Michigan Radio & TV Buzzboard

Does anyone know if blank cassette tapes are still available anywhere?

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 12, 2023 10:24 pm

https://www.amazon.com/Maxell-108562-Pa ... 6245&psc=1

Thanks. I was just speaking with our neighbour. She has a Amazon account. she is ordering some for me.

I got a new Kenwood dual cassette deck in 1997 and I haven't tried it out yet.

Record some radio catches

I find them at used record stores, too. My aunts had a bunch in their attics and gave them to me.

Mega Hertz wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 13, 2023 6:14 pm

I find them at used record stores, too. My aunts had a bunch in their attics and gave them to me.

Old tape becomes delaminated in attic environments. Buying new tape is a good idea.

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 14, 2023 8:15 am

Mega Hertz wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 13, 2023 6:14 pm

I find them at used record stores, too. My aunts had a bunch in their attics and gave them to me.

Old tape becomes delaminated in attic environments. Buying new tape is a good idea.

The amazing thing? They work great. I used a couple of them and had no complaints. All in all, it's better to get it new. I must have been lucky.

Mega Hertz wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 14, 2023 10:11 am

TC Talks wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 14, 2023 8:15 am

Mega Hertz wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 13, 2023 6:14 pm

I find them at used record stores, too. My aunts had a bunch in their attics and gave them to me.

Old tape becomes delaminated in attic environments. Buying new tape is a good idea.

The amazing thing? They work great. I used a couple of them and had no complaints. All in all, it's better to get it new. I must have been lucky.

Maybe they are metal

So, if I got some used ones that were originally sold pre-recorded, could I erase them, or are they somehow protected to prevent accidental erasement?

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 14, 2023 11:57 am

So, if I got some used ones that were originally sold pre-recorded, could I erase them, or are they somehow protected to prevent accidental erasement?

You can use a magnetic eraser, or record over the existing stuff. I would suggest recording silence to "blank" the tapes by recording silence on them.

There are tabs on the top of the tape, one on each side, to record protect the cassettes.
You can replace them with scotch tape if they've been knocked out.

HD74 wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 16, 2023 11:42 am

There are tabs on the top of the tape, one on each side, to record protect the cassettes.
You can replace them with scotch tape if they've been knocked out.

LOL forgot about those.

Yep, I used to cut out little pieces of thin cardboard and Scotch-tape them over the tab slots. In hindsight the tape alone would have done the trick.

I was big on the Memorex 120-min (60 min per side) cassettes way back when. The longer cassettes were cheaper per amount of tape and came in handy for recording family events where I didn't need to worry about flipping sides every 30 minutes. Problem was the longer cassettes tended to tangle in the pinch roller more often. Finally realized it was because the longer cassettes had thinner tape to accommodate room in the housing. Stopped using 'em and stuck with the 60-min cassettes. Also switched to BASF and Ampex cassettes as the quality of tape and cassette housing was better than the Memorex brand.

Turkeytop wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 12, 2023 4:48 pm

Does anyone know if blank cassette tapes are still available anywhere?

I could've sworn I saw multi-packs of blank cassette tapes sold at Meijer, the last time I was browsing their electronics section. They carry more vintage products than you'd think!