I have a GE 8 track recorder/player model#TA640. Sometimes it wants to eat the tapes Has anyone have info?

Question

it wants to eat tapes on playback, not all of the.time need info as to how to correct this problem. Thanx

Answer 1

Beyond the obvious degradation of the media itself (the tape), you can:

Use a power duster (gently) to blow the carbon dust out of the transport area of the actual cartridge -- do it outside.

Keep those rollers and capstans clean, with q-tips and cleaners. You can also use the old cartridges you wet down to travel through the player, but I don't know if they do much more good than cleaning what you can see with q-tips. Just be careful you don't use some weird solvent that will eat the rollers -- good 91% rubbing alcohol does nicely as long as it's not too often.

DE-MAG the heads regularly. Magnetism buildup and static charges not only cause distortions in the recordings, but can add to the trash built up on the heads which can damage the tapes further, as well as add to the buildup on the rollers, and jam (eat) the tapes over time.

Other than that it's a losing battle, since all of these older plastic-based media do erode.

Best bet: find a way to do a digital transfer, since some of these tapes are, I'm sure, completely irreplaceable, and you're well within your rights to rip them to mp3's or CD's as backups as long as you keep the originals. You might be a purist about it -- I dont' know. But, while you might avoid doing a digital copy because it isn't as warm sounding as the original analog, what will it matter if the tape's been eaten?

Good Luck...

Answer 2

as the tapes are old and stretched out from playing it will happen more and more. there is nothing you can do but enjoy the music until the tapes are useless and need to go into the trash. my 8 track collection gets smaller and smaller each year because of age and stretching.

Answer 3

Go to any electronic store like Radio Shack and get some tape head cleaner.