by In your tape player or disk drive, damaged rubber (and other faults) can mean that computer data is not saved or loaded successfully. Read on for more…
Vintage computers did not have SD cards. They did not have USB memory sticks. And cheap microcomputers in the early 1980s did not even have disk drives.
Home computers were called microcomputers in the early 1980s. Mini computers like the DEC VAX were smaller than the mainframe computers like the IBM 370.
Instead, the microcomputers relied on external mono (not stereo) tape players and recorders, like the one shown in the photo above.
Data was written to cassette tape, as shown in the Auf Wiedersehen Monty game tape. That was a commercial release, produced in a factory.
Home users in the early 1980s had to use tape leads to connect their microcomputer to the tape player, to load in data, games and programs to and from a cassette tape. They had to be MONO leads and not stereo, with one band on the connector and not two bands. Both ends must be mono leads and connect to a mono tape player.
Loading and saving could involve a lot of trial and error, a lot of changing leads and volume, and a lot of failures. It could be distressing, especially if your tape player was faulty or not well-made.
My own Sinclair ZX81 suffered from being connected to a tape player that just was new but was just not up to the job, and from the inherent unreliability of the process on a ZX81. In the end, I had to get a better tape player. That meant that I could then load and save programs, and commercial tapes like Flight Simulation, 3D Monster Maze and 1k Chess.
And I still have it. It still works. Here it is in its box, the Triumph (see photo). And it has been a triumph – well-made, reliable and sturdy with a reassuring “clunk” when you press the buttons. I love it and would never sell it, because it has given me so much fun and pleasure – just like my original ZX Spectrum that I repaired when it began to deteriorate after 35 years in storage.
Soon though, despite being looked after in its box and well-made, the Triumph will need new rubber belts inside. All tape players have one or more belts inside to run the motors and, if they have a counter, to move the tape counter.
The belts usually get a “kink” in the rubber, when left stored for years. The one in the photo below is particularly kinky.
This kink will mean that the tape player will not play or record with a consistent speed, resulting that the operation will cause problems for your microcomputer.
Kinks in belts can also affect disk drives, such as those in the Sinclair 128k ZX Spectrum +3 and Amstrad CPC6128.
Data may not load reliably. Your games might fail to load up. And saving your programs might mean that you cannot load them back in.
So you need to replace the belts if they get like this. They might not – some belts may have already been replaced, or they have not deteriorated due to better manufacture, better products or better storage conditions.
Other faults can affect your tape player, such as dry solder joints, the sound not being output, worn connectors, dirty heads, general dirt, dust and damp, damaged capstan and pinch roller and much more.
I can sell you repair services. Or I can sell you a refurbished mono tape player that will work. I do not recommend that you buy any of the new mono tape players.
Thank you for coming to PopeyMon.
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