Transferring VHS tapes in a humid environment?
 

Is there a certain relative humidity that I should avoid while transferring VHS tapes to digital files? I am concerned, primarily, about my VHS-player, a JVC S-VHS Hi-Fi HR-S9600U. I have read that moisture can condense on metal in the player, the tape can stick to the moisture, and a ruinous mass of tangled tape can ensue. So far, I have stopped transferring when the relative humidity is above 47%. With summer here, that is nearly all the time. Am I being too cautious?

My environmental conditions are those of New Hampshire, a few miles away from the Connecticut River. We avoid heating-up mid-day by pulling the shades down. At night, we open the windows and let the cool night air in.

What am I doing, you ask? I am transferring old family VHS tapes to digital format. I have nearly 40 VHS tapes. For a preliminary, to see what is on the tapes, I am using a ClickClear Digital-2-Video Converter (2.0). The process is working well. Once I appraise the quality of the videography, I will gear up to do lossless captures, or I will look for a qualified business that can do the lossless captures for me.

Thank you in advance for any and all responses. My searches for this topic, within DigitalFAQ, have not resulted in an answer, though I recall reading about cool dry conditions being optimum.

It's really bad to have tapes in rooms that are not temperature controlled, thus kept dry compared to the outside air.

Condensation happens when the temperature of a surface is below the dew point of the air. The gear, and tapes should be allowed time to warm up to room temperature. Very high (and low) humidity conditions should be avoided. 40-60% RH is reasonable range.

Gear, especially camcorders, often included a condensation warning. It was typically an issue if a camcorder went from a cool, air conditioned house to an hot and humid outdoors. Or came indoors from an outdoor winter shoot into a toasty warm home with a humidifier running. Gear specs often include an operating humidity range; e.g., 35% to 80% for the AG-1980P.