Cipher Streamer / DEC TS05 Tape Drive

From: Douglas Quebbeman <dhquebbeman_at_theestopinalgroup.com>
Date: Wed Jul 5 15:35:07 2000

Hello,

The TS05 I picked up last week looked to be in perfect condition.
There was very little dust on or in it. However, I did notice a
slight amount of rust on the shaft coming out of the take-up
motor (the top of the shaft is visible through the hub). On
further inspection, there is a slight amount of oxidation on
the surface of the takeup hub; this can be easily removed with
Scotch-Brite, I think. But what disturbs me is this...

I found one particular sign that this drive may not have been
used for some years. The supply hub has three short arms which
emerge from their normal position tucked inside the supply hub
and which press against the inside metal rim of the tape reel
in order to hold it in place. Each little arm has a small rubber
or latex pad which helps to provide grip against the tape reel.

On my much-older and much-more-clearly-used Cipher on the Prime,
the rubber pads are fine; on this nearly-new-looking TS05, they
have lost all firmness and have turned almost to the consistency
of tree sap. They didn't drip, they weren't that bad; but one
attempt to load a tape left most of the pads on the inside of the
tape reel.

It seems strange for the drive to look so otherwise perfect and
these items to be mush. Any thoughts?

Plus, anyone been there/done that? I need to replace these pads,
and they weren't listed in the Cipher manual as a replaceable
part (you have to replace the entire supply hub, it would seem).

tia,
-doug quebbeman
Received on Wed Jul 05 2000 - 15:35:07 BST