If we don’t try, you don’t come any closer
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What do you see when you put the recorder in service mode? Do all tracks show constant errors or are the errors inconsistent?
Did you compare the physical tape width between DAT and DCC tape by putting the tapes on top of each other and checking if one is wider than the other?
Have you tried to put a tape guidance bracket (“Azimuth Locking Pins” = ALP as Philips called it) in your cassette, as well as the felt pad?
After your earlier experiments with TDK SA tape, I had a funny feeling that tape guidance is super important and that ALP bracket would really improve things.
I am pretty sure I remember that while I was working in Hasselt in 1996, my colleagues who had worked on DCC recorders said they had tested with TDK SA-X tapes before DCC tapes became available. I don’t know details unfortunately (such as: whether they used the tape in modified cassettes and/or modified mechanisms and/or at higher tape speeds or something like that).
If anyone wants to do any experiments with using regular tape as DCC tape, remember to start with unused tape, or erase the tape in an analog recorder first. DCC recorders don’t erase tapes (i.e. they don’t demagnetize them), they basically magnetize the particles in positive or negative direction.
I’ve also thought that it might be necessary to adjust the write amplifiers to adjust for different tape.
But of course, it’s still possible that no analog tape can be used as DCC tape because it needs to consistently store a signal that’s basically a 96 kHz wave – over 4 times the density that can be expected from an analog tape.
===Jac
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Did not test the errors, because no recording and bad markers.
Yes I measured, it hard to see any difference. But it could be that the original DAT tape has a higher width. What I can do is measure the spinner with form both original TDK’s
Believe that tape it self is also tinner, because it felt more flexble. (easy curl up)
So we have possible three variations,
- Width.
- Thickness.
- Tape type.
Yes I tested also with the ALP, no difference. Original (TDK-SA) filt pad gave a beeping sound.
I the past I tested also a SA-X tape, the results where not stable.
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Hi to all, I’m new on this forum.
I read all discussion… I think that it is not possible to use a DAT tape in a DCC cassette because the tape type in DAT is Metal instead of Chrome. I don’t think that the physical width of the tape is different; I have some DAT recorders and in all of their manuals the tape width is indicate as “3.81mm width”.
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Thanks and welcome.
New insides helps. 
I didn’t know that, and that would certainly explain it. I’m not a tape expert but I’m pretty sure Metal tape needs much more energy to magnetize it.
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Yes, if you record op a analog tape, you need put the level and bias higher with a metal tape.
Yes, it is so. The Metal tape is almost twice “more strong” than Chrome Tape (the coercivity is almost 3800 Oe than the 1600-1800 Oe of the best Chrome tape), and in the analog world it requires a bias current much stronger than other tapes. In the digital world, Metal tape insures faster transfer speeds. That is the reason because it is used on DAT cassettes in which the relative transfer rates are of a few megabits/sec.
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None of the pads in any of my tapes are that dirty. Does that even still play, Jorn?
===Jac
the tape has perished, that’s why I had made a new copy.
Ah, I didn’t catch that.
=== Jac
If somebody has the means to cut tape smoothly, I would be interested in results with Barium ferrite tapes, the most modern and expensive tape variant (used for LTO data storage) with amazing properties which might be similar enough to Chrome for DCC-hardware to work and might be cheaper in a few years.
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I think you would be looking at someone like Recording the Masters, i think they are the only ones in europe that stil have a fuctional tape slicing machine.
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I revsited the idea. Here is a service that offers to cut custom length chrome tape into shells on request: Custom-Loaded Chrome Audio Cassettes - Audio Cassettes - Duplication.ca
If we have a good enough 3D printed design, this could be an option. Someone should contact them and ask how much they still have in stock.
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Think this would be pretty awesome to have new tapes.
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I made contact, they were super fast and friendly. They have 4 different types of chrome dioxide tape still in stock as well as custom shells with a piece for improved azimuth that could be a good basis, but we will only know after a trial. We will keep you updated.
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