Proper care of cassette tapes can extend their service life and maintain high sound quality. Cassettes and their boxes must be protected from direct sunlight, extreme cold and dust. Unused cassettes should be stored only in the protective box. If the temperature in the car is very high or very low, wait until the temperature in the car returns to normal before playing tapes.
After drying, do not leave the cassette in the radio under any circumstances. This may damage the radio and cassette.
It is strongly recommended not to use cassettes with a recording time longer than C-60 (total recording duration 60 minutes). Cassettes C-120 and C-180 have a very thin tape and do not provide sufficiently reliable operation of the car radio.
Be careful not to let the sticker on the cassette come off or fall off, as this will make it difficult to remove the cassette.
Do not touch the magnetic tape with your fingers or get it dirty.
Do not place cassette tapes or car radios near sources of strong magnetic fields such as electric motors, loudspeakers and transformers.
Store cassettes in a cool, dry place with the open side down to prevent dust from entering the cassette body.
Avoid frequently fast rewinding to replay a desired recording or section of tape. This may result in the tape not being wound correctly, being over-tensioned and deteriorating sound quality. In some cases, this can be corrected by rewinding the tape completely several times. If this does not work, do not use the cassette in your car radio anymore.
Over time, the tape's magnetic layer material will build up on the playback head, capstan and tension rollers, which can cause a reduction in sound quality, particularly hissing. They should be cleaned monthly using a commercially available head cleaning tape or a special solution available from specialist stores. Follow the product manufacturers' directions. Do not allow greasy substances to enter the car radio.
Before inserting the cassette, make sure that the tape is wound tightly onto the reel. Remove slack from the tape by rotating the take-up spool using a faceted pencil.
Note:
- Before inserting the cassette, inspect it. If the tape is slack, remove it by rotating one of the spools with a pencil. Do not insert cassettes with poorly attached labels into the radio.
- Do not leave cassettes in places where they are exposed to high temperatures or humidity, such as on the dashboard or in a car stereo, for long periods of time. If the temperature becomes excessively hot or cold, do not play the tape until the temperature returns to normal.