I am in the process of doing some de-cluttering; it feels horrible but
needs must.

This problem is one of the reasons that I keep procrastinating.

I have several hundred VHS tapes that I have recorded over the years,
mostly over air TV programs. These do not present any problems in
disposal, I will put them in the grey bin.

However some of the tapes contain copies of videocams of my family that
I have made over the years. They are copies of the Video 8 tapes, which
I do not propose to de-clutter.

I no longer have a working VHS player. I never got round to labelling
all of the VHS tapes so I cannot tell which cassettes contain family
recordings.

I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.

Commercial tapes of BBFC certified films are still easy to dispose of
(surprisingly) in charidy shops.

Any ideas?
--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

In message <48+BnXAk40ujFAzG@salmiron.com>, Nicholas D. Richards
<nicholas@salmiron.com> writes
>I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
>as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
>have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
>about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>

The tapes are magnetic, so if you have access to a large magnet, then
that might do the wbo. If the unforgetery is jbexvat correctly, that is
how it is done pbzzrepvnyyl.

Adrian
--
To Reply :
replace "bulleid" with "adrian" - all mail to bulleid is rejected
Sorry for the rigmarole, If I want spam, I'll go to the shops
Every time someone says "I don't believe in trolls", another one dies.

On 08/01/2023 23:13, Nicholas D. Richards wrote:
> I am in the process of doing some de-cluttering; it feels horrible but
> needs must.
>
> This problem is one of the reasons that I keep procrastinating.
>
> I have several hundred VHS tapes that I have recorded over the years,
> mostly over air TV programs. These do not present any problems in
> disposal, I will put them in the grey bin.
>
> However some of the tapes contain copies of videocams of my family that
> I have made over the years. They are copies of the Video 8 tapes, which
> I do not propose to de-clutter.
>
> I no longer have a working VHS player. I never got round to labelling
> all of the VHS tapes so I cannot tell which cassettes contain family
> recordings.
>
> I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
> as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
> have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
> about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>
> Commercial tapes of BBFC certified films are still easy to dispose of
> (surprisingly) in charidy shops.
>
> Any ideas?

tinyurl.com/VHS2digital ??

Tone

On Sun, 8 Jan 2023 23:13:40 +0000
"Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:

> I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
> as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
> have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
> about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.

A bulk eraser is the traditional tool they used to be common but
seem to have become hen's teeth. Essentially a big electromagnet that
(IIRC) runs on AC and finishes with a decay.

Failing that heating them past the curie point will do the wbo but
I suspect that may also melt the tape and/or case.

This may be helpful:

https://www.tapeheads.net/threads/diy-bulk-eraser.79581/

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

Nicholas D. Richards wrote:

> I have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
> about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
Angle grinder</frank>

On 08/01/2023 23:13, Nicholas D. Richards wrote:
> I am in the process of doing some de-cluttering; it feels horrible but
> needs must.
>
> This problem is one of the reasons that I keep procrastinating.
>
> I have several hundred VHS tapes that I have recorded over the years,
> mostly over air TV programs. These do not present any problems in
> disposal, I will put them in the grey bin.
>
> However some of the tapes contain copies of videocams of my family that
> I have made over the years. They are copies of the Video 8 tapes, which
> I do not propose to de-clutter.
>
> I no longer have a working VHS player. I never got round to labelling
> all of the VHS tapes so I cannot tell which cassettes contain family
> recordings.
>
> I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
> as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
> have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
> about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>
> Commercial tapes of BBFC certified films are still easy to dispose of
> (surprisingly) in charidy shops.
>
> Any ideas?

My son would probably suggest a few seconds in a microwave (he has
something of a penchant for destroying things that way) - but I suspect
that might actually be quite dangerous, and sparkly, so don't do it
without some research!

HTH, Chris

damn, We at the talking newspaper took the ideal device to the tip when we
stopped using any tapes.
This was an AC powered tape eraser, It could it claimed erase everything
from VHS and Betamax tapes and ordinary audio tapes, you just put it in the
cavity first one way around then the other and nothing was left. It was in
fact a bloody great electro magnet with the field focussed in the cavity. It
warned you to remove wrist watches and not operate if you had a pacemaker.

