Date   : Mon, 27 Apr 2020 12:33:20 +0100
From   : soruk@... (Michael McConnell)
Subject: Rescuing cassette tapes

On 27/04/20 11:55, Michael Howard wrote:
> On 27/04/2020 10:25, Rob Malpass wrote:
>>
>> Hi all
>>
>> I have just discovered what must be at least a 40 year old cassette 
>> tape.?? I played it for 10 seconds on a player ? long enough to 
>> determine that:
>>
>>  1. It had some BBC micro stuff on it and
>>  2. That it sounded so bad I didn?t want it screwing up my hifi or BBC
>>     micro tape deck.
>>
>> So I need to get the data off.?? I would happily buy a new cassette 
>> deck (Argos are still selling them for ?30) and risk the tape mangling 
>> the mechanism or vice versa.?? What I?d really like (and this brings 
>> me to my question) is some sort of reel to reel device which plays 
>> standard cassettes which allowed me to easily fix (by cracking the 
>> tape open and just taking the spools) any problems.?? A better 
>> description would be a reel to reel player for cassettes tape.?? After 
>> a quick search, I?ve not turned anything up.
>>
>> Is there such a device??? Anyone had any success with other methods?
>>
>>
> Could you not buy a reel to reel on flea-bay and manually load up your 
> tape?
> 
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Vintage-Reel-to-Reel-Tape-Recorders/116868/bn_450877
> 
> A bit fiddly but might work ...

I think the problem there is tape for reel-to-reel systems is wider than 
the tape used in cassettes.

Perhaps, use your hi-fi to gently fast-forward the tape then rewind it 
again so it isn't sticking, then play it from your HiFi into some 
digital recording device (as long as it stores losslessly). Then you can 
make a CD-audio disc from that and hook your BBC to a Discman(!) or the 
digital audio recorder without risking your tape any further.

-- Michael