# I'm having a problem with one of my tape players

Category: Let's talk

## Post 1 by wonderwoman (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Tuesday, 21-Nov-2006 23:27:59

Well, I wasn't sure where to post this, because both geeks are us, and accessible electronics seem to be computer related. thought about putting it in the rant board, but guess I'm not exactly mad about it, it has lasted 9 years, and thats about as long or efven longer than most of the tape players, whether from nls or aph last. I get to a certain part in a book on ttape, and the tape stops, like there's something wrong with the tape, but when i take the tape out, the wheels turn alright, and there's no tape coming out at the end of it. I'm mostly having this problem on nls tapes, which uses the slower speed, but not so much with my music tapes which play at the commercial faster speed, so i guess it's some sort of speed issue. I wish it had been the cassette player from the library for the blind if it had to be one of them, because we'd just have to box it up and send it back, and they'd fix it for free, but oh no, it had to be the one from the american printing house for the blind, and they charge for repairs, and they have a very complicated repair policy, or at leastr i thought it was complicated when i listened to it on one of their cassette catalogues. I know it's 9 years old, because my mom got it for me 3 months after I got my first computer, becaused I needed a tape player right beside me while on the computer, so i could follow the training tapes, and it has been handy for recording some tutorials and following along. Also, i'd bring a book over here by the computer, and go in an empty room and read a book while waiting for someone to come in. Now i have to either play one of my music tapes or do something else, and have either 2 programs open, or do like I am now, and open internet explorer in 2 separate windows so i can be in a room by myself and another site as well. For example, right now, I'm reading the boards and typing this while i'm in the welcome lobby by myself on vipconduit.
wonderwoman

## Post 2 by Captain BlackBeard (Account disabled) on Wednesday, 22-Nov-2006 0:32:31

Hi WW. Well, this is one of two things. either what you have played is old in terms of the cassette itself, or, you need to repair a certain elastic part wchich is inside. i appologise, i don't know what this is called in English but it is a very thin round elastic thing. Quite easyto fis, actually, or rather, to replace. it may have gotten old.
Also, have you been cleaning the parts that need to be cleaned? The whell and that particular rubber thing on top that is near to the heads? That could be that too.
ope i helped a little.
John

## Post 3 by wonderwoman (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Wednesday, 22-Nov-2006 1:05:23

thanks very much captain black beard, I have to confess I haven't, don't know if thats the problem or not, but if its that, i mean in ned of cleaning, I think its at the point where a cleaning tape won't do much good. Usually when my tape player from nls needs cleaning, it just starts to sound very muffled, and my mom put some alcohol down in there where th etape heads are, and that made it sound much better. The aph player could be different and react differently if it needs cleaning. It was doing that once before, and i just bent my head down close to the opening where you insert the tape and blew very hard in to it and that seemed to help for a while, but now it's acting up again. Thanks verymuch for your reply.
wonderwoman

## Post 4 by Captain BlackBeard (Account disabled) on Wednesday, 22-Nov-2006 2:40:47

WW, no, a cleaning tape is not doing you any good, and besides i do not recommend them at all. Rubbing the heads and wheels with alcohol is what must be done.
Or, there is a substance that you can by for it. But sometimes, cleaning apes keep the rubbish in them and the next time you run it, it even leave more of it.
I could definitely fix that if i had been there, but unfortunately i am a bit too far for it.
But i don't think it is a major issue at all.
John

## Post 5 by motifated (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Wednesday, 22-Nov-2006 5:22:54

Hi WW:
I agree with John. Running those headcleaning cassettes are very convenient, but its kinda like washing your hands with the same dirty washcloth for a couple of years. You or your mom can use denatured alcohol available in hardware stores. I know Radio Shack used to sell small bottles of head-cleaning products, too. The important thing is to try to clean the heads regularly. Different people have different answers as to how often this should be done, but I'd generally say after about 40 hours of use. When you clean the heads, there are some other moving parts in the same area that need to be cleaned. There's a rubber roller on the right side of the compartment near the front in most cases that you can feel with the tape player in play. This roller sits up against a little metal post. This gets really gunky with brownish, blackish stuff that comes off the tapes. When I could see better, it was really easy to see the stuff on the cue-tip or whatever cleaning stick I used. In any case, try giving the heads and all that stuff in the front of the compartment a thorough cleaning. It might mean a trip back to the hospital, or a replacement, but give this a try first. Good luck!
Lou

## Post 6 by wonderwoman (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Wednesday, 22-Nov-2006 20:31:32

thanks very much for your suggestions, we'll try that and see if that's the problem.
wonderwoman

## Post 7 by bozmagic (The rottie's your best friend if you want him/her to be, lol.) on Friday, 16-Feb-2007 18:35:59

Alcohol would probably do the trick with my ancient CD/double cassette player downstairs. It's making the most horrendous creaking noise, so we haven't played any tapes on it for a while since I got my Micro system.

## Post 8 by wonderwoman (I've now got the silver prolific poster award! wahoo!) on Friday, 16-Feb-2007 23:13:37

my mom put a bit of alcohol in it and it seems to be doing fine now

## Post 9 by sparkie (the hilljack) on Tuesday, 06-Mar-2007 19:43:22

I had the same problem with an nls player so I just sent it back. Haven't been too happy with their players.
Troy