TIL those old Otis selector tape units can actually be saved

Had a call last week for a 1980s unit with a bad tape, kept throwing floor errors. I was ready to just tell the building they needed a full upgrade, which would've been like 15k. But this old timer on site showed me how to clean the reader head with a specific solvent and realign the sprockets. We got it running smooth in about two hours. Honestly thought those things were just time bombs. Anyone else ever brought one back from the dead instead of replacing it?

4 comments

4 Comments

avery_ross2mo ago

Man, I feel this. I once spent a whole afternoon trying to convince a manager a relay logic board was toast, only to find a single spider web shorting two terminals. Cleaned it out and felt like a genius and an idiot at the same time. Those old systems can be stubborn, but sometimes the fix is stupid simple if you know where to look. Good on that old timer for having the knowledge.

betty_kelly92mo ago

Isn't that just how life works sometimes?

robin6282mo ago

Remember my buddy who found a dead mouse in the selector switch?

taylorshah1mo ago

Three years ago I took apart a CNC machine three times before I found a penny wedged behind the main power relay. The machine worked fine after I pulled it out and I still have no idea how a penny ended up in there. I felt like the biggest idiot when my boss walked by and asked if I was making change for the machine. Sometimes the dumbest things are the hardest to find.