Card reader head cleaning

[Dave Britten]

(12-30-2019 04:38 AM)teenix Wrote:  

(12-30-2019 03:46 AM)Dave Britten Wrote:  What's the conventional wisdom on keeping mag card reader heads clean? I know there were some special purpose "cleaner" cards provided back in the day, but what's available now that's safe to use? Can I just snip a piece of an index card to roughly match the size of a mag card, and feed it through a couple of times? Maybe give it a very light coating of 99% isopropyl alcohol first?

Pushing "something" in may damage the rubber drive wheel. The head itself is more accessible from the exit side of the calculator.

You could also open the calculator and clean the head and any other dust and "stuff" that might be in there. I have used IPA in the past. Acetone is probably a bad idea as it may damage plastics.

I'm not sure I would use abrasive tape cleaning products anymore. Some of the heads I've seen are quite worn already.

cheers

Tony

Ah, so it would be better to stick a little cleaning strip in from the left side instead?

I made a little "unprotect" card for my 65 so I can rewrite application pack cards that have degraded magnetically, and when inserting it from the left, I can feel a small increase in friction/resistance at about 1.5 inches in, and then it's blocked completely at 1.75 inches (I'm assuming it's hitting the drive wheel). Is that quarter inch of increased friction where the heads are located?