🚀 go-pugleaf

Steve Wechsler writes
| Does anyone know a good source to buy VCR idler tires?  Parts Express
| has them at what seems to be a good price, but they have a $20 minimum
| order, and the tires are only $.35-$.45 each.  Local repair shops (at
| least, one that I tried a couple of years go) only sell the whole
| idler assembly, which costs about $10-$15, and the idler needs to be
| replaced about once a year (bad design, I guess; it tends to dry out.
| I tried Radio Schlock non-slip compound; it didn't do much good).

I haven't owned a VCR as long as I've owned cassette decks, but I would assume  
that the following advice would be valid for VCR idlers as well as pinch  
rollers (since they are about the same).

I've been cleaning cassette deck pinch rollers for years with a special cleaner  
from Teac (Montebello, CA 90640).  It is called RUBBER CLEANER CONDITIONER and  
is sold along with a HEAD CLEANER solution for metal and plastic.  The stuff  
lasts a long time, and the last time I purchased a set was from a mail order  
catalog which sold professional recording studio equipment.  I've never used  
cleaning cassettes (on tape decks OR VCRs) because you cannot use the optimum  
cleaner for both metal and rubber parts.

Here are the directions on the bottle, just to let you know where they're  
coming from:

This fluid is specially formulated to clean and condition the pinch roller and  
any other /rubber/ parts on your tape recorder. We suggest that you clean the  
pinch roller every four to six hours of playing time or everytime you clean the  
heads and metal parts in the tape path. Apply the fluid with a clean, soft  
cloth or cotton swab. Leave on for one minute, then clean and dry with a soft  
cloth. Repeat this procedure until the cloth shows little or no residue.  
Regular application and cleaning will reduce the effects of ozone and smog  
which cause hardening and cracking of rubber parts.
CAUTION! TO AVOID DAMAGE DO NOT ALLOW CONTACT WITH PLASTIC.
CONTENTS:
aromatic hydrocarbon, antioxident. *This liquid contains NO ALCOHOL.
-- 
Brian Willoughby	Software Design Engineer, BSEE NCSU
BrianW@SoundS.WA.com	Sound Consulting: Software Design and Development
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