European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 05, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Is Rotor Jaeger recording the sights and sounds of Leipzig Germany time will destroy tapes of your european experiences. Memories Are forever videotapes Aren t by Lawrence a. Fisher the new York times Ake out some old Home movies and you can laugh at yourself As an infant your Mother s hairstyle and your father s 54 Chevy. But 40 years from How when your child views the videotapes you made this Holiday season there May be Little to laugh about the sound and image May have faded into Static. Both formal studies and anecdotal evidence indicate that videotapes May last 15 years or less. Like photographic film whose colors fade As the film grows Brittle with age videotape is Hurt by time and Chance. Tape archivists say that even professionally maintained tapes tatter with age requiring careful restoration before they can be played or copied. Consumer tapes tend to be stored More haphazardly and used less increasing the risks. High temperatures and humidity disrupt the magnetic organization of videotape the basis for the sound and image data in the tape. They also damage materials in the videotape. The effects Worsen Over time. Magnetic recording tape consists of a coating of Metal oxide particles placed on a plastic backing material by Means of a Binder which is typically another kind of plastic. Problems can occur with each of these materials. Malfunction of the tape recorder or player is also a leading cause of tape degradation and sometimes catastrophic damage As when the machine eats a tape. But the major problem is demagnetization. Tape recorders store information whether sound pictures or data by changing the magnetic orientation of the oxide particles to represent sound or Light or the ones and zeros of digital data. Over time these organized particles gradually become More random a process known As demagnetization that is hastened by heat humidity and oxidation. You will lose magnetization said David h. Davies vice president overseeing videotapes at the Ampex record no systems corp. I n Redwood City Calif. The Good news is these tapes today can lose a considerable amount of magnetization up to one third before there s any significant Davies reckons Ampex s professional tapes can last 90 years before losing sufficient magnetization that would create visible or audible degradation common vhf tapes could last 30 to 40 years. But such a Happy state occurs Only under Ideal storage conditions like Low humidity without extreme temperatures. A typical lifespan for a consumer tape is More like 20 years. Davies says precious tapes should be rerecorded at regular intervals. He recommends playing and examining the tape every two to five years. If you see degradation take them to a duplication Center and get them copied he said. Storing tapes near electromagnetic Fields like those in televisions computers refrigerators or electric motors can cause much More rapid demagnetization. Tape experts recommend storing prize videotapes much As one would age a Fine bottle of wine in a Cool dark place with relatively Low humidity. Improvements in tape coatings and in recording head design have largely eliminated the Wear caused by hundreds of passages through a machine tape experts say. But poor alignment worn guides or dirt can still damage a tape. Videotapes use helical scan recording in which the sound and image Are Laid in Diagonal stripes from the Bottom of the tape to the top like the pattern of stripes on a Candy Cane. / the tape and the head move at the t same time in nearly perpendicular directions. Two Heads Are used they take turns laying tracks. While the tracks they Lay Are parallel the magnetic orientation of the signal within the tracks is slightly different. Each head can recognize and read the track it recorded without being affected by signals from the adjacent tracks. The tape Only has to go a Little bit out of alignment for the playback head to lose signal from the Correct track and pick up interference from the adjoining one. The tracks of videotape Are very narrow so any imperfection in the tape is relatively Large and the picture gels destroyed said Jim Lindner president of Vid Pax a Manhattan based company specializing in videotape restoration and archival consulting. But there Are certain events like fires floods and other natural disasters that can destroy tapes but that can t be prevented. The Best advice for these situations Lindner said is never throw out your originals and never store All your tapes in one on the family our children Are All on their own now and my husband and i Are free to do the travelling we planned to do. But Matajy i feel too tired and too depressed to care about doing anything extra. Some Rooming i can hardly get out of bed. Why do i feel so terrible could i could be losing my mind i think it is quite unlikely that you have anything wrong with your mind. The symptoms you describe sound As if you May be entering a physiological phase called menopause and your discomfort May be caused by the hormonal imbalance that accompanies glandular upheaval. I suggest that you make an appointment to see a gynaecologist in the next few Days. I can you give me a simple definition of menopause it is a period of transition in a woman s life when the reproductive capacity is phasing out and her body is undergoing the Many chemical and psychological changes associated with that cessation. Menstruation which has occurred monthly since perhaps 11 or 12 years of age now gradually stops and hormonal readjustments occur. Specifically the ovaries produce Only about one eighth of the oestrogen that they once did. This affects not Only the reproductive system but the body s entire physical and psychological is there a male menopause comparable to what women experience this is a question with Strong cultural overtones that have clouded the truth. Some women apparently fear that female menopause will be used As an excuse to withhold positions of leadership from Middle aged women. Therefore they stress the existence of comparable male while men do experience a climacteric that can be called menopausal it is very different in origin and Impact from that experienced by women. For men the changes Are not so related to hormonal alterations but Are More psychological in nature. It is difficult for a Man to face the fact that he will never reach the occupational goals that to set for himself. That his youth is rapidly vanishing. That he will soon be unattractive to the opposite sex. That his earlier dreams of glory and Power will never be realized. Some men who have achieved less than they hoped Are devastated by the realization that Lite is slipping away from them. This primarily is the male menopause. These same influences agitate a woman but she has an additional hormonal turmoil undermining her Security from within. Other things a no equal the feminine variety is More difficult to endure particularly if it remains untreated. Or. Jamos c. Dobson is Prosi Orrt of focus on the family an organization dedicated to Orvina the Homo. should be sent to him at focus on the family . Box 444 Colorado Springs Colo. B0903. Saturday february 5, 1994 the stars and stripes 15
