Anyone have instructions for Geneva PF-740?

[sordidpast]

Hi, longtime lurker, first time poster here. In fact, I've often added "lordsmurf" to search keywords just to find answers faster!

Anyway, I have a set of moldy tapes that mean a lot to someone, and while I'd like to have a RTI Tapechek someday, I've just bought a Geneva PF-740 but without instructions, and I haven't been able to find a manual anywhere online. It's not a complex operation, of course, but what I don't know is how much liquid to put on the rollers before I start a tape. I'm expecting to use hydrogen peroxide.

Thanks everyone!

-- merged --

I found a video of a guy with a new old stock Cleanermate version with instructions, which say 6-8 drops. I guess that's what I really need to know, but I'll leave this up in case there's something anyone wants to add. Thanks!

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sordidpast

In fact, I've often added "lordsmurf" to search keywords just to find answers faster!

Quote:

Anyway, I have a set of moldy tapes that mean a lot to someone, and while I'd like to have a RTI Tapechek someday, I've just bought a Geneva PF-740 but without instructions, and I haven't been able to find a manual anywhere online. It's not a complex operation, of course, but what I don't know is how much liquid to put on the rollers before I start a tape. I'm expecting to use hydrogen peroxide.

I found a video of a guy with a new old stock Cleanermate version with instructions, which say 6-8 drops. I guess that's what I really need to know, but I'll leave this up in case there's something anyone wants to add. Thanks!

Reply back, let us know how this works.

I'm dubious, especially if you have lots of contaminants on the tape. Lots of cheap machines, head cleaners especially, just pushed around dirt, and didn't actually remove it. In some ways, that's actually worse.

And yet hopeful.

Perhaps share some before/after images of the tape?

Past related posts:
- http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vcr-...-pf-740-a.html
- http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/vide...-pf-740-a.html

[sordidpast]

Thanks, LS, good to actually interact with you!

I've been pondering this a couple months now, and I've been developing a workstation setup in my barn exclusively for cleaning moldy tapes, not just for the safety issues but also because no one in my area seems to be offering it as a service, and people are keen to respiratory risk factors these days, so I want to get good at it! I understand I'll want to transfer a tape immediately after attempting a cleaning, so I have spare JVC S-VHS deck, computer and Panasonic DMR-S15 I can dedicate to just that, on the spot. Got me a nice little HEPA car vac with attachments that runs off USB, too!

[lordsmurf]

You seem to be doing everything right here.

The only thing I'd add, at least consider, is the UV light that kills mold (and everything else living). The mold (spores) may already be inert, but that would ensure it. I wanted to try that myself in 2020, but the virus derailed that project. Some posts from 2019, here in the forum, on this topic (mold tapes), search for those. Several threads.

Which model S-VHS deck? It's be a shame to ruin a TBC model. My choice here would be non-TBC JVCs, probably 2900s, 5900s, maybe 3600/3800/4600/4800. Condition and price would win here, balance, as it will l be a sacrificial deck.

If you have any EP tapes ... good luck. I don't envy you. SP will give less issues, as you have enough to deal with with that mold.

[sordidpast]

It's an HR-S5902U, one outside your recommendations, but it's been a pretty good stopgap for me at times, and that's part of why I wanted to mention the Panasonic TBC passthrough. I have been thinking about a good UVC lamp but I haven't quite figured out which one I should get.

[lordsmurf]

In this instance, that model deck would be my exact recommendation -- with ES10/15.

You've clearly done some reading.

[sordidpast]

Thanks I got good prices on both, a few more months ago, because I like to have two of every tool!

[sordidpast]

Hey, y'all, sorry to take so long to report back, but I've had a lot of life happen in the past year or so. I also had to pause the pilot project for a time and regroup, after making a couple rookie mistakes.

The Geneva PF-740 is a little crude, runs better with an AC adapter than with batteries, and will sometimes keep you in suspense. The biggest mistake I made was using too much hydrogen peroxide, so my tapes were dragging and would sometimes stop playing. At the same time, my HR-S5902U was sometimes getting stuck repeatedly ejecting, so I just set it aside.

Some time after, I bought a Hahnel VTR 100 cleaning machine, and then a JVC HR-S4500U VCR. The Hahnel is a much more precise design than the Geneva, and pretty soon, my mind was at ease. Turns out I didn't have to take apart any of my friend's tapes, and I didn't lose a second of recorded content from any of them. (It's also a nice thing that hydrogen peroxide evaporates and leaves no residue!)

With the Hahnel's design, there's really no such thing as using too much liquid, because the roller soaks it up from a tray. I wasn't even using half as much of the proprietary "VCL Liquid" (which uses a since-banned CFC, 1,2,2 triflourouethene) that the instructions called for. But for when I use the Geneva again, I now have a basic eye dropper, the end of which is just the right size to press into the hole to loosen the reels!

For demonstration, I tried a particularly grungy copy of the rare Jerry Reed-Tom Selleck buddy movie, "Ramblin' Man." The tape probably has a manufacturing defect, because it looks about like someone else's copy already posted to YouTube. My friend's tapes all tracked perfectly.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ts95kkn5rv...ro-A-A.ts?dl=0