Reloading an Echoplex Cartridge: Method One, Page 1

With the passing of Mike Battle his family has stopped manufacturing TubePlex cartridges. His apprentice Bart P. who did refills and repairs on Echoplexes has also closed up shop and shut down his website. Someone has bought the empty cartridge stock from the Battle family and is selling them on Ebay. That leaves only two manufacturers making cartridges for the Echoplex: Mike Fuller of Fulltone, who will not sell his TTE cartridges to Echoplex owners, and Tony at Orbit Electronics who has designed and is now manufacturing a metal tape cartridge that will work on the Echoplex. (Thanks Tony!!!)

I still see TubePlex cartridges available at this writing, on Ebay and other places, and if you don't want to go through the hassle of doing it yourself there are several places in the internet that will refill your cartridge with new tape, for reasonable fees. I will probably start doing it myself soon for all you Plex owners out there.

Having said that, with the possibility that sources for the tape cartridges used in the Echoplex may dry up becoming a reality, and in the interests of economy (It's a lot cheaper to refill an old cartridge!) and the DIY spirit, here is how to reload your old Echoplex tape cartridge with new tape. Some investment is required for tools and parts but once done the only thing you need is new recording tape, see my main Echoplex page for sources.

Here is what you will need for both methods:

New lubricated recording tape .
Splicing tape or splicing tabs.
Razor blade.
Metal splicing block. You don't absolutely need this but it makes it a lot easier.
Low stick painters or artists masking tape.
Some blocks of wood with some hardware, see instructions.

Before you start, wash your hands like the doctors do on TV!!
You don't want any grease from that KFC you had for dinner on your tape!!!

There are two ways to go about reloading an Echoplex cartridge, depending on your situation.
Click on the links for instructions:

Method 1: If you have a working cartridge that you just want to reload with new tape.
Method 2: If you have a non-working cartridge that is jammed up and tangled inside the shell.