It could also overheat if you kept it on so it had a button you had to
depress to turn it on.
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote in message
news:48+BnXAk40ujFAzG@salmiron.com...
>I am in the process of doing some de-cluttering; it feels horrible but
> needs must.
>
> This problem is one of the reasons that I keep procrastinating.
>
> I have several hundred VHS tapes that I have recorded over the years,
> mostly over air TV programs. These do not present any problems in
> disposal, I will put them in the grey bin.
>
> However some of the tapes contain copies of videocams of my family that
> I have made over the years. They are copies of the Video 8 tapes, which
> I do not propose to de-clutter.
>
> I no longer have a working VHS player. I never got round to labelling
> all of the VHS tapes so I cannot tell which cassettes contain family
> recordings.
>
> I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
> as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
> have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
> about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>
> Commercial tapes of BBFC certified films are still easy to dispose of
> (surprisingly) in charidy shops.
>
> Any ideas?
> --
> 0sterc@tcher -
>
> "O� sont les neiges d'antan?"

I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Adrian" <bulleid@ku.gro.lioff> wrote in message
news:ELwUo+PQd1ujFw3y@ku.gro.lloiff...
> In message <48+BnXAk40ujFAzG@salmiron.com>, Nicholas D. Richards
> <nicholas@salmiron.com> writes
>>I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
>>as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
>>have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
>>about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>>
>
> The tapes are magnetic, so if you have access to a large magnet, then that
> might do the wbo. If the unforgetery is jbexvat correctly, that is how it
> is done pbzzrepvnyyl.
>
> Adrian
> --
> To Reply :
> replace "bulleid" with "adrian" - all mail to bulleid is rejected
> Sorry for the rigmarole, If I want spam, I'll go to the shops
> Every time someone says "I don't believe in trolls", another one dies.

Yes there are people looking for blanks so if you can source at least the
lone of a bulk eraser then apart from repetitive strain injury, the problem
would be solved. Be aware though that some tapes are harder to erase than
others, we used to move big tapes around a bit in its cavity to make sure it
all got done. I hate to imagine how big a permanent magnet might be to
achieve the same result!. Hard to store it. I tried a magnet from a
magnetron once, but it seemed to make little or no impact, particularly on
basf tapes for some reason.
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Ahem A Rivet's Shot" <steveo@eircom.net> wrote in message
news:20230109064740.d1cba4c8ff5bc8bc478ed50f@eircom.net...
> On Sun, 8 Jan 2023 23:13:40 +0000
> "Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>
>> I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
>> as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
>> have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
>> about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>
> A bulk eraser is the traditional tool they used to be common but
> seem to have become hen's teeth. Essentially a big electromagnet that
> (IIRC) runs on AC and finishes with a decay.
>
> Failing that heating them past the curie point will do the wbo but
> I suspect that may also melt the tape and/or case.
>
> This may be helpful:
>
> https://www.tapeheads.net/threads/diy-bulk-eraser.79581/
>
> --
> Steve O'Hara-Smith
> Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

On Sun, 8 Jan 2023 23:13:40 +0000, Nicholas D. Richards
<nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
> recordings.
>
> I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
> as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
> have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
> about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>
> Any ideas?

Yup, demmagnetise.

Places that work(ed) with magnetic tape, video and audio
on cassettes and reels had demagnetsers. Professional places
usually had machines in a quiet corner with a conveor belt to moe
the material through the A/C magnetic field.

Call around, a TV studio or production facility should
have one, possibly gathering dust.

--
"The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them
to choose from." - Andrew S. Tanenbaum

On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 06:47:40 +0000, Ahem A Rivet's Shot
<steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
> A bulk eraser is the traditional tool they used to be common but
> seem to have become hen's teeth. Essentially a big electromagnet that
> (IIRC) runs on AC and finishes with a decay.
>
>
> This may be helpful:
>
> https://www.tapeheads.net/threads/diy-bulk-eraser.79581/

God there is so much rubbish posted on web forums.

