Tips on opening certain carts?

Carts like that of the Grease soundtrack (RSO) completely baffle me
because not only are some of the tabs hidden underneath the label (do I
need an iron to remove it?), but those I CAN see are oddly shaped and
apparently immobile. Any tips on opening these, and is there a
definitive step-by-step as to how to open any cart in general? Columbia
TC8s are supposed to be easy (and relatively are), but I'm constantly
breaking the bottom two tabs because I've pushed too hard or in the
wrong direction.

On 15 Jan 2005 18:38:28 -0800, "Jonny the 8-Tracker!"
wrote:

Carts like that of the Grease soundtrack (RSO) completely baffle me
because not only are some of the tabs hidden underneath the label (do I
need an iron to remove it?), but those I CAN see are oddly shaped and
apparently immobile. snip

Are there five of them on the top side, with a wedge-looking dog in
the holes? Later style Ampex. If so, take a small screwdriver,
bottom it out against the flange that the dog latches against and
apply pressure in the direction of the wedge, WHILE using a dull knife
or other tool to help unsnap the front end of the cart at the first
guide and the pinch roller post. It helps to have either three hands
or use clothes pins (remember them?) to apply opening pressure to the
openings on the front. Usually, once the front ones are open, the
center and rear ones are easy and sometimes will disengage as you
start to open the cartridge fromt he front. The hole on the other
side is simply a molding for the reel center post...nothing to do
there. The important one is on the other side.

There are different variations on the TC8s, too. Earlier ones had
three identical locks, later ones had the same on the front, but slots
on the back. You have to be careful to pry in the right direction on
these! Look inside the slot, and you'll see two different plastic
planes. You want to get your driver on the bottom one and pry toward
the rear of the cart gently while lifting the already loosened front
of the shell. Start with the front catch first.

Later Crapitols can be a bad dream. Two catches, the front's easy,
the rear can be a real bitch. Again, this one pries to the rear, you
you MUST be careful. Later Crapitols (Audiopaks) used a soft plastic
and are easily distorted. Early Audiopaks are a dream...one center
screw (sorry about your label!) and that's about it.

The absolute nightmare? Lear Jet/early Ampex. Five holes, one at the
pinch roller larger in diameter than the others. Best way to open?
Tap the holes with an appropriate machine thread butt end tap and use
a #10 or #8 machine screw as a jackscrew while prying the front sides
of the cart apart. Alternate method: Use #10 and #8 self-tapping
sheel metal screws, making sure that the tips are flat, else you wind
up boring into the plastic on the other side. Once opened and
repaired, squeeze back together gently in a vice.

"Looks hard/is easy?" Riveted RCAs. Heat up a soldering iron, put
clothes pins (or fingers) in the front openings to provide opening
pressure, gently heat the rivet with the soldering iron until it JUST
pulls open. Repair, then heat the rivet again to reseal. Piece of
cake. Don't use any more heat than necessary to soften the plastic
that holds the rivet, or you'll have problems.

In all cases, remove the old foam pressure pads and install new
Win-Gibs "Revitalizers®," available from our own John Winnard.
They're as good as they get, and will give you excellent service. On
spring/felt pads, gently rake pieces of lube backing out of the felt,
gently "fluff up" the felt nap and reinstall. When properly
installed, they should put the tape almost to the front edge of the
cartridge. If they're bent, bend them back into this position ONLY
when reinstalled in the cart, else you may wind up distorting the
portion that anchors in the shell.

My method of "fixing" a cart is more involved than most, and I usually
wind up removing the tape off of the reel on Ampexes and others that
use solid reels to get the crap that builds up on the flange of the
reel out of there, as well as to clean the center hub of built up
graphite and dirt. A new double sided splice (oxide side foil,
backing side Quantegy splice tape...urrgh, hope I've got enough of
that until when the factory reopens!) always using a 45° splice cut
and a 45° angle of both the foil and the tape. Lubricate the pinch
roller post and reel post, as well as the bottom of the cart shell,
with dry PTFE spray lube. Clean all pinch rollers, inspect rubber
ones for grooving or rot. Use of "Rubr-Renu" on rubber pinch rollers
may help some with a lot of miles on them. Use a Q-tip to clean out
the nylon inside bushing on the rubber rollers. Plastic rollers can
be cleaned like any other plastic part. Scrape accumulated graphite
and backing from all guides inside the cart, leaving all surfaces
clean and smooth. Use dry air or a duster can to blow out the tape to
remove dust and crumbs and stuff as much as possible. Install a new
Win-Gib® pad, close the cart, and enjoy!

While you're doing all this, just think to yourself, "You know...I
NEVER had to ever fix a cassette!" Then you'll realize why this is
such an arcane hobby.

dB

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 21:51:49 -0800, DeserTBoB
wrote:

Are there five of them on the top side, with a wedge-looking dog in
the holes? Later style Ampex. snip

Later (better) GRTs also used this same system, but are somewhat
easier to open. The late Ampexes can be a real bitch.

dB

What's the best way to try to remove the label? They're heat-sensitive,
so I could use a slightly warmed iron, right?