Today we have two very common, but related about DAT machine care: 1) How often should I clean the heads on my DAT machines? 2) Is it true that using a cleaning tape too much can actually harm the heads?
Most manufacturers have specific recommendations based upon their knowledge of their product. We always recommend that you contact them and follow their instruction, but we went to our digital tape genius Mark (McGyver) Phillips for a few general guidelines you can follow as well. His answers:
- How often? When they “need” it is the short answer. When they need it will vary depending upon your tape and how much shuttling you do. In general DAT machines do not need cleaning as often as multitrack machines. There are several reasons, but the bottom line is there is less oxide buildup per hour of operation. Usually your DAT will let you know when the build up is excessive by giving you a cleaning indicator or by having a high number of errors. If you are experiencing drop-outs in your audio the first thing to try is cleaning the heads. If your livelihood depends on your DAT, get it wet cleaned by a FACTORY TRAINED technician (no sparkies please) after every 250-300 hours of operation. If you are fairly technical you may be able to get someone to show you how to do this yourself, but be careful. An improperly cleaned machine is usually worse than no cleaning at all. Our service department has had to repair or re-align many machines that had improper cleaning. In some cases these involved replacing the entire head ($$$). If you’re not an expert you will save money by paying someone good to do it.
- Cleaning Tapes? Dry cleaning tapes are a good way to get out of a bind with a machine that is acting up, but wet cleaning is the only real way to go for regular maintenance. Different chemicals are used for different parts of the transport mechanism. The factory trained tech will also check tape tension, head alignment, breaks, clutches, and possibly more. ALL dry cleaning tapes work like sandpaper. They grind the surface of your head, which does remove dirt, but also removes head life. They also do not/can not clean many other parts which can cause problems. Using a dry cleaning tape for regular maintenance is like changing the oil in your car without changing the filter! It’s definitely better than nothing, but if you want to get maximum life out of your machine you should use dry cleaning tapes as sparingly as possible. That is not to say that you shouldn’t clean your heads. As mentioned above, routine professional cleanings are the best way to maximize the life of your machine.