Scotchcart, Scotchcart II (usually brown, sometimes black)

Scotchcarts are the only truly innovative or new design since the original Fidelipac, and overcome several of the serious limitations of the original design. They work quite differently than other carts, so much so that they cannot be loaded with tape without using special loading equipment from 3M, which KALX currently does not possess. If they die, set them aside for the day we have the right equipment, or kludge something which works. So far, most Scotchcarts have been provided by bands for their songs, or have been “donated” by “virtuous” KALX volunteers, who know who they are, and are hereby graciously thanked anonymously, for their own protection (if ya know what i mean, and i think ya do…).

First off, Scotchcarts have no tape hub, at least not one which moves. The tape pack sits naked on a white nylonish support, with strange cutouts in it. Although it effectively prevents us from easily loading tape using our existing equipment, it has tremendous advantages:

1. No Reel Mass, so the tape stops & starts much faster
2. No Reel Sticking or Scraping—just smooth tape movement
3. Fewer Moving Parts to go bad

It is an NAB AA design, with the tape being pulled out the bottom front of the pack, in a slit in the tape support. The tape ducks smoothly under the support, around carefully-designed guides, across the tape head/capstan/pinch roller cutouts, back in and around a spring-loaded tension arm. There is a screwdriver-adjustable “Life Extension Cam” which adjusts the diameter of the split tape support inner ring, thereby adjusting tape pack tension. Combined with the tension arm, this provides an extremely well-regulated tape tension system, eliminating the need for pads, therefore the Scotchcart has none, and needs none, ever. This fact alone makes the Scotchcart the most economical cart to have donated, assuming it doesn’t need to be reloaded. Besides the tape support, the other removable parts are the “Life Extension Cam”, tension spring, tension arm, left corner guide, center guide, and hum shield (metal plate). The obligatory top & bottom shells are in effect, as always. About all one can do to Scotchcarts at the present is make sure the “Life Extension Cam” is correctly adjusted: run cart in a machine at normal speed. Adjust “Life Extension Cam” one notch at a time until the arrow pointer on the tension arm is lined up with the reference mark on the bottom shell (corresponds to pointing dead straight out towards the front [label end]of the cart). Stop & start once or twice, then let it run at least 20 sec. If it’s still basically lined up, you’re done. If not, try again. More information is sure to be unearthed as Scotchcarts become more common—quite possibly by You. The only difference between a Scotchcart and a Scotchcart II is the tape: the II tape is improved. It is the new KALX standard goal, and the Elevated Level setting of the Dynamaxes are optimized for it. Make no mistake about it—Scotchcarts shred. They are comin’ correct in the ’90’s, in effect in 1989, and down with the KALX Production Crew, boyeeeé.