how to fixed an audio tape that has ripped?

Question

My dad has an audio tape of his grandma talking about her trip from spain to america and it ripped and i want to know if theres profesinals or a website or something or an idea of how to fix it i was thinking scotch tape but i know he will loose some of it but still its important to him thanks

Answer 1

I've done the scotch tape thing a lot of times long, long ago. Assuming the tape just broke:

1 Lay scotch tape sticky side up on a table or something. Tape it down at each end if you need. You only need a short stretch of sticky side visible.

2 Straighten out the cassette tape. If you don't get all the twists out you will have turns in it and it won't play right. Reel most all of it back into the tape so that you only have maybe 6 inches of slack.

3 Lay the first half with the outward-facing surface UP, so that the one torn end is about half way across the sticky tape. Press it down so it's adhered.

4 Lay the second half the same way with that end butted against the first end. Press it down also.

5 Use sharp scissors or a razor blade to cut the excess tape off both sides, leaving only the scotch tape directly under the magnetic tape.

6 Reel it in and you're done. It will probably click when it goes past that part.



NOW - record it again onto something else (MP3 file, whatever), so when it breaks again you will still have it.

Answer 2

scotch tape will work if you make sure not to leave any hanging off of the tape edge. For this I'd use an exacto blade.



I've done this many times, and it works fine for simple temporary restoration. I would go ahead and record it as a .wav file onto your computer if you have any intention of keeping the audio, though.

Answer 3

i use to do this so many times, check it out, you take poth parts that have broke, make sure there on the right side, take some office tape a small piece, use only one piece, take some scissors and cut the access then take a pencil and roll it back up