DAT-Heads Digest #856, Volume #2 Wed, 17 Jul 96 18:12:05 EDT From: OADE@delphi.com Subject: pana3700\90m DDS Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 13:47:20 -0500 (EST) Hello !! I have received many phone calls and e-mailings about my recent post to this group. Most of you want to know what brand of DDS tape has the fewest problems in Audio Drives. We have found the KAO brand to be the most reliable and to cause the fewest failures(we don't sell DDS ). You also asked about dust problems with a machines cover removed. I am inclined to believe that this is not a major problem, so long as the cover is on when the machine is not in use. I KNOW that using 90m DDS tape in an Audio grade drive that gets hot is a major problem. One other suggestion is to get your Tech. to adjust the back tension down to 4 grams or less, depending on the machine. The lower back tension will ease the tape stretching problem. Also the fluctuation in back tension should be less than 2 grams. Take up torque should be around 10 grams. It would not hurt to check your tape path every few months to verify that no shedding is taking place. The guide post should be white (not grey or black) and there should be no build up on the capsan motor or black powder building up on the chassis of the transport. If you see these, then you will likley see a huge repair bill soon, clean that drive!!! One of the most common questions was "How long should my head last ?" We have seen many heads go 5000 hours and more, when the machine was properly cared for and only audio grade tape was used. The question of the panasonic servicer saying 1000 hours on the head was also raised. The service manual for most DAT machines spec the head to be replaced every 1500 hours. This is to ensure reliable operation in mastering applications. We still see many panasonic DAT machines in studio use with over 5000 hours on them and the original head is still in service (they are date coded).We have also seen Panasonic cover defective head replacement costs even when well beyond the warranty experation date. Panasonic has on numerous occassions taken care of customer needs when they had no legal obligation to do so ! In my opinon they offer excellent customer support, and yes they do care . Another question I was asked often is "What do you mean used older DDS tape formulations ?". Many people are still selling used DDS tape., While most of them are probably the latest formulation , some of them are pre 1993/4 manufacture, and as such, may not be fit for audio use..buyer beware!! I called most manufacturers a year ago, prior to my recent tape test, to find out what type of formulation they were working with. They all changed to the same thing in late 93 or early 94. This info promted us to test these tapes. We have found that most 60m DDS tapes do as well as audio grade tapes in all DAT machines, except car DATs, which typically get a hell of a lot hotter. Sony audio grade did the best in my car, tdk the worst ! NO 90m DDS tape has ever survied my car machine !!! (I use change in error rate to determine tape performance, 90 m error rates climb quickly) Many of you asked where I get my info. We have been servicing DAT machines since 1988. We have written our own service software which enables us to track various failures. With over 7000 DAT machines repaired to date we have a large amount of failure data to work with. It is only recently (with many old DAT machines in the field) that we replaced lots of heads due to wear. Most of the heads we replaced in the past were damaged by the customer's choice of tape; not worn out (the RF output of the head clearly shows the difference; in many cases the clog can be seen with a 30X microscope). Of course we replaced a small number of heads that failed due to other causes, like a broken wire or bad bearings, but these are not epidemic failures, and account for about 5% of our head replacements. Peace..........Doug ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Otto, Michael" Subject: DAT tape brands rated for quality Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 11:46:00 PDT I pulled this from CompuServe Rocknet:Dead forum. The writer is a professional recording engineer. Take it for what it's worth (monetary value is stated at the end) michael >>> I have been using DAT since it's beginning getting my first DAT machine in the spring of 1987. At that time there was only one machine on the market, the Sony DTC-1000. There was also only one kind of Dat tape...Sony:). Needless to say I have had some 10 years experience with DAT and have formed some strong opinions on the subject. Firstly 3 hour tapes should be avoided at all costs. Data grade or not they are very unstable and over time will cause nothing but trouble. The transport and tension parameter on Pro and Consumer DAT decks are not calibrated for 3 hour Dats. The hub is heavier with the extra 60min of tape and the tape itself is thinner which promotes tape loops to be thrown when winding and re-winding causing the tapes to get tangled in the guides..need I say more! I have used every brand of Dat tape over the years and have put together a list in order of stability and longevity. The TOP Dat tapes: Panasonic 64P/94P/124P Top rating Ampex 467 all lengths Top rating Good Dat tapes: Apogee pro all lengths Panasonic consumer all lengths Sony Pro dats all lengths Average Dat tapes: Denon consumer dats all lengths KOA consumer (except 3hour 90M) Sony consumer dats all lengths BASF pro/consumer dats all lengths Maxell consumer/Data (except 3hour 90M) Below average Dat tapes: Fuji consumer/Pro dats The worst Dat tapes: TDK all lengths! ALL 3 hour DATS Data and Consumer. Again you pay a premium for the best Dat tapes but there's a good reason for it...They ARE better! ever wonder why the 3hour Data tapes seem to be such a great deal? You say to yourself WOW Data grade 3 hours for only 5 bucks... Remember you get what you pay for. Well thats my $.02