--
There are times when I get through the day by looking around the
office and thinking, 'My God, aren't the natives here strange.' -
Genevieve Bell

On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 11:07:25 -0000
"Brian Gaff" <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:

> I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?

Superbly I expect, it might also throw them around the room.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

Ahem A Rivet's Shot said:
> On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 11:07:25 -0000
> "Brian Gaff" <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?
>
> Superbly I expect, it might also throw them around the room.

In an ideal world, its output would lead to a diagnosis of "Flutter on
your bottom"

--
Richard Robinson
"The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem

My email address is at http://qualmograph.org.uk/contact.html

In article <20230109140121.8c103cc8e868b5937cd76c95@eircom.net>, Ahem A
Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> on Mon, 9 Jan 2023 at 14:01:21 awoke
Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 11:07:25 -0000
>"Brian Gaff" <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?
>
> Superbly I expect, it might also throw them around the room.
>
and cost more than my annual salary?

I like it though.
--
0sterc@tcher -

"Où sont les neiges d'antan?"

On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 17:13:53 +0000
"Nicholas D. Richards" <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:

> In article <20230109140121.8c103cc8e868b5937cd76c95@eircom.net>, Ahem A
> Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> on Mon, 9 Jan 2023 at 14:01:21 awoke
> Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
> >On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 11:07:25 -0000
> >"Brian Gaff" <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?
> >
> > Superbly I expect, it might also throw them around the room.
> >
> and cost more than my annual salary?

Nah I can get an MRI done for a couple of hundred euro - which my
insurance covers anyway - just ask if you can leave the box of tapes next
to the chamine.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

On 2023-01-09, Brian Gaff <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
> I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?
> Brian
>

Appoach with extreme caution. !I had trea1tment a1bout 60 years ago that left me1tal inside my head,
three years ago I was brought to hopital, and filled out the
questionaire, saying, yes, !I had some metal inside me.

Many people have that problemr. It makes it difficult to get through
security, And, anyway, they decided to run me through the MRI scanner,
which emitted a scream.

What would have happened if the machine had not stopped?

undefined

greymaus

On 09/01/2023 17:13, Nicholas D. Richards wrote:
> In article <20230109140121.8c103cc8e868b5937cd76c95@eircom.net>, Ahem A
> Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> on Mon, 9 Jan 2023 at 14:01:21 awoke
> Nicholas from his slumbers and wrote
>> On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 11:07:25 -0000
>> "Brian Gaff" <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?
>>
>> Superbly I expect, it might also throw them around the room.
>>
> and cost more than my annual salary?
>
> I like it though.

So did I, but I don't get it now...

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

In message <20230109140121.8c103cc8e868b5937cd76c95@eircom.net>, Ahem A
Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> writes
>On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 11:07:25 -0000
>"Brian Gaff" <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?
>
> Superbly I expect, it might also throw them around the room.
>

Might make for an interesting u-bend recording.

Adrian
--
To Reply :
replace "bulleid" with "adrian" - all mail to bulleid is rejected
Sorry for the rigmarole, If I want spam, I'll go to the shops
Every time someone says "I don't believe in trolls", another one dies.

On 09/01/2023 19:13, maus wrote:
> On 2023-01-09, Brian Gaff <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I wonder if the local MRI Scanner might do it?
>> Brian
>>
>
> Appoach with extreme caution. !I had trea1tment a1bout 60 years ago that left me1tal inside my head,
> three years ago I was brought to hopital, and filled out the
> questionaire, saying, yes, !I had some metal inside me.
>
> Many people have that problemr. It makes it difficult to get through
> security, And, anyway, they decided to run me through the MRI scanner,
> which emitted a scream.
>
> What would have happened if the machine had not stopped?
>
> undefined

not a lot, is m guess: I've ad several MRI scans despite having a
(mainly) stainless-steel knee joint.

