Good Tape Rewinder???

x2mag68 said:
maxell makes one for like 19.99$...... Circuit city or best buy.....
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Yea...I used to have one of those. It worked great for about 3 months and then it ate one of my tapes :(
 
I recently picked up a little AAA battery powered thingy called a DV WINDER by Lenmar. So far, so good, but I light a few candles and say a prayer every time I insert a tape. Definitely not a hearty piece of machinery, but like I said... so far, so good.
 
The problem I found...

The problem I found...

The problem I found is that tape rewinders never slow down as they reach the start, so there is a chance of tearing (or at least really stretching) the tape.

They just go full speed until... WHAM! Pop open!

I would suggest a cheap MiniDV camcorder with Firewire (used, with a smashed lens/LCD screen, perhaps?) for rewinding, capturing, and also as a chain record camera in case you need more than 1 hour uninterrupted recording.
 
The reason for that is no system control circuitry. VTR's have "End-sensors" that detect a clear leader on the very beginning and end of the tape. When the leader is detected, it informs the system control to initiate the reel brakes, stopping the tape before reaching the end of the reels. We highly discourage using ANY kind of tape rewinder. It's best to use your camera or deck. Disregard the old "it wears my heads out" theory that is so popular. If the VTR or camera is placed in "STOP" mode first, then placed in "REW" mode, it will release tension on the tape causing no harm to your heads. Hope this helps. :thumbsup:

Andrew Hoffman
Specialized Communications Corp.
20940 Twin Springs Dr.
Smithsburg, MD 21783-1510
800-359-1858
Fax: 301-790-0173
andrewh@spec-comm.com
www.spec-comm.com


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