Degaussing or eraseing tapes with supermagnets

This video shows the right magnet to use and the method to use for erasing mii-DV, VHS and high grade digital tapes using supermagnets.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• supermagnets
• erase
• tape
• degauss
• science
• magnets

[cosminserban91]

I have a magnetic hard disk and can not understand how I could erase miniDV video tape, and then new records are bad qualities. I need help .. thanks.

[SuperMagnetMan]

@cosminserban91 - I am not sure what the question is. I video a class I tech every monday and once I copy it off the tape I erase the tape with my magnet and use it again the next week without any problems. I am filming in HDV on a Canon XH A1 and capturing in FCP.

[gaz52]

Does this really work? I don't want to buy a big powerful magnet then find out it doesn't work.

[SuperMagnetMan]

You have to do a low level format on the drive but it should work unless something else was wrong with the drive.

[ReikaiDemon]

What about harddrives?

[SuperMagnetMan]

I have developed one of these using 2 inch N50 cubes above and below any 5.25 inch or smaller hard drive and it erases them like they had never been formatted.

[WandillupVideos]

will using magnets on a tape damage it in any way?

[cosminserban91]

You have to keep the magnet on videotape sitting still? or need to make moves?

[hitechguy18]

@SuperMagnetMan

Certain HDD Brands have Voice coil Localization data on the platters

It Should be noted that HDD Bearing "Do Not LOW Level Format "

Are HDDs where they wont regenerate this Vital Data after you wipe them

- Renders the HDD unusable

- So if your Trying to reuse/resell the HDD after it wont work at all

Without the Voice Coil Localization data the head wont know if its in the right position to wire/read

> Should never Put a magnet nr these HDD's if you intend to use them after

[noelgold1]

I recently played a vhs tape and it displayed video which I thought I recoreded over with my old fullsize camcorder camera (the carry on the shoulder type). To my excitment I tried playing that part of the video but was not able to play the portion (I thought I recorded over) a second time. I know the video that I erased is still on the tape somewhere (maybe on another area on the tape) but since it was recorded over with other video, its not playing. How can I recover the erased video?

[modmadmike2]

I think modern hard drives store their sector information on flash memory (which you can stick in a MRI and it will still work because it is impervious to magnetism) so taking a high power magnet would simply clear all the data (including the MBR) in a way similar to running [dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda] on a linux machine. But i'm not guaranteeing it. I could test it but i don't own any high power magnets.

[dleeboss]

@SuperMagnetMan

where can I purchase these magnets? I have a lot of VHS & Digital Tapes that I need to erase and this seems like a good solution for me.

[gaz52]

But am I right in saying the hard drive doesn't work anymore?