Head Cleaning Cassette Tape
 

Hey Guys,

I'm just reviewing some of the previous threads, and thought I'd find out if anyone knows for SURE, how often one should use a head cleaning cassette. And a response of "whenever it's needed", doesn't really work for me either.

How about:

Whenever "you feel" it's needed?


Really, that's when I use one.

Why is that?

If I advise you to clean your heads before every time you switch tape brands or clean every time you have something worthwhile to shoot, you might
feel better at first that you have "solid" advice. Once your camera's heads are worn out in short order, you may change your mind about solid advice.

I NEVER clean unless I have a major shoot _and_ I haven't cleaned my heads in 100 hours of use. Or if have to switch tape brands after many hours of using the other brand.

I personally will not clean unless I get a clog. Hasn't happened in at least
300 hours of shooting, under all kinds of conditions, in the field.

If you are suffering from occaisonal dropouts then clearly you should try cleaning the heads, if not then clearly there is no need.

You will know when you need to clean the heads by the sure deterioration in recording quality, otherwise it is somewhat paranoid to worry about it.

I have heard that the use of a cleaning cassette can wipe out 4-10 hours of head life - frankly I find this hard to believe.

But in any case unless you are shooting 1000s of hours then obselescence is your enemy not wear - in other words you will probably change your camera for a newer model before it wears out, no matter how often you use a cleaning cassette. So I feel sure if you are in doubt use one, according to the instructions.

FYI, Canon says use one about every 20 hours in the manual, but I think if you use one good quality brand then this is conservative. I use nothing but Sony DVCAM mini cassettes and I have shot much much more than 20 hours and I have never used a cleaning tape, what is more I have never had a drop-out.

It really depends on how important the the work you shoot is and if it can be reshoot should a problem develop. Keep in mind that dropouts can occur at any time and have various causes. Just by regularly cleaning the heads does not mean a dropout will never occur. If your shooting events that cannot easily be reshoot than I would clean the heads before the start. What's better a wedding with no audio or a tape head with 4 hours less life on it? I shoot some scenes for clients that would be almost impossible to reshoot. If the taping was not satisfactory because of dropouts or other defects I could loose the client. Better safe than sorry for those type jobs.

Other projects I do like taping hawks in flight, I don't worry so much about. I also have the opportunity to review that material in the field. If I start to see a problem I can run a cleaning tape through it and keep taping.

With digital I don't worry so much about head wear. Analog recording and cleaning reduced the head life (and picture quality) with each pass. Digital is either recording a signal or not. Digital picture quality is good or not.

Jeff

Didn't someone say that running a cleaning tape through between switching brands wasn't really sufficient, and that you should get a professional cleaning if you're going to switch?

I'm very comfortable with opening up an XL1 and using a swab to clean various posts, rollers and drum. However, the post production facility I used to own did repairs. So, I don't recommend opening up your camera. But cleaning tapes do not remove all the residue from the rollers. I've run cleaning tapes and then cleaned the camera with a swap. The second cleaning removes various amounts of debris from the parts. Would it be enough to clog the heads? Probably not but you can never tell. If you switch tapes a lot, I would routinely clean with a swap fairly regularly.

Jeff

Just sort of stick a q tip in there and clean away?

Only if you like giving Canon lots of your money. I don't recommend opening your camera unless you've been trained or recently won the lottery. If you switch tapes a lot be prepared to have a pro clean your tape path and heads fairly often or get trained on how to do it. Part of cleaning the heads is by feel. It isn't really something I can teach over the internet. It would be like trying to teach someone how to drive a stick shift over the net. It might be possible but the clutch would be a little worse for wear.

Jeff

Why is changing tape brands a reason to clean the heads?

Steve Siegel
Miami FL

Different brands use different chemicals to coat their tapes. When these chemicals mix, they can goop up.

I also heard on another list somewhere a fellow who used compressed air (from a large compressor)to clean his heads (on a deck). He claimed he could just blow the debris away. Never having looked inside my camcorder closely, I would worry that you might blow other little bits and parts away as well.

To those who have 'gone inside', how feasible does the above sound? If the head could be isolated for the air blast do you think it would work?

Ken

It is not the recommended procedure in any service manual I'm aware of. Many times there are small springs that could easily be dislodged from there fastenings by a misdirected blast of compressed air. After all, accidents do happen.

Jeff

Just spend the $100 to get your heads cleaned, and demand that your camera only accept a certain tape brand from then on, unless your clients want to include the cost of a cleaning in whatever they're paying you. That's my two cents.

Head Cleaning Tape
 

Anyone use the head cleaning tapes?

If so how often do you use it on the XL1s??? Or does everyone just clean them with head cleaning tape if show signs needing cleaned, or do you just get it cleaned professionally during a yearly check up service?

It's an absolute necessity. I generally run one after every 15-20 hrs. There are instructions and recommendation included with the tapes.

Also, use the search function in the upper right. Cleaning tapes and methods have been discussed before. There is some good info in the prior posts.

Jeff

You will also want to stick to one brand of tape as this lessens tracking problems. I also run a pass of head cleaner if I must use a different brand of tape.

XL1-S head cleaning
 

I am getting ready to clean the heads on my XL1-S for the first time (at least since I have owned it). Can anyone reccomend a good head cleaning kit? Are there any tips or things I need to be aware of to get the best results?

Thanks

Buy one of the dry head cleaning tapes at most any store that sells DV tapes. Follow the directions in the manual, which I think says to run the tape for 6 seconds, and repeat if necessary. It is not recommended to use any wet cleaning methods. Do not over use the cleaning tape, as it will wear on the heads.

Also, a search on this forum will turn up previous posts on this issue.

Here is one: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...Cleaning+tapes

Mike

How often?
 

I bought a head-cleaning kit, but it strongly recommends not to use it until there are dropouts or other problems.

I've also heard some people clean the heads every so many hours (5?) as preventive maintenance.

Any thoughts from either camp?

Nelson

See this thread.

Mike

An interesting thread. Some good information, some bad information, lots of speculation.

Best advice, follow the instructions in the manual. Any quality (e.g., name brand) dry cleaning tape will work. (I use a Sony because that is what my tape supplier had in stock and it works well for me.)

Head crud problems usually show up on playbck before they show up on record, so the start of occasional mosaic errors on play back is a good indicator that cleaning is indicated. Also, if you change tape brand/type after a steady diet of one brand, then a cleaning is probably a good idea. This is because using a different tape may result in deposits left by the previous brand breaking free and moving about.

Some people have reported complete record failures - often in conjunction with borrowed machines. Implies lack of maintenance or hard use of the borrowed machine by its owner, and perhaps issues that may be associated with a changeing tape type.

Head Cleaning Tapes
 

I need to buy a head cleaning tape. Does it matter what brand one uses?

Does anybody who is in France know of a place where I can purchase a head cleaning tape?

I will advise you to use the same brand as your tapes.

In general, any brand of MiniDV dry head claning tape shold work OK.

Yes, any brand will do. They're labelled as head cleaners because that's all they do. They do nothing for the guides, rollers, capstan and pinch roller (9 components in a Mini DV deck) some of which revolve at the same relative speed as the passing cleaning tape, and it's these components that deserve your close attention every so often. Remember that simply recording one hour of DV means that 70 metres of tape pass through the mechanism.

tom.