Several of that biggerer several have been on that level of leg.
(Resulting in agonyplastic of the immora^h^h^h^femoral artillery)

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On Sun, 8 Jan 2023 23:13:40 +0000, "Nicholas D. Richards"
<nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>I am in the process of doing some de-cluttering; it feels horrible but
>needs must.
>
>This problem is one of the reasons that I keep procrastinating.
>
>I have several hundred VHS tapes that I have recorded over the years,
>mostly over air TV programs. These do not present any problems in
>disposal, I will put them in the grey bin.
>
>However some of the tapes contain copies of videocams of my family that
>I have made over the years. They are copies of the Video 8 tapes, which
>I do not propose to de-clutter.
>
>I no longer have a working VHS player. I never got round to labelling
>all of the VHS tapes so I cannot tell which cassettes contain family
>recordings.
>
>I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
>as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
>have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
>about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>
>Commercial tapes of BBFC certified films are still easy to dispose of
>(surprisingly) in charidy shops.
>
>Any ideas?
In my first job in a TV development lab from 1967 onwrds, we used to
degauss the shadow mask in cathode ray tubes with a coil of wire from
the rack. The wire came on big cardboard bobbins - AC mains (from an
isolation transformer) was applied between start and finish of the
wire. You could only keep it on for a few moments otherwise the wire
coating would melt!
--
Dave W

On Mon, 09 Jan 2023 21:53:18 +0000, Dave W wrote:

> On Sun, 8 Jan 2023 23:13:40 +0000, "Nicholas D. Richards"
> <nicholas@salmiron.com> wrote:
>
>>I am in the process of doing some de-cluttering; it feels horrible but
>>needs must.
>>
>>This problem is one of the reasons that I keep procrastinating.
>>
>>I have several hundred VHS tapes that I have recorded over the years,
>>mostly over air TV programs. These do not present any problems in
>>disposal, I will put them in the grey bin.
>>
>>However some of the tapes contain copies of videocams of my family that
>>I have made over the years. They are copies of the Video 8 tapes, which
>>I do not propose to de-clutter.
>>
>>I no longer have a working VHS player. I never got round to labelling
>>all of the VHS tapes so I cannot tell which cassettes contain family
>>recordings.
>>
>>I need to have a way of quickly removing the recordings from the tapes
>>as I do not want to throw family recordings out there to be misused. I
>>have tried dismantling cassettes and cutting up the tapes. It takes
>>about an hour per cassette and not therefore realistic.
>>
>>Commercial tapes of BBFC certified films are still easy to dispose of
>>(surprisingly) in charidy shops.
>>
>>Any ideas?
>
> In my first job in a TV development lab from 1967 onwrds, we used to
> degauss the shadow mask in cathode ray tubes with a coil of wire from
> the rack. The wire came on big cardboard bobbins - AC mains (from an
> isolation transformer) was applied between start and finish of the
> wire. You could only keep it on for a few moments otherwise the wire
> coating would melt!

Conversely I used to remagnetise lab magnets by wrapping them in wire with
a fuse in series. Then stand back and switch on the mains, the fuse lasted
long enough to get it to work. Trouble is that there's a 50-50 chance of
the polarity being the right way round.
--
Jim the Geordie

On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 23:59:17 +0000, Jim The Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Conversely I used to remagnetise lab magnets by wrapping them in wire with
> a fuse in series. Then stand back and switch on the mains, the fuse lasted
> long enough to get it to work. Trouble is that there's a 50-50 chance of
> the polarity being the right way round.

You could have used a diode.

On Tue, 10 Jan 2023 09:43:27 -0000 (UTC), Julian Macassey wrote:

> On Mon, 9 Jan 2023 23:59:17 +0000, Jim The Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>> Conversely I used to remagnetise lab magnets by wrapping them in wire with
>> a fuse in series. Then stand back and switch on the mains, the fuse lasted
>> long enough to get it to work. Trouble is that there's a 50-50 chance of
>> the polarity being the right way round.
>
> You could have used a diode.

Then I would have had to know which way round the coil was wound.
--
Jim the Geordie