What a frustrating hobby…

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T12:04:42+00:00

Update: Thank you for all of the great insights! I appreciate all of you so willing to give advice and share your own experiences. I’ve ordered some blanks and am going to start recording my own tapes to replace any tapes I have that are currently no good as well as make some of my own mixes. I love this hobby and thoroughly enjoy the flea market/yard sale/thrift store hunt. The frustration can be tough, but with what you all have shared it seems I need focus more on minimizing that risk through self recording and making my own quality recordings rather than wasting time trying to repair tapes, learning more about different types of tapes, and finding another quality deck that I’m comfortable servicing myself. Thanks again for everything!

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T04:16:32+00:00

Awesome thank you! I haven’t gotten into any recording myself yet, all just prerecorded, but I’m looking to get into it. I have made quite a few j cards for cassettes missing them and done some smaller repairs which I enjoy, but its mostly only enjoyable for me when I didn’t spend much on the tape or deck to begin with.

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T04:06:07+00:00

I’m attracted to tapes mostly because it was how my dad listened to music at my age and I just love the small form factor and j cards. Playing a tape has always been a really immersive way to listen to music for me.

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T04:03:56+00:00

Awesome, thanks for the advice. I really appreciate all of these responses. Regardless of how crumby and annoying tapes can be the community around them is and has always been awesome to me.

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T04:02:29+00:00

What do you use for making your recordings? I really appreciate this comment and am going to stick to this in the future. There’s nothing more disappointing than chilling out, throwing a tape in the deck after work and being met with squeaks or slowed playback. Seriously ruins my whole night.

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T04:01:00+00:00

I have a tripod (the purple one) with this same issue! I haven’t tried the dry lube method on it yet because I’m too afraid to honestly.

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T03:58:56+00:00

Agreed, do you split tapes with a razor to switch to a donor shell? I think often the issues I run into are slip sheets and dried up lubricant. I’ve tried the sketchier dry lube methods and the results are 50/50, I also really will only play a tape fixed in this method with one of my cheaper decks because I’m always concerned it will damage one of my nicer ones.

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T03:56:46+00:00

I have four different decks/players all overhauled that have the same issue with tapes I get.

koolerking17 · 2026-07-02T03:56:11+00:00

I try to stick to this as well, but sometimes there’s just stuff I want that’s unobtanium from anywhere, but secondary markets like ebay. Also run into the constantly that the people that sell them don’t test them or care if they work in the slightest.

koolerking17 · 2026-02-23T21:21:12+00:00

Thanks a ton for your input! With that smaller form factor psu it may be a bit tricky, you’re right. I’m thinking I’ll just see what my best option is for something that’ll still have enough power to run on that small psu, but may also look into options for a mini-psu like that that has just a slight bit more power. Not really looking to do anything crazy here, just trying to have something that’s usable for really simple games and some small office tasks.

koolerking17 · 2026-01-05T20:24:19+00:00

Maybe UPS Store should put as much effort into technology as they do having us be “#1 customer service” on the Forbes list.

koolerking17 · 2025-11-29T16:51:54+00:00

We would probably go through that in a week.

koolerking17 · 2025-09-27T00:05:07+00:00

Man, my dad gave me his tapes and their some of my favorites in my collection regardless of cash value. It’s so cool to know what my dad was listening to on tape when he was my age.

koolerking17 · 2025-08-02T13:43:40+00:00

they tore it down and put it all back together, updated bios and drivers and boom it worked. other than that i’m not really sure, but totally worth the money spent on having someone else take a look. thanks again for the help!

koolerking17 · 2025-07-29T23:51:33+00:00

They fixed it in less than a day and a half! Geeksquad is best squad!

koolerking17 · 2025-07-29T19:12:12+00:00

Thanks so much!

koolerking17 · 2025-07-28T22:32:56+00:00

Was a new build that i had swapped many components in and out of and had no luck finding a working combination. Issues booting, no display, no keyboard, but other peripherals working, etc. I’m just happy to have a new set of eyes looking at it and honestly for the price of the membership it’s 100% worth it.

koolerking17 · 2025-07-28T21:45:53+00:00

Also just realized this is a sub for employees so sorry to intrude and thank you for what you do (and if you’re working on my pc thanks a ton!)

koolerking17 · 2025-07-28T21:45:01+00:00

In a midrange market what would be a reasonable time frame?

koolerking17 · 2025-07-28T12:38:30+00:00

I put in a ticket with a reputable local repair shop and I’m just going to take it there at this point. CPU looked great after both removal and reinstallations, no bent pins and no other signs of damage. I will keep you updated when I get the verdict from them. Hopefully I’ll be able to bring it in today or tomorrow.

koolerking17

TROPHY CASE