9815 repairs: spare some silicone hose?

[John Ioannidis]

I recently got an 9815 S on ebay. The electronics are functioning fine, but the tape had a gooey capstan. The repair requires either silicone tubing or heatshrink. I can't use the heatshrink because I can't get the motor/capstan out of its base without dangerously bending some cables that are in front of the holding screws.
I've been scouring the hardware stores and Home Depot in Manhattan for silicone tubing, but the thing appears to be rarer than hens' teeth!

Does anyone (who has hopefully repaired a 98XX/HP85 tape drive) have a small piece of silicone tubing they can put in an envelope and post to me?

Thanks

/ji

[Katie Wasserman]

Here's a nice writeup that Vassilis did with my advice and others.
http://www.series80.org/Articles/capstan-repair.html

The HP85 uses the same drive mechanism as the 9815A and 9825A/B. You don't need to take the entire assembly apart when using the Magic Wrap tape.