Riveted Q8 Repair Tips?

[aquadad]

Hello,

I recently came across a Canadian Q8 of B.W. Stevenson's "My Maria". I usually like to pull Q8s apart and clean them up, install new pads and R&R the foil splice. This tape presents a bit of a challenge though. It's riveted together and will probably require drilling out the rivet and replacing with a self tapping screw? I'm not sure and would hate to mess up such a rare tape. It plays fine for now, no streaks on tape, good felt pads on copper strip, and a good splice.

Does anyone have any experience taking these apart for servicing? Is there a recommended drill bit size, or a specific screw size to replace the rivet once it's out of the way. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[QuadraTOMic]

Somebody help, there is an 8 track site that explains how to fix these.

To paraphrase: You need a punch, a hammer, a clothes pin and a soldering iron - amazingly this works as I have done it many, many times without failure! Although the site gets into details, you simply heat the rivet while beforehand you put an inverted clothes pin pushing outwards in the tape track. The rivet will expand and the case will gently pop open. You now have access to fix the tape and do your cleaning. When done, simply set the tape back onto the track, turn the cart upside down and use the punch and the hammer to set the rivet back. You could have also at this point replaced the rivet with a screw, I never did as it didn't seem necessary.

Does anybody know the site I'm talking about?

 

[aquadad]

Hello Tom,

Thanks for the heads up. I did a search engine for "8 track repair" and it led me to 8 Track Heaven. On program 4 there is a track called, you guessed it, 8 Track Tape Repair. You pretty much nailed it on your paraphrasing. Here's a link: http://www.8trackheaven.com/index2.html

 

[JonUrban]

I always just reheat the rivit and put it right back! Works every time.
(I use a butane soldering iron)

PS - Nice Q8!

 

[aquadad]

I always just reheat the rivit and put it right back! Works every time.
(I use a butane soldering iron)

PS - Nice Q8!

Hey Jon,

Feel free to pop the hood on this baby when you get it. I know when I first got it, it took a couple of passes to get the tape realigned and stop crosstracking. Who knows what condition it may be in after going cross country. I cringed when I watched the postal clerk throw it in the hopper.

 

[JonUrban]

It arrived safely and is already "back in the hopper" on its way back to you. This is one great sounding Q8, by the way!

 

[aquadad]

It arrived safely and is already "back in the hopper" on its way back to you. This is one great sounding Q8, by the way!

Hello Jon,

It arrived safely. Thanks for the bonus disc. By the sounds of it I won't be needing the tape anymore:yikes:banana: :banana: :banana:!!! Simply amazing...

 

[JonUrban]

Hello Jon,

It arrived safely. Thanks for the bonus disc. By the sounds of it I won't be needing the tape anymore:yikes:banana: :banana: :banana:!!! Simply amazing...

So Dave, should I bother with NR? What do you think? How does it sound on your system, fidelity wise?

 

[aquadad]

So Dave, should I bother with NR? What do you think? How does it sound on your system, fidelity wise?

Jon,

Tough call. The sonics are awesome. The crisp acoustic highs are a big part of the charm with the sound on this album. The hiss is only audible between tracks and ever so faintly on the intro of a couple songs that begin softly. I assume that on a finished copy all the hiss between songs gets erased.

Lucky Touch (no pun intended) would be the song to experiment with. If you can reduce the hiss on that one without losing the crisp highs you'll have a masterpiece on your hands. The crispness of the sticks on the rim of the snare, while simultaneously hitting the high hat, are stunning when they kick in right after he sings Lucky Touch at the end of the first verse. By the way, this song sounds like Croce's "One Less Set Of Footsteps".

Whatever you do don't lose what you have because it's stellar just as it is. I would stand in line to buy conversions of this quality all day long.

I guess my final vote would be to just clean up the hiss between songs and let the music play just the way it is...Like I said, once the music starts you don't hear the hiss. This would be a good one to run through the SNR's at QB's maybe he'll chime in when he gets his copy.

 

[JonUrban]

I'm going to try the new NR program on it, and if it does not affect the crisp sounds of the guitars and cymbols, I will ship it off to QpS for evaluation. This is the type of release that I think would be desirable to QpS members.

 

[Philip Spinner]

Can anyone here tell me how to open non riveted RCA carts. They seem different from all the other carts I have.

 

[Quadwreck]

I use a 1/8" drill bit, start in the middle of the head, go about halfway to the shaft and let it cool, then drill the rest of the way to where the head starts spinning with the drill bit (which means it's detached from the shaft). Then I turn the cart back right-side-up, open the top, firmly grasp the top in one hand and use snubnose plyers to twist it out counterclockwise while also pulling on it.
I found a bunch of aluminum screws the exact same size some years ago, I don't know if they still make them, but a large hardware store (maybe an industrial supply company) would probably have them.