hp85 tape drives

[Jim]

I have a hp85b that is expirencing trouble reading from the tape drive. The problem is hit or miss, will one time read the tape or tapes correctly and the other times gives me the no tape error or error reading. I have cleaned the drive and it shows no excess wear. Any help??

Jim

[Mike]

I have found 3 problems on these old tape drives:

1) Bad capstan (dissolved)
2) End of Tape light
3) Bad tapes.

Have you had problem indicating "at end of tape"?
Have you had problems when simply rewinding?

If so, you probably have a bad tape. Old tapes tend to lose their oxide. Most of my old HP 200 tapes are bad or have bad spots.

Do you have this problem with a new tape?

Have you checked to see that the rubber is still in good shape?