Cassette jammin'....and not in a good way...

[radiodayz]

Hey gang,

Does anybody here know what causes cassette tapes to "fold over" on themselves, i.e. twist around so that the wrong side is facing outward? Is there any hope of salvaging the cassette when this happens? How to prevent it from happening in the future?

Cassette in question: Eddie Grant, "Electric Avenue," circa 1981. (I ejected it safely from the player; player still works fine.

 

[stormsven]

You can fix it without open it but better open the cassette and check is the tape still lying properly on the rollers (if is not see thru type). Loose screws can make that. But mostly thats the problem whit the player not in the cassette. At chewed spot youll have some sound loss tough. Rewind the tape a few full times back and fwd too to get the tape even.

 

[radiodayz]

Thanks, Stormsven

 

[agc]

Usually that happens when the tape has been eaten by the deck or otherwise spilled out of the housing; when being 'rewound' it twisted on it's way back in. That's something I learned to pay close attention too a long time ago. As to fixing it; you just have to find the spot where it twisted on each end. If it's only a short length, just pull the tape out and untwist. If it's long, then you have to open the tape.

Got to keep those pinch rollers clean!!