Hey let's change the subject line. Thanks. ----- Original Message ----- From: Jeff Kelley To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 12:48 PM Subject: [rollei_list] Re: Large Format film availability Richard, I don't follow your meaning re. "...the metal work where it was kept." Jeff On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 9:41 AM, Richard Knoppow <dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: ----- Original Message ----- From: "FRANK DERNIE" <frank.dernie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 1:45 AM Subject: [rollei_list] Re: Large Format film availability Vinyl could well be the best archive for sound recordings. My master tapes are mainly deteriorated now, sadly, even though I was lucky enough never to have used that Ampex type where the oxide eventually fell off the acetate. Only the DAT tapes still play as well as new, and they probably won't play at all one day. This is another "digital" the DATs probably will either play or not, the analogue tapes just steadily deteriorate :-) I have not had the much publicised CD deterioration problems with any of my pre recorded discs that I still play. Not sure about my "own burns" yet long term but so far so good! Frank All of the major tape brands, Ampex, Scotch, Agfa, BASF, had binder problems at various times. We knew about the serious problems because the tape would shed oxide when run through the recorder but its likely some binder problems did not show up for years. Some old tape can be salvaged by baking at a low temperature but not all. I think storage methods have a lot to do with tape longevity. Its interesting to me that no one at the time was concerned with the life of the media itself. We assumed that if stored under reasonable conditions it would last forever. The longest lasting recordings seem to be the metal work where it was kept. --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx --- Rollei List - Post to rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - Subscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'subscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Unsubscribe at rollei_list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the subject field OR by logging into www.freelists.org - Online, searchable archives are available at //www.freelists.org/archives/rollei_list