Alice Averlong🏳️⚧️bad idea for an experiment:
take a betamax tape, and a vhs tape. open both casettes, remove the actual tape, and put the beta tape into the VHS cassette.
First of all, it won't play. obviously.
but then see if we can record to it and play it back.
where's a VHS rewinder when you need one?
why VHS beat Beta in one, oversimplified example:
The reel on the right is beta. the reel on the left is VHS. A bigger reel meets it holds more tape. More tape means it can record for more minutes.
Beta tape is now wound onto the the VHS reel.
Now I need to unwind the other reel of the VHS tape and splice it back together
Now I need to unwind the other reel of the VHS tape and splice it back together
how do you unspool half a kilometer of tape?
a power drill, obviously!
okay, tape is back together. Now I'm going to manually rewind it, because I don't want to risk my VCR slamming into the end of the tape at high speed.
I should 3D print a VHS-reel-to-drill adapter
and it gave a signal! it's gibberish, of course, but I'm amazed. I thought the VCR would just stop or show nothing.
So this is what happens if you play a Beta tape on a VHS VCR: gibberish lines.
I am currently recording a video onto the Beta-VHS tape. You can probably guess what video.
Here's a GIF of what it looks like in action
And here we go! So the answer is: YES.
You can absolutely record VHS signals onto Beta tape.
(The pause at the beginning is just me not starting the blu-ray player at the same time as I hit record on my VCR)
There's no audio, but I'm not sure if that's a problem with my setup or a technical issue with the tape. I'll have to play around with it
okay yep: I hadn't connected one of the cables to my PVM correctly.
The audio is fine on the VHS-recorded segment. There's no audio on the beta-recorded segment.
also I've ejected the tape three times now with no snags. It definitely isn't exploding my VCR that I can detect.
I wound it the wrong way, it hit the end of the tape, and snapped.
I probably should have used a higher infill, but fundamentally this is a kinda bad idea.
I redesigned it: Instead of having a bit, I just put a hole in it, and then jammed a double-ended hex bit into it.
Now I can use it on my variable-torch screwdriver, and it works just fine!
Now I can use it on my variable-torch screwdriver, and it works just fine!
@gewt suggested I repeat the experiment with some u-matic tapes, but unfortunately they're a different width: 3/4 inch (1.9cm) instead of 1/2 inch (1.3cm) like VHS and Beta.
prokyonid
Rue Mohr@foone no safety tho, it could break the tape
@RueNahcMohr the screwdriver will stall if it exceeds the torque limit, so it shouldn't be too risky for the tape
Kit Bashir@foone stealing that idea for my smd component tape winder. I handily have a shitload of hex brass and aluminium rod I bought for stock; yay past me.
Chuck@foone But you have to set the torch very low though right?
@ChuckMcManis yeah. I set it as low as I could and still have it turn the reels
Dreaming of dad jazz.@foone I was honestly expecting this turn of events. Stem breaks --> some sort of hex adapter
niarbeht@foone this thread is great
Cabia Rangris@foone just bite the bullet and print it 90° with supports and enforce filament direction along the axle
@foone I've found that applications like this get more strength from increasing "shells" than they do from increasing "infill". I'd try it again with 4 or 5 shells and see if it still breaks.
@foone Also if you are using a variable torque driver (like most battery operated drills are these days) set the torque level to the minimum needed to wind from zero. That should be much less than the torque that would break the spindle you are using.
@ChuckMcManis yeah that's what I'm doing for my second print: I changed the diameter of the bit so I can put it in my variable torque screwdriver
Kyreeth@foone That sounds like a weak link design element intended to protect the tape
@foone it seems it worked perfectly
Ailuridae@foone at least it didn't snap the tape?
Ongion 🥚🐞@foone call it "torque limiting". It's a safety feature!
Rubik@foone It's a safety feature to prevent you from damaging the tape
I love this, so I@foone layer adhesion couldn’t handle the torque. Print it on the side and it won’t shear across layers
Tim 🎮
Matthew Dockrey@foone You've got some 'splining to do.
Alex Volkov@foone just make a hole for a long m3 bolt and nut through the entire thing, it will carry the torque, and you dont really need to fundamentally change the design.
DeepBlue V7.X@foone Sounds like a safety feature
Bitl 
@foone maybe print it sideways with supports so the "grain" of the piece is vertical rather than horizontal, leading to better strength
v3x@foone
It'll probably always split between the layer lines in that orientation! You could likely get away with even larger layers in a different orientation
It'll probably always split between the layer lines in that orientation! You could likely get away with even larger layers in a different orientation
Jonathan HendryIntegral torque limiter.
Steve@foone call it intentional, weakness that sheers the shaft instead of destroying the tape
fraggLe!@foone Plz be kind, rewind.
Sparky@foone "Be kind, rewind with a power drill."
Toad King@foone The Unkind Rewind
André van Schoubroeck@foone My guess the main problem is the different leader which these systems use to detect the beginning/end of the tape. I found out when I did this as a kid, rewound the tape and had it slam into the beginning at full speed.
Also, you're in the US, right? So there are NTSC machines. You did have some variants beta 1,2 and 3. Do you know what it was recorded on?
When I did this way back when on PAL machines the VHS VCR managed to produce some picture.
prozacchiwawa@foone it's kind of fascinating that we have all this variation in media formats and it all eventually comes down to "quarter inch tape" or "half inch tape" and those haven't changed in decades.
Fox Rainbow (She/Her)@foone seems tapehead forums have a bit on this, it seems they probably had dif audio setups, but it might still be possible to do.
Marcin Wichary
sadmac356@foone I can HEAR IT without you even saying
Ben Foote
Bill Plein🌶@foone You could try what I did with an 8-track tape back in the early 1980s. Find a long stretch of straight road and throw the tape/cassette out the window while holding onto the end of the tape.
I know more about the ecosystem and the effects on wildlife now. And I’m no longer 16 years old. So I wouldn’t do that.
Rachel Stantz@foone that’s a big old spool!