Tape Project Forum

General Category => Prerecorded Tapes => Topic started by: gconway on September 17, 2009, 04:19:26 PM

Title: This is the the haven for discussion of your ebay and garage sale scores.
Post by: gconway on September 17, 2009, 04:19:26 PM

"I love it."  While researching some tapes I picked up at a garage sale, I came across this site and the heading Prerecorded Tapes>forum for discussion of prerecorded tapes other than those produced by The Tape Project. This is the haven for discussion of your eBay and garage sale scores. I would like to ask a few questions to whomever might be able to answer them.

What would be the best way to convert them to digital format.
What type of machine would I need to listen to them. Inexpensive model?
Does anyone know of a marketplace for such an item. There are about 30 tapes of Apollo missions .

Thank you in advance,

Glen Conway


(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad359/mollynono/DSCN2716.jpg)
(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad359/mollynono/DSCN2717.jpg)
(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad359/mollynono/DSCN2718.jpg)

Title: Re: This is the the haven for discussion of your ebay and garage sale scores.
Post by: docb on September 17, 2009, 05:01:35 PM

Any reel to reel tape recorder that can play 1/4" tape on 7" reels at 7.5 ips will allow you to hear what is on the tape. For the best possible transfer to digital you would want to use a tape recorder with a full track playback head in order to reproduce what is on the tape with the highest fidelity. Make sure the machine you use is in good operating condition, otherwise it could very well damage the tapes. You might contact Dave Dintenfass at Full Track Productions. Archiving material like this is his one of his specialties.

http//www.fulltrackproductions.com (http://http//www.fulltrackproductions.com)

For what it's worth the notation on the box indicates that the 1994 vintage dub you have was made with an Otari MX-55, and that it has been stored tails out, meaning you will need to put the reel on the take up (right) hub and rewind the tape onto the supply (left) reel before playing.

Title: Re: This is the the haven for discussion of your ebay and garage sale scores.
Post by: ironbut on September 17, 2009, 05:40:25 PM

Hi Glen,
Welcome to the forum.
These tapes may have been a radio/tv stations or a library/ schools copies which became outdated as the digital versions became available online. If so, they wouldn't be worth much.
Here's a link to the Apollo mission web site;

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/40th/apollo11_audio.html

They could be something else entirely. Kinda hard to know until you play them.
You might check with the central library in your area since some still have tape machines for tapes in their collection. You may be able to correlate what you hear and compare it to the mission recording that are available online. Just let em know that you just need a playback 1/4" machine (if there's a music school they almost certainly have one in their music library).

Title: Re: This is the the haven for discussion of your ebay and garage sale scores.
Post by: gconway on September 18, 2009, 05:16:56 AM

Thank you both for the great information.