Tape Care And Maintenance - Alesis ADAT-LX20 Reference Manual

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APE ARE AND
ADAT tapes are no different than any standard tape: they must be treated with
care. Never expose ADAT tapes to temperature extremes, strong magnetic fields
(such as speakers), high humidity, dust and so on.
You should always practice SAFE TAPE:
• At the end of every session, rewind the tape back to the leader. Stop, eject the
tape, remove it from the ADAT, and place it in its protective case. This cuts
down on the amount of dust that can enter the transport and keeps wear on the
tape at a minimum.
• Don't leave your tapes near speakers, power amps or other potential magnetic
fields such as televisions or electrical devices.
• Don't subject your tapes to extreme temperatures or wild temperature
fluctuations.
• Don't expose your tapes to high humidity, moisture or high dust levels.
• Don't leave your tapes on the dashboard of your car. (In fact, never leave ADAT
tapes in a car EVER. Keep them with you at all times!)
• No matter how tempted you are to open the shutter to see what is inside,
NEVER TOUCH THE TAPE. The magnetic particles on your ADAT tape need to
be preserved in the condition in which they were recorded. The oils from your
fingers WILL damage your tapes as well as get on the heads and damage them.
• Never turn off the ADAT power while the tape is threaded. This leaves the
tape bent around the rollers and head. Press STOP until the tape is unthreaded
before turning off power.
Practice "safe tape" at all times because you can never retrieve lost data.
If you are archiving your tapes, make sure they are stored in environmentally
stable conditions, i.e. a cool dry place. If you do archive your tapes, you need to
check them once a year. Run each tape through your ADAT from end to end. This
will prevent buildup that can occur when a tape is left simply "sitting."
Of course, for your super sensitive or important material, nothing beats making
multiple digital backups. Every year or so, simply do another digital backup onto a
brand new tape.
ADAT LX20 Reference Manual
M
AINTENANCE
Appendix B - Troubleshooting
81