for the reasons you mention. I prefer to just buy chamois-style flat sticks by Chemtronics, sold by many major electronic sales outlets. Yes, they are expensive, like

50 cents each or something. But they are clean and consistant, and save me the trouble of buying chamois, popsicle sticks, and gluing my own.

There should be no snagging. If you notice any snagging, use something else, or be more gentle.

I normally use either copier paper, or a piece of a paper towel. Anything reasonably soft that doesn't snag on the heads will work. Andy Cuffe

snipped-for-privacy@psu.edu

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I'll buy a few of the chamois sticks, and stop using the foam swabs, unless I'm trying to clean something other than the heads.

I like the clean white copy paper idea. It's probably got just about the right amount of abrasiveness, and using a large piece which the head can't get out from under is something which I'll try. It is also appealing in that it should make it clear how much stuff is actually getting removed from the head.

I'm a admitted cheapskate, but I only do this occasionally for my own use, so I probably won't try to "roll my own" even though the thought appeals to me.

Is there a better source for the chamois sticks than MCM?

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----------------------------------------------- Jim Adney snipped-for-privacy@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711 USA

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"Jim Adney" bravely wrote to "All" (05 Sep 05 17:25:22) --- on the heady topic of "Foam cleaning swabs for VCR heads?"

Call me crazy but I find using any kind of swab on a head chip as flirting with disaster. I especially cringed when I read words like "snag" in your message. You have no idea how fragile a head chip is.

My favored way to clean heads is using ordinary copier or printer paper. I cut it into strips about the same width as VCR tape and about

2 to 3 inches long. I put a drop of 99% alcohol on it and wrap it around the drum in the tape path, then I gently turn the drum so the heads rub under the paper. I keep doing this with fresh strips until the strip comes out clean.

When all the heads are cleaned then I clean up the rest of the drum surfaces with a swab until all shedded materials are removed, also in the line grooves as air must flow through these freely.

A*s*i*m*o*v

JA> From: Jim Adney JA> Xref: core-easynews sci.electronics.repair:341435

JA> I have some foam-tipped cleaning swabs that I've been using now and JA> then, over the past decade, to occasionally clean the heads of DAT and JA> VCR tape heads. I got these at Radio Shack years ago, but don't see JA> them there now.

JA> I bought them because they were all I could find at the moment, but JA> I've always wondered if they were really the right thing to use for JA> this purpose. The cleaning pads I've always heard about were supposed JA> to be some kind of synthetic chamois in the shape of a flat pad.

JA> When I use the foam swabs, they tend to snag on the edges of the JA> heads. This makes me wonder if the heads are broken, leaving some kind JA> of burr there, or if this is just the wrong kind of swab. I'm very JA> careful when I do this; I just hold the swab still while moving the JA> head gently sideways, back and forth. If it snags I relax and let it JA> come free, rather than putting any real force on anything.

JA> I think what I really need are rather flat pads made of something a JA> bit more substantial than these foam swabs. I believe MCM sells JA> something like this. Is this what I want?

JA> If the foam swabs aren't for this purpose, what ARE they for?

JA> Is the snagging a sign of any kind of problem with the head?

... That was a fascinating period of time for electronics